Domain: ubuntu.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to ubuntu.com.
Comments · 3,260
-
Re:Question for you
ubuntu 11.04
Yep. And all variations. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyNarwhal/ReleaseNotes
-
Re:Switch to a DVD
[citation needed] That may very well be true, but the Ubuntu download page goes into detail explaining how to convert the ISO into a bootable USB stick. Side note: following the OS X instructions to the letter didn't work. I don't remember the details, but it had something to do with the PPC version of the disk utils not using a compatible partition format, or something else seemingly unlikely like that. I just remember having a severe bout of "you've got to be kidding me" when it failed.
-
My take
1. A Refined Unity
>"icons in the launcher will be able to display count badges or progress meters to reflect the state of the underlying application"2. GNOME 3
Will people now stop posting "you can just choose class Gnome before login!"? Prediction: Neither Unity nor Gnome3 will have the functionality that Just Worked fine before, and was letting people get their work done.
3. Evolution -- or Thunderbird?
Even though I use Thunderbird (I prefer to have the same client across computers, plus it has great dynamic folders), I don't agree with switching applications on a whim every few releases.
Pitivi to be dropped
F-Spot => Shotwell
Evolution => Thunderbird
Firefox => Chromium4. No LibreOffice?
First they drop GIMP, now the OpenOffice clone, too? So what exactly will you be able to do with a live CD? I guess they had to make space for Unity chrome.
5. Chromium Instead of Firefox?
See #3. Also, it's not as if there's actual functionality missing from Firefox (unlike, say with the move from Pidgin to Empathy). Gratuitous changes. The Ubuntu trademark. "Ubuntu is safe, intuitive and stable " haha.
6. No Computer Janitor or PiTiVi
They just added it (Pitivi) a few releases ago!
7. LightDM Instead of GDM
Good if it works. But Ubuntu has a history of messing these things up.
8. Deja Dup by Default
It's a backup utility. Could be good, depends on integration. Does it work with Ubuntu One?
9. Ubuntu Software Center
>"the Ubuntu Software Center is also slated to get a number of enhancements, including improved integration with Unity and a simplified user interface."
How much simpler could it get?
>"I don't know about you, but I'm already champing at the bit to test it out."
Dreading it already.
-
Re:Ubuntu
LTS is 5 years for servers.
-
Re:And this is a surprise?
My point was, Windows users routinely run as Admin and grant Admin rights to anything that asks. Few Linux users run as root, and those seem to be a little more careful about the things they install and run.
"trusted source" in my distro of Linux means that the repository itself has a signed key, which I trust. With three exceptions, my machine does indeed have "signed" code. The exceptions came from sources that I've learned to trust over the years.
Random example here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/add-apt-repository
As you can see, that particular version of Ubuntu is more than 1 1/2 years old. So - we've had "signing" for a little while now . . .
-
Re:You miss the point
Not another post about LTS!
First, LTS are no better than so-called "normal" releases in the area of bugs or refraining from adding stuff that breaks (PulseAudio).
Second, who directs them to their LTS releases? "Their" must refer to Ubuntu, and they certainly don't direct anybody to an LTS release.
re: LightDM- this actually seems like a sensible move, like the old Ubuntu would make (things that improve functionality without sacrificing compatibility, like Upstart).
-
Re:Extinction-level event
>But with the major trend setting distro making these changes, it forces everyone to re-evaluate and that is the best thing that can happen.
OK. Whatever. Trend-setting, fancy, etc. Great.
But explain this:
"Ubuntu for business: Secure, reliable and with no licence fees, businesses everywhere are using Ubuntu to reduce costs and boost performance.""Perfect for business use, Ubuntu is safe, intuitive and stable. Easy to integrate, you'll be able to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations and share them with Windows users stress-free."
How is it stable when it's changing major stuff left and right every version with huge bugs. How is it intuitive when it hides the menus, hides the scrollbar (!), and possibly even Shut Down? How is it stress-free when it forces you to learn yet another interface to be able to accomplish the same stuff you were doing just fine before?
And reliable? Haha.
-
Re:Wrong Question
This is tired old FUD that you Microsoft shills trot out all the time.
Can you name one technology that Microsoft innovated? And by the way, it doesn't count if they bought it from someone else.
Ok, now to your original question:
1. Alchemy
2. Bespin
3. Bitcoin
4. eyeOS
5. KDE Social Desktop
6. Ksplice
7. Unity
8. HTTP, the Web, TCP/IP, and ARPAnet
9. X Windows
10. Perl
11. Slashdot
12. Google keeps playing with open source, but can't make up their minds. Here are some
13. Microsoft plays with open source, here are some. This must just eat you up. Too bad, Open Source is everywhere.
14. Here are some more innovative open source projects.
Now, I expect you to provide at least 5 innovative projects Microsoft created within the last 10 years. (Sorry, you can't count Windows or Office, since those ideas are much older, and are no longer considered innovative.)
Failing that, at least read what I wrote. -
Re:I guess I'm just old school...
