OT. Dell

================================== Over the past dozen years I've tried several Linux versions and found them difficult and temperamental. Ubuntu is quite different from other versions. I first tried it (Live CD) about a year ago and it found all my hardware immediately and without any problems. I then did a full install as 'dual boot' with Win2000 and again it worked perfectly first time. The only exception was that it failed to operate my wireless network card despite the fact that it was found and recognised. I've since repeated the process on my other three computers (2 x MSI / 2 x Asus based), again without any problems except the wireless network cards which isn't a problem as I have a wired network which works perfectly with Ubuntu.

I'm now in the last stages of final transfer / conversion of old material from Windows based software to fully Linux based software and I will probably make Linux my only OS when this process is complete.

I would suggest that anyone with an interest in a free OS should try the 'Live' Ubuntu CD to see how well it works. It will be slow but will show how well the full version will work. Dual boot is always an option and Ubuntu manages this very well.

Cic.

Reply to
Cicero
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In article , Andrew Gabriel scribeth thus

Openoffice doesn't always open Word docs as the Microsnot program does....

Reply to
tony sayer

If you go back to DOS, they'd have to supply drivers for individual applications.

Actually, Ubuntu did a better job on my newish PC than XP. Multimedia support (proprietary codecs) eg DVD playback is still a problem, especially if the system is not connected to the internet by broadband and so can't download from online repositories.

True to an extent, although it's easier to tell someone how to cut-and-paste into a command line than it is to tell them to negotiate through multiple menus. I won't mention REGEDIT....

Owain

Reply to
Owain

But Word doesn't always open Word docs if they've got corrupted but Oopenoffice can sometimes restore them...

Owain

Reply to
Owain

The main reason AIUI for not selling it commercially is that many of the big US IT players have given staff, expertise and intellectual property to the project and would not be happy to then see it competing in their own market.

There has been a 'buy one, give one to charity' scheme running in the states but that's been in limited numbers only.

Reply to
PCPaul

I've not noticed any differences with StarOffice 8 (or 7, IIRC). Previous versions didn't always get some things like positioning of tables right, although document was always readable even so.

Must admit I haven't tried OpenOffice, only StarOffice, but they're supposed to be very similar, based on mostly the same code.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

For the £10 it would have cost for a compatible modem, that would have been a more pragmatic solution...

Reply to
John Rumm

To be fair winXP is not much better at plug and play - loads of things fail to install correctly and need the hunt the internet solution. The difference is that most people never install windows - it comes on their PC. Hence installing any OS from scratch can be a bit of a shock.

Yup, true. Having said that needing to edit the registry in windows is equally scary for most. In some aspects windows has even gone backwards in this respect - just look how they have scattered about the networking configuration options in vista compared to XP.

The Asus Eee may alter that a little...

Reply to
John Rumm

Because often the flyer price is less than the identical machine spec'ed through the web site.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Champ

Media center (sic) may be the "Killer App" that makes people want Vista. I too have heard it's pretty good.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Champ

Very limited numbers, given that I signed up for it and never got a response. (And yes, the delivery address was in the US.)

Reply to
Huge

I do all my work with OpenOffice 2.3 (*), and before that with StarOffice 7 (I think). I'm the only non-Windows person in my office. None of them have ever noticed. None of them have ever complained about being unable to open my documents. I have never been unable to open their documents. All is copacetic.

(* If I could have the flayed corpse of whoever wrote the Solaris installer dangling from a gibbet, that would be nice, though. And I suppose that one day I'll get .odt files associated with Open Office instead of File Roller grabbing them first. Grrr.)

Reply to
Huge

TBH I couldn't give a toss if it's idiosyncratic and illogical (which Windows' interface pretty much is), but I know how to use it. I've not got the time to invest in learning how to configure a system that *seems* to do everything arse about tit. The fact that to make things work I have to start editing text files with arcane names a lot of the time shows you how far behind Linux is. It might be consistent but it's not familiar or quick to learn.

Reply to
Doki

I thought I'd heard they are now caught by a patent challenge in the US, and being a non-profit organisation with no funds, they're not really in a position to challenge it.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

KDE seems to take quite a bit longer than Gnome to load up after login which is one thing that I care about for a desktop machine. Most recently I did this with FC8 as a comparison. It may be that Gnome uses more memory - I didn't check that, but then I always make sure to have plenty anyway.

Reply to
Andy Hall

That's my point.

Which is how I feel about Windows.

"Behind"? Tee-hee.

To you. Ergo, the porblem is not with the O/S itself, but with the user(s).

Reply to
Huge

Wouldn't surprise me. The whole thing seems to be falling apart. Yet another reason to hate Bill Gates.

Reply to
Huge

No they are not. You can use packages such as OpenOffice which offer good compatibility for almost everything. The only area that is weak is support for Visual Basic macros, but I have never seen them commonly used by anybody with whom I do business.

One large advantage of Linux is its far greater stability than anything from Microsoft - i.e. it's a proper operating system.

There are different distributions of Linux with different emphases.

Much info. here plus links:

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has become a popular distribution because it has good hardware support, is easy to install and comss with a rich set of software included; plus there is good language support.

Reply to
Andy Hall

The patent challenge is from a Nigerian/Massachusetts company.

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Reply to
Paul Herber

Unless there's *another* patent challenge, it's in Nigeria, IANAL but it sounds like has not leg to stand on.

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the product was pretty well done and dusted *before* Intel joined the circus, so them leaving will just mean they are competing from without the tent, rather than within.

Reply to
Andy Burns

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