New Linux User

I agree with you Arador. In that regard I am glad I started with Ubuntu. I am far from a power user but it did teach me a bit as to how Linux functions....but for the grannies and techinally challenged peope out there that just wants a OS that is more responsive than Windowz and want to install and start watching their naughty vids I would say Mint :-)
 
I have to say that Remastersys is one of the greatest things I have ever come across. It allows you to take an Ubuntu Installation and repackage it into a LiveCD. So what I do now for my friends and family is to load a VM in Virtualbox, install all the things they need and tweak it to their requirements and then turn it back into an ISO image that they can write and install for themselves.

It also helps me a lot when I want to upgrade cleanly but I can not stop working while I tweak Ubuntu for my use.
 
Yes...do enjoy....and if you do struggle a bit...stick with it. I also wondered the first few days if I will be able to get used to it...but trust me...once you do it is a pleasure. I once did a test with my sisters laptop and mine. She had a massivly priced high spec laptop and mine was entry entry level. Started both up at the same time. I was already browzing the net and hers was still on the Windows boot up screen with the progress bar half way.....eat that sista! :-)
 
Speed above all other reasons is why I will never be able to go back to Windows. An OS is like a car. It is not just about straight line speed but also about responsiveness. In Windows you click, wait, then the window opens but it is blank, then you wait some more and finally the icons appear.

In Linux, click and tada!
 
Exactly....I can not even start @ voicing my frustration when coming into work and I have to use windows on it. I have come so close to actually kicking the living @#$@# out of this thing. Can be very frustrating having to use both...because you really do miss your linux @ home when @ work having to deal with Windowz :-(
 
Amen. I am in the favourable position that I can install whatever I want on my work PC so can not complain. People always say it is hard to go from Windows to Linux. It is, yes but it is 10 times harder to go from Linux back to Windows.
 
Arador said:
I agree with you to some extent. If I was going to suggest a Linux Distro to someone who wants as little hassle as possible I would say Mint everyday.

But I believe that if you want to try Linux you want to learn a bit about it too and become more than just a user. ubuntu is a good balance in that regard. Things work and it is extremely userfriendly but there are also some basic tricks to learn such as adding packages and installing what you would like. These basic tasks along with probably the largest support base there is makes for an excellent Distro to learn Linux on.
Click to expand...

Very well put. I agree 100% that Ubuntu provides a good balance between user-friendliness, learning and community support.
 
Another tip, select some text, now move into some place where you would normally paste something. Press middle mouse button, whatever you selected is now pasted :D.
 
I have been using Ubuntu for the past couple of years primarily as my browsing OS, so still have Windows on a different drive for gaming and other Windows based things that I still need it for. But really, I cannot find anything to complain about with regards to Ubuntu - runs decently fast on my PC which is ashamedly very very old. Using current version 9.04 and it's very nice. Stable and smooth!

I have not yet experimented with Mint, hear good things and will no doubt give it a try at some point - also if the freedom toasters had them. Mandriva, well I used to use Mandrake all those years ago, but tried Mandriva last year some time - installation was not as sleek as the old days of Mandrake, but installed and on first attempt, trashed my Windows partition which was on the same drive then. After reinstalling Windows and second attempt everything installed fine and then on playing around with it I was just not being wow'd by it. I then tried its 3D desktop option and at some point something broke and the OS was literally crippled - wouldn't boot up. So trashed it and went back to Ubuntu...

Although I personally had a bad experience with Mandriva, doesn't mean to say that it is rubbish. Still very much worth trying and there have been at least one or two versions since my experiences with it.

I'd say give Ubuntu a try as much as I would say give Mint a try at the end of the day...

Philip.
 
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