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[Cthulhu]

If you've been to the PC Chemotherapy thread, you probably know that I recently had a nasty run-in with Vundo.  After several days of trying to fix it, my computer almost crashed, and Vundo was killed in the ensuing chaos.

Now, I don't want this to happen again, and I'm thinking about downloading Ubuntu and removing any chance of this happening again.

I'm looking for your opinions though.  Is Ubuntu as good as everyone says?  Will the stuff currently on my computer stay there?(My sister installed the Sims and then gave the disk away like an idiot, and will throw a fit if it's deleted.  It's not like I care, but my parents will probably yell at me).  How user-friendly is it for someone who has never used anything but Windows and really old mac programs?

Thanks.

[Mephisto]

Windows programs don't run on Linux, unless you run it in Wine or a virtual machine. That being said, The Sims doesn't run under Wine. All of your information is lost when installing a new operating system, unless you back it up. I'm not entirely sure of the process of backing up an installed program, but installing it anew would be easier. That doesn't seem to be an option, though.

I enjoyed my experiences with various Linux distributions, but I'm running XP again as I'm a gamer. If your hard drive is big enough, I would suggest dual booting or, barring that, keeping a small virtual machine for your sister.

I find Ubuntu to be easy to use. I would say that even a novice computer user could install and use it, but my teacher proved me wrong when she set fire to her computer when changing RAM.

After posting, I realized: Ubuntu is a live-CD. Why not just run it from the disk? If that's not an option, you could even run certain distributions from USB drives.

[Tahin]

You can also dual-boot, you know.
Ubuntu comes with a partitioner, and whatnot, so it can automatically repartition your harddrive and use the freed space to install itself, then overwrite the windows boot loader with GRUB, which will let you choose between operating systems when you boot up.

That said, it is a tad buggy and prone to screwing up, so do back your existing Windows installation up, just in case.

Linux is rather nice, but it's definitely not "ready" for the mainstream. It's a bit rough around the edges still, but most issues can be solved with a simple Google search.
If you're installing it on a laptop, you might want to look up the model and make sure that linux drivers exist for your hardware, first.

It's pretty user friendly. That said, it makes it a bit easier to screw things up than windows, simply due the amount of power it gives you, but as long as you don't make a habit of logging in as root or using the Sudo command without first thinking about the consequences, you should be fine. As I said, if you experience any difficulty, Google is your friend.

[inaluct]

You can also dual-boot, you know.

I recommend this. I don't think you'll lose your idiot sister's game, either. There's also Kubuntu (KDE Ubuntu thingy) and Linux Mint, if you need something that isn't extremely complicated.

[Cthulhu]

I don't know, pretty much all I do on the computer is GAEM, so I'm wondering if there's really a reason to use Ubuntu?  I'm starting to think my desire to Ubuntu-ify was just a desperate lashing out for help after Vundo got me.  I updated Java though, so it can't come back.

[inaluct]

You should definitely keep Windows, then, unless you think you're competent enough to set up a Wine layer. You won't get viruses with Linux (there are like 30, and most aren't dangerous, or something), but you won't be able to play some games without Wine. A dual boot would still be a good idea if you're traumatized from Vundo and want your computer to stay functional if it happens again.

How'd you get Vundo, anyway?

If you use Ubuntu, though, you probably won't have a problem. It's about as hard as Windows to use, and there's a forum somewhere full of people who presumably sit around Linuxing all day and can help you.

[woose1]

How'd you get Vundo, anyway?

He says his sister downloaded some crap, but I know he was looking at yuri. 

[IndonesiaWarMinister]

How'd you get Vundo, anyway?

He says his sister downloaded some crap, but I know he was looking at yuri. 

I bet on this too.

[Ampersand]

Using the Wubi installer, you can install Ubuntu within the windows file system, and dual boot it without having to repartition anything. I recommend doing this for first time users.

There are plenty of good reasons to use any linux distribution, many of them involving security and the fact that you don't have to constantly scan things for viruses and reboot whenever you download an update.

Theres that, all the free software that comes bundled with it, like open office and what not. There's actually a nice video that I think will be relevant. I'll post it when I find it.

Edit: Looks like his site's gone down. The video was of a windows systems administrator doing a desktop recording of himself trying out Ubuntu 7.04 when it was new. Essentially, he found it impressive, though being a windows systems administrator, it didn't have everything he needed, specifically, a visual basic editor. But I doubt that's something you'd need.

There is really no reason not to use Linux these days. Valve is going to port Steam and the Source engine into OpenGL for Linux soon, so all their games could be working on it.

[SolarShado]

Never used Ubuntu, but I have used various other linux distros, and the main reason i still use Windows: gaming. Never used Wine.

Glad to help!

[Vucar Fikodastesh]

Valve is going to port Steam and the Source engine into OpenGL for Linux soon, so all their games could be working on it.

Only the games coded on the source engine will work in Linux, most of the other games on the steam service will still only run on windows. I'm pretty sure you already knew that though, I'm just saying this for the benefit of anyone else reading this.

Linux is a lot of fun to use, and it is pretty safe from viruses. Although, theoretically, if his problem was caused by his sister downloading crap, then Linux wouldn't have been have been any more secure. That's not to say he would have been infected, Vundo is coded specifically for Windows, so he would have been OK just because the author was too lazy to code for Linux.

[Cthulhu]

I installed Ubuntu with Wubi.  I don't like it.  There's something evil about it.

[WorkerDrone]

What kind of evil?

It matters.

[Cthulhu]

Cosmic evil.

And also, I most certainly was not looking at Yuri.  Please don't force your aberrant fetishes on me.

[qwertyuiopas]

Are you sure?
Just one glance and he will have power over you.
You will have to do what he says.
He will make you download viruses.
And just to add injury to insult, he may make you walk into a grinder to get the measly few resources that you hold.

At least thats what would happen if you looked at the CnC RA2 yuri before the events of the allied campaign victory.