3 more days, it's been a year

[PapaWiskas]

3 more days and it has been a year since I quit XP cold turkey and installed Ubuntu on a lark.

So once again, I would like to thank the community and those that are so willing and understanding, not having that elistist attitude in helping those that are more technically challenged.

Since my conversion, I have taken an older laptop and put Eubuntu on it for the kids, and they love it because it has some of the same programs that their school iMacs have. And they think they are really smart because they have a username and password. They are 7 and 5.

My wife just loves the way my desktop looks and is always commenting on it, and now she wants to dual boot, and eventually switch over. I guess my year of just sticking with it has showed her that there isn't anything that I normally did in XP that I cant do in Linux. Plus she really likes the Penguin, she thinks he is so "cute".

I must say it has been nice being able to just "use" my computer and not have to constantly "fix" or patch it. It has been wonderful.

[darrenm]

Excellent to hear. Being on the forums you hear all the time about how someones computer doesn't work so it's nice to redress the balance a little.

I'm about the same. I use 100% Ubuntu mainly because I have a young family and I don't have time to mess about fixing Windows all the time. I need an OS that works as it should until I change something.

[matthew]

Congratulations!

[katgfan]

Wooohooo. Nice.

[hoagie]

Nice! Great story. For me it's about a week till my ubuntu's birthday !

[reiatzu]

Congratulationz.

[Klaidas]

I must say it has been nice being able to just "use" my computer and not have to constantly "fix" or patch it. It has been wonderful.

You mean, click an update button instead of click an update button? :)
(Yes, it clicking the update button was meant to be repeated)

[equal]

I originally started with Ubuntu In June 2005, using Hoary (5.04). It took me a while to fully settle down with Ubuntu. I dabbled in OpenSuSE, and even migrated back to Windows on a couple of occassions. But now, with the release of Edgy, I haven't even thought about looking back.

The amount of advances that were made in four short months from Dapper to Edgy are astounding. The amount of progress between versions has always impressed me, but I truly believe that the step from Dapper to Edgy is the one that truly made Ubuntu desktop ready. It looks nicer, it feels smoother, and boots faster than ever before. The programs look more familiar. We've got more bleeding edge software to silence the complaints of "outdated Firefox" and "ancient Flash".

At this point, I truly do believe that I could install Ubuntu on my parent's computer, and not hear a single complaint from anyone. The jumps in progress that are made between each release are incredible. There were more improvements from 6.06 to 6.10 than there are from Win XP to Vista. Four months versus four years. Not bad friends, not bad.

[groggyboy]

That's great to hear!

In the nine months since I first installed Ubuntu on my laptop (aah, good ole Breezy), I've learned so much about linux. I've even managed to convince my ex-roommate and my sister/brother-in-law to install Dapper on their boxes (thus, of course making me the defacto tech support - ah, the panicked calls at midnight, asking me how to convert OpenOffice files to .doc...). I'm working getting on my current roommate and a friend to switch.

During those nine months, I've tried other distros alongside Ubuntu (Gentoo - yuck - i never got past the install process because i was too impatient, MEPIS, openSUSE, and the Knoppix liveCD), but my biggest regret is that I never got rid of windows. I'm too much of a gamer, I suppose. Congrats on making the full switch!

cheers!

[jpoRS]

PapaWiskas I hope to be where you are in 11 months. I fully dropped Windows a month ago because, as is the normal, it was epically broken. My roommate suggested I try Ubuntu, as he dual boots it with XP. I installed it and haven't looked back. Coming from a background of no computer experience whatsoever, I am personally dissapointed that I wasted so much time paying to use an inferior program.

jim

[zcal]

I must say it has been nice being able to just "use" my computer and not have to constantly "fix" or patch it. It has been wonderful.

I too am amazed at the amount of my crap Ubuntu has been able to put up with. I would've had to reinstall Windows at least 4 times by now... :mrgreen:

[rowanparker]

Wow!
I installed my first Linux (Fedora) in Jan 06, it lasted 3 days, came to Ubuntu and that's been on for what must be nearly a year. I'm supprised, the time just flew by.

[~LoKe]

I think I'm in that boat as well, either about to hit or just passed 1 year. No regrets, and I haven't been tempted to go back.

[finferflu]

So once again, I would like to thank the community and those that are so willing and understanding, not having that elistist attitude in helping those that are more technically challenged.

That's a very good and fundamental point! I've been amazed and even more amazed from the support shown by the Ubuntu community. I think it's something everybody should take example from. I was amazed when people didn't get angry at people posting before searching for an answer, or not posting their system specs. On other communities if you do that, you are at least ignored. Half of the reason why I plan to stick with Ubuntu for a long time, maybe forever, is because of the community, that's something very important for a Linux OS.

