Finally dual-booting Ubuntu and Vista Ultimate. Linux is on a 10gB ext3 partition, and Vista is about a 137gB NTFS, so Linux can read Windows files, but not vice versa. I'd rather Vista be FAT32, but I'm not about to change it.
I played with a free Linux version for a bit - Linspire if I remember correctly - and didn't really like it. I used to be a Unix sysad back in 97-98, and while it was great from an SA perspective, as a user, Unix sucks. Linux brings me back to that kind of thing. I'm comfortable with XP now, know all its quirks and enjoy the functionality. Linux is nice for a server, but I don't think I could use it on my 'daily driver'.
Good on you for getting the dual-boot working with Vista though. I've heard Vista is a fickle bitch.
It really wasn't, though. It's superb disk management was its own undoing. I deformatted about 12 GB of harddrive space, ran the Ubuntu Live CD and let it format its own partitions.
Ubuntu 8.04 is really an amazing OS. The hardware support is unparalled, especially for an open-source operating system. Honestly, I like using it better than Windows. The GUI puts Vista to shame, with all the effects and animations, as well as the infinite number of skins. It's just so damn easy to use and install software. It took me a little while to realize that it really was that easy. All you do is run Synaptic and search for the program you want. And it installs it for you.
The only thing I can't do on Linux I could on Windows is Photoshop. And I was even able to transfer all my messages and calendar items from Thunderbird. openoffice can even read .xlsx files, too.
yeah i know windows too well to make the switch. i may try it once i build a new desktop, by using it on my older amd. i've used linux before, but never got into it when it got more user friendly. looks like a joy man!
It really wasn't, though. It's superb disk management was its own undoing. I deformatted about 12 GB of harddrive space, ran the Ubuntu Live CD and let it format its own partitions.
Ubuntu 8.04 is really an amazing OS. The hardware support is unparalled, especially for an open-source operating system. Honestly, I like using it better than Windows. The GUI puts Vista to shame, with all the effects and animations, as well as the infinite number of skins. It's just so damn easy to use and install software. It took me a little while to realize that it really was that easy. All you do is run Synaptic and search for the program you want. And it installs it for you.
The only thing I can't do on Linux I could on Windows is Photoshop. And I was even able to transfer all my messages and calendar items from Thunderbird. openoffice can even read .xlsx files, too.
The Gimp is very similar to Photoshop and runs like a champ on Linux. I've run both Gentoo and Ubuntu at various points in my life and I think with 3 computers now I might set one of them to Ubuntu. Or at least a dual boot. Is there any risk of data loss with the deformatting? Also, if you want to read your Linux files from Windows, you can use something called EXTFS3 or something similar to that name. I've done it.
Ubuntu is excellent, the trick with formatting in vista is that you have to resize the drive in vista to create the free space. Now here is the kicker, and I have done this so many times (like to try different distros), if you want to get rid of that linux partition you can wack it out in vista, but when you restart, your mbr might get wacked depending on how you set it up. You have to use a windows 2000 disk and go into recovery mode, or just any emergency disk that has the command fixmbr on it. Run that command, vista will boot up and run a check, and you are up and running, no lost files.
I guess I forgot to mention something critical. I'm running this setup on a Dell laptop. From the factory, they have a 10GB partition that's a "setup" drive. I nuked that and used it to run Linux.
And I really have no need to read my Linux files from Windows.
But one of my favorite parts about running Linux is I'm doing my own little part to keep Steve Jobs and Bill Gates from getting any richer.
I guess I forgot to mention something critical. I'm running this setup on a Dell laptop. From the factory, they have a 10GB partition that's a "setup" drive. I nuked that and used it to run Linux.
And I really have no need to read my Linux files from Windows.
But one of my favorite parts about running Linux is I'm doing my own little part to keep Steve Jobs and Bill Gates from getting any richer.
I just installed Ubuntu as the sole operating system on my desktop and I'm loving it! The only trouble I'm having right now is getting SPDIF to work with passthrough for Dolby Digital and DTS. Otherwise runs like a champ, I'm preferring it to Vista on my laptop as well.
