Newbies: Are you new to Linux? How have you used it?

[Omnios]

Hi I started using Linux when Ubuntu 5.04 came out and have learn't a lot from these forums and think Linux is great. However on another forum someone brought up that there realy is not huge amounts of new Linux users and Linux marketshare is only like 5%. So being curios I decided to make a post with a poll to see how many fairly new users using Linux be it dual boot or Linux as there main os. Please post your comments, experiences and suggestions.

EDIT: RE POLL! The first 3 choices of the poll are for how long you have used linux for and the last 3 question on how you use it. You may check off more than one check box allowng you to enter how long you have used it as well as you os choices.

[aysiu]

I wasn't sure what to pick. It's actually my second try at Linux, and I've been using it for only three months.

[suelovell]

Hi -

We started using Linux this summer when my oldest son went away for a summer job. When using XP, we were always having to ask him for help to get rid of Trojan horses, etc. even though we used FireFox and had virus utilities on. He insisted that Linux would be more stable for us, so we switched.


This is on a family computer where we have all kinds of people using it, including a 9 year old. No more problems with viruses following our 9 year home from his game sites!

Sue Lovell

[matthew]

I'm a long-time computer user. Started with the old Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer (model 1...the silver one for those who remember) with 4 k RAM and a tape drive. Been through various flavors of DOS, Unix and whatever Mac OS was around in the computer lab when I was in college (15 years ago), Windows 3.1, 98, Me and XP.

I had been wanting to try Linux for some time, but never had a computer I could spare just to install as a test. Then I found Knoppix. Enjoyed it. Installed it in a dual-boot with Windows. Didn't like the result. Looked at everything (literally) on distrowatch.com and had decided on Debian until I discovered Ubuntu. Downloaded the Hoary live cd and liked it so I installed as a dual boot. That was in March.

Now I use Ubuntu 98% of the time or more and my Windows partition keeps getting smaller.

If I could figure out how to transfer my PowerPoint presentation with embedded sound to Ooo I would make the switch absolutely final and complete.

[TravisNewman]

I'm not a new user, so I don't know how this poll applies, but I've been using linux since 98, using it as my primary os since march or so of 2004, using it as my only os (except for testing purposes and when I'm at work) since I installed Warty right after it came out.

[manicka]

I'm not a new user either but I chose dual boot with Linux as main OS. I keep the dual boot because other family members are having trouble letting go, so maybe I should have chosen Linux only as I never boot into windows myself. ???

[DarthBagel]

I dual boot for various reasons (gaming mostly), but I use linux whenever possible. I'm also a little experienced linux, it has been kinda of a on and off thing over the past two years. Now that I've found Ubuntu though, I think I've found a distro I can stick with.

[ssck]

this is my first try at a linux desktop .... started using since may 2005.before this it was all windows ...

[darkmatter]

I'm not exactly a new user (been using Linux for a couple of years now), but it is my only OS. I got fed up with Windows quite some time ago.

[poofyhairguy]

It will be a year in September for me for the first time I tried Linux.

AS far as heavy desktop use, a year in November.

[kiddo]

Actually been a little more than a year as a linuxer by now (don't know exactly when I started, but that was for my server (http://nanokron.info)), and ubuntu gave me the power to be windows-free since January 2005. I cannot thank enough. I'd be on SUSE/Fedora otherwise. Don't get me wrong, they're just fine. But ubuntu gave me a sleek gnome desktop, with full freedom and one iso to download ;)

[Omnios]

Seeing as I made this post I should participate in it. I am totaly new to Linux and have been plugging away at it since April. Ubuntu 5.04 is an amazing Linux newbie release with a lot of the problems and issues associated with newbies trying Linux are Addressed. Forums are Ubuntu users best friends though they may take a while. Also I almost gave up a few times but stuck it out and am pleased with Ubuntu. I expect great things with 5.10 as they are trying to make Ubuntu easier to use strait out of the box which is important. Now I use Linux about 98% or the time and Xp the other 2% which may even drop more if I get wine working properly.

[poofyhairguy]

If I could figure out how to transfer my PowerPoint presentation with embedded sound to Ooo I would make the switch absolutely final and complete.

