Author Topic: Contemplating Switch  (Read 4316 times)

foot foot

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Contemplating Switch
« on: 26 November 2005, 20:30 »
Hello, I have been thinking of getting rid of my Windows XP for Linux. I haven't really researched it much and thought it would be nice to hear from some of you guys. I really only use this computer for e-mail, internet browsing, and putting music onto my ipod. Will it be hard to get used to the layout or anything like that? Any help is appreciated.

H_TeXMeX_H

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #1 on: 26 November 2005, 20:57 »
The layout ? you mean the desktop ? ... certainly not, I'd say it's a lot easier to learn and use than the M$ layout/desktop. I find GNOME the easiest and most logical layout, but most other people prefer KDE for some reason, and Fluxbox is quite fast and easy to use. Either way, it's not hard to learn how to do stuff. You might need to use command line here and there, but google should help with that.

piratePenguin

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #2 on: 26 November 2005, 21:36 »
Quote from: foot foot
e-mail, internet browsing, and putting music onto my ipod
Mozilla Thunderbird (there's another good (from what I've heard) email client for GNOME, but I can't remember the name), Mozilla Firefox, and gtkpod.

I recommend Ubuntu as a distro choice for newcomers.
« Last Edit: 26 November 2005, 22:21 by piratePenguin »
"What you share with the world is what it keeps of you."
 - Noah And The Whale: Give a little love



a poem by my computer, Macintosh Vigilante
Macintosh amends a damned around the requested typewriter. Macintosh urges a scarce design. Macintosh postulates an autobiography. Macintosh tolls the solo variant. Why does a winter audience delay macintosh? The maker tosses macintosh. Beneath female suffers a double scum. How will a rat cube the heavier cricket? Macintosh calls a method. Can macintosh nest opposite the headache? Macintosh ties the wrong fairy. When can macintosh stem the land gang? Female aborts underneath macintosh. Inside macintosh waffles female. Next to macintosh worries a well.

Jenda

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #3 on: 26 November 2005, 22:17 »
The client you mean is, I think, evolution. It is default on Ubuntu, which I'd recommend too. I use it myself. You DL it or get it for free on shipit.ubuntu.com.

If you need help with it ask here, on the Ubuntuforums, on #ubuntu, #ubuntuforums (you'll see me there), #linux-help - all on freenode IRC.

I think you stroke the real purpose of this forum: help the transition from MS crap to alternatives.

foot foot

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #4 on: 26 November 2005, 22:34 »
Thanks for all the quick responses. I have one last question before I install it (Ubuntu);  Do I uninstall everything on my computer first or just DL it?  Sorry if this sounds dumb, I just want to make sure I do evreything correct.

piratePenguin

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #5 on: 26 November 2005, 22:36 »
Quote from: foot foot
I have one last question before I install it (Ubuntu);  Do I uninstall everything on my computer first or just DL it?
You don't have to. The installer will ask you questions about partitioning, you'll want to chose to erase everything and use the whole disk for Ubuntu.

Make sure any important stuff is backed up! All data will be lost.
Quote from: foot foot

I just want to make sure I do evreything correct.
I know the feeling.
"What you share with the world is what it keeps of you."
 - Noah And The Whale: Give a little love



a poem by my computer, Macintosh Vigilante
Macintosh amends a damned around the requested typewriter. Macintosh urges a scarce design. Macintosh postulates an autobiography. Macintosh tolls the solo variant. Why does a winter audience delay macintosh? The maker tosses macintosh. Beneath female suffers a double scum. How will a rat cube the heavier cricket? Macintosh calls a method. Can macintosh nest opposite the headache? Macintosh ties the wrong fairy. When can macintosh stem the land gang? Female aborts underneath macintosh. Inside macintosh waffles female. Next to macintosh worries a well.

Jenda

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #6 on: 27 November 2005, 00:43 »
Good luck. I'll be in touch tomorrow, if you need anything.

foot foot

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #7 on: 27 November 2005, 19:59 »
OK, I feel really stupid asking this, but after Ubuntu downloaded onto my desktop I couldn't open it. I checked around and seen that I needed to burn it onto a CD since it was an iso file and when I did that it just burned the exact thing that was on my desktop. I still can't open it. What do I do next?

cymon

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #8 on: 27 November 2005, 20:09 »
Get nero, from nero.com, the trial will work fine.

Select burn a cd from an image. Just copying the image file to a cd will not work.
Insert it and reboot.

foot foot

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #9 on: 27 November 2005, 20:33 »
Nero wouldn't DL so I got burnatonce and this came up after I tried to burn it:

Starting write at speed 4...
ERROR: Cannot set write parameters mode page.
ERROR: Cannot setup write parameters for session-at-once mode.
ERROR: Please try to use the 'generic-mmc-raw' driver.
ERROR: Writing failed.

Ihave no idea what that means.

cymon

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #10 on: 27 November 2005, 20:39 »
What do you mean it wouldn't download? Did you click on the download link?

That means whatever you used didn't work.

Seriously though, burning disc images under WinDoze is a massive pain in the ass.

foot foot

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #11 on: 27 November 2005, 20:47 »
It didn't DL because there's some problem with Windows. I forgot I had another CD/DVD burning program (Fireman) and it's working fine now. I just need to start looking better before I post questions. Thanks for the help.

foot foot

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #12 on: 27 November 2005, 21:19 »
OK, well, that didn't work. Nero won't DL. I tried to DL Daemon Tools and it says that the file type isn't supperted. I am just lost now.

piratePenguin

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #13 on: 27 November 2005, 21:32 »
Quote from: foot foot
OK, well, that didn't work. Nero won't DL. I tried to DL Daemon Tools and it says that the file type isn't supperted. I am just lost now.
Why won't Nero download?
"What you share with the world is what it keeps of you."
 - Noah And The Whale: Give a little love



a poem by my computer, Macintosh Vigilante
Macintosh amends a damned around the requested typewriter. Macintosh urges a scarce design. Macintosh postulates an autobiography. Macintosh tolls the solo variant. Why does a winter audience delay macintosh? The maker tosses macintosh. Beneath female suffers a double scum. How will a rat cube the heavier cricket? Macintosh calls a method. Can macintosh nest opposite the headache? Macintosh ties the wrong fairy. When can macintosh stem the land gang? Female aborts underneath macintosh. Inside macintosh waffles female. Next to macintosh worries a well.

foot foot

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Re: Contemplating Switch
« Reply #14 on: 27 November 2005, 22:06 »
Well, it downloads but it won't run because I need an update from Windows. I can't get the update from Windows because my computer has an illegal copy of Windows XP. I bought this computer from a yard sale and anytime I ask for help from other forums they act like assholes because my copy is illegal and they usually delete my question even though I explain that I'm poor and just can't go buy a new copy of XP. This is the whole reason I want to switch to Linux.