im thinking about installing this on my desktop which is just used for normal stuff, no games, just internet and documents. can someone list the good vs bad points between the two ? thanks!!

I have Ubuntu 8.10 on my old machine (Intel P4 1.5GHz, 500 mb sdram, Nvidia mx400 64mb ram video card) and it runs well. It requires some time to learn to use it, but there is no shortage of tutorials and info online. When I installed it it recognized all my hardware and is very functional. If you have any programming experience at all it should be very easy for you. It does internet and document stuff very well ( it comes with Firefox and OpenOffice installed) but doing the video stuff requires downloading extra packages ( all free of course) and it is not as used friendly as Windows. I just use this old machine as a learning experience, doing partitioning and loading various iterations of Linux. What you can do as well, is if you download and burn the ISO file for Ubuntu is just run it as a live CD without actually having to install it. It will give you a taste of the OS without any commitment. It is slower than a fully installed version but it does show you the basics of it.Hope that helps.That said... I first tried this Windows 7 Beta ( 32 bit) on this machine and it was as fast as Ubuntu for basic operations, but you don't get the full fancy graphics stuff ( no aero and preview from the taskbar) but it worked well enough.

alright, alright.... for running ubuntu live, do i have to mount that to a virtual drive or just run the cd when im in windows? thanks!!

Ubuntu: Is FREE and has a rapidly growing community Usesless memory Less HDD space Rarely crashes - Designed so the offending App. crashes, not the OS Faster than Windows Does not need to reboot after every update FREE programs to match most of what Windows does E.G. Use Open Office instead of MS Office HIGHLY customizable Multiple browsers supported, mainly Firefox Viruses are EXTREMELY rare No REGISTRY WAY BETTER screensavers Able to run many Windows programs Windows: Far more commercial apps available Industry standard for PC's Tons of money behind it to keep improving faster Easier learning curve for performing basic tasks Good for learning basic PC skills without knowing how everything works inside Bill Gates GOD of the computer world, commands you to buy this! I am a die-hard Microsoft fanatic, it's shortcomings are not seen in Linux, but Linux has a steep learning curve if you want to do anything beyond the basics. UBUNTU IMHO, is the EASIEST and fastest Linux distro to use, with the least amount of problems. Anyways why don't you install both?

The CD is an ISO bootable CD so you just restart your computer and boot from the CD. When the main menu page appears it defaults to "Run as live CD" .Another option is WUBI.... which is a Ubuntu program that runs inside of windows. You just download and install in Windows and then it sets up a dual boot system... which allows you to choose which system you want to boot on your boot page at start up.You can find the WUBI page here

Just boot from the live CD. Choose ENGLISH, choose Try Ubuntu without making any changes tomy computer.

You can't boot an ISO, you have to burn it to a CD/DVD first. Can't just copy it.

Anyways since this a WINDOWS 7 FORUM this thread should be deleted, except for one response that says go the Ubuntu forums.

thanks everyone, and the reason why i go to these forums is because the people in it actually know what there talking about and the response time is very quick. thanks!!

You are right... I guess I just assumed that was known... assumptions are the basis of many mess-ups.

Hi Folks I locked this thread until I could ask for a decision about it being possibly off topic for these forums. The decision was made to allow the thread to continue since it was simply a discussion comparing operating systems. You are welcome to continue and sorry for the interruption. Regards, Ronnie Vernon MVPForum Moderator

My suggestion is to run it within windows. An installation of Ubuntu within Windows will give you dual boot options and will not change your Windows installation at all. That way, you can compare without any damage. Just boot to Windows, insert the CD, run startup, and you will be give the option to install within the Windows installation. Just be careful not to install it over Windows or you will lose everything.

