Windows XP Vs. Ubuntu Linux --- HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!

[Xaixis]

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9727/wvldb8.png[/img]

I am growing sick of my computer. I am tired of the same old things every time and I want something new. I have tried to change my boot-up screen, log-in screen, icons, cursor, visuals, setup, but no matter what I do it's still windows.

So I am seriously thinking of getting Ubuntu Linux (or maybe Kubuntu... feel free to discuss.) I really want some info on this because I really want to make the switch. But not if it's going to cost me my way of doing things.

Here are pretty much the only things I care about that are holding me back on Windows.

*WoW (I know that it works with WINE so that's covered)
*Photoshop (I know that GIMP is a replacement but I would rather keep my precious PS)
*RMXP + VX (I guess I can live without since I'm more of a resource designer. As long as I can play the games I guess)
*Youtube (I heard about this not working... pretty much a give or take)

I have 1GB of ram RAM... I don't know if that's enough or not.


I'm really stuck here guys. Also I don't want to convert, dislike it, and have no way of getting back what I had before I installed. (I'd rather not dual-boot since I only have one hardrive)

Anyways, don't let that be the halt of discussion. I would like to hear any discussion relating to these two operating systems.

 

[Ellie]

Ubuntu requires a really low amount of RAM compared to Windows; I'm pretty sure 1 GB would be fine. If you're worried about system resources though then Xubuntu might be better, it's what I use. I don't know much about it, or Ubuntu itself, however.

You don't need to dual boot btw, you can run a sort of... sample version off the CD. Or I could, anyway. That way you can try it beforehand without actually physically installing anything.

 

[Xaixis]

Hmm.. Kununtu...

What are the differences between Ubuntu and Kubuntu. Are they both compatible with Beryl?

 

[Yeyinde]

http://wubi-installer.org/ 
Why not try it out before you go and blow away your Windows partition...  With WUBI!  It installs Ubuntu as if it was a program.  It makes a dual boot without making a separate partition for it.  If you don't like it, you can siply uninstall it in the Add/Remove Programs menu!  Why not give it a shot?

 

[roark]

The GIMP is not a photoshop replacement. It does a couple of image editing tasks sort of decently, but it's user interface is so different, you'll drive yourself mad trying to use it like I do. You could look into GimpShop, but its just not the same. Luckily, Photoshop CS2 runs decently (no save for web) under WINE.

I've also found that OpenOffice is no MS Office replacement as well, but I also think Office 2007 is the greatest thing since the Apple II. If you plan on using this computer for school down the road, don't expect perfect compatability if your school uses Office 2007 or 2003 and you have to make complex word/powerpoint/excel documents. Other people might complain that "dude it works pretty well!" but if I can see noticable important differences in a complex word document in Word Mac 2008 and Word 2007, I'm damn sure you'll see something in the hacked compatability of OO.org.

And on the subject of

I guess I can live without since I'm more of a resource designer. As long as I can play the games I guess

I've noticed that running linux usually results in a series of consessions on my part on what I can and cannot do. You must know that when you're changing an operating system, you have to chage your expectations on what will work and what will not. There are tons of amazing Linux things that Windows cannot do, however since I was born and raised on Windows I just don't care about any of them.

But it's not all complaints. The one thing in particurlar that I love that *nix OSes have over Windows is that, basically, out of the box, they're just one big IDE for creating software. Granted, that doesn't mean an graphical system like RMXP, but what better time to learn how to write an RPG using C++ and SDL? Once you learn about makefiles, writing software is just a command line and text editor away.

Lastly, what's your processor speed? If it's less than two or three years old, read on. I'm running a Core 2 Duo e6400 with 5GB RAM, so the last time I got fed up with XP (no 64-bit, no 4gb+ support, insufficent cosmetic differences), I just installed Vista Ultimate. It's got better app compatability than Linux and still looks like "the future." Just be sure you have 3GBs of RAM or more (I've heard 2GB will work as well) or it'd be uncomfortable. 1GB is pretty tight when it comes to Vista. Just don't listen to the nay-sayers who "tried it when it came out" and have nothing but bad stuff to say about Vista. I used one of the Betas, the RTM and SP1 versions. Yeah, the first two sucked (RTM less than Beta), but SP1 is awesome. People who spout "LOL VISTA SUCKS" don't know what they're talking about and need to spend $200 on a new computer from NewEgg.