Either you have an excellent memory or you're reusing the same password on multiple sites. If you're a mere mortal, like me, and you don't want to reuse a few passwords over and over again, you need a password manager.
Or, If you're a code like me, you wrote a javascript:sha1( salt + get_master_pw() + host ); bookmarklet which enables you to use the same password everywhere, but generate a site specific hash that you enter into the PW field.
Note: I would use someone else's PW hasher plugin, but I can re-code my own system from scratch in any URL bar, text editor, command shell or programming language to re-gain access to my codes in a worst case scenario...
-
Re:Ubuntu need to decide...
Something like Ubuntu backports?
-
Re:Alot of Enterprise Software is "too complicated
Vendors Say Data Protection Software Too Complicated To Use
I have no problem at all using my data protection software of choice:)
-
Re:Passing on Viruses
Link to the Ubuntu Community Guide for scanning email using Thunderbird and ClamAV for those interested:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ScanningEmail -
Back in the real world...
Read this:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2011-April/032988.html
and then have a good laugh about this whole line of thought. Canonical is an effort to make a more usable default Linux desktop but they have one major problem (and many minor ones): Mark Shuttleworth is a terrible UI designer and either all the designers he employs are terrible as well, nobody at canonical is willing to stand up to him or he's not willing to take feedback from the designers he employs. Making a cargo cult hybrid of OS X and Windows 7 isn't going to do anyone any good.Even the article doesn't get it, it assumes that Apple is successful because they "dumbed down UNIX".
-
Re:New Website has Broken Links
http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/why-is-it-free
Linked on the frontpage.
-
Ubuntu minimal CD
The best way to install Ubuntu for advanced users: mini.iso. A 22 MB netinstall CD image that installs nothing but the bare minimum. After install, just run "apt-get install ubuntu-desktop" if you want the standard desktop, "apt-get install xubuntu-desktop" if you want xubuntu, etc. If you don't want a desktop that's fine too.
-
zomg torrent plz
For the bearded folk:
Slackware Torrentsand for the rest of you:
Ubuntu Torrents -
a total solution to infected Windows PCs
Ubuntu is a fast, secure and easy-to-use operating system used by millions of people around the world.
-
Re:Amazon beat them both
I haven't heard anyone point out that the Ubuntu One Music Store exists. https://one.ubuntu.com/music/
-
Re:FOSS companies compete for you to depend on the
They used to have a service that did just that. It's closed now, but it was operational for a long time.
-
No surprise - they can't even add. It was 6/11.From the details:
5/11 participants (P2, P3, P5, P9, P10, P11) crashed Unity during their hour of testing.
Participants 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11
... that's 6/11, or a majority, not "almost half."The funniest finding? One of the two testers who thought that Software Center was the recycle bin is an Ubuntu user.
Canonical should take the hint - move Unity to the recycling bin. It's not ready, and it never will be. Admit that the 4 years (this all started with the netbook remix spin) is wasted, that mobile is now between Android and Apple (and maybe HP if webOS takes off), that tablets are also going to be going the same route, and that trying to adapt an interface that was designed for small mobile and other touchscreen devices to a regular desktop because your original market plan is as gutted as a mafia stool-pigeon is a bad idea.
-
Re:That's not the worst about it
Alt+F2 (run command) is even cleaner, executes faster, and is a more minimalistic launcher.
It doesn't mean that it's what people want all the times. If you want lean and fast, you use xfce, lxde, or enlightenment (how times change. I remember when enlightenment used to be considered fair game for the bloatware title
... :-). However, when you get fed up with mousing around, it sure is handy.Canonical admits that Unity was supposed to be for netbooks (a dying market, eaten alive by low-end laptops, tablets, and smartphones) and "other touchscreen devices" - a market being divided between Android and Apple.
Unity is designed for netbooks and related touch-based devices. It includes a new panel and application launcher that makes it fast and easy to access preferred applications, such as the browser, while removing screen elements that are rarely used in mobile and netbook computing.
1. Remove the parts needed for a good desktop.
2. Make it the default desktop
3. FAIL!But it's Ubuntu - the fanbois (mostly people who never tried another linux distro) will be along momentarily to "re-educate" anyone who points out the truth. The usual crap-flood warning is now in effect.
-
Re:This is the best thing they can do.
And Ubuntu, which you can download for free at http://www.ubuntu.com/ .
In fact, you can even try Ubuntu without touching your hard drive with their "LiveCD" technology. Amazing stuff!
-
Re:I like Ubuntu 11.04
If you have time, you might want to consider helping out by reporting bugs that you find so they can get fixed
:)
I would advise checking the Known Issues list for beta2 before filing a bug to prevent duplicate bug reports.Thanks.
-
Re:I like Ubuntu 11.04
If you have time, you might want to consider helping out by reporting bugs that you find so they can get fixed
:)
I would advise checking the Known Issues list for beta2 before filing a bug to prevent duplicate bug reports.Thanks.
-
Re:Ridiculously misleading, nobody crashed it...