Crossover office

[aysiu]

I posted my "switch" to Linux story on my website. I figure it's a luxury I can't pass up as someone who's used Linux for only three months. After I've used Linux for years, my credibility will be shot--people will just think I'm some Linux fanatic who's out of touch with the real world.

My Linux Switch Story (http://www.psychocats.net/essays/linuxswitchstory.php)

[Gsibbery]

I have been using Linux since 1999 and have used most of the major distros (Slackware, Debian, Caldera, Redhat/Fedora, SuSE, Mandriva) as well as HP-UX , Solaris, and OpenBSD Unices and have used VMS (limited), MVS and Novell for a while too. I was a Subject Matter Expert for the development of the revised CompTIA Linux+ exam last year, so am pretty familiar with Linux. I have only recently switched to Ubuntu and like it by far as the best distro.

I use Linux as my main OS, but have Windows XP SP2 and Plan9 partitions on my machine as well. Unlike a lot of Linux users, I don't regard Windows as some sort of evil OS that everyone needs to switch from, but do enjoy the freedom of choice that Linux/BSD allows as well as the free development environment.

Based on the hardware out there and the dictates of my pocketbook, sometimes I am forced to use Windows (lack of drivers for cheap hardware is still kind of limited in any non-Microsoft OS), but tend to use some Unix variant when setting up any kind of server.

Maybe I am not a newbie but it seems no matter how much I learn, there is still a ton of stuff I don't know!

[darkmatter]

I have been using Linux since 1999 and have used most of the major distros (Slackware, Debian, Caldera, Redhat/Fedora, SuSE, Mandriva) as well as HP-UX , Solaris, and OpenBSD Unices and have used VMS (limited), MVS and Novell for a while too.

What...no LFS? :-#

[senshisteph]

Despite having wanted to try it for years, only actually started using linux a week ago. I took the plunge when someone posted a link to the shipit page on my favourite freebie forum ;-)
I'd already been trying to use as much open-source software as possible.

Linux is my only OS because I somehow managed to break Windows while installing Ubuntu (my boyfriend now hates me - and our windows install was an *ahem* backup copy installed by a friend so we don't have any of the discs) but apart from losing some files I'm not particularly unhappy about that O:)
I'm really enjoying tinkering around, and the fact it can be as easy or technical as you like. I have a real sense of achievment from just installing some stuff, changing settings, setting up the modem, Japanese input, etc. that you really don't get with Windows (insert disc, click, click, check box, click... where's the fun in that!)
Luckily I'd already got bf used to Openoffice and Firefox so he's just about coping with the change (even though he's going to bring it up in every argument for YEARS now...)

[TravisNewman]

senshisteph-- got a link to the freebie forum? :)

[senshisteph]

senshisteph-- got a link to the freebie forum? :)

Bob's Free Stuff Forum (http://www.bobsfreestuffforum.co.uk)

Loads of (UK) freebies and a great community ;-)

[bored2k]

Bob's Free Stuff Forum (http://www.bobsfreestuffforum.co.uk)

Loads of (UK) freebies and a great community ;-)
I dual boot with Linux as my main OS. It's cute and I like it. If all of the Windows programs were free, the OS was virus free, It wouldn't get crapware infected and it came out with a 6 month release cycle, maybe I would think about going there.

[Gsibbery]

What...no LFS? :-#

Heard about it but never used it. I was afriad that LFS wouldn't give me a real working system, with all the tools I usually need, so I never tried it.

[KrisDwyer]

OK, i recently switched to linux and im loving it as each problem you get, you can get help easily for it and you learn something new with each solution... :)

[Omnios]

OK, i recently switched to linux and im loving it as each problem you get, you can get help easily for it and you learn something new with each solution... :)

Same here Im learning again. Years ago I got into map editing Delta Force maps which was a load of fun (they didn't have an official map editor) with a lot of command line stuff. And I had a sis onboard problimatic hardware which I did a lot of reformats on. The $60 bill at the shop drove me to learn to reformat real quick. Anyways im learning a lot again every day its something new and im picking up a lot of stuff from the forum.

With Xp it was about a year and a half of clicking exe and staring at the monitor wondering what I could do other than listening to music and playing games. Also if you need something to do go through the forums for a bit you will be suprised what you find.

