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irv
June 13th, 2013, 10:01 PM
I have been windows free for a few years now, but things are changing. My Old Dell Laptop died just before Mother's day, and it ended up being a motherboard failure. I ended up going out and buying a new Laptop. (Asus Q500A) which came with Windows 8. My plan was to install Ubuntu 13.10 on it, but ended up going in a different direction. I found a Dell on ebay that was the same model. (Insprion 1521). I installed my 4 gig of RAM and SSD into it and install Ubuntu 12.04 on it.
To be honest with you I like them both. I have to say I am still a Linux guy, but I have to say MS did come up with a nice OS this time. I guess I have to say that because the OS really plays well with the hardware. (touch screen, etc). I played around with 13.10 on the live OS USB drive and it worked with the touch screen, but in some areas not so. (File Manager for one).
The bottom line is again I am not Windows free again. There is a thread out here, What can windows do that Linux can't, (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=435866) and I am finding I like the way Windows 8 does things. I am not putting Ubuntu down, I think there are things about Ubuntu I like that Windows does not do. So I have to say I have the best of both worlds.

leecheroflife
June 13th, 2013, 10:17 PM
Like you, I have both.

The difference is, I only use Win8 for things I cant do on Linux (Some gaming and also some things for Uni) and have them both on one computer rather than having a dual boot.

At the end of the day, use what you are happy with. If it's one or the other, great. If its both, even better.

odiseo77
June 13th, 2013, 10:21 PM
Why not dual booting for a while and wait for a new Ubuntu release that -- hopefully -- would fix the hardware issues? Probably, being a new laptop it doesn't play well with Linux yet and might require some time for some drivers to be released and improved.

pfeiffep
June 13th, 2013, 10:49 PM
Choices make the world go 'round. I don't think there's a perfect OS - all have strong and weak points.

I have found that for some older hardware that Linux Mint 15 makes it truly functional - this same hardware is pretty sluggish with Ubuntu Unity, and pretty much function-less with Win XP (which I've totally trashed). I haven't collected 'real' data to post. Since you own Win 8 there's no real hurry to rid yourself of it. On my much more modern desktop pc I have Win 7, Ubuntu 13.04, Linux Mint 15 and a test installation of Ubuntu 13.10.

TNFrank
June 14th, 2013, 12:52 AM
My first system was Pentium III, 350MGHz with Windows 98 and running that system for a couple years totally got me over Windows. I bought an iMac(the one that looks like a half ball) and never looked back. Then about a month ago we got a really bad storm that came through and somehow a lightning strike took it out. I had it on a surge protector but not my phone line so I think it came through the Firewire cable. Anyway, long story a bit shorter, my wife and I got a new HP Windows 8 laptop and within a week the program crashed about 8 times and she picked up a Trojan horse off of Facebook that took out a few files. I took it back for a full refund and used the money to buy TWO older, used laptops and installed Ubuntu 12.04 on both of them and I couldn't be happier.
I'm really lovin' the Linux and since I've figured out how to make a bootable USB I've "test driven" Mint 13 Xfce, Peppermint One and now I'm currently booted into a very small USB drive with Tiny CorePlus on it.
Linux is the perfect solution for someone who's on a PC budget but wants the stability, reliability and virus proof system of the higher priced Apple machines.
I'll never again even consider Windows and even though I still like Apple and Mac there's no reason to pay the higher price when I can run all manner of free Op Systems in Linux.
I say Linux hands down. ;)

monkeybrain2012
June 14th, 2013, 12:56 AM
Not sure why you need our opinions here. It is your computer. All I can say is, if I were you I would just wipe it clean and install Ubuntu and a few other Linux distros. Personally I can't stand WIndows and MircoSoft and all it represents, but since it is not my computer.. :)

EgoGratis
June 14th, 2013, 02:03 AM
This is quite normal you have been using product X for years and then tasted product Y and it felt... different. Usually it's the other way around because there is currently more Windows users and less Ubuntu users...

