What do you guys think?

fudgez · 11-11-2010 09:37AM #1

I'm a windows user... I have been slowly but surely attempting to make the switch to using Linux 80% of the time and Windows the other 20% but I was thinking....

(I hate when I do that)

What if I went cold turkey? installed Ubuntu as my only OS for next month or two and blogged about my experiences?

The thing is I use my laptop all day everyday, constantly updating my website or just editing photos or working on new web designs etc. So i would come accross alot of the "big switch" issues that prevent so many others from moving, in the blog I could outline the solutions I find etc

I havent seen anything like this tell me what ye think

fudgez · 11-11-2010 09:41AM

Google before you post is the secret here....

http://my30daysoflinux.blogspot.com/

That guy has done it before..... can I do it now or would I just be dubbed a copycat?

mwrf · 11-11-2010 09:42AM

Do it, My guess is you won't have that much to talk about though.

FruitLover · 11-11-2010 09:45AM

fudgez wrote: »

That guy has done it before..... can I do it now or would I just be dubbed a copycat?

A million guys have done this before. I remember reading a similar account around 2002 (although they weren't called 'blogs' back in them days) by a guy changing from Windows 2000 to Mandrake or something like that. Don't let that put you off; do it for yourself.

fudgez · 11-11-2010 09:47AM

mwrf wrote: »

Do it, My guess is you won't have that much to talk about though.

Well even from my limited time using Ubuntu/Mint already its not that I have run into problems because the systems are magnificent Install wise but its the little things like and not having the safety net of windows will be terrifying!

digme · 11-11-2010 09:50AM

why not use both?

fudgez · 11-11-2010 09:52AM

digme wrote: »

why not use both?

Because I've been doing that for last two months and I just find myself using windows 95% of the time its a cop out like I need to force myself to learn new system

loldog · 11-11-2010 10:14AM

It's all about the applications. A lot of people can't make the full switch because they need applications that run only on the Windows platform.

.

fudgez · 11-11-2010 10:16AM

loldog wrote: »

It's all about the applications. A lot of people can't make the full switch because they need applications that run only on the Windows platform.

.

V. True I use Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Fireworks everyday but this would be about finding alternatives

Also guys can I get title suggestions? seeing as 30 days of Linux is gone

digme · 11-11-2010 10:19AM

Having ubuntu on your computer is not that unique these days. Realistically I doubt anyone would read your blog.

All those programs you've mentioned are brilliant on windows, don't see why you'd want to not use them.Anyway it comes down to this simple truth, if you have a need for linux you will use it,but you yourself said you use windows 95% of the time, well there's obviously a reason for that.I use linux to hack and program things,and windows for games and all the rest of it.

fudgez · 11-11-2010 10:27AM

[/LIST]

digme wrote: »

Having ubuntu on your computer is not that unique these days. Realistically I doubt anyone would read your blog.
All those programs you've mentioned are brilliant on windows, don't see why you'd want to not use them.Anyway it comes down to this simple truth, if you have a need for linux you will use it,but you yourself said you use windows 95% of the time, well there's obviously a reason for that.I use linux to hack and program things,and windows for games and all the rest of it.

Thankyou for your excellent feedback mate. Its true I use windows for a reason but I want to make Linux work for me because

its cool
its free
It has a great multiple desktop solution (windows ones suck)
I enjoy little techie experiments

digme · 11-11-2010 10:39AM

Ya i suppose the multi desktop is cool haha
I can't find it on mint though..

fudgez · 11-11-2010 10:41AM

digme wrote: »

Ya i suppose the multi desktop is cool haha
I can't find it on mint though..

search software place thingy for CCSM i think you can enable it through that

fudgez · 11-11-2010 01:30PM

I have setup the Blog and plan on starting today....

http://thegreatlinuxswitch.wordpress.com/

pickarooney · 12-11-2010 11:18AM

If you write in an interesting way I'd be interested in reading it. I've been using linux for 10 years and still have constant problems with new installs.

Khannie · 12-11-2010 11:54AM

Started reading it there. Looks good.

Didn't know about ninite.

pickarooney · 12-11-2010 12:27PM

I like it so far. Nice description of the sense of terror as you erase a partition

Ninite is nicht nicht for XFCE seemingly.

Ste- · 12-11-2010 12:38PM

Bookmarked as I encounter similar problems and haven't 100% converted as yet.
Enjoyed reading what you've posted so far aswell.
Keep it up.

fudgez · 12-11-2010 12:52PM

First of all thankyou for your encouragement it is proving to be alot of work (i'm keeping things like flash player off the system till i'm ready to write about em... pain in da arse) but if people are reading then its all worth it

If you have any specific requests etc just email me or comment on the posts etc.

I must admit i am absolutely loving the sense of adventure

jimmycrackcorm · 12-11-2010 01:00PM

If you want to use Linux then use it for server applications. For desktop use stick to windows. Its pointless to use it just for the sake of being cool as it will only make things awkward fore you in trying to replace your common applications. E.g. if you normally use photoshop people will say use gimp but why change?

You mentioned the multi desktop scenario but you can get an application to do that on windows.

fudgez · 12-11-2010 01:07PM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

If you want to use Linux then use it for server applications. For desktop use stick to windows. Its pointless to use it just for the sake of being cool as it will only make things awkward fore you in trying to replace your common applications. E.g. if you normally use photoshop people will say use gimp but why change?

You mentioned the multi desktop scenario but you can get an application to do that on windows.

Well i am using it now Jimmy and yes it is alot of hassle yet I am enjoying it and isn't the point of builds such as Ubuntu that they are meant to replace Windows? it would be and is proving interesting to see how close they are...