[Omnios]

One thing I would like to mention is I prefer Ubunti Linux form of formum help. My experience with XP is it is very hard to find exactly what I was looking for on a forum for example google search 200,000 pages of ansers but not the one im looking for. I find I can usualy search and answer here of google in a couple min and if I can't find something a post is usually answered within a day I just find it easier here. Exept for Sunday and Monday which seems to be everyones days off lol.

[gray-squirrel]

I had some experience with Linux and UNIX when I was in college. Too often I forget that.

Before then it was dealing with the Commodore 64 and later MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 on 8088 (or was 8086?)-compatible and early x86 machines respectively. It was nothing for me to memorize the "shortcuts" to doing things within WordStar before Word even came on to the scene. And as far as games were concerned, people had three options: buy the game, type in the source code, or download it from a BBS.

Linux is bringing those old-school memories back, because now those three options are available in many cases. And it is forcing me to learn more about my computer the way I learned about the C-64. Only don't expect me to go into assembly language on x86-type computers any time soon! :smile: Both systems are stable, too, for the most part. (Now, I'm going to try to get VICE up and running soon.) And, if there's a problem, it's easy (relatively speaking) to play around with a few things. . . finding help on a particular issue is much easier to search for on both systems than it is with Windows.

There are practical, ethical, and moral reasons why I made the switch from Windows to Kubuntu (which I won't go into here).

Aside from games, everything I used to do in Windows ME is being done in Kubuntu - music, Web browsing, e-mail, saving pictures, and word processing. Programming will be added to the list now. My system is a dual boot, and even though I didn't allocate much space for Kubuntu (only 15% of my hard disk space), it is considered my primary OS now because I use it almost exclusively. And, once a few other matters are taken care of, I will be playing around with partitions and reclaiming more space for Kubuntu.

[Spoofhound]

It will be a year in September for me for the first time I tried Linux.

Maybe a bit early, but Happy Birthday.....when's the party?

[bearbigears]

i have used fedora 3, did not like it, mandrake, same thing, suse, just could not get a handle of it. simply mepis for the life of me i could not get my intel wirelees pcmia card to work or get it configured at all. got ubuntu on live cd and it recognizes my card of the bat. loaded it to my hard drive and i have not looked back. have enjoyed every minute of it.

[maruchan]

Linux is bringing those old-school memories back

Yup, that's what did it for me, too. Every day I wake up and use a system I feel nostalgic about. I love using software developed in freedom, and having Linux the living organism on my hard drive rather than back-to-work, dried up MS Windows. And now that the Mac PR polish has worn down a bit, I'm even more glad to be using Linux.

[poofyhairguy]

Maybe a bit early, but Happy Birthday.....when's the party?


Mid September

[Omnios]

Mid September


Happy Linux Bday. And may Tux be with you.

[jyank]

I started tinkering around with linux around 3 months ago, but I haven't been using it for 3 months... kind of complicated.

Friends of mine kept nagging me to try it, although they use gentoo, they convinced me to try Debian. I put in an old HDD I had lying around the house (like 4gb) and put sarge on there and though it was fun, the hard drive was holding me back, and at times it would be sluggish, it died like a week after I had installed it.

So, then I tried dual booting, and after massive problems with grub and win2k partitions, I got debian going and pretty much started to enjoy it, but I wasn't completely sold. I used Debian for about a month then one day said, i'm not doing anything here that I couldn't be doing on Windows, so I got rid of it.

Even after using windows soley for a while, one day I just got the urge to get back on linux, but I didn't want to go with sarge again, but I didn't want to stray away from apt. So, long story short I settled with Ubuntu and I'm loving it. I can see myself slowly straying away from windows, but always dual booting for the sake of gaming. I still consider myself a newbie because theres tons of stuff I don't know and I keep having to ask my friends questions, and I know when I do sometimes they just have to get a laugh for how newbish it must have sounded.

Thats about it ;)

[Dural]

I first heard about Linux in middle school (probably around 6th grade) while reading some information about Linspire (then called Lindows). I had been using computers for some time, partially thanks to my older brother (who was a computer geek and a video gamer) and natural curiosity. While I prefered the Macintoshes and Apple IIs that I got to use in school, I realized that knowing how to use other platforms (MS-DOS at first, then Windows and the AmigaOS) helped my understanding of computers and encouraged my interest in technology.

