Just a general question

[thecaptain72]

I have been reading the forums and noticed that there is issues with ubuntu on certain things. Is it worth my time to build a new pc and install this software. I can build pc's but do not know much about the programming part. Input please good or bad.

JOSE

[3rdalbum]

I have been reading the forums and noticed that there is issues with ubuntu on certain things. Is it worth my time to build a new pc and install this software. I can build pc's but do not know much about the programming part. Input please good or bad.

You don't need to know anything about programming, so don't worry about that.

You can install Ubuntu alongside your current operating system on your current computer. If you want to build a new computer specially for this, then do some research on the parts you are looking at, and see if there are reports of those parts working with Linux (and more specifically, Ubuntu).

Note too that people come to the Ubuntu forums for support. I mean, if you were working in the returns department of a consumer electronics supplier, you'd only ever see the 2% of appliances that became faulty, rather than the 98% of appliances that work perfectly for years.

Just try Ubuntu, and remember that Ubuntu is not Windows; it's barely anything like Windows, so be prepared to learn to do things differently. A lot of your knowledge is useless here. Ubuntu isn't hard, it's just different.

As for these "issues" that you think are present in Ubuntu, why don't you give us a list of the ones that could affect you, and we'll see what we can advise.

[thecaptain72]

I guess you are right. I need not to worry and give it a try. I am so used to windows that it clouds my mind.

JOSE:popcorn:

[Bucky Ball]

Could you tell us what computer you are using and we can probably let you know.

The best thing to do is download and burn the ISO (start with 8.04 LTS), boot from it and choose the first option "Try Ubuntu without changing your system". If that works okay, you are good to go and can happily install. :)

Or, as mentioned, just go for it and see what happens!

Further to what 3rdalbum mentioned, Linux is not Windows and this page, although you might not like the authorial style(!) will better prepare you for some of the differences:

http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

The major problems people have are with graphics and wireless cards. Nvidia is most supported for graphics and lots and lots of wireless cards are also supported. It can just be a bit tricky to get them going sometimes (though the situation improves all the time).

Good luck with it all, welcome, and don't forget to post back with any other questions. :)

ps: you probably want to dual-boot with your Windows install for now (or not!). Here is a good resource:

http://members.iinet.net/~herman546/index.html (http://members.iinet.net/%7Eherman546/index.html)

[HermanAB]

There are many millions of happy Linux desktop users out there - it is certainly worth a try!