From Windows to Linux... Is it that hard to adapt?

Many people feel that making the switch to Linux is difficult. And in all honesty it does require a bit of effort and willingness to adapt to a new Operating System and its applications. But in reality, it is no more difficult than learning to use a computer for the 1st time.

Most might recall that time and remember some aggravating moments. Fortunately, having had some experience under your belt already, you can take that with you and use it to help you use a different operating system. Unlike your 1st time on a PC, you now have an idea of what you need to use to get your tasks done. So its a matter of learning what applications do what, and familiarizing yourself with their menus.

It may sound like too much effort, but in reality its not that bad. And of coarse, it doesn't hurt to be able to turn somewhere for help. But the key is to be willing to learn and not get discouraged.

You might ask yourself why change to begin with? Well that is a very good question, and one that may have a different answer depending on the individual. However, chances are that if you are reading blogs such as this one, that you are able to answer that question for yourself. In my personal experience, the answer to that question was simply that I was tired of not being able to browse the net without having to spend money on security tools, and even then some attacks still made it through. This was a particular recurring problem with my children's computers.

Linux offers a real solution to that problem, and that was one feature I was willing to take advantage of, and set off to find out at what cost.

Back in April, I decided to switch from XP to Ubuntu. One of my 1st fears was HW compatibility and those were quickly dismissed with nearly 100% of my hardware working right away after the initial install. There are some issues out there with some HW, don't think those do not exist. But I quickly found out that my older systems were easier to setup with Linux. This was good because, the old HW I have for my children actually couldn't handle Windows Vista and was just getting by with Windows XP. More more on that later.

Setting up my system and getting everything to work was much easier than I anticipated. Many of the answers I needed I quickly found in forums and using Google search. Within the 1st week of using Ubuntu, I had my Flatbed scanners, printers, and even my colorimeter (Monitor color calibrating hw) working. So I can say that for the tech savvy, Linux has made great strides to be easier to use and setup.

I have been using Linux since then, and will admit that I am still learning and likely will for a long time. But to me it feels no different than when I work on Windows servers at work. In fact, I feel that I was able to use my work experience as a Windows Server Admin to good use with Linux.

Pleased with my personal computer setup, I began seting up the rest of the computers in the house with Linux. I expected some resistance from the kids. But it wasn't too hard to convince them to change when they were complaining that their systems where once again being compromised with adware and other junk they were picking up from browsing the web.

At 1st there where many questions from the children. How do I do this, where is that and so forth. It was to be expected. But surprisingly, the kids were soaking it all up. Getting games to work was a bit challenging at 1st, but we have learned to focus on games that work in Linux, be it natively or via WINE. And I am happy to say that 5 months later, they are doing their own installs of games and such.

It is often said that kids adapt to change much better than adults. And while that may be true, they are also at a bigger disadvantage since they do not have the level of comprehension we have as adults. I believe that if we get past the will barrier that adapting and making the necessary changes would come easier.

One particular challenge popped up during the end of the school year for one of my kids. He had to do a Power Point presentation for a school assignment. But after 10-15 minutes, I had him working on his school assignment using Open Office. And it was no problem for the teacher to view and grade it with the Windows systems at school. This was a very satisfying experience for a few reasons that are worth mentioning here.

• OpenOffice was free and readily available for install from the trusted repositories for Ubuntu. My jaw nearly dropped! We will not go over how much I paid for an old version of Ms Office a few years back in an effort to save me from popping a blood vessel and bleeding to death.
• I watched in amazement as my son simply didn't let the different menu layout intimidate him into thinking he wouldn't be able to find the features needed to get his presentation done. I was proud of him, and couldn't help but think again, that it was his willingness that kept him focused in learning to use the tools available to him.
• Did I mention that OpenOffice was free and that i didn't have to make a trip to the store to spend a couple hundred on MS Software? ;)

I mentioned earlier that I have some old hw that my children use for their computer needs and entertainment. 1 in particular struggled with XP and I new would never run Vista efficiently. The other would probably run Vista very slow. But neither of these systems have any trouble running Ubuntu, even with Compiz enabled. And if you are wondering what Compiz is and does, some have told me its like having the eye candy of Aero in Vista enabled.

The children have adapted to their new systems with little fuss. And I believe it's because with Linux their systems are fast, responsive and safe from being compromised with junk while browsing the net. This not only keeps them happy, but it sure has saved me a ton of valuable time and aggravation. There was nothing that got under my skin more than having to fix a virus or adware ridden windows install. Those days are over for me.

I will say that we are blessed to be able to adapt so easily. In reality I almost feel guilty it was this easy for me and my family to adapt. But even if I had to pay someone for Linux support, it is easy to see how in the long term it would be a much more affordable computing experience. Having a secure and much more hardware efficient operating system means that trips to the computer tech would be few and far in between.

In my experience, the small challenges to adapt were easily met and conquered. it is certainly within everyone's scope of possibility to do so as well. The rewards are many,

• longer lasting hardware
  
• more efficient computing experience
• less financial impact to use and support
• more secure internet experience
  

Again they key is to be willing to meet the challenge. If you are not willing to put in the effort, then it will be very difficult to justify and conquer.

Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA

Through some unusual circumstances with one of my credit lines, I was left with no choice but to go to Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA to buy some motorcycle gear and accessories. I wasn't too happy to have to drive from Cleveland, TN to Dalton, Ga to begin with so I was really hoping that the trip would be worth it. But as it turns out my fears were confirmed.

For the past 4 year I have been going to the same dealership in FL (Sky Powersports, Hudson FL) for all my motorcycle related needs. They always treated me with respect and over that time walking into that dealership was like walking into a friends house. There were always smiles, and great prices. I never left there regretting a purchase.

But since I have moved to Cleveland, TN finding and building that sort of relationship with the local dealers has been difficult. While the people are very nice in general, the local dealers around here don't really go out of their way to ensure your return business.

So was the case with Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA. But were the local Cleveland, TN motorcycle dealers merely lacked in minor details to ensure total customer satisfaction, Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA sets the standard in portraying dealerships to avoid at all costs.

To begin, on my initial visit, arriving at the parts counter I was ignored for a good 5-10 minutes while some of the staff kid and joke around with each other. The impression I was getting was rather unprofessional as at least 4 people past me and didn't even ask if I was being helped yet. When finally a young man asks to assist me, he did so in a rather bothered way. No smile, no greeting to their establishment, but a very straight forward demeanor as if he was tagged "IT" to come help me.

I didn't pay it no attention, and went on with my list of parts and gear. On it, I had the prices my dealership in FL had quoted me. Right away they told me they would not be able to match those prices. And while I realized that they prob wouldn't, I certainly did not expect to be charged full MSRP prices and in some items more than listed MSRP, more on that later.

So I place my order and the only person nice enough to treat me like a valuable customer was the young lady taking my credit card information. She went by the name of Angie and if she ever happens to read this review, thank you Angie for you are truly a diamond in the rough that is Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA.

After a day or so, Angie calls me again. There has been some changes in the way that the credi card company takes orders and I had to drive back in to sign some paper work. Well I was not happy, already was I getting less than I was hoping to get due to their prices, now I have to make an extra trip I didn't want to make. But I return to go ahead and sign the paper work... this is were Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA failed miserably in total customer satisfaction.

As I greet Angie and get ready to sign the paper work, she apologizes and explains why I had to come in. Again, I must say Angie has very good people skills and is doing he job admirably. However in the midst of the conversation I tell her that I understood this wasn't her fault, but rather the credit card companie's fault and that they had put me in a situtation I didn't like, and went on to tell her that I really felt the prices were outrageous. Angie mentions a $100 credit to which I tried to explain to her that it barely covered the tax and the markup on a few items above listed MSRP.

This is when the "dealer owner" interrupted our conversation and decided to not put my order through because of my feedback. She went on to claim that she was loosing money on this transaction, a clear insult to my intelligence when you consider their outragous charges. The owner then leaves the room and leaves me with poor Angie the only one sympathising with me "the customer" and offering even more apologies. I told Angie not to worry about it, it wasn't her fault and left their premises.

Every business has a right to set their own prices. I realize that. And while we as customers also have a right to voice our opinions in terms of service and what we expect for our hard earned money, any good business owner knows that setting up a customer's expectations up front goes a long way into helping the customer achieve satisfaction with their purchase.

Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA fails miserably in customer satisfaction. Their prices are outragous and it is unfortunate that the markup for items purchased through them does not get you professional and corteous customer services which is the least a customer should get. Again, if you read this review in its entirety, you will see how from the very moment that I arrived at the parts counter, Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA failed to establish a professional and corteous shopping experience.

In closing I would like to say that the owner of Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA sets the example being followed at her establishement. While she partially listened to my feedback, she didn't take the time to get to the root of my comments. Instead, since the feedback coming from me was not to "HER" satisfaction she reacted in a very rude and unprofessional manner. As if how dare "I" a 1st time customer have any complaints.

In the end I guess I do have something to thank the rude owner of Suzuki Yamaha of Dalton, GA.
Thank you for refusing to do business with me and helping me reflect in the mistake it was to be taking my business to you.

My Ubuntu Experience...

Ubuntu has become a very popular Linux alternative to Windows. And having finally had 1st hand experience with it, I can see why it has gained much popularity. There is very little that can't be done in Ubuntu that you already do in Windows. And it doesn't require 3rd party software to strengthen its web browsing security, such as AntiSpyware or Antivirus utilities.

What is Ubuntu?

From www.ubuntu.com

About Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

The Ubuntu promise

• Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates.
• Ubuntu comes with full commercial support from Canonical and hundreds of companies around the world.
• Ubuntu includes the very best translations and accessibility infrastructure that the free software community has to offer.
• Ubuntu CDs contain only free software applications; we encourage you to use free and open source software, improve it and pass it on.

Sounds good huh? It did to me too, and I figured it was worth checking out.

The Good

Installation on my hardware was easy. As easy as any Windows installation I have ever done. This doesn't mean it will be so for everyone, so I would recommend searching on the Ubuntu forums to check if your HW is supported or what not to get if in the market for new HW.

