Linux/Ubuntu

[Wedgie]

Anyone mucked around in Linux and more specifically tried Ubuntu as an operating system?
Ive had some real issues with an old PC that my son uses for World of Warcraft only after installing a new 640gb hard drive on it so instead of stuffing around with Windows (it has a legal serial number but doesn't have the disc) Ive taken the plunge and are currently installing Linux with more Ubuntu as the OS.
Must say I really like it so far, bit of extra work getting some programs to work but easy enough to find instructions.
Just wondering if there's any other techo nerds out there that may have used it and what their opinion on it was.
Cheers.

[Pseudo]

Having been brought up in a Unix environment I vastly prefer the elegant simplicity of a command line interface to any of those crappy Micro$loth operating systems with bells, whistles, and semi-sentient paperclips. So Linux is the way to go. Currently running Fedora 10 on my laptop, having upgraded from Fedora 5 (!) over the summer. Still haven't got it quite stable yet, I must admit. I need to spend a weekend or two running it continuously to unearth and patch the various glitches which still exist.

[Westsider]

I've mucked around with Ubuntu myself as well. I liked it, but went back to vista because ive never had any troubles myself. (touch wood*)

Also in the past used RedHat and Fedora... infact I have a thick as book for RedHat and most of the stuff is still current today somewhat.

[prowling panther]

Interesting, I have often thought about installing Ubantu on a machine I have in the shed, might get aound to it one day

[Psyber]

I've played around with Mandrake [now Mandriva I think.].
I've used Red Hat, and the later variation Fedora.
And I did have a SUSe installation going once.
These were all pre 2004, I think, and did not seem reliable or flexible enough to stick with, but they were all part of dual boot set ups.
SUSe was a dog, Mandrake got into trouble with every update, Red Hat was fiddly to set up. Fedora struggled to install properly.

More recently I've played with Ubuntu, and found it very usable and reliable.
My wife loved it and used it as her main OS.
I now plan to install 64 bit Ubuntu on a spare computer - AMD64 3200+ - and give it plenty of RAM, then set up XP under Virtualbox.
If I can run all the programmes I want that way, I make adopt that as my standard.

[Westsider]

With OpenOffice available for free most people can get away with a Linux only setup. Hell, I used OO on my Windows PC's at home and work. ITS FREE!

As my Vista install is stable I'm not going to bother with it as yet, but if it starts to play up I'd look at it.

[Psyber]

Yes, I've used Open Office for years - the last version of MS Office I had was 1997.
I have found it expedient to set its defaults to save letters as Office 97/XP compatible .doc files so that they can be accessed easily if I send then as an attachment to someone who is still M$ orientated.

You can also get Firefox and Thunderbird [or Opera] for Linux, so you don't even have to adjust to a different browser.

[Pseudo]

[Psyber]

That almost looks like a very young Bill Gates on the far right of the front row...

[Westsider]

It's a clone.