Bottom line you want to think and do different and use something else but too bad there are too many Windows users out there for you to be able to pull it off. :D

TNFrank
June 14th, 2013, 02:19 AM
If you want a flavor of Linux that feels a lot like Windows then give Linux Mint 13 a try. It's based on Ubuntu but has the dock and stuff in the same place that Windows has it along the bottom of the screen.
I like Ubuntu 12.04 because it has more of a Mac OS X feel to it so I'm more at home when using it. Bootable USB drives are pretty easy to make once you get the hang of it, heck, make up a few USB disks to boot to so you can get a feel for a lot of different distros. Peppermint One isn't a bad little OS, it's only around 500MB so you can run it on about anything or if you want something a bit larger, say 1GB then Mint or Ubuntu just may be what you're looking for.

irv
June 14th, 2013, 02:35 AM
I enjoyed reading all the post, and just for the record I was not looking for anyone's opinion on what I should use, I was just making a statement about Ubuntu Linux and Windows.

I was just stating that for about 3 years or so I have been Windows free on all my computers. That doesn't mean that I didn't use Windows on other computers just that I didn't use it on any of mine.

I have a server running 10.04, and Desktop running 11.10, and laptop running 12.04, another laptop running Ubuntu Studio 12.04 (my sound system), and now I have a new laptop running Windows 8.

I also have a Asus Transformer running Android, and have one more desktop I am going to setup with Linux (not sure what distro yet). Oh ya, I also have a Nook.

You might be thinking how do I use all these computers. Well I do, I am a tinkerer. Always changing hardware or software. Testing and trying different things. I am retired from an IT job so I just can't leave well enough alone. I guess it is my hobby.
I agree about the statement about new hardware. It take awhile for Linux to get in step as things keep changing. And I also agree that every OS has it strong and weak points.

I have to say that I never got into Apples or Mac's. (always thought they were over priced.) I have a friend that swears by them. One day he when out and bought a Netbook with XP and he hated it. He ask if I would install Ubuntu 12.04 on it, which I did. He keeps it on his kitchen table and he told me he is on it all the time and does not use the Mac that much anymore. He does have a Apple ipad that he has with him all the time. Yes, all these different things make the world go around. Different strokes for different folks.

llanitedave
June 14th, 2013, 03:19 AM
Competition is good. I'd argue that one of the reasons Windows has improved over the last few years is because of Apple's rise and the ever-present threat of Linux. (You may think that Microsoft doesn't even notice Linux, as small a user base as it has, but for all that, they've sure made plenty of efforts to kill it, starting with their SCO proxy)

irv
June 14th, 2013, 02:08 PM
Business is war. And one company looks at other as the enemy. All are fighting for the market share when it come to OS' but Linux being open source is approaching it a little differently. MS is out to make money on the product where Linux is out to make money on the support and along the way they are building a group of people who are becoming very knowledgeably in the use of Linux. There is a real future for Linux. I believe this is the strong side of Linux. It's like running water on a rock, it will ware it down. In time Linux is doing this and that is why MS is taking note of it.
No Apple when head to head with MS, and came out with a good product. MS stayed with the software end and Apple when Software/Hardware. This was a winning card for them. Here is a little information. In the past (you do remember Atari?) Their OS was developed by Digital Research, it was the same company that Apple came up with there OS. This was the same OS that Atari used on the ST and TT computers. Back then it was Atari, Commadore 64, Apple, and IBM. And yes, Competition is good.

pqwoerituytrueiwoq
June 14th, 2013, 02:21 PM
but in some areas not so. (File Manager for one).back when i used windows i found a program called explorer++, may be of use to you
IMO windows just is not worth the maintenance time

irv
June 14th, 2013, 03:07 PM
back when i used windows i found a program called explorer++, may be of use to you
IMO windows just is not worth the maintenance time

I could live without the touch screen, I still use the mouse, but Ubuntu is improving on touch screen support.

