Going to test Linux

[Mini-G 0]

ok, so I can understand why so many people hate MS, and refuse to use their products. I myself am not a fan of MS, but instead of boycotting their products, I have decided to take the deviant way of business, and benefit from the use of their products, without financing their capitalist dictatorship of the computing market.

 

I'v always been curious about linux, however, I cant get a straight answer from anybody about linux, because they are either a fanboy (will follow something blindly, no matter how crap it is), or are so wrapped up in telling me how crap windows is, rather than telling me anything useful about Linux..... so I put the question to you fine chaps.

 

so give me the lowdown on how to get started with linux... im going to assume that ubuntu is probably the easiest to get used to. what version is the best? what is needed to get it all set up and working correctly? what sort of cool stuff does it do? what sort of applications are available to replace the standard stuff I use in XP/Vista? And what sort of troubles am I likely to run into when trying to run some bog-standard apps?

 

im very adept in the use of computers, so I think I will get used to the interface quickly so it shouldnt be too hard to manage really, just doing a bit of research before I risk breaking my computer

 

thanks in advance

 

-Mini

[Silearth 6]

Well you just described me, being far from a Linux fanboy and anything but a Microsoft hater.

 

I chose Ubuntu because I did my research-pouring over comparisons of all the major distros. Ubuntu just seemed like it would fit my needs better than the others.

 

I can't tell you about replacing your apps as I don't know what you use. http://www.linuxappfinder.com/ is a good place to start. Register there and search for alternatives to your favorite tools. Right off the bat I can tell you Openoffice for MS Office and Gimp for Photoshop although I've heard that Photoshop runs under Wine.

 

What you can expect, and this is from my personal experience, is an operating system that runs smoother than Windows. If you like, you can have Aero-like effects on a system that can barely run Vista Home. There are some pretty over-the-top effects and they get old after awhile. But I never got tired of the task switcher. Go too far with the effects and you will slow down your Ubuntu box, but I had my wimpy little athlon 1.1 running smoothly with quite a few effects going.

 

The interface was very easy to adjust to. If you choose Kubuntu it comes with a desktop manager that behaves more like windows.

 

The Ubuntu community is very helpful to new users--they don't want you going back to Windows, after all.