Ubuntu 13.10 Is Released..Consider using it if ...

Ubuntu 13.10 Is Released..Consider using it if you are sick of Viruses.. Slowdowns
and general foolery from your current operating system.

Ubuntu is a flavour of Linux and like most, if not all Distros comes with everything you need for the office
and home at no cost. It is "Free" to you and "Free" of restrictions..i.e., you can do what you want with it without breaking some EULA license.

Download Ubuntu 13.10

Review of 13.10

It is fully standardised with modern protocols, in this regard it has been way ahead of Microsoft
for years.

Software is stored online in Repositories which are tested before you install them, just open the Ubuntu software centre and browse for your desired software.

The more you use it the more you learn of alternatives that are available inside you Distro.

You can swap and change software with out worrying about bits of old installs being left behind.

'There is no need to defrag... The file system doesn't fall apart like it does in all Windows versions.

I encourage you to down load a live cd and run it, if you like it Install it along side your current OS
or better still replace it.

Steam has now become a Linux fan and have released a native steam client for Ubuntu in particular and other Distros too. Steam being involved here is massively important to Linux because ATI and Nvidia drivers will soon be just as good as their Windows counterparts with Valve/steam pressurising Game developers
to port games to Linux..

I am an IT engineer by day and I do not use windows for myself at home... I have used Ubuntu since version
10.04.

It's up to you but set yourself a fair trial with Ubuntu, say a month and go for it.








Thanks for listening

I have always wanted to get away from MS but am wary. So perhaps some questions.

Can I use games designed for MS?

What happens when a client only allows one to submit in MS Word version xxx.

Can I use Firefox etc.

Is their a MS compatibility mode?

Do programs such as TrueCrypt work?

Am I stuck with other programs that the majority of the world do not acknowledge even exist.

Can I still use Ebay etc.

Thanks.

P

pheonix358
I have always wanted to get away from MS but am wary. So perhaps some questions.

Can I use games designed for MS?

What happens when a client only allows one to submit in MS Word version xxx.

Can I use Firefox etc.

Is their a MS compatibility mode?

Do programs such as TrueCrypt work?

Am I stuck with other programs that the majority of the world do not acknowledge even exist.

Can I still use Ebay etc.

Thanks.

P

edit on 19/10/2013 by pheonix358 because: (no reason given)

Hi and thanks for showing Interest in Linux and Ubuntu, lets try and address your questions
on a point for point basis.

Using games designed for MS.. the answer is a fudge..

Yes you can and No you cant, it depends on some things.
At the moment steam/valve is heavily involved in developing
for Linux.. but if you want to run MS Games then you need to install
an app called "Wine" and "Play on Linux" then you can run the games inside
Ubuntu ..but not natively.

If you are a big gamer then I would suggest dual booting with Windows for games and Linux for everything else. In the next months and years this situation is definitely going to change.

Libre Office is the default office package in Ubuntu and opens ALL MS word/office file extensions.

Of course you can use Firefox.That's open source too.


Truecrypt is "Opensource" and will be able to be Installed in Ubuntu.

"Stuck with other programs".. well that's kind of a matter of perspective, because their will be familiar programs and also unfamiliar ones to you. That doesn't make them inferior though.


You can use the web as you would with windows.. except you won't get hacked or viruses.

Like everything new.. there is a learning curve with Ubuntu , and like everything else the more you put into it the more you get out.

reply to post by rigel4


Thanks for that.

I am an Ebook author and the only way of uploading a book is in MS Word. I prefer Open Office but while save as (word 7) works it does not work well enough and stuffs up the upload process through BookBaby.

I am not a heavy gamer but I like Diablo II to relax with, OK it is ancient but so am I.

I used to be very very good at computer tech, sadly dinosaurs with knowledge of Basic, Fortran and Cobol are not in demand. Mainframes, now they were the days.

P

I am a Linux Mint guy myself, but since Mint is built off of Ubuntu, I guess that you could say that I am vicariously an Ubuntu guy (I'm not overly fond of Unity).

Linux Mint

I still have several machines in the house that run Windows 7 due to being a gamer, though I would switch completely to Linux in a heartbeat if the gaming issue was rectified.

SteamOS seems to be the key to that occurring sooner rather than later, and I'm foaming at the mouth to get Bill Gates OUT of my life as soon as possible.

***EDIT TO ADD***

As far as the dual booting recommendation goes, I would recommand running the LiveCD/DVD of Ubuntu or Mint and testing out before considering a Dual Boot scenario as for some people, it can be very difficult and can lead to problems if done incorrectly.

Another option is running Ubuntu or Mint on a separate machine if you have one.

reply to post by pheonix358

I don't use Ubuntu I use PCLInuxOS. Not that really matters since there are so many distributions you can simply pick one that you like. You can try them using first by getting hold of bootable distros. Almost all distros have bootable images these days. Linux magazine disks usually have a couple.

Compatibility:

In general you can do everything with Linux that you can do with windows even the "apps". This is especially the case with typical apps : video players. office, image editors, music players, internet brows, tools etc. If you really want to run a windows only app you can still do so in one of three ways:

A. Use an app called wine that runs the windows app as is under linux. It's not an emulator (Wine Is Not an Emulator hence W.I.N.E) but more of a translator between what the app expects and linux has. Not all apps can run like this, usually the graphic intensive ones, the wine website has a compatibility list.

