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Sunday 1 November 2009

Goodbye Windows. Hello Xubuntu

For years I have had a love/hate relationship with Windows in its various incarnations, which has led me to flirt with a number of Linux distributions in the past. Nevertheless, games and other Windows only applications have meant that I have always returned to Microsoft OS's. That was until last week when I finally lost patience with my install of Windows XP. Degradation of performance and the constant threat of viruses finally prompted me to install Xubuntu.

I picked that distribution because I have had good experience of using Kuki Linux, which is based on Xubuntu, on my Acer Aspire One netbook. I like the XFCE windows manager because it is lightweight unlike Gnome and (to a lesser extent) KDE. If I wanted a bloated, feature-laden OS I'd still be using Windows.

I have a few games and other Windows programs that I am going to want to run so I will be experimenting with Wine and VirtualBox to see whether I can avoid having to set up a dual-boot machine. I will continue writing posts on this blog offering help and advice to Windows users; although, the more ardent Microsoft-detractors may be disappointed when I don't offer the advice of ditching Windows. I will also be enhancing this blog with occasional Linux themed posts too, which will be aimed at novice users.

22 comments:

Wild River Guitar said...

You should try linux mint that is the Best linux distro

Technoratti-Anuraag said...

me goin to start learnin linux soon...wish get some help...

http://technoratti-anuraag.blogspot.com/

FHnet said...

welcome to linux bro...

FHnet

Dhemz said...

thanks for the EC dropped...

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DoFollow Blog said...

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thanks

Mrs. Mecomber said...

I like Ubuntu. I've tried Xandros and an earlier version of Ubuntu, and then the EasyPeasy OS. I didn't like Xandros and the earlier versions of Ubuntu, because connecting to wireless was a difficult and frustrating feat. But I like the EasyPeasy version.

Anonymous said...

Actually try the latest version of Ubuntu. It really is quite fast. It has been found that many times Xubuntu is not really as light as it purports. But with Ubuntu you will get the latest and greatest updates from Canonical and you can rely on it. Esp. with features like Gnome Do Docky... the experience really gets better.

Borkiman said...

Thank you all for the comments.

The reason that I used Xubuntu is because I had experience of xfce. I had tried both gnome and kde on previous occasions and found that they did not suit me. I like xfce's clean, simple interface and the reduced system overheads are a bonus.

I have used various fedora based distros in the past, but since I am using Kuki Linux on my netbook (which is also based on Ubuntu), I decided to go with Xubuntu on my desktop and I am more than satisfied with it. Although, a decent version of Firefox wouldn't go amiss - I am using Swiftfox at the moment, which has a tendency to hang occasionally.

Since Xubuntu is an official Ubuntu release, I still get all the canonical updates and can choose KDE or Gnome apps if I want to.

James Madison said...

Thats Good. I am very excited about Xubuntu. This will really boost computer support.

web design company said...

I think no one can beat the OS of Windows, though there are many viruses and spyware most of the computer users use Windows OS.

computer laptop said...

I am using both of windows and ubuntu

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El DiPablo said...

Have you tried Bauer-Puntu 9.10?

-EDP

SANDY said...

I really like windows's xp and have been irritated with vista which is on my new computer. Am waiting for my free upgrade to windows 7, which I hear is basically xp again which is fine and dandy by me.

Never heard of the ones you're referring to; beyond linux though I thought that was routers and such.

I don't game at all, beyond the Mahjong that came loaded on the computer, so perhaps it's not an issue for me? Where I'm having issues is compatibility with vista and other things I used, like genealogy software and photo software.

Good luck with your change.
Sandy
Happy Thanksgivng

morningcafe said...

linux is the best for free charge u also can try open office org 3.1, it is the best for free charge also, check it here : download open office 3.1

Sparky said...

i don't use windows for anything much,I have it loaded on my laptop for when i need windows thats it, you will find once you get used to it Linux is the smart way to go, my suggestion is if you have decent Internet speeds download some live cds of different distro's and try them out some offer more than others i myself use Ubuntu and SUSE

http://distrowatch.com/

for new distro's and the Live cd list

http://www.livecdlist.com/

Jon said...

@SANDY: If you have a copy of Windows, you could install it in a virtual machine if you don't have any programs that are graphics-intense.

@Stepterix: Welcome to the world of Linux! If I were you, I would dual-boot. Games (at least 3D-intensive ones) don't work that well under virtual machines, and dual-booting is not that difficult.

If you need help, feel free to message me on the Ubuntu Forums (http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=364860).

Borkiman said...

wdc: Many people will disagree with you. One should not confuse popularity with quality.

cl: Dual booting is a best-of-both-worlds option. I use VirtualBox to run Windows apps under Linux; alternatively, you can use Wine to run some Windows programs under Linux too.

EDP: Not as yet. I am happy with Xubuntu for now.

Sandy: Vista does seem to have been to Windows 7 as Windows ME was to XP. A poor version of an OS which MS release to test new technology.

Morningcafe: Indeed, I have OO installed and may write a post about it soon.

Jon: I don't do much 3d gaming anyway, but Football Manager works fine. I have set up dual boot machines before back when I used Mandrake as my Linux distro.

Thank you all for the comments

cheap computers said...

I don't offer the advice of ditching Windows. I will also be enhancing this blog with occasional Linux themed posts too, which will be aimed at novice users.

Brad said...

Congrats on making the switch.

I would move to OpenSuse/Ubuntu but I am tied to iTunes (go figure :P).

Do planning going Mac one day...

Gadget Technology said...

Hm... Xubuntu eh??? Look like this distro is great...

Borkiman said...

Brad: There are a number of iTunesalike apps for Linux. I will look at a few of them soon.

GT: It serves my purposes.

Thanks for the comments