 

[Xaixis]

http://wubi-installer.org/ 
Why not try it out before you go and blow away your Windows partition...  With WUBI!  It installs Ubuntu as if it was a program.  It makes a dual boot without making a separate partition for it.  If you don't like it, you can siply uninstall it in the Add/Remove Programs menu!  Why not give it a shot?

Ok i just got Wubi and selected Ubuntu. But when it rebooted, it was exactly the same as before. What now?


~~~EDIT


I just restarted my computer again (first time I was out of room and it automatically went for XP) and there were 3 options

>Windows XP Professional
>Windows XP Professional (Tune Up)
>Ubuntu

So I scrolled down and clicked on Ubuntu.

Everything was working ok. Some commands went off and then the Ubuntu loading-screen came up. Then it went back to a command thing but this time it wouldn't continue.

I typed help and it gave me many commands to type in. I typed in all of them and only a few seemed to actually do anything.

I am severely confused. Could anyone walk me through the Wubi/Ubuntu process? (From windows XP)

 

[rey meustrus]

I've never tried to run Wubi, but Ubuntu Linux installation CD's also serve as "live CD's" which allow you to boot from the CD and run the operating system.  The only differences from normal Linux are that it's not your user account, it's "Live session user," the file system does not save to the hard drive, and it will be slower than it would be if on your hard drive.  This is just accessing files, though; the snazzy graphical effects still work like a charm.  If you want to try Linux, I'd download the installation CD and pop it in.  All it will do is boot Linux without touching your hard drive until you click "Install" on the desktop.

How big is your hard drive, by the way?  I apologize in advance if I do not reply that quickly.

 

[Xilef]

After much battling with my low spec laptop I got xubuntu running (Need to plug in monitor to laptop each time tho) and as soon as it started installing i loaded up suduko for my mother to mess around with and she tried it out as it installed, it's really nice and simple, i switched from ubuntu to mandriva now to xubuntu and gnome has really leaped ahead of KDE in the past few years, dont get kubuntu i suggest xubuntu if you want something that runs or ubuntu if you want something that feel "fuller".

Youtube works fine for me, just install flash and off we go. Also I heard RPG Maker does run in the Wine enviroment, but you need to fiddle with settings for a while to get it emulating smoothly (Wine is infact an emulator dispite it's name!).
I've seen some sweet videos of TF2 being played at 100% through wine, just some buggy water effects that dont sway the game entirely.
My Xubuntu HDD is 20gb max, so space is no worry. If it is get damn small linux :p

You might want to research your command line problem, i kept reading about it when I had my old black screen issue.

 

[gamingfan1989]

I would definitely recommend Ubuntu.  You can order Live CD's for nothing (literally, no shipping fee).  I ordered two, one for me and a friend, and I ended up losing them.  Oh well I can always order more from another address. lol

EDIT: However you might want to partition your hard-drive and leave Windows, a lot of programs unfortunately are not compatible with linux.

 

[DeM0nFiRe]

Well, I have tried both Xubuntu and Windows XP, and I went back to Windows XP. Perhaps I got a bad version of Xubuntu (7.10 Gusty Gibbon), but it was incredibly unstable. It looked really nice, but it kept crashing and the program support was not there for what I needed to do.

 

[___]

Gutsy did have some issues for the first couple weeks but it's been patched into stability. There are applications for just about anything in Ubuntu, what were you having trouble finding?

 

[rey meustrus]

7.10, as I have heard, was basically designed for Dell to use in the computers they were selling with Ubuntu.  Don't know if they're still doing that, but I wasn't altogether impressed with the prices considering that not paying for an OS should have dropped the price at least a hundred dollars, which it didn't.  Anyway, long story short, get 8.04 LTS.  8.10 should be out in October, but there's no need to wait.  Updating is a breeze.

 

