[AuroraDizon]

LindaA said:

OK, all you geeks out there, here's a dumb question from a non-geek. Could I install Ubuntu temporarily, just to try it out, without disrupting my XP OS in any way, and without having to partition my hard drive? Hard drive partitioning is way to geeky a process for me!

If you download the iso you can run the live cd which starts automatically without install and you can check it out from there see if you like it.

[bradf52]

LindaA



A quick note Ubuntu will run directly from the cd. You don't have to install it. This is called a live cd. It allows you to use Ubuntu to see if you like it. You can't save anything to it. Running the live cd helps to give you some ideas if you really want to take the plunge. So if you want to try it, you can go to Ubuntu.com and you can have them send you a cd free. Takes awhile to get it. Took me about 5 weeks to get. But hey it's free. If you have a fast internet connection you can download it under an hour took me about 35 minutes at cable speed.



Good Luck!!



Brad

[HerbertWest]

LindaA,
Ubuntu 8.10, the newest release, actually has an option to install it inside Windows just like you would any other program. You tell it how much space you want set aside for Ubuntu during the install, and it takes care of everything else. Just download and burn the iso and then let Windows autorun the cd. It'll give you the option to install it inside Windows. It may not run as fast as a fresh install, but it does take all the geekiness (and danger of accidentally erasing a bunch of stuff) out of partitioning your hard drive and dual booting Windows and Ubuntu.

HTH

[LindaA]

Rick, Aurora, Brad, and Herbert -- Thanks for all your help, guys!

Linda A.

[sudokode]

The main problem with windows is microsoft keeps adding these ridiculous features, like window previews in the taskbar. I don't care what a window looks like when it's minimized. That's why I minimized it. It's these stupid resource-hogging features that are gonna kill windows. People aren't gonna want a new computer every time a new OS comes out, unless you're on mac I guess. I never got the pleasant opportunity to use this thing you all call vista, but I have installed windows 7 on my old hdd. And quite honestly, I expected a lot more from a brand new OS. It won't detect my cpu's overclocked frequency (3.42ghz, detects 3.0ghz). It won't detect my 4gb of memory (instead just 3gb). It still won't detect some of the software mixer features of my audigy 2 card (treble and bass for example). And why does it idle from bootup at 25% of memory? Seriously, I boot up with like 30 different daemons on linux and it still runs at around 150mb; that is, until I start firefox. I can't even run some old apps that I could run on XP a few years back. How much different could it be at twice the suck?
Sure, windows has great user-friendliness, besides the lack of customability, shortcuts, and control. But is that all you get for...how much is windows? I've honestly never bought it. Like $100? Ridiculous.
And when a distro tries to become something like windows (i.e. lindows) to bridge that gap for brand new users, bam, lawsuits out the ass. How many lawsuits has microsoft filed againt FOSS? Gotta be around 500 by now, at least. What are they so afraid of with their billions of dollars? Oh wait, what's that I hear? It's the mighty GM...going broke...
Can you imagine a world without microsoft? Something would be developed to fill the gap. Bleh, I can only dream...