MadmanRB
June 14th, 2013, 04:28 PM
For me windows 8 is a waste of time without a touchscreen, totally useless too.
Ubuntu is better

stalkingwolf
June 14th, 2013, 04:58 PM
I have not used windows of any flavor on a regular basis in years . Im not however windows free. I have one computer that has 7 on it. it is hooked to my tv i use it for one
application. rabbit tv. I also have 7 on my bench computer so i can reference it when i get the inevitable call , how do I ....... thats it. I should also note that both are dual booted and Ubuntu is the system normally booted.

rrich1974
June 14th, 2013, 05:31 PM
sorry to hear about laptop, it is the same model as mine. but i still have only 1 GB of ram and the old 160 GB HDD. it works great, under windows 7 but works good with 12.04 and 13.04 too. but i admit that w7 works better. on W7 there are moment when cooler stops, i never noticed that on ubuntu.

irv
June 14th, 2013, 09:21 PM
sorry to hear about laptop, it is the same model as mine. but i still have only 1 GB of ram and the old 160 GB HDD. it works great, under windows 7 but works good with 12.04 and 13.04 too. but i admit that w7 works better. on W7 there are moment when cooler stops, i never noticed that on ubuntu.

I did pick up another Dell 1521 off ebay and have 12.04 running on it. But I am still trying to get 13.04 to run on my new Asus Q500A.

Linuxratty
June 14th, 2013, 11:29 PM
Windows free for years..I have no interest in it..But do what you want.

llanitedave
June 15th, 2013, 02:51 AM
I have Kubuntu and Windows 7 dual booting on my laptop. Today I was working in the field, and realized that a file I needed for my work-issued Windows 7 tablet had been deleted during a OS re-installation (due to corruption in the OS itself). I don't usually take my personal laptop along, but today I did because I was out of radio range and felt like listening to my music collection on it (downloaded from Magnatunes) while I worked. I also remembered that I had a copy of the necessary file template on my laptop -- but in my rush assumed it was on the Windows 7 partition.

So I booted into Windows, and it decided to keep me waiting while it leisurely went about installing some dozens of updates. When it was done, it decided to reboot. While all that was happening, I remembered that I could just as easily access the needed file from Kubuntu, which reads NTFS partitions just fine. So forget about Windows. I just went back into Linux, and extracted, copied and transferred the necessary file while pleasantly listening to my music.

I still need that Windows partition for work, but I'm finding that I really never need it at all for any of my own activities.

rrich1974
June 15th, 2013, 07:28 AM
that is happening because you access the windows rarely. updates comes once a month.

@irv
can you tell me please how much ram your laptop has when you first bought it? mine has one GB but i dont know if i have one or two modules and witch one of the socket is used. the one under the keyboard or the one below the laptop, or maybe both of them?
thanx in advance!

also, since you have 1521 (the best laptop ever build ;) ) you can use this app to monitor the fanspeed, cpu use and the temperature.
i8kfanGUI for windows
i8kutils for ubuntu (it is in USC) and you can configure like here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=842775

sffvba[e0rt
June 15th, 2013, 01:37 PM
I have found that Windows currently serves my needs on my desktop better than Linux... On my netbook and laptop it is Linux. Choice eh?! :p


404

irv
June 15th, 2013, 03:38 PM
that is happening because you access the windows rarely. updates comes once a month.

