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Its good that you want to switch to ubuntu. But what are the applications you are using on vista and i can give you equivalent applications if there any for linux and it may also have some learning curve. Please post the applications you want to use .If there are any games or other things which are windows switching you may regret. Keep your expectations too low for a succesful switch.

By Jayakumark on Jun 17, 2007

Do it.

I jumped off the Windows nightmare almost a year ago and have NEVER regretted it.

Ubuntu’s latest, Feisty, is a GREAT system. Friggin’ rocks. Now. Let me tell you a couple of tips.

1) Use “plain Feisty” - not the “studio edition”, not a close derivative like Mint.

2) Avoid something called “Automatix”. It can be messy when you upgrade.

3) While you’re in windows, do a “defrag” of your hard disk. Trust me.

4) The Feisty CD you have will let you “live boot” into a working Linux system that runs off the CD, and allows Internet access, use of the included applications, etc. IT DOESN’T CHANGE ANYTHING ON YOUR HARD DISK until you hit the “install” icon. This is your time to sort out various issues. Start with video: how does it look? Go to the “System” menu, under “preferences” find “screen resolution” - if you can set your monitor to the resolution you like, cool, Ubuntu has auto-detected your video card. Good first step :). Under System>Administration>Printers try your printer out. Works? Kewl. If you have a problem with printer, video or anything else, back off, go to the ubuntuforums.org and do searches on your products, see if anybody has tips.

5) The install part is the easiest step. Remember how I told you to defrag Windows? That will allow Ubuntu to split your disk between Windows and Ubuntu to create a “dual boot” system. You want to do that at first so Ubuntu can suck up all your Windows settings and data. You’ll see - it’s easy :).

6) So Ubuntu is loaded - cool. Now you need to tune it. I recently did a fresh install and took extensive notes of my tuning steps, which programs I added and how. You can find this at http://www.equalccw.com/su - feel free to crib :). But here’s a KEY concept: in Linux (or Windows) you can highlight text with your mouse, right-click, hit “copy” in the small pop-up menu, go someplace else with the cursor, right-click again, do a “paste”. You end up popping text right into some place. MOST of that file is meant to be copy/pasted from that file into the “terminal” program in Ubuntu. They are Linux commands. Don’t sweat what they are, they’ll work :). This stuff will add DVD playback, MP3 support, all kinds of neat stuff. It works.

7) OK, one last decision to make: exactly how are you going to run Windows too, if at all? There are two choices. Go here for a discussion of those: http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/72/47504.html

Enjoy!

Jim

By Jim March on Jun 17, 2007

If you are an avid gamer, stay away from Linux. You’ll miss most of the games!
Also, if you don’t know what “command prompt/console” is, then be happy with your windows machine.

Remember, sometimes things break in linux. You’ll get the solutions in the mailing list/forums, but you have to have some knowledge to apply those solutions.

But from your writing I feel, you’re not a basic user but more than that. I think ubuntu will be a good solution for you, given the fact it’s one of the easiest linux-distro in the market.

By arijit on Jun 17, 2007

faith, my dear child, have faith. you are about to embark on a journey to the promised land. a land filled with joy and wonder beyond your wildest dreams. a land of freedom that many will never find. a sense of exhilaration, excitement, amazement, that will boogle your mind awaits you. sights and sounds and wonders too amazing to describe are yours to discover. all you need to do is put that shiny disc in yer puter and the fog and darkness that you have been slaving under will start to lift. but as with most adventurous journeys thou will have to travel thru the haunted forest. beware of the microsoft bogeyman that will pop out of yer computer and try to keep you under his poisonous spell. he is a demon of the worst variety from the depths of hades and a very scary looking creature. he looks like steve ballmer and he will throw fits and threaten you with patent lawsuits and offer you more poisonous kool-aid. but have no fear for he is nothing but a holographic image with absolutely no substance. persistence and determination will be required to keep you from falling back under his evil spell. venture forth with complete assurance that what awaits you is pure freedom and many friends. there are many others embarking on this journey and should you falter and waver a little any one of us will offer a helping hand at any time for we have all traveled that road. come to the promised land. take that first step. go on, i dare ya.

By doodyhead on Jun 17, 2007

well if you are so afraid then why not stick to your beloved vista?
but, if you wanna do something interesting for a change, just wipe out vista and install linux. try to be a man for once.

By woohoo on Jun 17, 2007

and stop whining, there a millions of wikis explaining how you could use any of the linux distros out there…

By woohoo on Jun 17, 2007

Cool.. All the best for a successfull switch.

Here are the applications you can try for
AcitveSync - Sync CE http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=05/08/17/1847227
Google desktop - BEagle,Beagle++,Gnome Tracker
WinSCP can work in wine.

TortoiseSVN - esvn

By Jayakumark on Jun 17, 2007