Several years later, I moved to another city and made some friends in high school who were also great with computers. I mentioned to one of my friends that I was intrested in trying Linux, and he recommended using Knoppix. I downloaded Knoppix, used it as a Live CD, and enjoyed it so much that I decided to give Linux a try. Unfortunately, I later realized that Linux would take time to learn, time which I didn't have thanks to numerous classes and other intrests. So, I grudgingly put up with Windows XP (which was better than lousy-ass Windows Me) and Compaq until this year.

My older brother joined the Army and had left some leftover computer parts from his side job as a custom computer maker. My younger brother and I took the best of these parts and put in two hard drives from two older computers (a HP Pavilion and a random generic P.C my father bought). We had intended to put Linux on one drive and Windows XP on the second drive, but several complications with installing Windows XP (multipe reformats because the sound and the video card drivers would cause all sorts of crashes and Windows thinking we were using a bootleg CD even though this was not the case) and having to replace a faulty hard drive made us decide to go Linux only.

We quickly realized that in order to find a version of Linux that was customizable (for my younger brother and I) yet easy to use (for my mom and dad, who won't give Linux a chance) lead us to choose Ubuntu.

After some trouble with some hardware (sound card, video card, and network card), I signed up with this forum to get some help. This forum, along with the wiki, helped me solve most of problems for free without the usual B.S that I got from Microsoft, Compaq, Hp, and other companies. While I am still trying to figure out how to get the network adapter working and to get better drivers for the video card, everything else has been just fine. The computer only froze once (due to the video card drivers) and it has been so fast and efficient that I barely noticed. Overall, my experience with Ubuntu is too short to tell whether I'll stay with Linux, but I can say that if Ubuntu continues on as it has so far, it and the rest of Linux will have a bright future.

[KiwiNZ]

Sometimes I feel I am constantly a newbie (I hate that term) the rapid development means I am always learning , I have been using Linux since the mid 90"s

[Layden]

I've only been using Linux for a month or so. I'm dual-booting with Win 98 (there's some games that I still like to play), but I'm quite enjoying tinkering with Ubuntu. :grin:

[aveline]

<snip>
Linux is my only OS because I somehow managed to break Windows while installing Ubuntu (my boyfriend now hates me - and our windows install was an *ahem* backup copy installed by a friend so we don't have any of the discs) but apart from losing some files I'm not particularly unhappy about that O:) <snip>
Luckily I'd already got bf used to Openoffice and Firefox so he's just about coping with the change (even though he's going to bring it up in every argument for YEARS now...)

my g/f would *kill* me if i *ever* deleted her XP install!!! :-#

oh well, i've been using linux off and on since 2002/3 roughly. Since then I sorta converted my other partner (shes on these forums as pet but hasn't posted i don't think) so i've been using an ancient PII 233 laptop w/192mb of RAM hehe an just a 5.x or 6gb hdd in it. ya its slow but it works and I'm teaching her to use ubuntu. Till 2 weeks ago or so she was on winME and the other day she shocked me by saying least on linux i can go to the forums & find out how to fix stuff wher in windows they don't want you to fix it ! :roll:

hehe anyway i'll shush now.

aveline

[darkmatter]

Even though I've used GNU/Linux exclusively for about two years now, I had kept a copy of Windows kicking around for the sake of my better half. Last week I decided it was time to show her some tough love, and decided to nuke 'dozer for good.

Yesterday, to my pleasant surprise, she told me how much she likes Ubuntu, and how she hopes she never has to look at Windows again. :grin:

[Freddy]

Not that new with GNU/Linux, I have been using it for a couple of years and after been busted 6 month ago for some crimes involving software I've switched to Linux permenantly, but with Kubuntu I'm fairly new (just a couple of month), I now use Linux as my only OS.

I really don't know what to say about it, it's a fairly nice distro but at least on the Kubuntu side of things much van be done much better and a couple of choices the team behind Kubuntu has made in my belif is wrong but what the hell I can allways alter them back if I wan't = )

/Freddan

[drummer]

I've been using Linux for about a year, but only as my primary OS since Hoary stable. I still have XP dual booted, but I think that will change later this year when I upgrade to Breezy, now that I have the drivers for my ATI card working :razz: .. I don't think XP serves me any purpose any more. I originally had it for games, but haven't booted to it in months. I usually play snes anyway, and can get by without Windows games; if I'm desperate, I'll get a console when I have the money (PS3.. *drool*).