@irv
can you tell me please how much ram your laptop has when you first bought it? mine has one GB but i dont know if i have one or two modules and witch one of the socket is used. the one under the keyboard or the one below the laptop, or maybe both of them?
thanx in advance!

also, since you have 1521 (the best laptop ever build ;) ) you can use this app to monitor the fanspeed, cpu use and the temperature.
i8kfanGUI for windows
i8kutils for ubuntu (it is in USC) and you can configure like here:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=842775

It had only 1 gig and it was using both DDR2 sticks. I replaced them both with the 2 gig modules I had in the Laptop failed. So now I have 2 gig under the keyboard and 2 gig in the one in the bottom of the Laptop. Giving me a total of 4 gig. And also took the SSD out of the old laptop and put it in the one I just got off ebay and it just flies. It runs as good as my new laptop.
I do all the sound recordings at the chapel I attend so I am thinking about replacing the one I use now with this one.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention I had a 9 cell battery I put in it also. I have two extra 6 cell batteries that are almost new so I don't think I will ever need to buy a battery for it.

rrich1974
June 15th, 2013, 04:49 PM
thank you very much sir for the good info, i think the moderators won't get mad if we talk a little about this machine.
i suspect that the fan is working all the time at minimun 3000 RPM.
the lm-sensors doed not detect my fanspeed but i loaded the module "i8k" after installed i8kutils, only today i found out about it. anyway, it shows a wrong number but still it gives a clue about fanspeed.
on windows, the fanspeed in windows 7 decrease to 2400 RPM and eventually the fan stops.
so, i suspect that the hardware works hotter in 12.04 than w7.

you can load and use the "i8k" module without any conf. just load the module and read the command "sensors"

irv
June 15th, 2013, 08:25 PM
thank you very much sir for the good info, i think the moderators won't get mad if we talk a little about this machine.
i suspect that the fan is working all the time at minimun 3000 RPM.
the lm-sensors doed not detect my fanspeed but i loaded the module "i8k" after installed i8kutils, only today i found out about it. anyway, it shows a wrong number but still it gives a clue about fanspeed.
on windows, the fanspeed in windows 7 decrease to 2400 RPM and eventually the fan stops.
so, i suspect that the hardware works hotter in 12.04 than w7.

you can load and use the "i8k" module without any conf. just load the module and read the command "sensors"

I will give this a try later, at the moment I am working on another machine that has other problems. Will try to get at it this coming week. Thanks for the info. Maybe we should start a new thread and entitle it Help for the Dell Insprion 1521 or something like that and then we can link it on this thread so we can find it.

Raubhautz
June 15th, 2013, 11:09 PM
Competition is good. I'd argue that one of the reasons Windows has improved over the last few years is because of Apple's rise and the ever-present threat of Linux. (You may think that Microsoft doesn't even notice Linux, as small a user base as it has, but for all that, they've sure made plenty of efforts to kill it, starting with their SCO proxy)

This is the point that many miss! These competitors need to all be in place or the others will become complacent and faulty, yes even Linux if left without competition would be feed for the wolves. Windows must be good an continue to improve or they will fall, same for Apple. Apple already altered their cpu to conform to Windows (From Motorola to Intel), Apple did handle that transition pretty well. Anyway, variety is the flavor of life! I bet most computer professionals utilize more than one operating system in their lives, regardless of their preferences.

Triblaze
June 16th, 2013, 04:58 AM
I have Windows 8 and Ubuntu 12.10 dual-booted. Works great, I use Windows for gaming, and Linux for everything else.

Scabby_al
June 19th, 2013, 03:54 AM
I use my Linux partition for playing around and just keeping current with the community but I find it completely impractical for work. I can probably live with most limitations but the lack of mail client is killing me. I can use Thunderbird with Davmail but I find Thunderbird's interface to be dated or it's just plain slow. I can replicate all of Outlook's functions but the inconsistent fonts, poor performance, and no native thread/conversation view to be a killer. I can't seem to find an alternative since everyone is happy with webmail. Doesn't quite work in a professional environment.

What is going to serve as the mail client for Ubuntu Touch? Will that have Exchange Support?

Copper Bezel
June 20th, 2013, 07:45 PM
Outlook Web Access with Outlook 2010 does have a conversation view, and it works in Firefox (and strangely, Chrome on Windows, but not on Linux, where it drops to the light client without conversation view.) Do you have an OWA server? 'Cuz it's kinda awesome.

monkeybrain2012
June 20th, 2013, 08:51 PM
I never understand why people need an email client. Is it such a novel idea to just log into your account to check email? I never need one for work or personal use and honestly don't know what I am missing.

