Shoud I get Ubuntu?

Jordan97

Jordan97

Jordan97

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Should I just go and buy Windows 7 for my new build, or should I download Ubuntu?

Is it any good?

What are its advantages over Windows, what is its disadvantages?

I really do not know anything about Linux so any help would be appreciated.
 
I know nowt about Linux other than it's not going to be much good for gaming.

A lot of games designed for Windows don't run under Linux.
 
Fedora and Mint are pretty close to Ubuntu in terms of popularity now, and may be just as easy or easier to use without some of the quirks and hacks that Canonical use. Ubuntu may have peaked: Are Ubuntu's Glory Days Over? I think ubuntu is still worth a try, but one of the others with GNOME instead of UNITY may ultimately prove to be the better choice.

The only reason I have Windows now is for games, a few other people have it for Adobe products that aren't on Linux. If neither of those or other Windows exclusive applications are must haves, then saving £80 or more to go for Linux is quite compelling.

The key advantages of Linux are that: it's free, high quality applications are available to do almost anything you ask for (also free) and Linux is much more secure than Windows.

Downsides: (lack of) driver support is sometimes frustrating - ATi drivers really suck, and peripherals drivers may be non existent (you have to rely on community to provide them e.g. Canon LiDE scanner) Some things inevitably are difficult to get working compared to the convenience of Windows. At least there are lots of good forums and guides to help with any problems that you may encounter.
 
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Icm76 said:
The only reason I have Windows now is for games, a few other people have it for Adobe products that aren't on Linux. If neither of those or other Windows exclusive applications are must haves, then saving £80 or more to go for Linux is quite compelling.
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Does this mean that Photoshop will not run on it?
 
Jordan97 said:
Does this mean that Photoshop will not run on it?
Click to expand...
Exactly, some versions will run under WINE but I've found that to be too much hassle. However, while I don't know your circumstances I will add this:

Very few people need Photoshop, all the people that pirate it because they "need it" are clueless idiots. Photoshop Elements is a much more sensible choice for 99.9% of home users, but even that is far more than most people need. If you just do basic image editing and tweaking there are dozens of good quality free tools available. If you need a powerful image editing tool then GIMP is excellent. For advanced photo management, DigiKam is also excellent.

If you already own Photoshop (or Elements) and are very experienced using it, then the choice to move to Linux may not be entirely straightforward. However if you can adapt you will no longer have to keep buying upgrades for Windows and Photoshop.
 
Jordan97 said:
Should I just go and buy Windows 7 for my new build, or should I download Ubuntu?

Is it any good?

What are its advantages over Windows, what is its disadvantages?

I really do not know anything about Linux so any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend the latest Ubuntu 11.04 (Unity is still buggy and still not ready IMO) nor if you've got a Sandy Bridge system, especially if you're utilising Sandy's GPU. It was all going sweet last year Until Unity (and Gnome 3) they need a few months to mature.
 
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Grab Windows 7 if you're dependent upon Microsoft Office and/or if you game on your PC. Plus, it's pretty low price if you're a student.

You got nothing to loose if you want to try Linux out, you don't need to install the major distributions as most offer live CD/USB versions.

If you want to try Linux I'd currently recommend PinguyOS or LinuxMint both are based on Ubuntu.
 
Ok, thanks everyone.

I think I'll just stick with Windows. I rely a lot upon Windows based programs and I've only ever used Windows so It'll be easier to get along with as well.
 
I hope I didn't put you off. I still use Linux (and it's derivatives) as my primary OS. It's just that practically I need MS Office and so I've got Windows 7 for my new build. Otherwise I was happily using MS Office with XP.

The major distributions of Linux are cutting edge so are continuously innovating.

You can even install Ubuntu from within Windows and give it a shot (SEE HERE) - the benefit of this is that you can uninstall it through Windows.
 
As jax_5 has said, I do recommend you giving Ubuntu a go. The installation and uninstallation have always been easy, no cmd line or advanced configuration necessary. It's a GUI install, holds your hand all the way.

I have both XP and Ubuntu on my laptop and boot into both on a 50/50 basis.
 
Or install win7 and then install vmware player and install Ubuntu/Mint etc and see if you like them, you could then dual boot.
 
I could write pages here. The best way to find out is to do some googling and find a distro you like the look/sound/philosophy of then trying it on a current/old machine in a dual boot with the OS thats already on there.

Check out distrowatch.com and polishlinux.com for ideas and then from there go to distro web pages. I would say that Ubuntu is well known and popular, but shouldn't be an automatic choice and no one distro is "the best".

If you do get windows, you could still dual boot and keep experimenting, it is free after all.
 
I tried Fedora 15 to see how Gnome 3 works and I'm back to Ubuntu. Was using Mint 11 for a while but given that Gnome 2 will no longer supported I decided to try and get used to the new ones. Out of the two I prefer Ubuntu Unity at the moment as Gnome 3 is a little too basic in terms of options and I prefer Ubuntu commands, etc over Fedora.

Ubuntu works better straight out of the box for me too.
 
Just looking into this myself. Was looking at Ubunta and Mint. Still pretty clueless mind but nothing to loose.

Did I read that adobe reader won't work with it?
 
Adobe reader does run under wine.. BUT there is very little point as ubuntu has its own (very good) pdf reader built in. I've never had any issues reading any documents using it.
 
Smiler said:
Just looking into this myself. Was looking at Ubunta and Mint. Still pretty clueless mind but nothing to loose.

Did I read that adobe reader won't work with it?
Click to expand...

masterluke said:
Adobe reader does run under wine.. BUT there is very little point as ubuntu has its own (very good) pdf reader built in. I've never had any issues reading any documents using it.
Click to expand...

last time I checked adobe reader had a native linux client, has this changed? :confused:

As you rightly said though, it doesn't particularly matter. There are so many .pdf readers out there for linux.
 
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