Before Ubuntu, I tried Knoppix, Gnoppix, Slax (still use it for rescues), Mandrake (10 & 10.1), Fedora Core 3 (x86 & X86_64), Debian Sarge, Slackware 10.1, Vector SOHO 5rc2.. think that's all. I also have Hoary running as a web server and am trying to convert my sister by installing Hoary on our family's 2nd PC (basically hers).

[kagashe]

Hi,

I bought HP/COMPAQ Presario 2500 Laptop with Mandrake Linux 9.1 CDs with HP Logo in Sep 2004. Since the CDs were probably custom built for my Laptop it installed without any problem. Subsequently, I upgraded to Mandrakelinux 10 Official ( I had to pass on linux noauto nofirewire command to avoid Kernel panic). This was the only OS on my Laptop till July 05 when I installed Ubuntu 5.04. Now there are two Linux distributions but I mostly use Ubuntu. I have mounted /home of Mandrake during Ubuntu install so that file sharing is possible. I had used Mandrake partition utility to make a new partition for Ubuntu.

In Mandrake I was using KDE but had a look at Gnome also since it was available. I am happy with Gnome in Ubuntu.

I have installed Ubuntu 5.04 on my daughter's desktop alongwith WindowsXP in dual boot. I had to add HorizSync & VertRefresh parameters in xorg.conf file to get proper resolution on the desktop.

kagashe

[Omnios]

I managed to save up some money and not in the precess of looking for and buying a used lap top "have been for months now have to wait till the guy gets something I can afford and use". Anyways the way I will be using Ubuntu will change, I will have my desktop but with wireless will no longer be tyed to a desp, I will still use the desktop but am planning to use the Lap top to access the interent and a few other fuctions around the house. I will be able to flop on the rocker or stay out on the balconly and still serf the web. If I could set up some media controlls for the pc even have the ability to use it as a remote controll.

Also source fourge shaattered my fealing of is that all the software there is, thought there was more but didnt know where to look. Currently im looking for a music sequencer Dance music creation program to play around with. Found one but it was rather small. Anyways it made me realize there are huge amounts of stuff out there for Linux

[Ubunted]

I sllloooowwwwwly came to Linux over the course of about a year, starting with my epic battle versus Red Hat 9, moving to Mandrake 10 and 10.1, back to Windows for a bit, followed by Ubuntu experimentation and then one day I just decided to dump my games, sell my X800XL for an Nvidia, booted into Ubuntu and haven't looked back.

[urbandryad]

I wish I could edit my poll choices. I only entered my amount of time, now wether it was my only OS or not. >.<

[kjcon]

I started using Linux about three or four years ago because I've always hated everything Microsoft. I dual booted between Mandrake 8, 9 and 10 and Windows ME. Then, a year and a half ago, I upgraded from dial-up winmodem to DSL. I couldn't get my wireless card to work in Mandrake so I tried Debian, Gentoo, Suse and probably a few other distributions.

When I found Ubuntu, everything worked right out of the box except the wireless card and I was able to compile and install ndiswrapper easily. A month ago, my Windows 2K installation crashed and would have required me to re-install. I decided that it was time and I repartitioned my hard drives and did a clean install of Breezy Badger. I hope I never have to look at Windows again.

Although I do not consider myself a newbie, there is a lot about Linux I don't know. I'm quite comfortable with the command line and use it to do most of my work with the system. I really like having an operating system that doesn't hide anything from me and lets me change settings any way I like.

[Omnios]

Well its been about 6 months now since I first tryed Ubuntu Linux and I must say I have learnt more about computers in general than I learned in over two years with Win Xp. Gnome is amazing and stands out on it own.

For a month now I have been using Ubuntu with KDE and must say I am impressed, Gnome stands out on its own and people love it, KDE is more compared to XP but I must say I realy prefear KDE over XP. Its got good GUI but done way different than XP. It is highly constomizable and this allows you to do things XP can not. KDE has managed to extend on xp functionality yet is totaly different.