Irihapeti
June 20th, 2013, 08:57 PM
I find an email client is a lot quicker at getting mail. It can be automated (usually is) and doesn't have to deal with the graphics of a web interface. It's especially noticeable on a slow connection.

irv
June 22nd, 2013, 09:29 PM
I'm with you monkeybrain2012 on this one, I left Outlook and Thunderbird 5 or 6 years ago. Been using gmail and I love it. I can get my email from any of my computers or anyone computer for that matter. Another nice thing with gmail is I have all my email accounts in one place. And I can also get at my email from Windows, Linux or Android and it all the same.

aysiu
June 23rd, 2013, 03:15 AM
I'm with you monkeybrain2012 on this one, I left Outlook and Thunderbird 5 or 6 years ago. Been using gmail and I love it. I can get my email from any of my computers or anyone computer for that matter. Another nice thing with gmail is I have all my email accounts in one place. And I can also get at my email from Windows, Linux or Android and it all the same. I've moved myself from Thunderbird to Gmail recently, but I don't think it's quite the either/or situation you describe here.

If you use an email client with IMAP, you can always still use webmail on other computers. One can easily use an email client on one computer, and then a web client on another computer.

irv
June 23rd, 2013, 02:46 PM
I like the idea of everything looking the same with emeil and with my browser. That is why I use gmail, and chrome browser no matter if I am in Windows or Linux. If I use a mail client or IE or another browser things are in different places. I like uniform.

MichaelFindlay
June 27th, 2013, 10:19 AM
I am also finding this, I have a dual booted laptop and PC with Ubuntu 13.04 and Windows 8. I am finding myself spending more time in Windows 8 then I would have expected, although i am doing a lot of gaming in the evenings and for the most part I suspect it is due to the fact I cannot be doing with the reboot required to go back in to Ubuntu at the end of the evening.

However this still has not taken me away from my resolve to move to Ubuntu full time at some stage, this mostly depends on when gaming support comes to the Operating system and the latest news I have seen with Steam it looks like in a number of years time we should see some great games/popular ones released on to Linux.

I thought I was a minority in regards to quite liking the new move that Microsoft have taken with the GUI but it turns out I am not at all :KS

android4682
June 27th, 2013, 04:28 PM
I have been windows free for a few years now, but things are changing. My Old Dell Laptop died just before Mother's day, and it ended up being a motherboard failure. I ended up going out and buying a new Laptop. (Asus Q500A) which came with Windows 8. My plan was to install Ubuntu 13.10 on it, but ended up going in a different direction. I found a Dell on ebay that was the same model. (Insprion 1521). I installed my 4 gig of RAM and SSD into it and install Ubuntu 12.04 on it.
To be honest with you I like them both. I have to say I am still a Linux guy, but I have to say MS did come up with a nice OS this time. I guess I have to say that because the OS really plays well with the hardware. (touch screen, etc). I played around with 13.10 on the live OS USB drive and it worked with the touch screen, but in some areas not so. (File Manager for one).
The bottom line is again I am not Windows free again. There is a thread out here, What can windows do that Linux can't, (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=435866) and I am finding I like the way Windows 8 does things. I am not putting Ubuntu down, I think there are things about Ubuntu I like that Windows does not do. So I have to say I have the best of both worlds.

I have windows now but it's a pain in my ass. It's slow, doesn't listen, always does the wrong things. The only thing I still have Windows for is because I can play games on it and ubuntu can't. But a few months ago steam has introduce steam for linux. I finally can play games on linux so if you ask me take just only ubuntu.

mr john
June 27th, 2013, 06:42 PM
Windows 8 is fine. You just need to go to Ninite.com and install "Classic Start"

Sadly I'm finding myself using Ubuntu less and less. It doesn't boot on my laptop and our company moved from Google Docs back to Microsoft Office and Dropbox, so I'm running Windows on my desktop.

