Posted: 7/28/2012 5:41:34 PM EDT
| This perked my interest as I have always been curious. I dont really use my laptop much except for surfing the net, some small torrents, and some photo editing. I have no complains about windows, but hey we all like to mess with stuff, its human nature. I ubuntu hard to put on a laptop? will i loose everything i have on here? Will i gain anything out of it? |
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When you boot up the Ubuntu CD, it will let you try it out first without making any changes to the hard drive. It's running from a CD, so it will be kind of slow though. The installer will give you an option to shrink Windows and install Ubuntu next to it. Each time you reboot the computer you can choose Windows or Ubuntu. Another option is the Wubi installer. You run it from Windows, and it installs Ubuntu to your hard drive alongside windows, and you can simply uninstall it like you would any Windows program if you don't want it on there anymore. |
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I like Linux but lets address your questions first.
If you do an install of Ubuntu right over your windows yu will lose everything in windows. You will not gain anything in functionality, at least in anything that you do with your laptop. I recommend installing VMware Player, and then installing Ubuntu and Centos as virtual machines, then you can experience them and learn what you like and don't like without screwing up your windows install. |
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My 18yo has a 17" laptop w/ubuntu on it and has been perfectly happy except iTunes. She thinks when going to school in the fall she needs windoz (w/iTunes).
I installed it. Now the computer is too slow and I need to spend $500 for new hardware and she wants Office for another $200. I'll go w/15" laptop that's enough to lug around, quad core etc etc and openoffice, libreoffice or whatever they're calling it this week - in windoz and Ubuntu dual boot machine. Ubuntu has all the tools to make life w/both on the same box a breeze. Any time anyone around here has a choice, its usually ubuntu they boot into. |
I'm posting from a Giada mini cube running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS with XBMC 
Ubuntu gives me full Desktop capabilities while XBMC gives me rockin Home Theater on a unit that uses only 18watts. I have to support WinXP / W7 and Active Directory at work with all the fun of dealing with an Exchange server and WAN sites. Ubuntu takes a bit more to get it tweaked the way you might want it. But once its done it just works. M$ behaves like a spoiled child, randomly throwing little fits when it can't have its own way. |