[Efwis]

this actually my second use of Linux, I used Suse first, but it glitched my system. went to Ubuntu 3 days later, been on it for about 3-4 months now. Love it. I use it for all my business needs, website design, publishing, custom graphics you name it i use it.

I dual boot with Winxp for two reason.
first off, I do a lot of work in the malware removal forums, sometimes I need my windows os to fix someone elses computer using the remote connection, not that I couldn't do it from here, but at least on Windows if they needed a file replaced at least I have that file readily avialble to transfer. great thing for that since MS doesn't supply the support for their OS like they should.

2nd reason I still dual boot, the games my wife and I play require Windows and just don't act the same on WINE, and I dont' have the $$ to put out for using Cedega, although some of the games are on there. I have 3 games that I don't know if I could do on cedega, MS combat flight sims 1 and 2 and pacific fighters by Ubisoft. IF I can find a way to port those to linux, I will be extremely happy.

[Omnios]

Well 5.10 is out :KS

[skydvrgrl]

At the start of this year I played around with Suse 9.3 on my old laptop, but thanks to some generic hardware and a winmodem (I was only on dialup then) my CD -RW refused to mount, hence it gave me the sh**s!! I went back to ******* but found that to be getting rather boring as well as the dreaded virii and spyware and other internet nasties designed for Bill Gates products. Last month I got this new Dell 700m lappy and read up a bit more about linux and was put onto Ubuntu by someone I work with who has been playing with linux for 5 years now :)
As the Dell is very well supported and I have since read a lot more about linux, I am so glad I have made the change to Ubuntu. Apart from the fact I will probably have to pay for Cedega to play Halo ^^...this has been the best fun I have had with my puter in a long time!

I love tweaking :D

[lucid]

I read a comment somewhere on the forums to the effect that the average user doesn't care about the evil things a commercial entity can get up to. I do care, and am grateful I have the option to use Linux. This is my first go, and having used it for a couple of months it is now my main os, dual booting for the occasional use of windows when necessary.

[John.Michael.Kane]

Linux will be my Os for life. only OS i run now, and as linux grows more people will "Think Difrently" when it come's to picking an Os.

Just my thoughts.

[Lord Illidan]

I have sworn not to run Windows unless it is at school or for some project which absolutely requires it. And I am doing well so far!
I have used Linux seriously for as long as I have used Ubuntu and Fedora Core 1, which comes to 6 months. And I don't think of looking back anytime soon. Linux has its attraction of being a geek OS and I like thumbing MS in the nose!

[Brad wilkinson]

well i'm a bit of a hardware junkie, so i need something to run on my 'puters. (3 atm, but going to 4 soon. then there is the 3800x2 I've been lusting after. and I did see a prototype mobo for a dual P-M the other day.... did I say I was a hardware junkie?:D ?:D ?)

i wasn't going to pay for multiple o/s liscences, and i'm not comfortable pirating extra copies of windows (I paid for my 1 copy of XP).

I got put onto ubuntu as a good way to learn about linux, and so far the community support has been keeping me here while i learn.

And i currentely use my 'puters to BOINC/SETI, and just play and learn, and generally get my geek on.

[gunslinger]

Being a software developer by trade I use M$ in my day job.
I switched to linux about two months ago, tried gentoo (still havent gotten it installed properly on my laptop), mandriva, ubuntu, then debian and was set on debian until I decided to try ubuntu again cos I only gave it about an hour and am now on 5.10 and it ROCKS :)
Having OOo, all necessary utilities etc.. work out of the box is just fantastic. Even my logitech kb works with the multimedia keys.

For me, one of the major reasons I switched was because I very strongly disagree with the copyright/fair use (we have none in Australia) / DRM stuff being (rumoured?) to be put into vista, I have never really liked M$, but always stuck with them cos Im lazy, now they p$#@d me off once to many times with the genuine windows S@%t. So bye bye.

