I’m thinking about getting Ubuntu for my netbook…?
So I got an Acer Netbook last year for Christmas, and I love it. It runs XP and has been doing well for me. But I think that it could do more if I change it up. It has 1G RAM and 120G hard drive.
I’m thinking about wiping everything (after moving what I want to an external hard drive) and installing Ubuntu for netbooks. What’s the risk involved? Is this a wise decision? I know Linux takes some time getting used to but I’m a quick learner, plus there is a lot of support out there.
I don’t know, I’m just looking for opinions. Any input is helpful.
Hi, I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to answer. My uncle gave me the best advise I have ever heard of when he told me, “I made sure I had a systems engineer behind me before I ever made a sale.” He worked for IBM for many years and had a long and illustrious career that made a difference to many people’s lives.
I can understand why some people would want to run a Linux-based OS because Linux is an Open Source movement, and I agree that for many people, software should be free and everyone has the right to choose whether to use a computer and pick their own OS, and personalize it the way they want in the event that they need assistive technologies in order to do their jobs more effectively.
I didn’t have to wipe my hard disk to enjoy the benefits of Ubuntu. I wouldn’t say anything, except (one feels one should say something) — I recently decided to take a chance on Karma and install Ubuntu on my Lifebook.
I’m pleased to report that all systems are up and running after a forty-five minute to an hour installation procedure that includes download, partition and installation — all automatically — and an enjoyable Ubuntu “user” experience resulted thereafter.
There are some technical differences between your system (an Acer Netbook) and my system (a Fujitsu Lifebook B3020D). You mentioned “What risk is involved,” and speaking of risks, I think of things like, for example, what if the power fails or the installation gets botched, that sort of thing. You’ll want to ensure that your system has power during the entire installation and download and that you have a backup plan and the support you need in case something does go wrong. (Which of course, things won’t.)
You’ll want to make a backup of everything, a restore point, a DVD, backup to hard disk, before proceeding. And you’ll have to decide for yourself if Ubuntu is worth it. In my case, it was. worth it.
Other “technical” differences between your setup and mine is you’re likely to download a version of Ubuntu specifically “ported” for Netbooks, which wasn’t the same in my case. (I couldn’t get the “Ubuntu Netbook Remix” working on my touchscreen — but it may work on yours.) But I did get Hardy Heron and Karmic Koala installed and up and running, and setup a wireless network connection based on the Atheros driver provided with the program.
In any case, you’ll want to read, read, read and make a decision based on your particular situation, which may be different from my own. And you might want to make sure your have a Systems Engineer behind you, or powerful faculty, or a beneficial multi-national corporation, something.
Also, some systems did not install automatically on my Fujitsu (like the touchscreen driver) — but I figured, it was all the same to me, since I don’t use the touchscreen feature — and I have a trackpad and keyboard that works great for input. And, I can always boot to Windows if I wish to enjoy the touchscreen feature. This point is maybe another similarity or difference in your case, you’ll need to evaluate whether or not to proceed.
I started with a Windows installation and pointed my browser to a local community college, where I learned about “boot loaders” and one very special file called “Wubi”. Then, I downloaded the file — which is a Windows Ubuntu installer.
Once “Wubi” was installed, it started to run the installation program. I decided which version of Ubuntu I wanted (I actually tried them all). Variants include: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu and some others (other versions like “Mint”) — which I thought I’d install because though Windows is “what a great OS” I wasn’t somehow entirely satisfied with the performance of service pack 1 and I thought I’d like a different “look and feel” from time to time.
I liked the organization and security features of certain other Linux-like UNIX OS’s, the multi-user setup, the “overlapping windows themes,” pre-emptive multi-tasking, etc. Like “Mac on a PC in five years.” Truth be told, all modern operating systems have a GUI, networking, and a way of updating the system.
And frankly I liked the personalization of my Ubuntu experience. I found that with Ubuntu (Karmic Koala — 9.10 version I believe is the most recent) allowed me to pick the “look and feel,” which buttons I wanted to use, design the OS windows the way I wanted based on design choices of people in the open source movement whose aesthetics were similar to my own. I mean, it’s nearly as good as “Mac on a PC.”
Once I downloaded the installer, I enjoyed a seamless download, installation, partition, and so on. I offered up my $1,650 Fujitsu and Ubuntu took care of everything. In “Wubi” I specified a 17 GB partition, the only other thing I had to do was specify a User name for the creation of a user account, and I picked a password, just to see how things would progress, and, on my system, everything proceeded reliably.
This is not the same as running a different OS on a Mac, which already has a great GUI since 2001. People everywhere are clamoring for the Mac experience on a PC and Ubuntu is as good as it gets. Since Acer probably doesn’t have a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip on it, you won’t find Mac OS on your Acer. But you can run Ubuntu from that spacious hard disk drive without really posing any risk to your great Windows programs or data.
I’ll post a link to the site that got me started. It’s your computer. You decide what is best for it.
Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Ubuntu AD
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