Going Ubuntu Linux. Advice?

[PatColo]

So my laptop burned out a couple weeks ago... an HP Pav which actually lasted impressively long, 3.5 years, "ON" (oft asleep/hibernating) 99% of the time. Had Win 7 which was decent.

Got a cheap new ASUS celeron, Win 8 preinstalled of course. I HATE IT. Gonna wipe it and go Ubuntu (http://ubuntu.com).

Any advice on smart disk partitioning? Best support/discussion forums? etc??

Anyone know anyone who LIKES win 8? Coz I figure if I have to learn where everything is practically from scratch again, then I'm dumping msft/win/gates & nsa-transparency sucking up half my bandwidth by their surveillance, and going Ubuntu. :cool:

[Glass]

ubuntu is pretty good. I could live with it but for 1 thing and that is TV-DVR. I have not deployed it to a PC as a native OS. Only as a virtual machine or to non PC hardware.

Using oracle virtual box I was able to use a downloaded install ISO of Ubuntu to create a new virtual machine and install Ubuntu to that. Straight forward process. Gave me the opportunity to see what it is/can do before doing a clean install to the PC.

I have been experiencing Debian recently. Messing with a raspberry pi. Seems quite good. I think a fair equivalent with Ubuntu.

I'm not a tech. I need a windows interface. If the how to is detailed I can sometimes pull off the install of something so that it works. Many times I get stymied. I follow the steps but something is not there/where/how it is supposed to be and I dead end. Installing regular apps is usually straight forward though. Writing, spreadsheets email and browsers.

For disk partitioning on live disks, I've found GParted to work well.

[gunDriller]

So my laptop burned out a couple weeks ago... an HP Pav which actually lasted impressively long, 3.5 years, "ON" (oft asleep/hibernating) 99% of the time. Had Win 7 which was decent.

Got a cheap new ASUS celeron, Win 8 preinstalled of course. I HATE IT. Gonna wipe it and go Ubuntu (http://ubuntu.com).

Any advice on smart disk partitioning? Best support/discussion forums? etc??



diminishing or negative returns of additional technological complexity.

i'm getting an 'error 69' ... programmer sense of humor for you're fvcked ? ... on an X79 motherboard. i was actually doing a back-up when it crashed.

from reading logs, it sounds like the boot SSD might have died. i was actually doing a back-up when it happened.


i think you're taking your crash better than i am. i just lost 2 years or 3 months of work, depending on how one counts.


GETTING TO YOUR QUESTION, anandtech forums, maybe.

or, hardware canucks.

anandtech banned me for discussing politics in the politics forum.

[Ares]

Pat,

I deployed one of my miners using Ubuntu, and shortly after that I discovered Linux Mint (http://www.linuxmint.com/). Which as a personal preference I like better. The updating process is better, and the same command syntax can be used in Linux Mint as Ubuntu.

[PatColo]

i'm getting an 'error 69' ... programmer sense of humor for you're fvcked ?

the overweight programmers tend to get the dreaded "Error 68",


http://img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/funny-pictures-auto-611562.jpeg

[Hatha Sunahara]

I have nothing but good things to say for Linux Mint. I installed that on a notebook computer and I was thoroughly impressed with how well thought out it is. I use Kubuntu on my desktop computer, and I would rate it highly. One of the disadvantages of Linux OS's is that sometimes you need to use Windows because some piece of Windows software deos the job better than what is available in Linux. I solved that problem by installing Virtual Box in my Linux system. I then installed Windows XP in my Virtual Box machine. If I need windows for anything, I don't have to shut down and rebbot with Windows. I just start up Windows XP in Virtual Box and use Windows for whatever I need, then shut it down and resume with my Linux OS. My processor is an Intel Core i3. Not sure if your Celeron could manage the Virtual Box, but it may--try it and see.

The great thing about Linux distributions is that if you need a piece of software--you run your package manager, and it will find the programs you need and install them and it costs nothing.


Hatha

[Serpo]

Yes sounds as if mint is the go................
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-How-to-Install-a-Linux-Operating-System-on-your-PC

after windows 8 a lot of people are looking this way now.............


chrome destroys battery life......................

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorris/2014/07/14/googles-chrome-web-browser-is-killing-your-laptop-battery/

[PatColo]

Yes sounds as if mint is the go................
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-How-to-Install-a-Linux-Operating-System-on-your-PC



I'll look into MINT b4 I make my move. I'd heard a glowing review of Ubuntu before; but here's the kicker: I'm in Thailand and I don't know if this is true in the US as I haven't been there for a few years now.... BUT, in a big department store here's electronics dept, the intel/amd laptops came in 3 OS flavors:

1. nothing, U install an OS
2. win 8
3. ubuntu

I was impressed that they had boxes with ubuntu ready to go. It suggested to me that, current rendition's merits & shortcomings aside, ubuntu has, or will have, a robust (biggest?) user base and therefore most support & comradery etc.

Is anyone US-based aware of any major comp retailers (office depot etc) selling comps with a flavor of linux preinstalled? What's the dominant flavor? I do seem to recall years ago, Dell was offering Red Hat boxes; but RH seems to have gone by the wayside nowdaze.

The same hardware box ought to cost LESS, WITHOUT msft windoze pre-installed, as if it's there, $$ homage to msft/gates/nsa is already built into the price. o)(~



chrome destroys battery life......................

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorri...aptop-battery/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/ianmorris/2014/07/14/googles-chrome-web-browser-is-killing-your-laptop-battery/)


I've steered clear of chrome for the same reason I (mostly*) do the goog, and now msft/win-8. Namely, their closed source NSA-friendly natures. In fact, I installed... I think it was Malwarebytes awhile back, and in the setup options I accidentally overlooked the "install chrome browser" option which was conveniently pre-selected for me :D. In fact it made itself my default browser, without ever asking... how conveeeenient! :)*#* So I promptly deleted chrome, as I don't even want that spyware residing "dormant" on my box!

* Startpage is my 1st go-to search engine. They tout "enhanced by google"; but they're not google, and the search results often fall short. My next stop is the NSA's baby, the goog. I just CCleaner-enema my box between browser sessions, to remove goog's "forever cookie", which even your browser's "remove all cookies" function, doesn't remove. I also reco' the firefox add-on "Do Not Track Me (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/donottrackplus/reviews/)".