Lovin it.
--
JB

[xingmu]

I have been running Ubuntu as my only OS since 5.04 came out. It's not my first try at Linux...I've lost count of how many installs of Linux I have done, including Red Hat, Slackware (um, that one didn't get too far since my HDD wasn't recognized), Mandrake (multiple times), Suse... The first time with Red Hat (1999) was supposed to be my attempt at making a Linux server for a small home network. I made some good progress on it but when I ran out of free time and the computer had to be taken apart for spare parts...well, that was the end of that. Mandrake was my first attempt at dumping Windows (sometime around 2002) and using a "desktop friendly" distro. That didn't go so well, since I was trying to dual-boot, didn't have the patience to learn all the new things and really just needed a working computer *now*. Suse was going to be second attempt at dumping Windows (2004) but I don't think I got past the Live disk now that I recall.

Finally, my roomate's passion for Linux took its toll on me and when he was raving to me about the great new distro Ubuntu, I went for my fifth and final plunge. I think to be honest, the two things that made it work this time was that I really was fed up with Windows and the *ideals* of Ubuntu were very attractive. I felt so happy to think that I was going to leave behind the dirty underworld of warez (how many times had my computer locked up due to porn sites flooding IE while searching for serialz?). The ideology of the open-source movement suddenly became vey attractive to me. So anyways, when I installed Ubuntu, I decided to go all the way. As soon as I could back up my files, I dumped Windows for good.

After my successful transition, I thanked my roommate for changing my whole life...I also cursed him for making me so excited about computers again that I was hardly getting any sleep. I felt some regret that I didn't get into Linux earlier. I sometimes wonder if it would have changed the progress of my compsci career. In college, I got kinda disillusioned by compsci major and ended up getting a linguistics major too. Now I'm a grad student in linguistics but my newfound interest in open-source is making me wonder how I can bring compsci back into my life. Anyways, for me, changing OS's was pretty transformational.

[Omnios]

Well Its been about a year now that I have used Ubuntu Linux and must say my take it slow to learn approach has worked rather well. Ubuntu has taught me a lot and now I am studying computer programming and must say Linux has helped me greatly in understanding programming. Anyways I dual boot and find I rarely ever use XP so in a way I am almost all Linux in useage.

[unbuntu]

I've been using Linux on and off since 2002. And used as primary OS since Ubuntu.

[SirShaggy]

Well, I downloaded the Ubuntu ISO June 3rd, SimplyMEPIS 6.0 and Fedora Core 5 on June 6th. I have all three of those plus XP booting on my laptop. Yes, it is a bit much. I just wanted to see what I liked the most. Trouble is, I like all three I downloaded!:D Now, I really don't want to get rid of any of them. I know that I will eventually......
I really like Ubuntu for it's ease of use and love the colors. I hate looking at BLUE based screens. They suck the life out of me bad. That is really my only complaint so far with Fedora and Mepis, too much blue. Anyway, I find these forums very handy when I have a question. Most of the time, I haven't even had to post a question, I find it already answered. I did have trouble configuring a ltmodem on my daughters laptop, it took me about 12 hours to get it set up, but it works now! I put Edubuntu on both my sons and daughters laptops. They jumped right in, no troubles at all. I think it is easier for them to use and linux has so many good learning programs and games for kids.
So, basically I am brand new to Linux, have installed 5 O.S. in less than a month and configured a modem. Not too bad I guess.

[zendiagram]

Technically I've used Linux for a little over a year. My friend helped me install Gentoo, but after a little while I think it's a little too advanced and as a photographer I really needed Photoshop. However, this new distro is sounding kind of nice and with the advancements GIMP has been making with editing RAW image files, I may be over for good. My wife is still obsessed with the Sims, so if anyone knows how to get that working, that would be great!

[tonyisntcreative]

I FINALLY got around to trying Linux last fall. I'd been meaning to get acquainted with it for a year to a year and a half before that, but I was stuck with dial up and couldn't download isos due to the large file sizes and for some reason never seriously considered having a cd sent to my house. Part of it was also that I was sharing a computer with my family at the time.

Around early summer of 2005 we finally got a new family computer and my mom let me take the old one (an HP Pavilion from around 2000). Shortly sometime in the late summer she sprung for DSL. After that I was SICK of the OS that I was stuck with (WINDOWS ME! AH!) so I started to look around. I looked up a linux a tiny bit, but all the sites I'd stumbled across about a year prior I couldn't seem to find. I downloaded bittorrent and eventually downloaded an iso for Windows 2000 (AH! Theif!)

