Is ubuntu worth it?

[funkycaveman]

Basically is it worth getting ubuntu, I normally use flash and 3d software, not all is compatible unless you get an emulator in this os. atm i have windows xp but getting a new bigger hard drive, is it worth it getting ubuntu? or is there any alternatives?
thanks in advance

[Jon-86]

if you plan on using flash a lot then no.

[urbn]

You haven't said anything about what you do on computers other than flash and generic "3d software". You also haven't said how competent you are with computers and operating systems in general.

Stick with Windows, a bigger hard drive is no reason to change your platform.

[funkycaveman]

At 11/3/09 02:15 PM, urbn wrote: You haven't said anything about what you do on computers other than flash and generic "3d software".

Well i do have other computers and a small netbook for my dtp kinda stuff, on this computer i am looking to use most of the adobe suite and also 3d max seeing i have not learnt any new ones yet such as maya and blender that i really should

You also haven't said how competent you are with computers and operating systems in general.
installed 64bit vista a few times, and have burnt an image of ubuntu on a cd ready to be installed

Stick with Windows, a bigger hard drive is no reason to change your platform.

true, but if you have windows already installed you can dual boot? i think ubuntu recognises windows and asks if you want to when installing it?

[urbn]

At 11/3/09 02:23 PM, funkycaveman wrote: Well i do have other computers and a small netbook for my dtp kinda stuff, on this computer i am looking to use most of the adobe suite and also 3d max seeing i have not learnt any new ones yet such as maya and blender that i really should

I have no idea what Maya or Blender have in terms of options for Linux, but Adobe don't ahve any native binaries, so you will have to run either emulation (Wine, WineX, Cedga, crossover etc) or in a VirtualBox (equivalent of VPC).

true, but if you have windows already installed you can dual boot? i think ubuntu recognises windows and asks if you want to when installing it?

It does but that still isn't a reason to install it.

Ubuntu, and Linux in general should only be installed if you ACTUALLY want it. For the sake of trying it just run the Live CD and see if you like it.

Unless you want something Linux specifically has to offer then I really don't see any point to it.

I also don't recommend using emulation such as Wine, because it is very much hit and miss and pointless when you have a Windows capable machine and a Windows CD Key.

Bearing in mind I run 3 Arch Linux servers and a Debian Laptop, I still use Windows (7) on my main Desktop.

[kiwi-kiwi]

At 11/3/09 02:23 PM, funkycaveman wrote:

You also haven't said how competent you are with computers and operating systems in general.
installed 64bit vista a few times, and have burnt an image of ubuntu on a cd ready to be installed

Competent with an operating system means for instance using the command line to set up your wireless network (I actually tried that in ubuntu)

But anyway it's worth getting linux at least for the experience of having linux, plus you never know when you might need it.
I for one have linux for more reasons. First of all I like to use synfig studio which crashes a lot on windows 7, then it's for programming reasons, specially for C/C++. Plus KDE looks very nice.

[urbn]

At 11/3/09 03:02 PM, kiwi-kiwi wrote: Plus KDE looks very nice.

Eww, KDE...

[RageOfOrder]

At 11/3/09 03:41 PM, urbn wrote: Eww, KDE...

Oh yes. So ugly.

[urbn]

At 11/3/09 04:01 PM, RageOfOrder wrote: Oh yes. So ugly.

A Serif font on your task bar, eww.

I did a :P as my post mood because I wasn't serious.

But I prefer to not use a big desktop manager like KDE or Gnome, and go for just using Openbox with Tint2 and Nitrogen.

[RageOfOrder]

At 11/3/09 04:07 PM, urbn wrote: A Serif font on your task bar, eww.

I'm rebelling against Helvetica.
Or I'm just lazy when it comes to font selection. Take your pick.

I did a :P as my post mood because I wasn't serious.

But I prefer to not use a big desktop manager like KDE or Gnome, and go for just using Openbox with Tint2 and Nitrogen.

I started with Fluxbox but I am a bit of an information whore and when it's harder to check something that I want (Like my wifi strength on the school's shitty wireless) than simply glancing, I get tired of minimal designs and want more.