I've tried the latest Ubuntu and Mandriva, and if you have a simple setup they are much better than Linux installs from 5 years ago, however, if you have anything the least bit complicated, especially networking you have to be a programmer to accomplish anything. I tried setting up internet connection sharing using Mandriva's built in GUI and Firestarter on Ubuntu, and neither worked correctly, something that is only a matter of a few mouse clicks in windows. So until Linux can be as user friendly as windows or OSX for everything, it will never be a mainstream home OS.CS

In my experience, Ubuntu is great at detecting everything during installaton. There are of course people whose hardware may be a problem, but for me even the network was set up flawlessly.That being said, I'd have to agree with what others have said about installing within Windows (via Wubi) or simply running from the CD for a while. You'd be able to see how it works with your machine and see if you like it or not. The only thing stopping me from using Ubuntu exclusively is that there *are* some programs that I use that don't have a Linux equivalent yet. Overall I think that Ubuntu is a great "starter" linux system. It is very easy to get used to, most things you will need are right on the menus and are "Point and Click" and run very similarly to Windows. Then you could always choose to learn more and do more complicated things.

Ok, I was looking in the forums for some help on another issue,and ran across this topic. I have been a Linux user for about 7 years or so, whenever it was I ditched Win-98. I am here now primarily justto see what's cooking. Truthfully, when thetest is over, and I've given whatever input along the way, I'll be a Linuxuser again. You all think it's strange using Linux when you're used to a Windows system, don't think I'm having a picnic. I need to view a .PDF and so far I've not had any luck. I downloaded and tried to install Adobe Reader, but I don't know where it went. Does anyone have any idea or can point me to the right thread? Thanks, Bruce

i installed ubuntu and everything worked great except for the sound which i tryed to configure with codes etc alsamixer....... and my printer got recognized but it would print(i would click print and a blank page would come out) if i install ubuntu again i going to have a certified linux pro with me lolanyways i formatted the drive and installed windows xp for the time being and absolutly cant for the final version on windows 7!!

I had some troubles with the Adobe reader as well, and found Foxit, which is a PDF reader that has worked well for the few times I have used it. It works, its free... made for Windows.

Thanks for the input, but I don't know how to install that either.

Ripose said: Ubuntu: Is FREE and has a rapidly growing community Usesless memory Less HDD space Rarely crashes - Designed so the offending App. crashes, not the OS Faster than Windows Does not need to reboot after every update FREE programs to match most of what Windows does E.G. Use Open Office instead of MS Office HIGHLY customizable Multiple browsers supported, mainly Firefox Viruses are EXTREMELY rare No REGISTRY WAY BETTER screensavers Able to run many Windows programs Windows: Far more commercial apps available Industry standard for PC's Tons of money behind it to keep improving faster Easier learning curve for performing basic tasks Good for learning basic PC skills without knowing how everything works inside Bill Gates GOD of the computer world, commands you to buy this! I am a die-hard Microsoft fanatic, it's shortcomings are not seen in Linux, but Linux has a steep learning curve if you want to do anything beyond the basics. UBUNTU IMHO, is the EASIEST and fastest Linux distro to use, with the least amount of problems. Anyways why don't you install both? Dude... Please at least post something up to date if you're gonna go for it... Ubuntu: 1.) Yeah.. It's free.. I'll give you that.2.) So does Windows 7... But then again, RAM is dirt cheap. 3.) Hard drive space? Is this really an issue with drives averaging 500 GB to 1 TB?4.) The last BSOD I've had was a direct result of hardware going south. I'd imagine it would have had problems with Linux as well. Bottom line: Since XP SP2, crashes aren't really that big a deal any more. They happen, but don't often take the OS with it.5.) Eh... Depends on what you're running... 7 is pretty darn FAST compared to previous versions.6.) Ok.. I'll give you that one - tho it depends on what the update is.7.) News flash: OpenOffice is available for Windows too. As are many other apps that are free.8.) Ok... There's only 1 Windows shell.. There are multiple GUIs available for Linux. 9.) Same with Windows. Let's see... There's IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Flock - just to name a few.10.) Viruses are rare if you practice safe computing. Don't surf for pr0n or open funky email from people you don't know, have a good firewall and a good AV and you're generally good to go.11.) Ok.. No Registry in Linux.. Eh.. Ok.. I'll give you that one.12.) This is a selling point? Screen savers? Wow. Who knew?13.) Yeah.. They'll run thru WINE, but be prepared to tweak and futz with it... Not everything works "out of the box" with WINE. Windows: 1.) Far more apps. Full Stop. Many of those Linux apps have been ported to Windows as well.2.) Yup.3.) Check.4.) Bingo.5.) True. 6.) Oh please... Bill is not a GOD. He pulls his pants on, I'm sure, like pretty much everyone else. Given that last comment, how can you call yourself a "die hard Microsoft fanatic"?

