6 November 2007
Ubuntu
Posted by Dirk under: computers .
Several months ago I put together a new computer (with help from my friendly local computer wizard, Arcanum [not his real name]) and decided to take the plunge and give linux a try. I had been using Windows 2k on my previous computer and while I managed to keep it out of the hands of Russian hackers and crippling malware (I assume I did, I suppose I might have been living a fantasy there) I felt I should try something else. Ubuntu was that something else.
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution. There are many other versions of Linux out there but Arcanum suggested Ubuntu for a Linux newbie like me (Arcanum himself uses no operating system, preferring to interface with the computer chips directly using The Force)
Ubuntu is super easy to install and use. It has a vigorous community that can help with any issues you might have. The one issue with it is that, being not-Windows, it probably won’t run a bunch of Windows software you are used to using. There are, however, many open source programs to replace those old Windows things you’ve been using.
That’s not the case though for games. Games are still made for Windows, mostly. However, the Ubuntu community includes many Jedi Masters (similar to Arcanum) who have used The Force and Kung Fu to make many Windows only games work on Ubuntu (often this requires some fiddling on your part, but the community has some awesome step by step instruction manuals to help you along) I play World of Warcraft on my Ubuntu computer without any issues at all.
If you mainly use your computer for surfing the web and checking your email, you should consider trying Ubuntu. If you have problems with malware on your current computer then you should definitely consider Ubuntu. Or at least switch to Firefox instead of Windows Explorer.
One Comment so far...
Arcanum Says:
7 November 2007 at 12:12 pm.
Glad to hear the experiment has worked out for you. Linux on the desktop still has a way to go, but it certainly has made significant progress.