I've been using linux for my primary desktop for about 4-5 years now. My last windows box is an xp box that exists only for a printer. A printer that will vanish the next time I need to by ink since a new printer is cheaper than lexmark ink
In fact, its a laptop that I haven't even unpacked in a few weeks (we don't print much
)
Try the
ubuntu install disk, is doubles as a live cd so you can boot from cd into a running linux workstation. It doesn't affect your computer (as long as you don't select install and answer all its questions) and is a nice way to load up linux and look around. It runs a little slow since its running completely off of your cd and ram, but you'll get to click around and see what's there. If you have problems running the live cd, you can usually find solutions in the
ubuntu forums, search for your computer model
. This can also give you a general idea of how much of a pain it will be getting you video card/monitor to work in linux since that is (in my experience) always the reason the live cd doesn't start out of the gate.
If you want to try it a little more, but don't want to try dual booting, there are
programs that can install linux to a pendrive (>1G) and that will run and boot faster (assuming your computer can boot from a pendrive). I'd swear I've read that you can install to a pendrive from the live cd, though I haven't tried it.
You could also check out the
wubi installer which will run linux as a program on your windows machine. It will need at least a gig of HD space, but I've heard it works well and you can uninstall it if you don't like it. disclaimer: I've never tried it.
If you decide you want to look at it a little more, you would then look around for dual boot options. There are graphical tools which will shrink your windows partition (without damaging it) to give you room for a linux install. Better yet, throw another HD in
This is where you will really start to waste time. Mostly looking through synaptic (package/installation manager) and getting some idea of just how many OSS programs there are out there. Then you'll start installing all sorts of programs that do things you never thought you'd look into, like radio station management software, just to take a look at it. Seriously, you will look through synaptic, find 20-30 programs you want to look at and cringe when you realize you've just elected to install 300MB of software that has to be downloaded!
You won't find the brand spankin new and shiny games. Sure, a few will come down the pike that can technically be played in linux, but not nearly as many as are released for windows, not by a longshot. However,
there are a
lot of
games. There again, synaptic is your friend for the most part, but there are many that aren't in synaptic that are really good. Like I say, they won't be shiny new games, but the quality of the games themselves can often be very high though the graphics may not be cutting edge. Sure, there are turds, same with buying a random game at best buy, but there are many options.
You can and probably will run into problems, just like a fresh installation of windows. If you do have problems, they will most likely be driver problems and it will probably be the result of installing on a brand new model of computer. My experience has been the graphics card and/or network card, including wireless card. Your best bet at that time is to write down any errors you see, boot back into windows and search the ubuntu forums for others having your problem,
or running ubuntu on your model of computer. Of course, IRC is always a really good option too. If its an older computer, you have a really good chance of not running into any problems at all.
I've had windows installs be a nightmare, and linux installs be a piece of cake (as well as the reverse). They really aren't comparable, so don't let any of the elitist fool you into thinking that you have to be a
super genius just to use linux. It
is different from other operating systems, it
doesn't come pre-installed and pre-setup for you, so there will be a bit of a learning curve. Perhaps a little, perhaps a lot, it often depends on your hardware and general setup needs.
In my experience, linux runs better on a computer than windows. I've seen my battery life double, so it just may be worth trying out. I once tried vmware on linux and on windows on the same computer. I installed windows
and linux as a guest OS on both. Which ran worst? Windows guest on a Windows host OS, by far. Which ran best? Linux on a Linux host by far, so much so that the graphical interface for the linux guest on linux did not run any slower than the host linux's graphical interface. Not conclusive I realize, but it was pretty powerful anecdotal evidence for me
edit: Lava! I'm not a hippie! I may smell a little, and my friends call me a nerd, but I'm NO HIPPY!