Linuxuser397458 said: Ok, I was looking in the forums for some help on another issue,and ran across this topic. I have been a Linux user for about 7 years or so, whenever it was I ditched Win-98. I am here now primarily justto see what's cooking. Truthfully, when thetest is over, and I've given whatever input along the way, I'll be a Linuxuser again. You all think it's strange using Linux when you're used to a Windows system, don't think I'm having a picnic. I need to view a .PDF and so far I've not had any luck. I downloaded and tried to install Adobe Reader, but I don't know where it went. Does anyone have any idea or can point me to the right thread? Thanks, Bruce The installer most likely wound up in your Downloads directory. When you open Windows Explorer, you should see the folder on the left hand side, near the top under Favorites. In there, you should see a file called AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe Double click that and it will run the installer. Follow the prompts, and you'll have it up and running in a few mins.

I could not resist adding my $0.02 into this mix as I use both Windows and Linux (primarily RHEL based distros) on a daily basis. First, here is the quote . . . . Wolfie2k6 said: Ripose said: Ubuntu: Is FREE and has a rapidly growing community Usesless memory Less HDD space Rarely crashes - Designed so the offending App. crashes, not the OS Faster than Windows Does not need to reboot after every update FREE programs to match most of what Windows does E.G. Use Open Office instead of MS Office HIGHLY customizable Multiple browsers supported, mainly Firefox Viruses are EXTREMELY rare No REGISTRY WAY BETTER screensavers Able to run many Windows programs Windows: Far more commercial apps available Industry standard for PC's Tons of money behind it to keep improving faster Easier learning curve for performing basic tasks Good for learning basic PC skills without knowing how everything works inside Bill Gates GOD of the computer world, commands you to buy this! I am a die-hard Microsoft fanatic, it's shortcomings are not seen in Linux, but Linux has a steep learning curve if you want to do anything beyond the basics. UBUNTU IMHO, is the EASIEST and fastest Linux distro to use, with the least amount of problems. Anyways why don't you install both? Dude... Please at least post something up to date if you're gonna go for it... Ubuntu: 1.) Yeah.. It's free.. I'll give you that.2.) So does Windows 7... But then again, RAM is dirt cheap. 3.) Hard drive space? Is this really an issue with drives averaging 500 GB to 1 TB?4.) The last BSOD I've had was a direct result of hardware going south. I'd imagine it would have had problems with Linux as well. Bottom line: Since XP SP2, crashes aren't really that big a deal any more. They happen, but don't often take the OS with it.5.) Eh... Depends on what you're running... 7 is pretty darn FAST compared to previous versions.6.) Ok.. I'll give you that one - tho it depends on what the update is.7.) News flash: OpenOffice is available for Windows too. As are many other apps that are free.8.) Ok... There's only 1 Windows shell.. There are multiple GUIs available for Linux. 9.) Same with Windows. Let's see... There's IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Flock - just to name a few.10.) Viruses are rare if you practice safe computing. Don't surf for pr0n or open funky email from people you don't know, have a good firewall and a good AV and you're generally good to go.11.) Ok.. No Registry in Linux.. Eh.. Ok.. I'll give you that one.12.) This is a selling point? Screen savers? Wow. Who knew?13.) Yeah.. They'll run thru WINE, but be prepared to tweak and futz with it... Not everything works "out of the box" with WINE. Windows: 1.) Far more apps. Full Stop. Many of those Linux apps have been ported to Windows as well.2.) Yup.3.) Check.4.) Bingo.5.) True. 6.) Oh please... Bill is not a GOD. He pulls his pants on, I'm sure, like pretty much everyone else. Given that last comment, how can you call yourself a "die hard Microsoft fanatic"? Ubuntu (or any Linux distro) 1. Yes, it is free monetarily wise. Yes, the community is rapidly growing 2. Windows 7 has a very low memory footprint. Nonetheless, memory is very, very cheap. 