Comments on: How And Why I Made The Switch From Vista To Linux (Ubuntu / Kubuntu)

By: fak3r

fak3r — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:52:59 +0000

Oh, and to append to my last post, when you’re in your new Ubuntu side – you can still get to all of your Windows files! If you open nautilus (like Windows Explorer) just navigate to /host – and you’ll have access to all of your Windows documents…a perfect way to drag files over.

By: fak3r

fak3r — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:49:54 +0000

As someone who has used Linux since 1997, I’m always interested in ‘normal’ (read not the incredibly geeky) people experiencing what I love in Linux. As a desktop it’s come a million miles in the past 10 years, and I think if you play around with it for a week, you’ll know if it ‘fits’ you. As for any other readers on this thread, it’s now FAR EASIER to test out if Linux is right for you. Ubuntu has released Wubi – an installer you download and install within Windows, after that when you boot you can choose to go to Windows or Ubuntu – that’s it! If you don’t like it, go to Add/Remove Programs in Windows and uninstall. I’ve used this on 3 systems now and it works perfectly – and is so much easier for the casual user to try out the great Linux desktop.

Try it yourself, you have nothing to lose and it’s free (of course):

http://wubi-installer.org/

By: DazzlinDonna

DazzlinDonna — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:27:17 +0000

That is definitely ease of use, Russ! I’m still thrilled that I made the switch. Totally lovin’ it.

By: Russ Harvey

Russ Harvey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 21:22:17 +0000

Your article is refreshingly candid and accessible to those challenged by techy-talk.

I recently installed Ubuntu on an older computer (a 900 Mhz Duron with 128MB of RAM) for a retired pastor without computer experience. Even a bare XP install would have bogged this machine down, but Ubuntu ran beautifully!

I booted Ubuntu from the 8.1 beta CD (this is not an install–just trying it out). All my hardware was correctly identified and I was able to navigate my Windows network. I even downloaded the newer 699MB Ubuntu 8.04-desktop ISO–while running Ubuntu from the CD!

Now that’s ease-of-use!

By: Yannis

Yannis — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:16:58 +0000

Great description. The screenshots of desktop looks very clean. With the help of this article, I might try it one of these days. Thanks!

By: SEO Diva

SEO Diva — Sun, 18 May 2008 16:34:37 +0000

Donna, thanks for such a complete description of your changeover and what it entailed – especially the scary parts. It sounds like an interesting change and I’m going to give it a try.

I’ll think of you when I’m panicking! 😉

By: Dread Knight

Dread Knight — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:58:09 +0000

@Jakub: You know, SmrtSkoso is right 😀

By: SmrtSkoso

SmrtSkoso — Fri, 16 May 2008 21:10:15 +0000

@ DazzlinDonna
Congratulations on this and welcome to the land of Linux. Just remember not to hurry and keep it slowly, it is a very big step forward and there is a lot of new concepts here. And never forget that Linux and open source is also about freedom, not just no money and clicking these PayPal buttons helps a lot.

@ Jakub
Hm I think you are not right when you say that Ubuntu has better hardware support, Both Kubuntu and Ubuntu are based on the same foundation, only the graphical desktop environemnt is different, so there is no difference when it comes to the support of hardware.

By: Jerry Rocteur

Jerry Rocteur — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:06:20 +0000

Just congratulations!

By: Elizabeth Able

Elizabeth Able — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:01:52 +0000

“Youve sold me although I dont have the time for this.”
High praise from Barry!

I have the more and bigger hard drive sitting on a shelf, waiting for me to have time to re-install Linux. Dual booting would be ideal. 🙂

Your enthusiasm is infectious, Donna.