# Is Ubuntu better then 7?



## Neon_Infection (May 31, 2010)

I'm thinking of chaing OS's to Ubuntu after my copy of Windows 7 suddenly decided to have a massive serious of issues. 

I manly use my pc for a magazine made in Indesign and a photoshop every now and then. 

Thing is I'm more of a hardware rather then software kindof guy. Or should I try another Linux system?

Oh, and I'm not going anywhere near a Mac or XP so don't even suggest it.


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## Slyck (May 31, 2010)

Yes for a low-end or average desktop, a laptop, or a server.

No for a high-end desktop or gaming rig.

Photoshop CS5 doesn't work in wine as CS2 does. Just a heads up.


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## CaptainCool (May 31, 2010)

in my opinion its not. it has its advantages but i prefer windows.
i have ubunto installed on my netbook but im using the XP partition again =/
but i think it depends on your taste. go ahead and test it with a live CD, thats how i would do it^^
and maybe you might want to give linux mint 9 a go, thats basically ubunto with a more windows-like shell


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## ToeClaws (May 31, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> but i think it depends on your taste. go ahead and test it with a live CD, thats how i would do it^^



Agreed - Operating Systems are very much like religion - it's a matter of personal preference just as much (or more) than any other factor.  



CaptainCool said:


> and maybe you might want to give linux mint 9 a go, thats basically ubuntu with a more windows-like shell



Actually no - Mint uses the same shell as Ubuntu.  The only aesthetic difference in presentation is that Mint created it's own menu system for Gnome which organizes the software in a more Windows-like way.  Hate that feature myself and just use the Gnome menu, but there again - personal preference.

OP: I suggest you read the sticky posts on this section of the Forum: Linux vs Windows and other *nix type OS has been very thoroughly discussed already.

Also, my suggestion for whether you want to switch or not is if you do, then give it time.  Windows has been an Operating System we have all known for over a decade (or more like 20 years for some of us).  Switching to something different takes a little getting used to, so I would say give yourself 2 to 4 weeks of using another OS before you pass judgement on it.  You'll find that most of the awkwardness comes from unfamiliarity.


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## CaptainCool (May 31, 2010)

ToeClaws said:


> Actually no - Mint uses the same shell as Ubuntu.  The only aesthetic difference in presentation is that Mint created it's own menu system for Gnome which organizes the software in a more Windows-like way.  Hate that feature myself and just use the Gnome menu, but there again - personal preference.



ok i see^^ my sourse was wrong then


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## Apollo (May 31, 2010)

It depends what you are going to use it for.
If you're a gamer, use photoshop or have a Zune, no Ubuntu is not better, butâ€¦
If you develop or frequently virtual machine Ubuntu to use apps then yeah, Ubuntu is better.


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## Yaps (May 31, 2010)

No... Not for me.


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## ToeClaws (May 31, 2010)

HenriW said:


> It depends what you are going to use it for.
> If you're a gamer, use photoshop or have a Zune, no Ubuntu is not better, butâ€¦
> If you develop or frequently virtual machine Ubuntu to use apps then yeah, Ubuntu is better.



OP: And this is the other half of the equation; besides personal preference, there's unique capabilities and specialties of the OS.  Again best to read the sticky threads for a lot more info on all aspects of such a choice.  There are a lot of software choices that are unique to one OS or another, though I would like to mention that Photoshop (up to CS4) can run under Ubuntu via WINE, which is a Windows binary compatibility library.  For me, I have CS2, and in all honesty, it runs more stable under WINE than regular Windows.

Now go read the other threads.


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## Bianca (May 31, 2010)

ToeClaws said:


> OP: And this is the other half of the equation; besides personal preference, there's unique capabilities and specialties of the OS.  Again best to read the sticky threads for a lot more info on all aspects of such a choice.  There are a lot of software choices that are unique to one OS or another, though I would like to mention that Photoshop (up to CS4) can run under Ubuntu via WINE, which is a Windows binary compatibility library.  For me, I have CS2, and in all honesty, it runs more stable under WINE than regular Windows.
> 
> Now go read the other threads.


Ew, CS2 :\


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## GraemeLion (May 31, 2010)

Depends entirely on what you want/need to do.

If you're just about browsing the web, writing stuff occasionally, and working in lower level art tools like the Gimp (but not photoshop), Ubuntu might be a better match for you than 7.  If you want to play games, etc.. what is your end goal for this machine?


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## ToeClaws (May 31, 2010)

Bianca said:


> Ew, CS2 :\



Yes well... I'm not fabulously rich, so even at the educational discount I get, I can't afford to upgrade it just yet.  Besides, CS5 does not work under WINE yet, and the knuckleheads at Adobe still have no Linux version.


