Switching From Windows to Linux Can Take Time

I remember when I made the decision to switch from Windows XP to using Linux. It was not an instant changeover. I had used Linux in the past briefly, when it still did not support most hardware like soundcards and modems, and had stayed with Windows for a long time. But I then bought a second-hand computer and decided to give Linux another try, as there were times when Windows was becoming frustrating to use.

I installed Xandros 3 OCE on it and enjoyed using it. I still ran my Windows XP PC and was comparing the two. Eventually Windows XP got so bad, although a reinstall of it would probably have helped, but I got fed up with having to reinstall Windows yet again (at least once a year for several years).

So I decided to give up Windows XP as my main OS and go for Linux. I bought Xandros 4 Home Premium (no longer available) for less than £100 (considerably cheaper than an XP licence), and installed that and enjoyed it, until the hard drive it was installed on decided to die.

I then wanted to try something else. I discovered Linux Format via the Internet and decided to subscribe (I never bought a copy in a shop) and read about Ubuntu and other distros. Eventually I chose Ubuntu and have been happy with that ever since. I have recently bought an Asus Eee PC 901 with Xandros and enjoy that too.

The point is, I changed over gradually. I think we need to get Windows users to try out Linux first. Live CDs are great in helping do this, as they make no changes to a computer, and thus the Windows user can try out Linux without fear of messing up Windows.

A gradual changeover is the least painful way, and either people who start to use Linux will either like it right away, or have reservations by eventually get fed up with Windows and go for Linux, or be won over by its ease of use (as is the case with some distros) or other plus points.

For me, the real advantages over Windows include:
- no licence fee (for most distros)
- regular free updates
- the latest cutting edge technology (e.g. Compiz)
- free open source software which does not have built-in spyware (Windows has its Genuine [dis-]Advantage Tool which is spyware)
- very unlikely to get a virus or spyware installed in Linux, so much safer to use
- not likely to need to reinstall the OS every 6 months due to OS getting bloated and slowing down as Windows gets.

To a certain extent I think Linux is already there as being better than Windows. But Microsoft has a bigger marketing budget and powerful infuences over the PC industry which pushes Linux out.

Ubuntu - A Fantastic Free OS

Ubuntu is the new big thing in the world of operating systems. Not everyone has heard of it yet, nor seen it or used it. But I have and it is a fantastic operating system you can use on your computer.

It originates from South Africa, from a company called Canonical Ltd, run by a billionaire called Mark Shuttleworth.

There are two famous billionaires in the world of IT: Bill Gates (the richest man in the world, surely have you heard of him) and Mark Shuttleworth (not so well-known). One charges lots of money for an operating system that has bugs, crashes, is unstable, comes with spyware and is prone to being infected by lots of spyware and viruses, and if you want to do office work you have to pay out a lot more money, and it is a popular OS and people are willing to put up with paying for a faulty system. The other billionaire is giving away an operating system that can do pretty much the same as the first, but with less bugs, less security holes, no viruses or spyware and lots of free applications for the office and graphics, that come with it, that allow for good productivity.

So which one do you prefer?

I used to use the former, the one sold by the mighty Bill Gates empire (Microsoft Windows) until I got so fed up with the constant crashing, spyware, errors, expense and the need to continually reinstall the OS every year. Then I decided that it was time to switch to an alternative. The main alternative that people think of first would probably be Apple Mac OS X, but that is more expensive than running Windows (need to buy a whole new computer). Of course, to run the Windows Vista, I would also have to buy a whole new computer due to the heavy system requirements it has. But I chose the cheaper alternative: Linux.

I had used Linux many years ago, I dabbled in Red Hat Linux in the late 1990s, but it was not really ready at that time for the masses or to take over from Windows, but it showed promise.

I also tried Xandros 1, but it was not quite ready either.

But in 2006 I decided to try Xandros 3 (Open Circulation Edition, free), and really liked it. The only things it really lacked was the ability to write to NTFS paritions (necessary as most of my data was on NTFS partitions from using Windows 2000 and Windows XP), but when its successor arrived, Xandros 4 Home Premium Edition (paid for, but cheaper than Windows), it had the ability to write to NTFS, so I bought a copy and used that for a while.

But then I decided to reinstall Xandros 4, onto a new hard disk, as the old one was having problems. But the new installation had a few problems and a graphics driver that caused the system to freeze. So I tried Ubuntu, which I got free on a DVD-ROM with a Linux magazine (I could have downloaded it for free from the Ubuntu website at www.ubuntu.com).

I was pretty amazed with Ubuntu. It worked very well and recognised all my hardware correctly, and even now had the ability to write to NTFS (something that most Linux distros could not do just a few months previously). Xandros is also a very good OS, but I liked Ubuntu more when I tried it, and so I installed that and decided to make it my main OS on this computer.

I just love the special eye-candy graphic-effects, using Compiz-Fusion and Emerald, giving wobbly windows, bendy and flexible windows, transparency, zooming out to see all desktops, zooming in on any part of the screen and the small preview windows when pressing ALT-TAB (most of this eye candy is missing from Xandros).

You really have to see it to know what I mean, but it really does have a great WOW factor. Microsoft, in promoting Vista, kept going on about its WOW factor. But having seen Vista in action and Ubuntu, I am certain that the WOW factor in Ubuntu is greater than that of Vista, and more productive. I love having multiple desktops (as in all Linux distros) and being able to zoom out and see them all at once, updating in real time, is more of a productivity boost than the 3D-effect when switching applications in Vista.

If you are considering a new OS, look at Ubuntu. It is free, it does not require you to register or enter any serial numbers. It does not contain spyware that reports back to the manufacturers (at least I don't think it does) and it comes with genuinely useful software like OpenOffice, the Gimp (for graphics), Firefox (web browser), Thunderbird (email), various games, video and music players, and in the online repositories much more software that can be installed with just a few clicks (so long as you have a broadband Internet connection).

I am very happy since switching to Ubuntu and will probably stay with it for a long time to come; I recommend it to all computer users. At least try out the live CD/DVD and boot from that, it will not alter anything on your hard disk and lets you see what the OS is like without installing it.

Xandros

I am still using Xandros Linux 4 on my PC for my main operating system, it is still a good system and works well.
However, as it has a cost, this will put off some people from using it. Personally, I believe that the Home edition should be free and the Professional edition (and other business software they make) paid for. Xandros will never be popular amongst home users until that happens.
Earlier in 2007 Xandros released a free version called Xandros 4 Open Circulation Edition. They did this with previous versions, a version that did not have all the full features, but was free to download, usually via bit torrent, and fully working and functional, which then gives people an idea of what Xandros is like and how good it is.
But if you look today for the Xandros 4 OCE via bit torrent, you get nothing. Xandros ceased that free edition earlier this year. However, I found it hosted on a Xandros fan site at http://bryantrv.com/misc/, from which you can download the ISO file, to burn to a blank DVD.
Linux is so popular because so much of the software is free. It is the best way to compete with Microsoft. But maybe that is why Xandros stopped the free version, as they did a deal with Microsoft earlier in the year. The MS deal may produce some benefits for Xandros users, but stopping the free version means that the user base can only ever grow slowly (which Microsoft would want). So is the MS deal really in the best interests of Xandros?