Congratulations, by the way! :)

[PapaWiskas]

PapaWiskas I hope to be where you are in 11 months. I fully dropped Windows a month ago because, as is the normal, it was epically broken. My roommate suggested I try Ubuntu, as he dual boots it with XP. I installed it and haven't looked back. Coming from a background of no computer experience whatsoever, I am personally dissapointed that I wasted so much time paying to use an inferior program.

jim

Stick with it jpoRS, don't give up. If you can't find the answer to a question by searching the forums, don't be afraid to ask. I know I have to do that, sometimes my search criteria just is not good and I ask. The people here are great.


I too am amazed at the amount of my crap Ubuntu has been able to put up with. I would've had to reinstall Windows at least 4 times by now... :mrgreen:

Aint that the truth, I hear you there....that comment had me laughing...

[dbbolton]

3 more days and it has been a year since I quit XP cold turkey and installed Ubuntu on a lark.

So once again, I would like to thank the community and those that are so willing and understanding, not having that elistist attitude in helping those that are more technically challenged.

Since my conversion, I have taken an older laptop and put Eubuntu on it for the kids, and they love it because it has some of the same programs that their school iMacs have. And they think they are really smart because they have a username and password. They are 7 and 5.

My wife just loves the way my desktop looks and is always commenting on it, and now she wants to dual boot, and eventually switch over. I guess my year of just sticking with it has showed her that there isn't anything that I normally did in XP that I cant do in Linux. Plus she really likes the Penguin, she thinks he is so "cute".

I must say it has been nice being able to just "use" my computer and not have to constantly "fix" or patch it. It has been wonderful.
werrd

[nmincone]

That's great. I dabbled with 4 or 5 distros over the years and over the past year settled on Ubuntu. I have a dual boot (XP/6.10) custom built desktop and a hp nx9010 laptop that's running 6.10 full time. I recently installed 6.10 on the laptop after XP failed to boot and left me in a looping blue screen. I decided it was time to see just how long I can live without XP.
My only gripe about all Linux distros is the haphazard support for ACPI (hibernation/suspension), especially for mobile users. I hope the next release is better supported.

[enopepsoo]

I too am amazed at the amount of my crap Ubuntu has been able to put up with. I would've had to reinstall Windows at least 4 times by now... :mrgreen:

I've been on Ubuntu for about a year and a half now, and I have reinstalled it about 10 times. I forget why each time, but there was usually a good reason. I did get a new computer in that time frame as well, so that counts for at least one of those installs.

Reinstalling is fun though, that's really why I do it. :cool: Also, repartitioning.

[nmincone]

I forget why each time, but there was usually a good reason.
That's funny, I usually blow up my x server tweaking it until its so busted a reinstall is the only way to get back a GUI.

[3rdalbum]

'tis the season to be Linuxed. On Monday, I'll have reached the first anniversary of me trying out the Live CD. My first install anniversary is coming up on Janurary 22nd. (the only reason for the time gap was in waiting for the ShipIt discs)

[AndyCooll]

Yeah, I too have been Linux only for about a year (can't remember exactly when I removed the XP partition). Dual-booted for about six months prior to that.

Have never regretted the move!

:cool:

[PapaWiskas]

'tis the season to be Linuxed. On Monday, I'll have reached the first anniversary of me trying out the Live CD. My first install anniversary is coming up on Janurary 22nd. (the only reason for the time gap was in waiting for the ShipIt discs)

CONGRATS TO YOU AS WELL!!!!

How are things Down Under?

[AgenT]

thus, of course making me the defacto tech support - ah, the panicked calls at midnight, asking me how to convert OpenOffice files to .doc...
Tell them to buy the official Ubuntu book (or some other Ubuntu book you feel is appropriate).

[qalimas]

I've been with Ubuntu since about this time 2004, I suppose I just made my second year complete =D

Here's to another wonderful year of not fixing my own computer :D

[jcolonel]

I have a system set up with Edgy. I am pleased with the way it works.
I have installed it 27 times, and each time it gets easier and quicker.
I use Automatix2 to help me get the multimedia stuff working. All of it
works except some of the Flash movies. Fox News Video, ABC News Video and
some of the NBC video doesn't work. Open office does everything that I have been
doing in MS Office. I have six computers running on a network. Some are MS Windows
2000 Pro. I am able to share files over the network. Thanks to all who
have made Ubuntu a viable replacement for MS Windows. By the way, I am an old man.
I am past 73. I built my first computer in 1975. Back then, we had to write our own
software, using Intel Hex notation. We did not even have an assembler. Dr. Ed Roberts,
who is credited with the first personal computer, is my family doctor. I feel good
when I see so many of our young people, with soo much savvy, working for free
to help make computers available to everybody. Linus, and especially Ubuntu, gives
me some of the feel of computers that we had when we first started.

Thanks again for all you do.