Plus KDE4 can be extremely pretty if you put a little time into it, and that makes it easy to stop my friends from believing that linux is 10 years in the past and ugly as a derailed train smashing through an old folks home

[funkycaveman]

thanks for all the info a few things:

first i know some programming languages and can use the cmd, but im guessing it wont be needed?

also by using a linux based operating system and using a windows emulator in it aparently runs programs better than in windows itself, with the 3d stuff i doubt the actual 3d graphics would be better but it gives you the choice.

the new internal hdd would be blank, is it easier installing unbuntu from the get go or try windows then ubuntu afterwards?

thanks :)

[urbn]

At 11/3/09 04:51 PM, funkycaveman wrote: thanks for all the info a few things:

first i know some programming languages and can use the cmd, but im guessing it wont be needed?

Using the CMD is almost nothing like using a Terminal Emulator and using bash. If you don't use Terminal or Bash in Linux, you are missing out on an awesomely powerful tool.

also by using a linux based operating system and using a windows emulator in it aparently runs programs better than in windows itself, with the 3d stuff i doubt the actual 3d graphics would be better but it gives you the choice.

I have no idea where you got that information. It is complete bullshit I'm afraid. Unfortunately I don't have Wine installed at all (and cannot be bothered), but Photoshop for me worked fine, but you couldn't read any of the menu text.

3D will be slower (if the applications use DirectX to render the graphics) as Wine will have to translate DirectX calls into OpenGL calls. This also can cause artefacts and other odd behaviour.

the new internal hdd would be blank, is it easier installing unbuntu from the get go or try windows then ubuntu afterwards?

It's easier to run the Live CD, honestly.

Ubuntu may install quicker than Windows (although Microsoft did a better job with 7, taking almost exactly the same amount of time), but you will likely need to do a lot of manual configuration of things that you take for granted in Windows.

At this point in time I see you more of a user than an administrator (in terms of knowledge / skill), and as I say with almost ever user: Get Windows. Simple as.

Also, regarding 3D you will of course need the drivers, which can be a pain in Linux.

9200's and older are not supported by ATi on Linux anymore, and you can only install the drivers up to 9.3.

HD graphics cards (like my main computers HD4870x2) have limited support, although the proprietary drivers can use 3D on them they really are shit compared to the Windows drivers.

The open source drivers "radeon" support everything up to the HD series in both 3D and 2D and the new "radeonhd" drivers support a limited number of cards in 3D and 2D and more only in 2D. 64bit can also cause issues as well with the proprietary drivers that Ubuntu "recommend" you install, I have failed several times to install it through the driver wizard without it causing my computer to seize after booting into GDM (login screen).

SiS cards are pretty awful anyway, but I've only been able to get 2D running on an old computer of mine.

Intel have limited support for specific cards for 3D, but most are happy with 2D.

3DFX are obsolete and shit, so frankly if you have one you should throw your computer out.

So if you do have ATi / SiS / Intel / 3DFX graphics, be prepared for a headache. Nvidia seem to be the only ones who are pro actively supporting Linux drivers at the moment.

I cannot stress enough, that at this moment in time people who simply use computers to do work should NOT install Linux.

Disclaimer: This is not a rant at you.

However, I still love the idea of Linux (and especially Arch Linux) mainly because it is keeping retards out right now.

[funkycaveman]

At 11/3/09 06:21 PM, urbn wrote: potential rant?

I was interested in a different os seeing windows is sometimes a real piss take and seeing I wont be able to afford a mac until next year. I may instal it on my old 40gb hard drive that is being replaced. About the running of 3ds i found that on a forum that explained how people got it working in ubuntu, most refer to blender but tbh i dont like the interface so might be wasted hours learning it again.
thank you again for all your help :)
I think the outcome would be to instal windows, maybe 7, and at a later stage potentially installing a linux based system, i also looked into debian but didnt think it was as good

[blah569]

I never really liked Ubuntu until 9.10, I preferred Sabayon or another flavor. I really prefer using Linux over Windows as it's a lot better for me to do programming in (primarily with NASM and C / C++). It's a lot cleaner, much more smooth, and much more of an enjoyable experience, but that depends on what you're wanting to do.