Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

[Gids]

Hi
I'm about to inherit an IBM think pad (running win 2000) after my Toshiba running XP died.
I currently use Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice - most of the time from a U3 USB.
My move to Linux is because these apps are so much better than the MS equivalents.
Having researched it, Kubuntu looks like the best Linux out there (thank you Oliver for pointing me in the right direction!).
I tried Linspire 3 years ago and didn't get on with it - this time I want to make the switch work.
So, what aspect of Kubuntu do you - people who've made the move - think is the biggest change/hurdle/new prespective that I need to get my head around before I make the switch?

[musta ruhtinas]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

first i would advise you to download the dvd and take it for a spin. it's a live dvd, so you'll see how it fares out of the box, and then decide whether to install or not.
i quite recently made the switch myself and the major hurdle i had to overcome was making my hardware work properly; for this and any other problems there are tons of resources available, so with patience and lots of reading you'll eventually master this beast.

[penguin.ch]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

From my perspective (some would characterize as "minority report" of sorts ...), Kubuntu is a very stable, well supported, but in some way rather strangely customized Linux system - in which "Linux" is the keyword, for this is far from being "Windoze in just another wrapping", but a system based on almost completely different principles, which in turn means that you will have to use your brain to not only survive, but really enjoy the penguin as your latest pet ...

[Vinyl1]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

From my own experience in migrating from Windows to Linux I can only say my brain hasn't worked so hard in years!! Mind you I've also thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. Whether that joy is shared by my wife is another tale.
In the last three months I've tried Ubuntu, Mepis and now Kubuntu. I'll stick with Kubuntu as it seems more intuitive to me and my Windows brain and also seems more forgiving when I do something stupid, which is often.
what do I miss most? A decent mp3 bitrate converter and not being able to get my webcam working on AMSN (I'm still trying)

[penguin.ch]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

Just a little digression ...

A decent mp3 bitrate converter

http://freshmeat.net/projects/bladeenc/ (?)

[dibl]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

Being well along the road of conversion to Linux, which I began in October, I will offer the opinion that a positive mental attitude is the most critical requirement of the process. First, give yourself time ... lots of it. Time to do experiments, time to crash your installation in multiple instances, time to research these forums for solutions to your issues -- you just need to take it in a step-by-step fashion. Don't even put your valuable data on the new system until you're sure you have finished breaking it...... :P

As far as difficulties, I would say that the new Linux operator has a far harder time coping with hardware issues than the Windows user. I say "harder", meaning (a) the basic installation routines are not robust enough to "plug 'n play" with all the hardware that is available, and (b) you will have to learn a lot more of the "command-line interface" (the unix shell language) than you ever wanted to master. Video display cards and USB devices seem to be responsible for the majority of problems, followed by wireless networking setups and miscellaneous input devices.

The good news is, if you search this and the Ubuntu forum, you can eventually discover the solution to just about everything. And if you've allowed yourself time to learn and practice and experience a few mishaps along the way, then you should be able to come up with a nice system that will run your applications wonderfully. I agree -- OpenOffice is really excellent!




Vinyl, go to the Ubuntu forum, and do a search on "how to webcam". There's a step-by-step instruction to download the gspca USB driver for Linux and install it in your system. If this nooB can do it, anybody can!

[txHarleyMan]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

I think the first thing is to understand partitioning. You "need" / and /swap. Then I would suggest a seperate /home partition for yourself so your data is not disturbed when you upgrade. I use gParted for all my partioning. I am also assuming from your post you do Not want a dual boot system ( Linux/Windows ). You can download the gParted iso from DW. Then burn it to a CD.

[lykwydchykyn]

Re: Switching from Win XP to Kubuntu

Hi Gids
I wrote this article for a different distro (MEPIS), but most of it applies to Kubuntu as well. I'm thinking of making a Kubuntu version of the article at some point. It basically attempts to address most of the issues Windows users encounter when moving to Linux:

http://www.alandmoore.com/linux/file...s_to_mepis.pdf