Is Ubuntu right for me?

[marius5]

I would like you, dear reader, to help me make a decision which can cost a lot of time and a lot of nerves.
I am trying to figure out, weather I should give ubuntu a shot or not. This problem of mine, of course, sound ridiculous - whats the problem, eh, just test it and see how it goes, write? Well, the problem is what I am doing with my computer... Here are the most common tasks that I do with my computer:
1. Listen to spotify(music) / watch videos(mostly through browser) (I really enjoy equalizers, and as I know, ubuntu doesn't have a good one)
2. Programming in Java, C++(Eclipse IDE for linux, maybe?), Android(Java)(Using android studio IDE)
3. Browse the web in general (studying, looking for information)
4. Make presentations, write documents
5. Communicating / social networking (Skype, Facebook)
6. Messing around with my phone (installing custom kernels, radios, roms)

I have tried windows 8 and windows 8.1 - its a horror movie (or at least was) for C++ developers who want to use boost libraries (it seems that you need to run as admin pretty much anything there in order to make it work). Currently I am running Windows 7 and it is fine. But what I really do like about Ubuntu (and OSX) is the global menu... Don't know why, but it is much more comfortable.

I have tried ubuntu 13.10 maybe two months ago. Used it for a week and at the end - I hated it for a couple of reasons:
1. It was very buggy and unstable. Used to constantly crash.
2. Sometimes my touchpad didn't work (this mostly occured when I used to turn off or on my touchpad with special button for it)
3. I was unable to connect to wireless networks in some places and was able to with Windows 7. (my laptop has intel wifi 1000bgn card, its a Msi fx600 laptop)
4. I was shocked that it was not that customizabile. (Don't know what canonical is thinking, but Linux should be all about customizability, security, speed, stability)
5. I have Samsung 840 evo series SSD which has neat features for windows (like rapid technology, etc) and yet Ubuntu does not even have a feature in control panel to enable or disable trimming...

So, I am asking for your tips, your experience on should I try Ubuntu? Will it run smooth in my daily usage and is it possible to get rid of these "bugs" that I have named? Maybe I should test other Ubuntu version (like 14.04, or maybe I should wait for it to be fully released and then try to switch?). Or maybe there is a better distro for me with global menu? Please, do not hesitate do give me as much tips and "experience talk" as possible.
Thank you very much!

[bc.haynes]

Hey, Welcome to the forums.
There is a post (I can not find it at the moment. I'm a noobie.) that is entitled "Ubuntu is not Windows" that can help you make up your mind. Perhaps one of the Forum Moderators could post a link to it.
I, for one, will not go back to Windows (too unsecure), but I am not a programmer and only use the computer to learn new things. I am a hobbyist, not a power user. Good luck with your search.

[marius5]

Hey, Welcome to the forums.
There is a post (I can not find it at the moment. I'm a noobie.) that is entitled "Ubuntu is not Windows" that can help you make up your mind. Perhaps one of the Forum Moderators could post a link to it.

Thanks. Going to search for it What is your personal opinion though? Edit: can't seem to find it...

[mörgæs]

Some of the bugs might be solved (or less severe) in X/Lubuntu. Worth a try before making up your mind.

[robin7]

Something else to consider in your decision is hardware compatibility! So click here and what the Ubuntu Certified Hardware site says about your particular rig.

[marius5]

Woah. never thought that ubuntu might not support (or fully support) certain laptops. As it turns my, my rare laptop, no surprises here, is not certified. Sweet I guess this answers a lot of my questions and I believe I will have to remain Windows user...

[mörgæs]

"Not certified" does by no means indicate that Buntu does not run on the hardware in question. My guess is that the most users here have non-certified gear.

[Bucky Ball]

Thread moved to Recurring Discussions.

Welcome. A question only you can answer. Best bet is to download some ISOs of various flavours (Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Kubuntu), burn them to disk or USB and give them a try. You can try them all without installing. You can also run them as virtual machines using something like Virtualbox in Windows, avoiding the need to create install media.

As for the Ubuntu bugs, try the rock solid 12.04 LTS (long-term support). Supported until April 2017, but directly upgradeable to 14.04 LTS when it comes out in April. 14.04 is not a good decision. It is testing and definitely not a good place to start unless you are looking to report bugs, get involved, and go on a steep learning curve.

Good luck. If Ubuntu is not right for you, maybe another Linux distro is.

PS: It is not that Ubuntu doesn't support certain laptops, it is that certain laptops don't support Ubuntu (or Linux). Nothing to do with Ubuntu if manufacturers don't play the game.

Having said that, don't think that because it doesn't have a little Linux penguin on the box alongside the mac and MS logos that it means it is not supported. I've got tons of stuff that is not 'certified' in that way and I email the company about why not when I plug their product in and it 'just works'. I've had non-certified hardware that has just worked in Linux, but I've had to jump through hoops with it in Windows.

[QIII]

Woah. never thought that ubuntu might not support (or fully support) certain laptops. As it turns my, my rare laptop, no surprises here, is not certified. Sweet I guess this answers a lot of my questions and I believe I will have to remain Windows user...

Hello!

Because there is a general and pervasive misunderstanding about such things, I would like to point out that it is not the case that Ubuntu (or any other distro) supports or does not support any laptop or individual component.

The relationship is the opposite -- the question is whether some piece of hardware supports Linux. No matter what we would like, if an OEM does not, for instance, provide a Linux driver there is little the Linux community can do about it. Open source developers try, with varying levels of success, to create open source drivers -- but they do so by trying to peer into a black box. This is devilishly difficult since OEMs don't often provide proprietary information about their hardware.

Windows does not work with OEM XYZ's component due to any effort on the part of Microsoft. OEM XYZ makes sure that their component works with Windows or they go out of business. If they don't make it work with Linux, then they are only missing out on a piddlingly small share of the market. It does not make good business sense to expend the same amount of resources on 2% of the market as they spend on 93% of the market. One can hardly blame OEMs for making a wise business decision.

This is a fact of life in the Linux world. If the OEM only provides a Windows driver and no developer is able to black-box a driver that works for Linux, that hardware is not likely to work well, or at all, with Linux.

The effect, of course, is the same: You can't use OEM XYZ's component. But it is not for want of trying on Linux' part.

[Bucky Ball]

^^^^
The above.