B. Run a virtualised app such as Virtualbox. This allows you to install ANY operating system as a virtual machine. I have this with windows 7......which I only use for "accessing Blu-ray movies for viewing later" if you get my drift ;-) With virtual box I can run in a mode called seamless where the apps run in windows windows on a linux desktop (quite impressive!).

C. You can always have a dual boot machine and you choose to run either windows or linux at boot. You install any number of O/S's as long as you have enough disk space.......although linux O/S's are considerbly smaller. With this option your existing windows is left unchanged.

Microsoft Office : I have an app called LibreOffice which is fully compatible with microsoft office. I have never had the need to go back to MS office.

Games : Now here you have me. This is the one weakness of Linux. That said Steam is now available for Linux. Not only that but the Steam developers are actively pursuing a Linux future for their games, including a Linux games machine.

A lot of apps under linux are also available for windows, try these:

LibreOffice - office suite
GIMP - photo editor
VLC - video player (a better player for windows anyway!)
Firefox - as you already know

Ebay is website and as such depends on the browser for full functionality not the underlying O/S.

There is tons of stuff available for Linux and almost all of it is free opensource. The quaility of a lot of this has improved considerably over that past few years. Also note that Android is Linux. So there is a lot of Linux development for phones and tablets with all the non Android distros vying to get a bit of those markets. So many of those existing Linux apps will be getting am upgrade to make them useable on small screen devices.

Please take a jump, the water is lovely and FREE,

I jumped the Micro$oft and Apple ships several years ago and have not looked back.

I have, actually, migrated from Ubuntu Mint in last couple of years, but - as you said - there are many worthy distros.

And as to claims that you can't do professional work on this software, I am a web developer and work exclusively with Linux!

reply to post by yorkshirelad


Thank you kindly for the reply.

Now, how brave am I feeling. I may have to find an idiots guide to dual boot. I hope I do not have to re-install windows. Time for some research!

(Insert dinosaur roar)

P

incoserv
I jumped the Micro$oft and Apple ships several years ago and have not looked back.

I have, actually, migrated from Ubuntu Mint in last couple of years, but - as you said - there are many worthy distros.

And as to claims that you can't do professional work on this software, I am a web developer and work exclusively with Linux!

edit on 19-10-2013 by incoserv because: (no reason given)

Thank you ..
I too can do anything i need to in Linux from Virtual machines to remote support.
I guess it gets a bad press sometimes from people that are ok in Windows, and feel they should be good in
Linux without learning it.

So it becomes the tool and not the user scenario.
or maybe even a picnic fault

pheonix358
reply to post by yorkshirelad

 

Thank you kindly for the reply.

Now, how brave am I feeling. I may have to find an idiots guide to dual boot. I hope I do not have to re-install windows. Time for some research!

(Insert dinosaur roar)

P

edit on 19/10/2013 by pheonix358 because: (no reason given)

what version of Windows are you running?

reply to post by rigel4


Windows 7.

P

I have an older computer... It's a dell d620 laptop. What is the most current version of Ubuntu and/or Mint that I can use?

pheonix358
reply to post by rigel4

 

Windows 7.

P

To be honest /It coudn't be easier with windows 7.
wait.. and I'll get you a guide.

If you have a spare usb flash drive great if not just use a dvd.

To be honest the guides make it sound more complicated than it actually
is.

Here is what you need to do

. Download ubuntu 13.10

Download Linux usb creator Here

Put your flash drive in the computer open linux usb creator and follow the 4 simple steps.

Reboot your computer and boot from the usb drive.

Once linux starts choose Install..

tick the box for install third party software ( flash etc)

choose Install alongside windows 7 and give yourself a decent portion of your drives.

type in your details at the prompts and always choose a password to log in, ( it will be clear why in a mo)

When you have Ubuntu installed and you are doing something like installing new software
the OS will prompt for your "Sudo" access... this is your password.

and that's basically it .. The installer will run and finish and when you reboot you will have a choice to boot from windows 7 or Ubuntu

As soon as you get installed you can start to explore your new wonderful Linux world.
Ask me anything any time and also use the Ubuntu forums for help.

In a short time you'll be a Linux pro.

Enjoy

reply to post by cavedweller88


Whats the specs on the laptop ?

How do I find that out/ What type of specs? The only thing I know offhand is that is a 40g mem 2g ram

There are variants:

Lubuntu
Kubuntu
Xubuntu

and more.

Some of the variants are or can be streamlined for older and low end systems.

You can run ubuntu from a jump drive with ease on systems that are near death...



Seen Left 4 dead, Garrys mod and team fortress 2 on linux so far, lots more coming! Most the Half Life stuff!!

cavedweller88
How do I find that out/ What type of specs? The only thing I know offhand is that is a 40g mem 2g ram

Go to download,com and download a little program called speccy , install that and it will tell you exactly what is in your computer

reply to post by cavedweller88



Download and run CPU-Z
will tell you all we need to know!

I used to run mint 13 until i needed windows back for work. It ran fine but I was having issues with some of the drivers.

I'm going out now, so if anyone else wants to monitor this thread feel free.

I'll be back later .
Chow