Toadofsky Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 So my computer pretty much refused to load windows anymore, especially with the partition drive that would help recover it, and I pretty much was just sick of it (I had Windows XP, and I really don't want to go to Vista, or buy a new computer at this time. So one of my computer whiz friends suggested I try Linux/Ubuntu. I can't say it hasn't been an uphill battle learning this thing, but I've been really enjoying it so far. As of now, Dosbox is running on it, but it's something else entirely to get a Earthworm Jim The Whole Can O' Worms (1 and 2, the CD editions, you know, the ones with better audio, and a little better graphics? And I mean a little better of graphics, not much) to run. I'm really liking the desktop, and some of the features, and the fact that so many people have been doing modifications for it. I'm just curious though if anybody here uses it, and if so, besides the Ubuntu forums, where would you suggest would be good places to check out FAQs and help on learning Ubuntu? Wiki's? Googling things? And if you use it Ubuntu, do you like it better than Windows? I'm open to anything... Here's my desktop ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeting_Gman Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I really enjoyed Ubuntu and I still like it, but I am SO tired of fiddling with it. It is very temperamental, mainly GNOME. It will work fine for a few days, then one day I start up and I'm having graphic driver issues. I scroll up and down a page and it's terribly laggy/choppy. So, that means I will have to reinstall the driver, which will take me all day as installing ATI drivers is problematic on Ubuntu. For games, I would just switch back to Windows, as WINE felt rather buggy and cumbersome to me and to play newer games you'd need a good computer anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadofsky Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 Eh, I'm not much into PC games anymore, I admit, I want to still play Outurn 2006 edition on my computer, and to play Episode III of half life when it comes out, but I'm not that much into PC games, mainly because it's so pricey to keep them up to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomicthumbs Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Open your package manager and search for "wine". WINE (Wine Is Not Emulation) is a Windows compatibility layer that lets you run many Windows programs on Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadofsky Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 Open your package manager and search for "wine". WINE (Wine Is Not Emulation) is a Windows compatibility layer that lets you run many Windows programs on Linux. My friend put WINE on there already, and we did manage to get Watchtower Library (a literature catalog I use) on there, especially since it actually only runs on Windows. I got a vers. of Dos Box to run on here, I just can't figure out how it needs me to mount the C:\ drive as it needs me to. I forgot how he searched for WINE on there, how do you exactly get to package manager? I know, that's just plain sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Wolf Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 The problem I always had with any iteration of Linux was that all I did was install packages to try to give it some kind of compatibility with Windows based programs. I quickly realized I could save my sanity by just continuing to use Windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues Kamikame Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I've tried out several flavors of Linux since this summer. One problem that I ran into with Ubuntu was that if there is an error while installing a package/program, it's rather difficult for inexperienced folks to fix. The frustrating part is that it locks your ability to install anything else until it's resolved. If Windows fails or isn't pre-installed on your computer, it's worth looking into. I used it to transfer files from older computers running Windows 98, that didn't have driver support for USB external memory devices, to an external hard drive. It lags terribly on old hardware, but worked for me. If you just want to use the internet and play audio/video files, Puppy Linux is the best I found to run on my AMD k6 processors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadofsky Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 I honestly don't do much on the computer these days, so I think I'll just keep learning this program, it is a bit of a headache, but I guess if I get good enough with it, I can give pointers out... Like that could even be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 The problem I always had with any iteration of Linux was that all I did was install packages to try to give it some kind of compatibility with Windows based programs. I quickly realized I could save my sanity by just continuing to use Windows. There's one thing I like about Linux that doesn't seem to be so easy to do with Windows - setting up an SSH server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinewav Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 For casual computer use, I switched from WinXP to Ubuntu/Linux and never looked back. It's a billion time s more usable, and for pretty much every proprietary program you'd normally use on Windows, there's a much better (not to mention free) open source version available for Linux. The only thing making me consider returning to Windows is that Reason 4.0 and EZDrummer aren't Linux compatible, and I can't really find any good alternatives for them. As far as support goes, I usually use the Ubuntu Forums and/or Wikipedia. If I can't find the answer there, it's usually not to hard to find it with a quick google search. The biggest obstacle you're going to reach with Linux is getting used to the un-Windows-ness of it. If you persevere though, you'll find it was well worth the time and effort. There are plenty of great tutorials out there just a google away. Sweet desktop BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiredzombie Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 i've used linux, and ubuntu a few times its kinda complicated...well, i only explored the basics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drack Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Unfortunately, no *nix is compatible with my desktop's hardware. (Firewire sound card. ffado is working on a driver but it's beta and crashes all the time. Also, wireless card chipset not supported by any kernel drivers.) Aside from shool/work requirements that need windows (try developing DirectX+PhysX games using visual studio through wine or virtualization...) I would love to use a purely *nix based system, though. I have extensive linux experience (also some other *nix like opensolaris and mac) so if you have any questions, ask away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
po! Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 i'm using Ubuntu as my main OS.. only dual booting to windows to do music or photoshop or video stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyecreate Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I've been an Ubuntu user since 6.10 ish and I'm glad to see how it's grown. It's a great OS, and I wish some things were easier, but I like the fact I know I'm in full control of what happens in the system. I, technically, use WINE alot for the games that work(so far mostly Spore and Steam), and am supprised how much it does, but like in previous posts, it isn't enough, there are still things that are broken(audiosurf-which I like to use with ocremix songs btw). Best place for questions is the forums first, then wiki/Google. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorDevice Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 windows recently stopped working for me, and reinstalling resulted in exciting new issues (I did not know that two installs of windows could be made to the same drive... very strange). so my computer, as of about two weeks ago, runs Ubuntu as it's primary OS, with Windows XP for games that I can't get to work right under Linux (I managed to snag a free copy of Crossover Games during their 'Lame Duck Challenge'). linux is tricky, in my experience, but definitely worth it if you persevere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrion Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I'm just curious though if anybody here uses it I'm taking a class on it, so in that regard I "use" it, but only in virtual machines here. I'm half-tempted to install Kubuntu on my laptop though, after trying it out in a VM. Really slick UI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Ninja Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I've been using Linux full time since Ubuntu 4.06, which I guess was over 4 years ago. It works well for me. The only reason I keep Windows around is for games, and for work purposes (I am a games developer, and most development tools are for Windows). Oh, and to mount a drive in dosbox, you would simply do this: mount c /home/toadofsky (or whatever your username is) And the best source of information is Google. Given the amount of people using Ubuntu, support is usually a quick search away. But it will usually take you to wiki.ubuntu.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar of Justice Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I've been using Linux for about 5 years, 4 of which have been Gentoo. It works exactly like I want it to so I haven't felt the need to try any other distros (my current Gentoo install is over 3 years old). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brome Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 When I bought my computer, one year ago, a Vista , I fugured out that there was two harddisk in it, and Windows was only using one. So, one day, when I was bored, I installed Ubuntu on the other Harddisk. It works really well ! Now each time I turn on my computer, or I restart it, I get to choose which OS to use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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