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Re: [OM] [OT] Advice re using non-Microsoft op sys.

Subject: Re: [OM] [OT] Advice re using non-Microsoft op sys.
From: Marc Lawrence <montsnmags@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 8 May 2009 10:34:03 +1000
2009/5/8 David Bell <deebel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>
> Can anyone give me advice regarding the installation of alternative
> operating system to Windows?

Note, I have two workstations at home, being a Fujitsu laptop I use
most of the time (generally just for web-browsing) and an iMac
upstairs mostly used for photo processing.

Recently I decided, on the basis of "a change is as good as a
holiday", to install Ubuntu on my lappy as the sole OS. Ubuntu is
probably the best-known "popular" flavour of Linux:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Installation involved downloading it, burning it to a CD, and bunging
it on the lappy and rebooting. Some very simple questions, and I was
up & running with no compatibility problems (I mention this last as
compatibility problems do occur). It was the quickest, most painless
install of an OS I have ever performed. Whenever I've reinstalled
Windows XP I am driven nuts by the repeated rebooting and security
updates, but that's coming from early version Windows XP disks. Note
that I *like* Windows XP. I had no desire to upgrade to Vista, not
because of the criticism that went on, but because my visceral
reaction on using it was [blech!] (an "anchovies" reaction rather than
anything reasoned).

As mentioned, my lappy is predominantly used as a web-browser/netbook,
so my requirements of Ubuntu are limited (and Ubuntu is probably
overkill itself). Once I'm into the web-browser, Firefox, the main
thing I noticed about Ubuntu compared to Windows XP was that I didn't
notice anything. However, I'd note that Firefox, Open Office and The
Gimp come pre-installed with the Ubuntu installation, so for those two
items - the only ones I am likely to also use the lappy for - I needed
to do nothing.

Ubuntu tries to make it easy to install new software. In the main
"Applications" menu of the desktop (sort of like "Start" in Windows
XP) there's an "Add/Remove..." item which looks in some online
repositories for a whole heap of software you might want, and
sectionalises them (Games, Graphics, Office, etc.) while also just
letting you search for something. Installing The Gimp or Open Office
(if they weren't already installed) is as easy as checking their boxes
and then hitting the "Apply Changes" button. As a bonus, software
installed this way is periodically checked by Ubuntu for any updates.

It is possible to run Photoshop under Ubuntu using Wine ("Wine
Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer"). Wine is easily installed as
per the above paragraph. However, I am not completely sure of how
compatible it is (within and with each version), what it's performance
is like, and what you might have to do to get it working. It may "just
work", but you'd need to check. Here's a link to the Wine Wiki which
might help you with that avenue of enquiry:

http://wiki.winehq.org/AdobePhotoshop

The Gimp may be an alternative, though it's probably one you wish to
try first. It can be installed under Windows with a simple installer
provided:

http://www.gimp.org/windows/

Note that you don't have to install Ubuntu to try out the OS. You can
try it out by running it from the CD. I've never done this, and so I
imagine there might be a performance hit, but that should not be a
worry for just trying it out.

I've used Open Office on occasion, and because my requirements are
simple (word processor, spreadsheet...simple documents), I found it
pretty much no different to MS Office. This isn't a criticism of MS
Office, but rather a notation that I suspect for a lot of people,
high-end office suites are overkill (be it MS Office or OpenOffice). I
tend to use Google Docs myself, on the rare occasions I do have a need
for such. Again, OpenOffice is available for Windows, so you can try
it out too. It's all pretty cheap. ;)

Also, the latest version of Ubuntu (9.04, also called Jaunty
Jackalope) is only just out, and if you look around your local
newsagent, you *might* find it included as one of the CD's the
computer mags often have stuck to their covers.

I mean the above as notes of experience rather than recommendation.
I've had no problems transferring to Ubuntu with my own requirements,
and I certainly find it to be predominantly a pretty "polished" and
user-friendly OS. The support network is quite large, and I've found
answers to small questions I've had with a quick Google.

I still will use XP  for some things (eg. the Australian Taxation
Office still requires you be running Windows to use its Tax Return
software), and, as mentioned, quite like it as an OS, never having
experienced any significant problems with it on my lappy. Ubuntu is
different, though not significantly so as to be a problem (or, rather,
the same problems I've had with it - to do with familiarity - are the
same problems I had with OSX when I bought my iMac last year). I'd
give it a burl, even if in a "non-destructive" way, just to see what
you think, if you're so inclined to look at a non-MS OS. Although I'm
not a "power-user" of any OS, if you have any specific questions (eg.
other software availability), feel free to email me direct and I'll go
looking for information.

Cheers,
Marc
Noosa Heads, Oz
http://www.parknmeter.com/gallery
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