4GB of DDR2 5300 costs a whopping $50.00 3. Only a concern with older, smaller hard drives < 40GB. Not an issue with modern hard drives 4. Wrong. Linux does crash. Most Windows BSOD are a result of bad or faulty hardware. Other cases involve busted drivers. I have seen a good number of Kernel Panic cases with Linux (okay, the screen does not turn blue). As a matter of fact, a Windows system with WHQL compliant hardware and drivers may never experience a system crash 5. Negative. With current hardware (not some stuff that is eight years old), Linux and Windows perform about the same when properly configured (I know that is a spring board for some). Heck, Fedora 10 using KDE 4.1.2 is a real hog w/out super-duper hardware 6. Wrong again. If an update deals with the kernel, you will have to reboot Linux. Not all Windows updates require a reboot 7. There are just as many free applications for Windows as there are for Linux. A person can easily have a default installation of Windows with all other productivity and utility applications being free. Productivity, Open Office 3.0; 3D modeling, Blender; Image manipulation, GIMP and Inkscape; Development, Eclipse, NetBeans, QT; GIS, Grass; Personal Finance, GnuCash; etc 8. So is Windows. There are numerous third party solutions that allow complete customization of the interface. Checkout Object Desktop by Stardock 9. And all of the web browsers available for Linux are also available for Windows free of charge 10. Only because of the Linux market footprint. Like Wolfie2k6 mentioned earlier, a properly configured Windows box can go years w/out any virus issues at all 11. Ok, no registry. Linux has a bunch of text files that can be easily misconfigured or accidently deleted. What problem does everyone have with the registry anyway (other than spouting stuff that someone else has said)? 12. Okay, you win that one 13. So a user wants Linux to run Windows applications? Why not have the user just run Windows? Wine is great for the Linux end user who needs to run TurboTax Windows 1. Agreed. High quality commercial apps with a clear sense of direction and purpose 2. True 3. Yes. However, some Linux people who are unfamiliar with Windows will say otherwise about improving faster 4. Again, true. Windows also has an even easier learning curve for performing very advanced tasks 5. Yes. It is also good for learning very advanced skills 6. No one forces anyone to purchase Windows. Because it comes preloaded does not mean it is forced on a user as he or she can easily remove it and load any OS. People buy and use Windows because it works Since you gave 13 items for Linux, it is only fare to keep things parallel. 7. Group policies. Nothing comes close to the power of good GPO implementation 8. An inherent security model built into the file system (NT family) that allows very granular control of objects and users 9. WMI scripting allows for very, very powerful administration of hundreds (in some cases, thousands) of AD users and computers 10. Active Directory 11. MMC. A properly customized Microsoft Management Console and act as a single place for ALL administrative tasks on a single, local computer or across an entire domain. 12. Way better games that make full utilization of current GPU hardware via DirectX. Actually, there are a large number of commercial applications (Maya, 3ds Max, Photoshop, Premiere, MetaVR, etc) that make great use of DirectX enabled hardware. Yes, Windows has full support for OpenGL also 13. Able to run many Linux programs and commands via Cygwin or from within any number of free VM solutions. Regardless of any benefits of either platform, Linux and Windows have a definite place in the computing world. There are a lot of usage cases where Linux is the hands down choice; however, there are just as many usage cases for Windows. For me personally, I love Windows 7 (beta WMP12, however, is broke!). I have beta build 7000 as my primary OS on my primary desktop and my laptop. On other systems, I have a combination of Linux and UNIX. For my wife, her desktop is still Windows XP Home SP3 (original OEM) and her laptop is Vista HP SP1. Although there are a lot of things that I really enjoy with LinuxCompiz desktop compositing and native virtual desktops to name a coupleI find myself always coming back my Windows boxes. If Linux was to get a standardized, concerted, organized effort to move in an ordered direction to increase and ease usability and administration, I could easily see it becoming a real threat to the Windows and OS-X platforms.