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## Bianca (May 31, 2010)

ToeClaws said:


> Yes well... I'm not fabulously rich, so even at the educational discount I get, I can't afford to upgrade it just yet.  Besides, CS5 does not work under WINE yet, and the knuckleheads at Adobe still have no Linux version.


I suspect that may be because Linux users have an aversion to commercial software. After the huge community dummy spit over the possibility of a Linux version of Steam, I wouldn't be surprised if that completely removed _any_ possibility of Photoshop and the like ever coming to Linux.


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## CynicalCirno (May 31, 2010)

Ubunyu is a freeware that copies Mac, but it fails. Also, Mac's operation system is the worst by far - the hardware, is technology.

If 7 is better than Ubuntu and Mac is the worst, I think 7 takes.


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## ToeClaws (May 31, 2010)

Bianca said:


> I suspect that may be because Linux users have an aversion to commercial software. After the huge community dummy spit over the possibility of a Linux version of Steam, I wouldn't be surprised if that completely removed _any_ possibility of Photoshop and the like ever coming to Linux.



Yeah - that's always been something that pisses me of about some of the Linux community - their severe aversion to ANYTHING that might make Linux more mainstream.  First they whined about GUIs for Linux, then they whined about distributions that were easy to install and use, and now it's bitching about commercial software.  

I love Linux, but I love Photoshop too and I haven't got a problem in the world paying whatever it costs for a Linux version.  That goes for other good software too.  Some Linux users are as bad as the Windows ones (if not worse). :/


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## WarMocK (May 31, 2010)

Oh boy, Ubuntu ...
It would be MUCH better if they didn't try to add even more automatization with every new release. It breaks more than it actually helps if you run into a problem (which frequently occurs if there are driver or setting problems or whatever).
You can give it a try, but do some excessive testing with a Live-CD first before bothering to install it. Saves you a lot of headaches. ;-)

@ToeClaws: Amen.


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## Neon_Infection (May 31, 2010)

Well I need a working copy and up to date of photoshop on my desktop so I guess Ubuntu is out of the question. 

So I guess now its a matter of fixing up my windows 7.


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## Fenrir Lupus (May 31, 2010)

The answer is "maybe."

If you're good with DIY, can understand the people on the ubuntu forums when they explain how to fix problems/make stuff work with ubuntu, then you can use linux.

You can MAKE photoshop work if you know how.  I don't.

For your purposes, the best, most stable operating system would be mac OS X.  Don't whine, that's the way it is.  You said don't suggest it, but the fact is, it's a better operating system.  Crying won't change that.


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## Fenrir Lupus (May 31, 2010)

Slyck said:


> Yes for a low-end or average desktop, a laptop, or a server.
> 
> No for a high-end desktop or gaming rig.
> 
> Photoshop CS5 doesn't work in wine as CS2 does. Just a heads up.



Not for a gaming rig, but it's popular for supercomputers, and that would technically qualify for "high end"...

Then again, hard to fit a supercomputer on a desk...


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## Nollix (May 31, 2010)

If you're planning to do anything but complete casual gaming, stick with 7. Also, ATI drivers suck massive balls in Lunix.


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## Bacu (May 31, 2010)

>then


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## ChaoticSpark (Jun 1, 2010)

If you want to game, use Windows
If you want a free OS, and are prepared to learn a new way of doing things, then Ubuntu is the best step in the Linux direction from a GUI-based OS.

Also, I'll be the first to ask the question no-one here has asked.

What 'serious issues' has Windows 7 presented?


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## mrhippieguy (Jun 3, 2010)

Best option: dual-boot.
Windows for games and windows-specific programs, Ubuntu for everything else. You don't want to do a clean install of a linux system if you're unsure about it, as it is much harder to install Windows on a Linux partition than Linux on a Windows partition. 

Also, I suggest 9.04, I've had problems with every version I've used except this one(I've used everything from 8.04 to 9.10, I couldn't even virtualize 10.04). If you can't find it on their site, torrent it, Ubuntu is legal to to torrent(as are most linux distros).

I don't say it's better than 7, as I haven't had the time to power-use 7. It is better than XP, though, by far, and the price of Ubuntu is a plus as well.


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## Shaui (Jun 3, 2010)

Depends on what you need it for:

Ubuntu can be a server (albeit not as good as something like suse enterprise or w/e)
and ubuntu is perfect for your average day to day needs like music and media/internet.

Windows 7, I use this one specifically for gaming and photoshop, unless you want to fiddle around with video hardware on ubuntu and then play some games made to run natively (or not) on linux, be my guest (it was a pain trying XD)


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## Shaui (Jun 3, 2010)

Nollix said:


> If you're planning to do anything but complete casual gaming, stick with 7. Also, ATI drivers suck massive balls in Lunix.



I heard the ATI drivers are improving (but make them open sourced already AMD!)
Nvidia works excellently on Linux.