Anyways, I installed that and was happy with it for a little while. It was still just kind of the same ole, same ole, though. After about a month I felt kind of saucy and decided to look up some more linux stuff. I also got talking with a guy I go to school with about it and Open Souce. I got reading a lot about open source and the philosphy and such, and at the time KNEW it was something I wanted to support. That's when I stumbled across Ubuntu. I downloaded it and installed it, and even though it didn't run super smooth on that old computer, I was instantly hooked. It wasn't tough to get used to as people had told me.

So I had an OS that let me do everything I did with Windows (the usual), taught me a few things, didn't cost me a dime, and supports a wonderful philosophy that isn't about making the quick buck.

I since have built myself a PC and sold my HP. So far this is the only distro I've gotten to install without a hitch on this custom machine. I still have a windows partition, but it's a rare occasion that I boot into it seeing as I've found a few games (that were free - Enemy Territory and the True Combat mod) that I play frequently. Until a game comes out that doesn't have a linux port that I absolutely NEED to play, I don't see myself booting into windows more than one or two days out of each month any time soon. Besides, I'm a Metal Gear Solid fan, so I play my PS2 more than anything else anyways.

That all said, I'll be a linux user for a long, LONG time to come. I'm even considering talking my mom into installing it on the family computer. If I can have her realize you can do all the stuff she needs the computer for on an OS that will keep us free of viruses and spyware as well as slowdown due to fragmentation and other stuff after a month or so, she'll probably tell me "If you think it'd be good for the computer, do it."

[Omnios]

well its been over a year and a half now and have larnt so much thanks to the community. So far I have tryed Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora but am sticking to Ubuntu. I must say over the last few years Linux has become my learning toy and I have learnt a lot.

[hendoc]

I Started 2 years ago with Knoppix. I still like Knoppix, but it is too slow out of the tray. I installed Xandros(an old 2003 or 2004 version) and used it for about a year, but I always had problems with permissions. Since discovering Edgy, I dual boot with XP on my AMD64 3200+(64 bit edgy), and I use 32 bit Edgy on my 3.2 Gh Celeron D machine. All of the problems I've experienced have been my lack of knowledge, and not problems with Edgy itself. My learning curve has gone vertical and I couldn't be happier with an OS. I still use XP for a few things, mostly because I am in love with the Nero burning suite.

[wersdaluv]

I started a month ago as I tried to dual boot but accidentally deleted my Windows XP OS. Now, I am obliged to use it.

How have I used to it? There is still much for me to learn about. Can't do everything with Linux as there are lots of devices that I can't connect to my Linux laptop; still can't install every application; still can't use my USB mouse; but I think I'll fix this.

I just use windows in order to scan in print as my Canon PIXMA MP150 scanner still has no driver.

[macogw]

Doh! You can choose multiple things. Oops. I click "I've used Linux for about 6 months." But I just realised "It's my only OS" would've made sense too. I guess it could be called my first try too. Does running DSL in vmware player for a half hour count as having been my first use? Whatever. I don't feel too newbie anymore though. I actually think I know my way around here better than I know my way around Windows, and I used that for 9 years. Maybe I just think that because I have no idea how to do anything but ipconfig, ping, and del in DOS, but I can at least use a few necessary commands in bash along with using vim to edit config files, so knowing this shell better than DOS is just messing with my head.

[seijuro]

I started playing with linux about 5-6 years ago. Been running it as my primary os for about 2 years. Picked up Ubuntu back at Hoary been using it ever since.

[matchstich]

about 3 months for me. i use it for email, some surfing,
gotta learn how to get a scanner to work , so i can post pictures on a web page. once i get that working , i won't be spending so much time on it.
not into music or games.
thanks

[HoMe_CaNiBaL]

hi there...

ubuntu it's my OS since 3month ago.

it's just perfect.everything i do in windows i can do in ubuntu!just searching i can install everything.

thanks ubuntu community.

[dolphinsonar]

It was easy to install, update, and I am learning about computer programming at a pace I can handle, but still not forced into it.

[slimdog360]

Ive been using it since about march this year. Just the other day, after not booting into Windows for a month or so, I decided that it had to go and a fresh install of Ubutnu was needed. Hence I now have two hard drives both for Ubuntu and nothing else.