I can't agree more with u.Fighting malware and spam

I Have been using and installing Mandriva Linux on quite a few of my customer machine who fit a certain user profile.Linux base OS are not a bad choice for some type of computer user and some time it is not a good choice. It all depend on what you do with your machine. For the very novice computer user a well configure Linux box is the easiest way to go ( you know virus and malware just freak them out) But anyway Windows 7 is really better then Vista and XP in my mind. It install faster (Almost as fast as the latest Linux distro) and consume less memory than vista.Here how windows 7 look inside my mandriva 2009 with compiz-fusionBtw windows 7 can acces my samba share with ease. click here

Fred 666 said: Here how windows 7 look inside my mandriva 2009 with compiz-fusion click here THAT is what I am talking about! If there is one killer eye-candy app that actually has a productive use attached, it isin my opinioncompiz desktop compositing. I can have multiple applications spread across various cube faces. Good show off Fred. J I aint mad at ya.

I think the claim that Linux distros are "free" is about as honest as that VOIP service advertisement that claims their service is half the cost of the phone company (you still have to pay for the broadband service before VOIP works...). The learning curve for Linux is terribly steep, and the community support is it's downfall. Don't expect to find an answer -- or to find THE answer quickly -- if you encounteran esoteric problem with your hardware or installation. If your primary concern is for capital outlay, Ubuntu is one possibleway to go -- and it has that "unique" and "geeky" factor going for it. But if you also have to considerall of the time you're going to spend looking for answers without having an MSDN or the MSDN Forums to shorten the path to a workable answer, these are actually very expensive operating systems. What price do youput on yourtime? Even at $25/hour, I easily spent 20 times as much for a "free" RHL-based (and a "free"Ubuntudistro) as I did for any retail edition of Windows; especially on my server. The only other quibble I might have with the lists in favor of Linux is that it is equallysusceptible to viruses; Linuxdoesn't have a comparable number ofcorporate installations that attract the virus-building gnomes; but not being targeted as frequesntly isn't in the same Universe as being less susceptible.

Been using it (Ubuntu) for some time. Very stable - immediately recognized net connection and hardware, can go to Ubuntu page for any software install/delete code, full office suite included in 8.10 as well as a host of applications including a DVD / CD / ISO burner that has the ability to read what it wrote. Media player immediately functions without having to search for codecs. Be sure to set your authorizations to provide you with permissions to install (mount), remove, external storage, software, etc. Most apps work flawlessly and for those that don't, there's always the free support forums for instruction. For bugs, the response time is usually a few days or less - not an OS service pack. Full Autodesk apps (purchase req'd), Apple Shake for Linux, and stable Sequencer/Samplers (free) are available as well as high-end rendering apps if you're into freelance or corporate production. Unfortunately for Microsoft, many app writers aren't using the latest MS Visual 2005 service pack and this leads to endless bmp problems that prevent app windows from loading. I'd recommend it if you're not into spending more time doing IT work than product delivery. Still, I'd keep an MS based machine around for those apps not available to any other OS's.

Agave, I fully agree with you. The Linux community always touts that answers are just a search engine away. What you a lot of times end up getting are conflicting suggestions and arrogant answers. For most of my Linux usage, I tend to stay with RHEL (RHEL or CentOS) or OpenSUSE based distros since it is quite easy to find official documentation in the form of printed materials and supported online forums. Although, I find that Ubuntu has good printed materials for reference.

To agave Think about this for a second. How many years did it took you to master the windows (98, ME... XP, Vista ) operating system?And how much time do you think it would take you to learn and master A Linux distribution.For me it took a full years before I was confident enough to install it on my costumer computer and to be able to offer the necessary tech support. That is not so bad. You have to take baby step. At first just set your goal to some basic task. Then when you master the basic you can try setting up a domain with SAMBA or a LAMP etc... PS: I find it harder for people who have a long experience with windows to switch because it is harder for them to learn something new.Peace to all.

