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After idly speculating for about a year or so, I've decided that I want to experiment with Linux. I'm using the imminent arrival of my new laptop as impetus to make the switch. But I don't know if I'm actually going to switch. I'll start off by dual booting XP and (probably) Ubuntu until I decide either that there's insufficient reason to go through the effort of acclimating myself to a new OS or that Linux really is superior and I should abandon Bill Gates forever.
But I've never used Linux before. I don't really know much about it, except what I've been able to glean from the web. I also don't have anything in particular against Windows, except that there are certain things (lack of transparency, rigidity of environment, etc.) that frustrate me. The appeal of running a computer absent the constraints of licenses and DRM and other restrictive policies is also there. (Although my naturally cynical self is kind of turned off by Ubuntu's message about improving humanity through an OS or something. Eck.)
When I was much younger I used to dabble with computers, programming, and hardware a lot more than I do now, and I would like to get back to that. Stepping into a whole new OS is one way to do that.
Now, I'd like some information. After reading a lot online and talking to a knowledgeable individual, I've concluded that Ubuntu is probably a good Linux distro for me. It won't be radically different from Windows; it won't be completely command-line operated; it won't take hours to figure out how to duplicate things I could do in seconds with Windows.
So what is there to know about Ubuntu and Linux? What should I be warned of before jumping into this? What other distros might I want to try? How easy or hard is it to get online, set up a chat client, find drivers for my devices, plays games (*cough* Civ 4)? How customizable is Linux? How easy is it to **** my system so hard I need to format the hdd? And monkeys?
Thanks.
But I've never used Linux before. I don't really know much about it, except what I've been able to glean from the web. I also don't have anything in particular against Windows, except that there are certain things (lack of transparency, rigidity of environment, etc.) that frustrate me. The appeal of running a computer absent the constraints of licenses and DRM and other restrictive policies is also there. (Although my naturally cynical self is kind of turned off by Ubuntu's message about improving humanity through an OS or something. Eck.)
When I was much younger I used to dabble with computers, programming, and hardware a lot more than I do now, and I would like to get back to that. Stepping into a whole new OS is one way to do that.
Now, I'd like some information. After reading a lot online and talking to a knowledgeable individual, I've concluded that Ubuntu is probably a good Linux distro for me. It won't be radically different from Windows; it won't be completely command-line operated; it won't take hours to figure out how to duplicate things I could do in seconds with Windows.
So what is there to know about Ubuntu and Linux? What should I be warned of before jumping into this? What other distros might I want to try? How easy or hard is it to get online, set up a chat client, find drivers for my devices, plays games (*cough* Civ 4)? How customizable is Linux? How easy is it to **** my system so hard I need to format the hdd? And monkeys?
Thanks.
Asher 
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