Should I have done more homework

I’m going to admit something now, I had not done my homework, firstly I ordered the wrong version of Mandriva, and secondly, I didn’t do enough research into other distro’s. I have been running Ubuntu Linux 6.10 for the past couple of hours of a live DVD and have been massively impressed, it is so much better than Mandriva and it is 6 months older, so it lacks the nice 3D desktop, but I’m pretty sure the newer version of Ubuntu features this.

I am now seriously considering changing my Mandriva to Ubuntu, this could mess up my brand new laptop, although hopefully it should go without a hitch. I am still unsure what to do, so any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially Ubuntu users.

The other problem I have is that Mandriva users keep saying that Mandriva 2007.1 is such an improvement on 2007, I haven’t been able to use 2007.1 yet, so I am not sure how good these changes are, but currently I am having to use old versions of software like Mozilla Firefox 1.5, and installing software with the package installer looks really complicated as opposed to Ubuntu’s which is simply a matter of checking a box and clicking Apply, everything else is done for you.

I’m confused, I’m sure most people are when they are new to something especially when they jump straight in. I should have done my homework, but at the end of the day, things can be changed pretty easily.

~ by simnor on April 28, 2007.

Posted in Post-Install, Problems

8 Responses to “Should I have done more homework”

  1. 1st: yes you’ll be able to install Ubuntu quite easily without borking your laptop.
    2nd: the latest version of Ubuntu (7.04) has Compiz innstalleed by default andd Beryl is in the repositories.
    3rd: I’ve used Mandrake (Mandriva) back in the day and you’re making a very good choice switching to Ubuntu.
    4th: i’m currently a Ubuntu user so i might be able to help you if you run into any snags.
    5th: If you would like to directly contact me for help with it (i’m VERY experienced with Ubuntu and linux), you can contact me at:
    AIM: tjeghos
    jabber: jdhore@macjabber.de
    Yahoo Messenger: jdhorelick
    MSN Messenger: jdhorelick@gmail.com
    or email: jdhore1@gmail.com

    JD said this on April 28, 2007 at 8:03 pm

  2. Ubuntu is fine, although I would choose Kubuntu, but thats just because I don’t like Gnome, KDE user here. I was using Kubuntu for some time, switched from Mandriva 2007.0, but with the release of 2007.1, and trying it out for a while, I promptly switched back to Mandriva, 2007.1 is sweet.

    Best of luck with whatever Linux flavour you settle on, there are many fine distro’s to choose from.

    jagwah said this on April 29, 2007 at 12:57 am

  3. I would stick with what you have for a while, to get used to it. Ubuntu is great and I use it on my second machine for my ‘hobby computing’. Don’t worry about messing up the laptop – if you’re doing a fresh install it will all be fine.

    Regarding the earlier post, you can install Ubuntu and then install KDE from synaptic, giving you the option to boot into either KDE or Gnome from the login menu. I have both on my machine and it’s quite seamless.

    Clay said this on April 30, 2007 at 12:00 am

  4. Welcome to Linux. I think your decision to use Ubuntu is wise. I started by dual-booting my Apple Powerbook G4 with Ubuntu. I love it. The limited PowerPC support with many Linux apps has motivated me to build a simple desktop in order to attempt to replace my Mac entirely.

    Trevor Carpenter said this on April 30, 2007 at 5:20 am

  5. The choice is really up to you. These days, I use PCLinuxOS, a fork from Mandriva that makes some (in my opinion) very important changes under the hood, and emphasizes stability over using the most cutting-edge technology.

    Mandriva’s what you’ve got, and that’s fine. Download the 2007.1 version and get it installed (you should be able to do an upgrade over what you’ve currently got). If you still feel like switching to Ubuntu (or Kubuntu, if you prefer KDE), then that’s fine too.

    GoodDamon said this on April 30, 2007 at 2:34 pm

  6. I’m a friend of JD’s, and I’ll also offer help. You can reach me:
    macoafi@gmail.com for email or Jabber
    inshdosgrownwngs for AIM

    Also, I have a blog for Ubuntu stuff if you want to check out any of the stuff I’ve come across. http://ubuntulinuxtipstricks.blogspot.com

    Mackenzie said this on May 2, 2007 at 7:24 pm

  7. Cheers for the support, I will contact you if I ever need any help and I will add your blog to my blogroll

    simnor said this on May 2, 2007 at 7:38 pm

  8. Get Mandriva Spring(2007.1) If you like gnome it has the best looking gnome desktop of any distro,all the latest and greatest apps are either installed or available. You will find x/k/ubuntu dull as dishwater compared to Mandriva. 2007.1

    tomcat1965 said this on May 3, 2007 at 11:15 pm

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