My Experiment and Experience and My Experiments To Come

At the end of last year a friend of mine asked if I would help him switch from Windows Vista to Linux. Being that I have used Ubuntu for a year now and enjoy it and to the fact that I love it when people switch to Linux as it is a growing community of people who want their computers to actually work, I agreed to help him.

He knew I used Ubuntu and he likes what he's seen me do with my computer. He was tired of viruses and having to worry about security and his computer crashing and what not. On top of all that, he's not a rich guy (seems like everyone is if they're using any version of Windows) and loved that it's a free operating system that would suite his needs.

The Experiment

I quickly discovered after running both Ubuntu 8.10 and Ubuntu 9.10 Live CDs that we were quickly going to have a problem. Linux does just work however sometimes even with it you will run into a bit of an issue. Nothing is perfect obviously.

With 8.10 his computer would detect wireless connections in the apartment building we live in but would not play a tune for anything. No sound. None. I looked around some forums and did a bit of research and put into action some information I learned and still nothing.

With 9.10 his sound worked just fine but no Internet connection. His wireless card wasn't even being detected it seemed like. This was odd to me as 9.10 has more wireless capabilities and is known to perform better where that's concerned.

Ultimately we installed 8.10 and left it as it was as it had Internet usability. He's having his dad put Windows back on and then he's going to dual-boot and experiment with some Linux Distributions at the same time.

What Came From All This?

Well, when you hear of how “hard” it is to use Linux you should really question that like you would anything else. Linux isn't exactly “hard” to use it's just different and people will hear someone talk about a bad experience they had with it and therefore won't give it a chance.

Take a Live CD for a test drive and see for yourself if it's “hard” to use. Experiment with more than just one distribution and discover what you can/can't do with it and if it will suite your daily computing requirements or not. Ubuntu is not the only distro out there, though it's a very popular one and has a strong and growing community.

Actually as I write this I am currently running Linux Mint 8 – Helena on Live CD. It's a nice distro from what I'm seeing and it runs rather well.

With that being said I am going to make a list of distributions that I want to test and experience and see for myself how they operate. I will make an article for each one this year and explain my experience.

2010 is a new year full of great things to come and new opportunities arising. Change is everywhere so embrace it to the fullest. Do what you've never done and give it a go!
My plans for next week include searching for what distributions are out there and writing down which ones I want to test and why. My next article will have that list and the reasons why. I will also include the specs of my personal computer so you know what I'm working with before I go into all this.

Ready For Change?

What distributions have you tested and what did you particularly enjoy about each one? What's stopping you from making the switch and why would you want to switch? I would love to hear about your experience and why you switched over and compare it to my own that will happen in the near future.

What Is A Distribution And What Do Some People Choose?

I just installed Ubuntu Linux 9.10 on a friend's computer a few days ago. The process went well and I believe that she is very happy with her computer now.

Her main concern for switching to Linux was that it would suit her needs better because she wanted to be able to play her music, write her stories and not have to worry about viruses and computer crashes and security issues. All understandable reasons.

The install process took roughly 20 to 30 minutes and setting up was a breeze. She had fun choosing a desktop background for her computer and had even more fun knowing she was free to do what she wanted exactly how she wanted now that she was using Linux.

I've known her for years so she and I have history together and she trusts my opinion on her switch to Linux.

You may want to switch to Linux yourself but you may not be sure how to go about doing so. There are probably a number of reasons and good questions you have.

To help you with your switch to the Linux world and answer a few basic questions to help get you on the right path check out the Linux Distribution Chooser.

What do you like most about Linux and what Distribution do you use or want to use and why?

Welcome to Linux Does

Linux is actually a very simple operating system than what you have probably heard about. One of the biggest reasons most people don't want to use Linux is because it's different. Sorry but if what you're currently using isn't working for you then I don't see the point in not giving something else a chance.

Linux is awesome actually and I've been using Ubuntu for a year now. I love it and I'll never look back. There's so many resources you can find online that explain how to use it and why to use it and you might think this is just more one place explaining all the same stuff - well, it's not.

Not quite anyway.

This blog's job is to make it simple for you to decide for yourself if Linux is right for you and to help you get started. Nowadays however, Linux is more user-friendly than ever which makes it almost a piece of cake to do anything with for just about anyone who wants to give it a try.

That's it for this post... I'll have more to come in the future.

Do you use Linux and if so what Distro do you currently use and why?

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