I have Windows XP sp2 on my laptop right now, and I've heard a bunch of people saying that linux is better than windows. Is this true? I use my computer to surf the web, do gaming (WoW and GTA) and chat with my friends using yahoo messenger. and if I install linux, will i be able to switch over to windows using a free parallel software.. i'm a complete noob to this linux thing, and ive heard that theres versions like urubius or something like that and unix.. which one will be the best one for me? or should i just stay with windows? and my web browser is firefox, thats the one i use all the time
2007-09-01 16:32:05 · 4 answers · asked by somekid225 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
I would recommend you use the Wubi installer http://www.wubi-installer.org for Ubuntu linux http://www.ubuntu.com if you are just beginning with linux. Ubuntu is generally considered one of the most user-friendly distributions of linux, which is a very stable operating system (no anti-virus needed) with tons of great programs. Ubuntu is generally easy to set up, and with my laptop, some things worked on Linux that wouldn't work on windows without finding drivers. Some things are quite counter-intuitive to set up, however, but there are plenty of friendly people in the Ubuntu forums willing to help. There are lots of programs that come pre-installed on Ubuntu, including an instant messenger (GAIM), Firefox, Evolution (e-mail), an office suite, and a graphics editing program (the GIMP)
You can run some windows programs on linux, using a program called WINE http://www.winehq.org I've never actually tried tried this myself, though, so I'm not sure how well it works.
This installer will install Linux on your computer as if it were just another program, and lets you choose to boot either Linux or windows on startup. Though for many people, one of the best parts is that if you decide Linux isn't for you, you can still go to Add/Remove programs in windows and uninstall it in no time flat.
If you decide to go the wubi route, just download the installer from its website. It'll ask you for some basic information, then download all the files needed and install it for you. Good luck!
2007-09-01 17:06:01 · answer #1 · answered by Jeremy M 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. Is Linux a good OS? Yes, I think so.
2. Is it "better" than Windows? I think that it is "on par" with Windows; there are some things that Linux can do that Windows can't, and some things that Windows can do that Linux cannot. I tend to overlook the technical points, though, and think "A bunch of individuals, in their own free time, made an operating system that people want to use". And that, to me, is amazing.
3. You can surf the web with Linux. I don't know if WoW works in Wine; I was not able to get GTA:SA working under Wine. There are free messenger clients available for Linux, such as Pidgin or Kopete.
4. I tried several versions of Linux before I decided on Kubuntu. Choosing a distro is not something where you should just say "I'm going to use THIS one". It took several distros before I finally figured out what to expect and what I wanted from a distro.
5. Firefox is available on Linux. Don't worry about THAT!
2007-09-01 23:50:00 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For surfing, chatting and any other mundane work Linux will do (in fact it can do a lot more). But since you talk of high end games like WoW and GTA....I would not recommend Linux (especially if you are addicted to games) because Linux does not support such games so well...but there is a lot of work going on in that area. Firefox is the default browser in most Linux distributions...so there is no need of switching to another. Regarding which distribution to choose...refer to http://www.distrowatch.com
2007-09-02 03:34:28 · answer #3 · answered by thejaswi_p_23 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's better from a price and security perspective, but from a compatibility aspect it isn't. I've been running it for years and love it because I don't have to be so concerned about viruses or spyware. Ubuntu linux is very easy to setup, has great hardware detection, and has an add/remove applications menu similar to windows. Here's an install guide for Ubuntu:
http://www.howtoforge.com/the_perfect_desktop_ubuntu7.04
That site also has a dualboot tutorial if you want to keep windows and install linux to a different partition.
2007-09-01 23:37:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