General advice on choosing Ubuntu

[4trees]

I will keep this rather open ended... I currently run win7 64bit but I am interested in installing a 2nd open source OS. The main reason is to learn an alternative to windows. Im not a fan of windows dominance and I feel that my use of it is supporting the limited options to the consumer. If i was familiar with another OS like Ubuntu then I would be less tied to windows, and Ive got to start somewhere. I would assume as long as users of open source OS are few and far between then windows has little competition so if I want to support change then I should make the change myself.

So Ubuntu seems to be the most easily understood OS for those that are familiar with windows and I am likely to use Ubuntu for that reason. Ive viewed youtube videos of Ubuntu and the desktop and software seems quite typical so my only hesitation is the install process, benefits of the OS vs. windows, and compatibility.

My use of the pc is the following in order of most to least use: internet, email, video encoding, photo editing (generic software), gaming (crysis, oblivion, fallout 3, guild wars, WoW), excel, powerpoint, and word. My hardware should be listed in my signature, if not it is in my profile.

What is the consensus for most user friendly OS for these tasks, is Ubuntu the best choice? What benefits will I appreciate (more memory availability, generally faster pc because of fewer background programs)? From what Ive read gaming on Ubuntu is not recommended due to compatibility.

If my assumptions are way off please forgive me I am a novice with these alternative OS. It was 1992 since I used an Mac system consistently!

Oh, if I am repeating a previous post, which is quite likely, and you want to refer me to that link that would be just as good obviously. Thanks.

 

[linux_0]

Welcome aboard

Linux is a great choice if you want to try something that doesn't come from Redmond.

Internet, email, video encoding, photo editing and other typical stuff will usually work quite well, Linux has games too, it's windows games that are the sticking point.

 

[linux_0]

Dual booting and WINE can take care of that pesky problem

There's more to come on that, I'm trying to find my old posts

 

[linux_0]

Linux is pretty fast, stable, secure and infinitely customizable.

It has lots of apps and games you can run and it's legally free to use, modify and redistribute.

Ubuntu and fedora are two of the most user friendly distributions.

Here's some of the popular software you can use.....

Internet - firefox, google chrome, konqueror, etc.

email - evolution, thunderbird, etc.

video encoding - VLC, mplayer, mencoder, etc.

photo editing - GIMP, GIMP and GIMP

chat - pidgin

office apps - openoffice.org

other apps - ubuntu has about 10,000 apps you can use

games - you'll want to read on.....


The best option is always to run a Linux version of the game if one exists.

If a Linux version doesn't exist then WINE and it's derivatives are probably your 2nd best option.

Some windows games run almost perfectly on WINE, others have minor problems, some have moderate problems, others severe problems and some don't run at all.

Take a look at the appDB for supported games and apps http://appdb.winehq.org/index.php

Also check out the FAQ http://wiki.winehq.org/FAQ

WINE is free and open source ( $0 - completely free to download ).

There are also commercial derivatives of WINE that you can pay for if you think they are worth it.

http://www.codeweavers.com/products/ crossover games $39.95

http://www.cedega.com/ $5 a month or $55 a year


Linux also has free open source games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_games and commercial games http://www.tuxgames.com/browse.cgi?&category=all

Some of the commercial Linux games have free demos you can try.

Here's a list of open source games that are completely free and open source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open_source_games

Some of these are a lot of fun even though they don't always have the latest and greatest eye candy.

If your games don't wanna run on WINE you can always dual boot.

Good luck

 

[amdfangirl]

Ubuntu has a very easy install process.

I reckon! Even I can do it (without calling for help from Linux_0) It's very straightforward.

Ubuntu is very user friendly. more user friendly than most Linux distros (Fedora included).

Just try them all if you want, see which one fits you.

Personally I use Fedora because, cutting edge Linux really gets me excited.

 

[linux_0]

Thanks for the plug amdfangirl

Ubuntu certainly is really easy to install it's a got a simple 7 step install process that'll take about 5 to 10 minutes to install on a modern computer.

Here's a screenshot from softpedia.....

http://news.softpedia.com/images/extra/LINUX/large/ubuntu810alpha4-large_011.jpg

Right now the best version to try is 9.04-desktop AMD64. Version 9.10 has a few issues so try 9.04.

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/downloadmirrors look under "Complete Download Mirror List"

You'll need to get ubuntu-9.04-desktop-amd64.iso

Fedora 11 x86_64 and 12 x86_64 are a little harder to use but still pretty good

http://fedoraproject.org/en/get-fedora-all

Good luck

 

[amdfangirl]

9.10 has a easier more user-friendly functions although.

Your choice

Also make sure your computer supports 64 bitness before getting the AMD 64 version.

 

[linux_0]

If I'm reading the OP's sig correctly x86_64 amd64 will run just fine on the AMD3800x2 (@2.7ghz) as long as it's a stable OC.

9.04 with all the updates should run well, 9.10 with all the patches should also run ok but you'll have a glitch here and there , most of them should be minor.

Semper Fi

 

[4trees]

Linux_O and amdfangirl, thanks for the great replies! Woke up not expecting anything and you two gave me enough to look into for at least a day. Im sure this will settle my questions about what to choose and how to do it. If I have any questions I'll be sure to post again! Great support!

The OC is stable as far as I can tell. No problems in game at least.