I recently got a busted up laptop that had been running windows for about 2 years and needed a hard disk changed. I had my local computer fix it shot repair it and now just needed an operating system. A basement style hacker friend of mine recommended that I put Linux on it as its "a great OS to put on an old piece of sh(BBEEEP) computer" - to quote his words.
So I went to their website and downloaded the latest version of Ubunty, 11.4
After downloading the iso, I burnt it to a disk and then put the disk into the laptop, started it up. It installed pretty quickly and seemed to go without a hitch. The slide show that proceeded as the OS was loading onto the system mentioned that their is also a video editing tool that is now standard with Ubuntu just like GIMP is. I haven't checked it out yet but will certainly also review that after sampling.
Onwards with my Ubuntu 11.4 experience: The OS is lightning fast, which I obviously like. The whole system, however, is set up completely differently from anything I have seen before. It took me a little while to figure out how it all worked, but I must say that it is much more organized than a slob like me is used to. Its super fast, and multi-tasks very effectively.
Why is Ubuntu free? Why does Microsoft charge for their freezing-up software that barely works and Ubuntu doesn't cost? We all know the tale of how Linux is free and all, but MACs are also Linux based but are closed and only work with their own hardware. I dare to say that Linux Ubuntu 11.4 might not only be better than windows, but might even outshine MAC's in some areas of the market.
Problems with Ubuntu 11.4
I found a few issues after installing Ubuntu that might just be hardware issues on this old laptop, but here they are:
Had an issue connecting certain USB devices. I connected the mouse and had no problems, and connected a digital camera and had no problems, but then when I tried connected a cellular modem or my MP5 player, it would just not show them connected to the system. The best I could muster out of that USB cord was a power-charge to those devices, but unable to read them.
Overall I recommend Ubuntu for anyone that has an old computer or laptop that is just too painful to use windows on. As an alternative to windows that is free and that makes old PC's run ever-so-sweet, I highly recommend it. And quit using those crappy microsoft windows!
Editorial Cartoon Maze of Bill Gates telling his team of monkeys to make a microsoft version of the iPad.
I drew this cartoon in April of 2010, when the ipad was just coming out. It hilarious how now a year and half later (what took them so long) we actually do have some Microsoft tablets coming out and they indeed suck! I am no prophet, this was a no brainer prediction.