I chose to install Ubuntu Studio 8.10 64bit. The installation interface is a text interface that sort of reminded me of the old DOS software install days. But the on screen instructions were easy to follow.

Once the installation was done, the system rebooted to a graphical login screen. And i must say the process is MUCH faster than it is when installing XP. Once I logged in, the update manager utility checked for updates and it found quite a few. It asked if I wanted to install them and I chose yes... it then asked for the admin pw, and it was off to install the updates.

This part took longer than the initial installation, but if you have done Windows Updates on a fresh XP installation, then you are no stranger for having to wait for the updated to finish. HOWEVER... Ubuntu did all the updates in 1 shot. Unlike Windows which requires multiple reboots with its updates. Already I am liking this OS a lot!

Once the updates where done, another reboot and the system is up to date. Naturally I was ready to see what was pre packaged to start using my computer.

The 1st thing I noticed is the speed in boot up times. Noticeably quicker than XP. Also the speed upon login in... that really blew me away cause I didn't have to wait for anti virus to load, or spyware protection tools, or any other stuff that is usually setup to start up once you log into Windows. Amazing!

The speed and multi tasking ability of Ubuntu is great.

Having seen many screen shots of other people's desktops, I knew that the ability to change the look of Ubuntu obliterated anything you could do in XP, even with 3rd party applications.

So I dove right in after a considerably amount of time I am ashamed to admit, I had changed my fonts, Icons, wallpaper, login theme, window theme, application launchers etc... what's the point? Total control... simple as that... Changing the look has become a bit of an obsession, and I partake on monthly threads where you show off your latest desktop creations... its FUN!!!!

Applications

Ubuntu comes with all the essentials for almost any Windows user to pick up where they left off. For example, all my word & excel documents are compatible with the OpenOffice suite of applications. And finding support for other MS Office type documents such as power point was as easy as starting up Add/Remove applications and searching through the abundant selection of free apps available in the Ubuntu repositories.

For my music files I was using Rhythmbox, but later found that Banshee was a better music program that is updated often. Totem is the video player that came bundled with Ubuntu and that seems to handle all my video without any problems. Gone are the days of being held back because I couldn't find a suitable codec for Media Player in Windows, the codec for Linux are easy to find and free.

I didn't have any trouble getting my laser printer to work (HP Laserjet 5M) or my flatbed scanner with SCSI card (Epson Expression 836xl).

But not all has come together for me the easy route.


The Bad

The transition wouldn't have been realistic if there weren't a few things I had to adjust to.

While Linux has its fair share of games, playing your old Windows favorites might have you jumping through hoops. There are some ways in which you can get to play your Windows games. But they are not 100% guaranteed to work. And that may have you doing some on line research and trying a few things if you can't find anywhere if the game works or not. That said, there are a ton of games that DO work and are documented to work through WINE or loading XP in VirtuaBox.

Color management in Linux while possible, definitely has a bit of a learning curve. I don't have this yet working with my colorimeter, but it is documented to work. My problem seems to be with the fact that I have chosen the 64bit path with my choice of OS.

I did run into some HW issues with my on board ATI video GPU. It turns out ATI drivers for Linux are not up to par with NVIDIA. This is only an issue if you want to use some of the eye candy features the X window environment offers and if you play games that require 3d HW acceleration. I eventually got it to work, but it took some trial and error. In the end having an older system with an older NVIDIA card perform better to compare to, led me to purchase a newer NVIDIA card for my setup... and my problems were solved.

There seem to be some wireless networking issues too, while I can't offer much input on that front, I can say that expecting everything to just work out of the box isn't a very realistic approach. By all means do some research 1st, and know what you may be getting into.

The Ugly

Well there is one thing I have not managed to be able to do. And that is find an application that can open my old visio files. Not that big of a deal, but it is worth mentioning.

These I will likely have to recreate myself if I need to.

Would I recommend Ubuntu to others?

Absolutely!

I don't see any reason why anyone wouldn't in the very least setup a dual boot XP\Ubuntu configuration to see if Ubuntu is something you'd like to switch to. It's only some sweat of your brow, if that.

I have been using Windows since the late 80's. And currently make a livng supporting Windows servers. While I will admit I probably had a bit of an advantage in understanding how to get an operating system to work than most, I can say that I was able to find my way around quite easily thanks to the on line community. It's as good if not better than finding Windows help.

And ultimately, if you must dish out some coin, there are companies that offer support packages for Ubuntu. You can even buy a new Dell with Ubuntu installed and they support their HW very well.

I have since installed Ubuntu on all the computer at home. 4 of them to be exact. And the kids and I couldn't be happier.

Ubuntu also does come in other flavors... unlike Windows. And I will touch on that on my next blog with my flavor of choice, OpenGEU and briefly explain some of the other options I sampled before making my desicion.

The best part of it all is that there where no activation keys to deal with. I can change my HW anytime without having to notify anyone I need to re-install my OS. It didn't cost me a thing. And with Ubuntu's 6month upgrade cycle, you are guaranteed the latest version of the OS at no additional costs.

It's hard to deny the fact that I am please to say... MS will no longer be burning a hole in my pocket.