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## Runefox (Jun 4, 2010)

Shaui said:


> I heard the ATI drivers are improving (but make them open sourced already AMD!)



They are. The new ati/radeon/radeonhd open source drivers work properly with up to the Radeon HD 4000-series cards, though it isn't perfect yet. Apart from 3D gaming, however, these drivers work perfectly.

nVidia is the one who's closing off their drivers, though their binary drivers are much nicer. ATI's binary drivers are coming along nicely, but still can't compare even to the open source radeon drivers except in 3D acceleration.


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## nrr (Jun 4, 2010)

Who cares?

NT (NT 3.1, NT 3.51, ..., Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, whatever) trumps Linux as far as kernel-land is concerned.  The NT kernel is completely type safe, modularly designed, and very small.  Compared to the Linux kernel, it does very little, and that makes reading a disassembly of it much easier.  That, in turn, makes it much easier to audit.

On the other hand, Linux trumps NT in user-land.  The GNU tools are amongst the best (with the exception of GCC, which is a festering pile of shit compared to LLVM's Clang and Microsoft's cl.exe), and most of the APIs are easier to deal with.

That's all I have to say about that.


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## Slyck (Jun 4, 2010)

nrr said:


> Who cares?
> 
> NT (NT 3.1, NT 3.51, ..., Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, whatever) trumps Linux as far as kernel-land is concerned.  The NT kernel is completely type safe, modularly designed, and very small.  Compared to the Linux kernel, it does very little, and that makes reading a disassembly of it much easier.  That, in turn, makes it much easier to audit.



Linux's 'rings' of permissions pretty muck push NT over in terms of security.


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## nrr (Jun 4, 2010)

Slyck said:


> Linux's 'rings' of permissions pretty muck push NT over in terms of security.



http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc768129.aspx

Protection domains are a feature exposed by the hardware, not the software.


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## Shomti (Jun 5, 2010)

I personally use Ubuntu. I've never hit a snag that I can't fix... though I will say outright that I could be the exception to the rule. First off, my dad is my own little tech-support division; if there's ever a problem, he knows exactly what to do to fix it, because he's been running Ubuntu for as long as I can remember. Literally as long as I can remember. Secondly, all I do with my computers (desktop and netbook) is write, browse the internet, and occasionally screw around with some casual games or other things like Blender. I'm inclined to say, though, with my experience of Linux, if you don't want a gaming rig or high-end graphic art tools, that Ubuntu is better.

Incidentally I'm running Kubuntu, actually, and very happy with it. I upgraded my netbook to Lucid Lynx, 10.04, today, very smooth update, no real issues, and I'm going to do the same for my desktop later. But, like I said, I don't do much with my computers; as a matter of fact, my desktop was old when my dad bought it for me a few years ago, and I'm perfectly happy with it. 512 megabytes of RAM is enough for me. My netbook has more and I never use all of it. So your mileage may vary.


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## Jak31 (Jun 11, 2010)

Actually I have found that the on my laptop, that runs Ubuntu 10.04 with the GNOME desktop,can run higher end games with WINE 1.42. I only can say I like Windows 7, don't really use it outside of work. So I can comment on the features everyone like in a home PC.


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## Alkatraz (Jun 12, 2010)

set ur computer to dual-boot ubuntu and windows 7 imo


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## yiffytimesnews (Jun 14, 2010)

Hey I ran Windows then Ubuntu and back to Windows again. Don't get me wrong Ubuntu is a great OS, but you can't do everything on it. There is also a severe driver issue with more things than I care to mention. Then there are programs...also a huge issue...I forget if there is 7 or 11 ways to install programs in Ubuntu. Most of those ways you have to be a computer expert to understand what you have to do without crashing anything. 

If you run Ubuntu or not it really depends on what your planning on doing. Basic use your fine...anything else there could be problems.


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## catsin (Jun 14, 2010)

Neon_Infection said:


> I'm thinking of chaing OS's to Ubuntu after my copy of Windows 7 suddenly decided to have a massive serious of issues.
> 
> I manly use my pc for a magazine made in Indesign and a photoshop every now and then.
> 
> ...


 
Ubuntu is fine for the average user. But ask yourself the following:
Are you a gamer?:If so, most games surprisingly work, but they may lag a bit more, and some require workarounds.
Do you mind switching most of your software?: Ubuntu doesn't have MS office, or paint, or photoshop (however you can run all 3 in WINE without an issue), they have open source alternatives, trust me, if you want to use linux as a daily system, try to use the software in the repo. It's better that way.
Do you mind change?: Ubuntu is NOT windows, it works differently, acts differently, and is completely different. If you like the way windows worked, and you said NO to change, forget ubuntu.
Linux IMHO is worth it, but it's not for everyone, thus, I recommend a dual boot for most people.


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