Well, the real Linux user in this thread has managed to get Acrobat reader installed on his Windows 7 beta system. Seems like when I tried it the first time, I selected "Run" instead of "Save". The download went to "Temporary Folder" where it was never seen nor heard from again. So after some thought, I tried it again, selecting "Save" making sure of the destination folder, Opening and running from there. So that's all good. For the starter of this thread, if you ignore the obvious money thing, it's a lot like a Ford vs Chevy or Coke vs Pepsi. question. Everybody has their likes and dislikes. If you've been driving Fords all your life, and you family all has Fords, you are inclined to stay that way unless Ford really does something to alienate you. I don't need to reiterate anything about Windows, facts, opinion, or otherwise herein. I made a Linux choice long ago, one because it is free, but also for the reason that while it is free, it will do for me all I need from my computer. If there's something I can't now do in Linux, either I wait until the community catches up with it, the vendor in question ports the application, or I just don't need whatever itis. When I first started using Linux, It was indeed a strange new world to me. I had a steep learning curve called a command line. Linux has come a long way too since then. Many things that were once the command line domain are now done through GUI. Since then there's a lot I have forgotten about using windows, such as any bad habits I may ever have had with it. If you want to try Linux, Ubuntu is a good choice for the newbie. But I suggest you try a number of distro's over a couple of weeks or so time. Linux is all about choice. And the first choice you make will entrench you in that style of distro, and desktop if you don't experiment early, be it Red Hat Fedora based like Fedora andUbuntu, Mandriva based like the Mandrivas, and some others I can't think of at the moment, PCLinux OS, Suse, the list goes on. And then there's the different desktops. Gnome and KDE both will give you access to the same things. Ice WM busybox etc are much more limited and require theoperator to be more knowledgeable to perform tasks. So try at least two or three combinations to see what works best for you. In the meantime, I'll try to give this windows thing a fair trial. Regards, Bruce

use wubi google it run it enjoy it it is the ubuntu installer online it works well

"NO FEED BACK IS A HANDICAP". It is only the positive way of taking the things and to find out the deficiencies in any system, and working on it to set right the deficiences, brings out the best in any system and in turn is good for the community. It is a welcome decision to promote such discussion and to continue the thread. I am also trying to use both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.04 in multiboot environment on my PC. Regards, VRVEERAPANENI

HiI am currently running ubuntu, mandriva and windows 7 in a virtual pc.As i wanted to do a comparison I have allocated them all the same resources eg ram.I have found that windows 7 is by far the better in speed of loading and in the opening of apps with mandriva next.I know linux enthusiasts will claim it is not but I think it is.I am also running openoffice in all 3and there is no difference between them for document editing.Dont forget you can still download many apps free for windows.Installing apps on windows I find is better as all you have to do is double click the app.On linux the app needs to be selected from a list and then it downloads seperate wierd namedcomponants of which i find difficult to follow. (although understanding will increase with use).I see the advantages ie that linux is free at the moment and relatively untouched by virus (please note i am finding microsoft securityessentials a fantastic app and thats free antivirus ans spyware).I still prefer windows 7.I will continue to test all op systemsI can get my hands on as the only way of finding whats right for you is to try before you buy.Try usingvirtual pc.malc

Ubuntu Vs. Windows: Ubuntu: Ubutnu is Very Customizeble and usefull! Ubuntu is WAY faster than almost any other operating system outside of the linux based OS. Ubuntu can run almost any windows program in an ubutnu program called "wine". wine can run programs like "ms office", "Make your own bouser", and many more. you can install a theme that maked ubuntu look like windows 7. This theme does NOT slow down you PC You can try ubuntu after you burn it to CD or DVD Before you install ubuntu. Ubuntu and ubutnu programes are 100% FREE! YAY! now you have a FREE operating system Windows: Altho a lot of programes only run on windows, many of them slow down the PC. Windows and windows programs cost $100-$600 well ubuntu thing are 100% free. So download ubutnu and shout "Hip Hip Horay, The ubuntu programers saved the day" YA!