[___]

GG dell, get an OS for free and turn it into pure profit. Go figure.

 

[Xaixis]

I ordered the live CDs and I will probably get it from that.

Also how easy is it to install Beryl into Ubuntu?

Is it free? And what does it actually do?


I have done some research but I am getting mixed results.

 

[rey meustrus]

I believe beryl is pre-installed onto Ubuntu, but if it isn't then it's very easy to install any software from the Ubuntu repositories over an internet connection.  You just go to Programs>Add/Remove and find the program.  If you're feeling adventurous, you could also go to System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager (I believe these paths are right, but I'm not in Ubuntu right now so I can't say for sure--unfortunately it seems most of my hardware is not supported by third party drivers--HP sucks ass)

Damn, that was one extended parenthetical statement.

 

[Tohsaka]

I've never liked Linux- It never works for me, even with correct drivers and what not. I get disfunctional WiFi after the correct install of ndiswrapper, and the netani driver. Installing my graphics card driver (even after Linux screams at me and tells me to update using a restricted driver), kills my install with the Gray Screen of Death.

Next thing I know? GTK refuses to function. This, of course, was done using Ubuntu 8.04 64-bit and then 32-bit when things didn't work out. I tried on a VM as well- It was still as crappy as ever.

Do yourself a favor- Dump the GNU/Linux and get Unix.

 

[___]

It can be a struggle to get it going at first, but once you get the installation issues out of the way the rest gets a lot easier. An nvidia video card can really make the driver installation easier, as can a common brand-name wifi card.

 

[rey meustrus]

Are you sure about the nVidia thing?  I've only ever had headaches trying to get nVidia cards to work.  Then again, the only other cards I've tried were Intel integrated.

 

[___]

Compared to my struggle to get a Radeon card to work, nVidia is a breeze. They're the only manufacturers who make Linux drivers. The trick is to get Ubuntu to believe you want to use them, which is confusing the first time around if you don't understand the Ubuntu philosophy about never using proprietary, non-free software. Once you do get them installed and clear Ubuntu to use them though they work beautifully; some of my 3d apps and games run better in Ubuntu than they do in Windows XP.

 

[Dargor]

To be honest I haven't read the whole thread, but here's what I have to say.
Why don't you take the best of these 2 OS?

I mean, have you ever heard of VMWare? Virtual Machine Ware is a nifty software that let you create virtual computers on your own computer, allowing you to run any OS on your PC (with the exception of Mac, you would need a cracked Mac OS, but I haven't said that... ...) You're main OS can be Windows and the virtual one can be lets say Linux Red Hat; 2 OS at the same time with (depending on your computer) almost no lag at all. You can even swap between these OS at any time.

Ubuntu uses your computer's RAM memory, CPU, even your hard drive space, and a lot more at it's best while Windows uses only something like 75% of it. There's a noticable difference in speed between Windows and Ubuntu. (Linux being faster and less heavy)
Windows is a really heavy OS, but, it's far more user friendly than Linux. Also, Windows isn't a console based OS and I assume that most of the things you'd like to do will require a win32 or win64 plateform; Linux cannot run executables as easly as windows do.

What I'm getting at? Well, you could install Ubuntu as your main OS, then install VMWare, create a virtual computer with a WinXP environment and work in this virtual machine. That way, Ubuntu will handle your memory, cpu, graphic card, etc as it would normally do and you would virtually work in Windows XP, like you would normally do.

Now, I'm not an expert on neither Linux nor VMWare. It's still pretty new to me. I've made a couple of test at home and, even if using the console in Linux is a real pain in the ass, it works great. I had to change my modem for one that is compatible with Linux to make the proper updates, so you might want to take a look at it as well if you are planning on using Linux.