Dell to use Ubuntu on Linux PCs (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Computer maker Dell has chosen Ubuntu as the operating system for its range of Linux computers for consumers.

Fans of Linux hope that the move will persuade more mainstream PC users to abandon Microsoft Windows and opt for the open-source operating system.

London-based firm Canonical, the lead sponsor of the Ubuntu project, will ensure the software works on Dell PCs.

Ubuntu includes software like office programs, e-mail, a browser, instant messaging software and a media player.

Michael Dell, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Dell, is himself an Ubuntu user. He has the operating system installed on a high-end Dell Precision M90 laptop he uses at home.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6610901.stm

[Steepler0t]

1. Ubuntu is great

My girlfriend who knows very little about PCs surprised me as she did a full install by herself while I was at work one day when she got fed up with windows crashing.

Even had wireless, sound etc all working to my amazement, just pop CD in, wait for install and you have a ready to use PC, unlike windows where you need to hunt down various drivers after install.

[papau]

6. I thought wifi was a problem - what version is that? n/t

n/t

[Gman]

13. Some wifi cards are supported "out of the box"

but a lot aren't. The older the card, the harder it can be to get it to work. But if you have the Windows driver, you can get it to work. I wrestled with mine for a week or so.

Printers can be an issue. There is excellent support for HP printers, but it can be hard to get an older Canon printer to work. Same with scanners. HP is well supported.

[conspirator]

2. Screw ubuntu. UBUNTU is a MICROSOFT TROJAN HORSE

This is not a conspiracy theory. Microsoft is trying to get people hooked on ubuntu.
The plot is this: ubuntu looks pretty much like windows and although its easy to use it has some problems(deliberately), so a few users will think "what a heck if this is like windows why am I going to learn a new operating system. I'll stick with windows and this linux open source business is bull shit".
I recommend SUSE linux which installs faster and easier than XP and has the performance of a true linux.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. ROFL... that post is

[papau]

5. error on my part n/t

n/t

[Gman]

10. Ok, conspirator

if you say so.

[kineneb]

3. cool

hmmm, mayhaps Dell has discovered the liabilities inherent in the increasing bloatware issuing from Microsoft. I run Kubuntu on a IBM Thinkpad 600e (366MHz processor, 236MB RAM, 20GB HD), which could not even run XP, much less Vista. It runs just fine, and is more reliable than the partition of 98SE. I have SuSE on my slightly newer desktop.

I find this news amusing, given that Dell had to return to offering XP on its new computers, after customers returned their Vista machines.

Happy Penguinista!

[Gman]

7. Posting this from my IBM Thinkpad T23 dual boot

Ubuntu and XP.

Vista was the tipping point for me. I will not upgrade to an OS that has no advantage over the previous version. I installed Ubuntu (using it right now) because of Vista. I'm getting ready for when XP is no longer supported (years from now, but not that long).

I have to have MS Streets & Trips, and QuickBooks. GnuCash is OK, but to quirky and I need S&T for when I need to find a client. I'm an Linux newbie but I'm learning fast. Too fast for MSFT to keep me as a customer.

[JerseygirlCT]

8. Ok, even the local computer-geek teenager tells me he

despairs of "getting" linux. He can make it change colors on the screen, that's about it.

So what I want to know, is there an interface that will make something like that as easy to use as Windows? Is that what Ubuntu does? (Forgive if it's a stupid question).

[Gman]

11. Ubuntu overall is not as easy as Linux

you have to have some basic knowledge of Linux. A lot of things are done from the command line in Terminal. Terminal is very similar to DOS where you enter text commands and hit enter. But once you have things set up like you want, Ubuntu operates very similar to Windows.

That being said, Ubuntu has a fantastic support system via it's forums. Most every problem you encounter has been seen before and you can get good advice. But, you will have to sift through many posts to find what you want.

In retrospect, had I known several weeks ago when I installed Ubuntu what I know now, things would have gone more smoothly. There is a learning curve but it is well worth the effort.

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. Almost all Linux distributions have some GUI that most people would recognize

Your computer geek teenager is not really a computer geek if he can't use Linux.

Ubuntu:



Other Distributions:



Fedora:



See? Not that hard. Ubuntu is as easy to use as Windows. Easier, even.

[Gman]

14. Download Ubuntu and run it from the CD

You can burn the Ubuntu installation to a CD then you boot from the CD to try out Ubuntu to see if you like it. The first pic above is from Ubuntu booted from the installation CD. I can run slow because it is running off a CD. Install it and it will run faster than Windows.

[133724]

9. posting this from SuSE 10.2 & XP dual boot n/t