There are apps for windows that give you multiple desktops but let me assure you they do not come close to emulating what Ubuntu does, they are slow and buggy.

digme · 12-11-2010 02:58PM

pickarooney wrote: »

If you write in an interesting way I'd be interested in reading it. I've been using linux for 10 years and still have constant problems with new installs.

that should be more of a reflection on linux and not you

pickarooney · 12-11-2010 03:45PM

digme wrote: »

that should be more of a reflection on linux and not you

It's deliberately ambiguous - how you understand the statement reflects on you.

Have you an iPod or similar device, fudgez? It might be interesting to read about your efforts to get it working in linux. Also, although it's been done to death, selecting a media player and file manager is always a good insight when done impartially and from a neophyte's point of view.

Oh, also, if you happen to have a Gericom laptop from about 2004 there's a lot of mileage in getting Ubuntu to play nice with that

fudgez · 12-11-2010 03:57PM

pickarooney wrote: »

It's deliberately ambiguous - how you understand the statement reflects on you.

Have you an iPod or similar device, fudgez? It might be interesting to read about your efforts to get it working in linux. Also, although it's been done to death, selecting a media player and file manager is always a good insight when done impartially and from a neophyte's point of view.

Oh, also, if you happen to have a Gericom laptop from about 2004 there's a lot of mileage in getting Ubuntu to play nice with that

Hey man I have an iPhone which i havent connected to it yet its gonna be fun figuring it out although im sure thats something there'll be tons of guides for. I'm gonna hook it up to a printer tonight and talk through some of the basic appearence settings I think, maybe a wee tour of the software center too.

I do plan on doing comparisons of the various media/file management/ browser programs. will be good to see which ones I think work best I think. I'll be putting them up against the programs I used in windows to do the same things

on the Gericom laptop thing unfortunately I dont have one on an interesting side note I am currently trying to get Puppy Linux running on an ex windows 95 machine I have lying around it is proving tough because GRUB is tougher to configure when the installer doesnt do it for you! but I digress

fudgez · 12-11-2010 06:02PM

Hey guys just setup the social network side of things

http://thegreatlinuxswitch.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/going-social/

ran into a problem with FB and Gwibber

very disheartening anyone know of a fix I tried a few already

evercloserunion · 12-11-2010 11:23PM

fudgez wrote: »

Hey guys just setup the social network side of things

http://thegreatlinuxswitch.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/going-social/

ran into a problem with FB and Gwibber very disheartening anyone know of a fix I tried a few already

Back when I used Ubuntu, which was not that long ago, I had the exact same problem with Gwibber. I searched through bug pages for ages trying to find a solution. There are plenty of suggested solutions out there, and some of them seem to work for other people but not me. I'm surprised they haven't fixed this by now.

There are a few suggestions here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/gwibber/+bug/595265

By the way, are those colours and icons the default theme in Maverick? They look snazzy. I might nick a few of those icons for my awesomewm config.

fudgez · 13-11-2010 12:03AM

evercloserunion wrote: »

Back when I used Ubuntu, which was not that long ago, I had the exact same problem with Gwibber. I searched through bug pages for ages trying to find a solution. There are plenty of suggested solutions out there, and some of them seem to work for other people but not me. I'm surprised they haven't fixed this by now.

There are a few suggestions here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/gwibber/+bug/595265

By the way, are those colours and icons the default theme in Maverick? They look snazzy. I might nick a few of those icons for my awesomewm config.

Hey mate,
A comment on the blog has suggested the problem has been fixed that I just need to run an update so I am attempting that now I will let you know how I get on with that.
My icons and general theme are default I am holding off on alot of customization untill I am ready to do a post on it. So in short yes they are

fudgez · 13-11-2010 12:53AM

fudgez wrote: »

Hey mate,
A comment on the blog has suggested the problem has been fixed that I just need to run an update so I am attempting that now I will let you know how I get on with that.
My icons and general theme are default I am holding off on alot of customization untill I am ready to do a post on it. So in short yes they are

It worked perfectly

Johnboy1951 · 13-11-2010 05:05PM

I have only one suggestion ...

do not limit your experience to one 'flavour' of Linux.

There are many fine distributions out there.
Ubuntu is not Linux ..... it is a flavour.
Just like other things in life one never knows what suits one best until one has at least sampled alternatives.

I wish you luck on your journey, but encourage you to open your view to other possibilities in addition to the one you are now trying.

regards.

fudgez · 13-11-2010 05:16PM

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I have only one suggestion ...

do not limit your experience to one 'flavour' of Linux.

There are many fine distributions out there.
Ubuntu is not Linux ..... it is a flavour.
Just like other things in life one never knows what suits one best until one has at least sampled alternatives.

I wish you luck on your journey, but encourage you to open your view to other possibilities in addition to the one you are now trying.

regards.

First and foremost thankyou very much. I personally first installed Linux about 6 weeks ago I tried out OpenSuse first as it was recommended for noobs. after a few weeks I was itching for a change so I installed Mint which I really liked but the ubuntu 10.10 was released and I liked the look of it so I decided to use that for my "Experiment".

Also in the past I have installed Puppy Linux on machines for people.

I do feel that for my purposes, i.e. the blog, Ubuntu is probably the best to use on account of it being the most common and supported build. In reality I suppose my ultimate goal is to make it easier for some people to make the change to an open source, free system. by the time I am done there shall be a comprehensive guide for someone to make the change
you know?

Once again thankyou for your support. Ive said it before i'll say it again the community aspect of the Linux culture is a great aspect of this kind of undertaking, absolutely everyone wants to help out, offer solutions and just support, its fantastic.

evercloserunion · 15-11-2010 05:48PM

When you get a bit more comfortable with Linux maybe try Arch, Slackware or Gentoo, I'd definitely be interested in reading that blog!

What do you guys think?

Should I do a blog about switching to using only linux? 33 votes

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