AllRadioisDead
June 28th, 2013, 04:14 PM
Windows 8 is fine. You just need to go to Ninite.com and install "Classic Start"

Sadly I'm finding myself using Ubuntu less and less. It doesn't boot on my laptop and our company moved from Google Docs back to Microsoft Office and Dropbox, so I'm running Windows on my desktop.
Install the Windows 8.1 preview!

The Start Button comes enabled by default, and there's a lot of changes that make the OS much more pleasant to use.

RedMartin
June 28th, 2013, 04:42 PM
I'm dual booting between Win8 and Ub13.04 and, despite myself, I prefer Win8.

I play games on it a lot. I listen to music via it too as I just can't get Ubuntu to remember to use the subwoofer even though I've tried everthing I can find online. I also do any large amounts of typing on Win8 as Ubuntu doesn't think I have a touchpad and no amount of 'fixes' has cured that and the way the cursor jumps all over the damn place while I type. Ridiculous situation that as it seems to be a fairly old issue. Maybe they'll fix it for next time.

So really, I can't work out why jumped through hoops to get it installed and then through even more to get it working as close to how I wanted it to. It's pretty much just for home banking and I could've used a live dvd for that.

rrich1974
June 28th, 2013, 07:17 PM
jumping cursor is because you slightly touch the touchpad while typing. just go to settings and disable touchpad while typing.
you can try to put a piece of cardboard on the touchpad while you type, just to check if i am right.

and about the subwoofer, you just can write an email to your soundcard manufacturer and ask them to give you a driver for ubuntu. it is not ubuntu's fault that some mutha#@$%s don't give you a driver for their products.

Copper Bezel
June 28th, 2013, 08:11 PM
jumping cursor is because you slightly touch the touchpad while typing. just go to settings and disable touchpad while typing.
Doesn't work for me, at least - typing or no typing, my palms still get registered as clicks that select the text I'm trying to type at so that the next keypress erases it ....

This works, though - a neat toggle script I found and bound to Ctrl+Space. It's become second-nature to just whack that, type, and whack Ctrl+Space again to bring back the cursor.n

I added the notify-send bit to give a visual cue of the trackpad's state, although it's not perfect in Unity, since all notification messages persist for five seconds. (In KDE, for instance, since the message only persists until I toggle it again, the notification actually always represents the current trackpad state.)


# toggle synaptic touchpad on/off


# get current state
SYNSTATE=$(synclient -l | grep TouchpadOff | awk '{ print $3 }')


# change to other state
if [ $SYNSTATE = 0 ]; then
synclient touchpadoff=1
notify-send --expire-time=10 --icon=mouse 'Trackpad off'
elif [ $SYNSTATE = 1 ]; then
synclient touchpadoff=0
notify-send --expire-time=10 --icon=mouse 'Trackpad on'
else
echo "Couldn't get touchpad status from synclient"
exit 1
fi
exit 0

RedMartin
June 28th, 2013, 09:19 PM
jumping cursor is because you slightly touch the touchpad while typing. just go to settings and disable touchpad while typing.
.

The touchpad isn't listed in settings. Common problem as I've discovered. Several hours of faffing about with this, that or the other solutions listed online and I got nowhere.

As for the soundcard, you'd think Ubuntu would already support an Intel card from Dell or is that too obscure?

tjeremiah
June 28th, 2013, 09:31 PM
I downloaded Windows 8.1 and once again I just cant get into Windows 8 :( . First time I tried it was last year when they had the preview. It was ok but I didnt like how I needed to navigate. Same for Windows 8.1 as much doesnt feel different. One thing I do like is how fast it boots up but other than that its a big w/e. But as of right now, when im ready, ill reinstall windows 7 (for the games) and get rid of the preview once it expires. Maybe it'll grow on me by then.