Newbie transition from windows to linux, some help please.

[Rasa1111]

THE ****!!! (meaning saweet!!) lol

[wsellars]

From what i have heard (Please don't blame the *!@# out of me for getting this wrong if i do) it has a MUCH faster boot and better hardware/software compatibility. it also will come preinstalled with Amorak, and will have a larger software center. oh, and on the newbie part, it took me about 6 months to learn not to screw myself over in the terminal.

[Talon2]

Sorry snowpine, thats pretty much exactly what I want to avoid. I need both of them to work at once, not switch betwhen them.

I'd recommend Sun VirtualBox. It will allow you to install XP on top of Ubuntu. Starting XP is then just like starting any other app.

[VIKINGS]

K, thx for the info talon it will come in handy. And glad to hear it's gonna be the sh**! and not just sh** rasa.

[DavidFourer]

Dual boot means adding a bootable Ubuntu partition on a system already running windows. Very simple to install. Even if you don't use Ubuntu much, it's there and it causes no problems. It doesn't even take up much hard drive space, unless you want to allocate a lot of space. For a beginner, I think you have to start with that. If you get hooked, you will want to try more sophisticated (and problematic) options when you know your way around Ubuntu.

I have been very happy with Ubuntu. Your first order of business will be making sure all your hardware is working in Ubuntu (display, wifi, CD/DVD player, printer, other stuff). Then get your email, chat, bookmarks, whatever, imported and working how you like it. You will be able to see files in the Windows partition and copy them into the Ubuntu partition, but not the other way around.

Next I think check out open source applications, many of which are also available in Windows versions. For example, click on a pdf file, jpeg file, audio or video, or an MS-Office file, and see what default app opens the file in Ubuntu. Also try out the programming tools. I think there are open source programming tools, like compilers and editors, that run natively in Windows. If you like an open-source app but want to use it in Windows, go to it's web site while running Windows and install.

Good luck.

[timjohn7]

VIKINGS, what games do you play/want to play?
Before you decide to give up on Ubuntu, have you looked at the native Linux games available?
The range is nowhere near as extensive as the WIndows selection, but there may be some games that satisfy your requirements.

[VIKINGS]

Sadly no, I'm sure they won't timjohn, I need quite a few games to run, and I want the new ones that are gonna appear to run too. It's ok, for now I just decided to put ubuntu in my windows with a virtual machine and start learning python. And who knows, if the world doesn't come to my way of thinking soon then maybe in the feauture I'll be developing a way to run windows games on linux myself.
So about that can any of you guys please direct me to some good starting guides for python? Hopefully something really clear and that has me compiling alot of things for exercise.

[NightwishFan]

If you are really that enthusiastic, join the Wine project. Ask them what you could do to help.

Please note that Ubuntu is not Windows, they are not supposed to be compatible. Windows does not just run games because it can, games are designed for it, but they ignore Ubuntu.

[VIKINGS]

If you are really that enthusiastic, join the Wine project. Ask them what you could do to help.

Please note that Ubuntu is not Windows, they are not supposed to be compatible. Windows does not just run games because it can, games are designed for it, but they ignore Ubuntu.

I am enthusiastic but I am olso very ambitious. My vision isn't anything like wine, it's more like a windows clone program(lets call it a "winux" ) that simply integrates itself into your linux to run all(emphasis on all) windows games and programs just like you would run them in windows(simply double click the .exe's and install) while keeping all the good aspects that make linux superior(yes native linux security weights heavy there). And don't tell me it's impossible please, it might be very very extremely hard(at least from my point of view since I dont know much about programing except some playing around in java "Hello world" kinda stuff) but nothing is impossible. If we can send a man on the moon we can dam well do this!

[NightwishFan]

Yes, but the moon is public water, Windows NT is not. Linux is not and should not be a free Windows. If that is what you want, try ReactOS, which is striving to become just that.
http://www.reactos.org/en/index.html

Obviouly I disagree with you, but by all means, try to accomplish your goals. That is why the software is based on freedom after all.