... a few people just couldn't figure out how to perform certain actions.
Here's the actual announcement: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2011-April/032988.html
Slashdot does have a lot of misleading summaries, but, from your own link:
"5/11 participants (P2, P3, P5, P9, P10, P11) crashed Unity during their hour of testing. And towards the end of her test, P11 opened a zombie quicklist that stayed on top of everything and didn't respond to clicks."
-
Ridiculously misleading, nobody crashed it...
... a few people just couldn't figure out how to perform certain actions.
Here's the actual announcement: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2011-April/032988.html -
Ignore crappy blog - link to results
Just ignore the crappy blog link. It's not really helpful at all. Here's a link to the actual results:
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2011-April/032988.html -
Re:PJ doesn't exist.
My research narrows it down to these six uh three women.
-
The free software religion
The "religious fundamentalism" you deride is responsible for developing the system that millions are using on desktops, media boxes, phones, etc., for free. The only reason people work for free is when they are working for an ideal.
As far as your specific concern about video drivers, Ubuntu doesn't (and can't) distribute nVidia's proprietary graphics driver. But downloading and enabling it is as easy as clicking System> Administration> Hardware Drivers.
The last time I checked, fundamentalist preachers don't have "click here for a keg" signs in their churches.
-
Re:== Ubuntu One?
http://one.ubuntu.com/music has been around awhile. Sounds samey.
Yup, it is very similar. Biggest difference is that in the mainstream world, the ratio of people who know what the fuck Amazon is vs. people who know what the fuck Ubuntu One is is about 10,000:1.
-
== Ubuntu One?
http://one.ubuntu.com/music has been around awhile. Sounds samey.
-
Re:awsome.
(Yes, I know I can get it myself, but I want the regular install so subsequent updates "just work" without me having to subscribe to a mailing list to discover when they have appeared).
Developer repositories you can configure Ubuntu to use here, https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FirefoxNewVersion
-
Re:.38 in Natty?
Now i'm curious if Ubuntu 11.04 aka Natty Narwhal will ship Linux 2.6.38
According to Natty alpha site it will
... http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/natty/alpha3 -
Re:It's coming
People need the ability to install freeware, shareware, commercial, their friends apps or their own apps and so on.
Oh please- you've been able to do that for years in package managers. It's easy to add software to a repository list giving you the ability to install a package your distro doesn't provide for whatever reason. Some software gets bundled in executables which work just like in Windows (e.g. America's Army).
Security-wise, the useful difference is that this process is not as ingrained in a brain-dead way that you routinely download an exe you shouldn't be trusting and reflexively click "Next" five times. The problem is that in Windows there is no such thing as a trustworthy package (nobody even bothers with signing their applications). And now that Windows users have finally moved a tiny step away from running as root, they've been retrained to routinely click the "you need sudo? yes- use it already, stop asking me every minute!" button. It's not users' fault that Microsoft discourages them from thinking about security because it feels like more trouble than it's worth. My mother is still working up her confidence in dealing with phishing, and she's just now starting to trust herself to the point where she doesn't need to forward the email to me for a second opinion. The last thing I need is to hear about every confirmation window that pops up.
By contrast, in a Linux packaging system I'm very aware that I'm choosing to install software that nobody has vetted. And since deb/rpm/etc are open formats I can easily do my own checking (or get someone else with know-how) to see which files are being installed where they can cause harm. Have fun doing that with an Installshield executable.
-
URL Tetris Source Code
(please excuse the self-reply)
In case anyone wanted to see the source code:
Here's the unencoded version of the URL Tetris. -
Re:Hmm... MOAR! -- OK (Warning: Huge JS blob)
Amusing for a few seconds, this uses JS?
Yep.
Here, I wrote a JavaScript: URL that creates a Tetris game at the top of whatever page you're on.
Protip: Create a Bookmark, set the Location of the bookmark to the tetris code... Click the bookmark and play tetris on any web page.
-
Re:It's NOT the Open Source Community, Miguel
I've got 855GM Integrated Graphics on my laptop. It has always worked well on Windows and never on Linux despite the drivers being open sourced and the hardware specs being available. I'm using Lucid, but it's still a problem today See Lucidi8xxFreezes for a list of the workarounds.
The truth is that even with hardware specs, it takes people with both the required skill and motivation to make things work and keep them working.
-
Re:Because KDE/Gnome don't really know
What does any of this rant after the first paragraph have to do with KDE/Gnome?
If those issues don't concern KDE and Gnome, then there is something fundamentally wrong about their structure/definition in that they are too indifferent to the overall user experience. Distros like Ubuntu may purport to fill the role of holistic designer, but they really don't have the resources or vision to do so.
---
1) Many of them would go along with advertising compatibility if the Linux people made it easy for users to find compatible products. Looking at places like Ubuntu forums and blogs, I see that the practice of "buy it and try it, then cry" still dominates.
2) It's not an SDK if the core APIs and user interface components aren't well-defined and there isn't a clear distinction between the OS and all the stuff that's considered optional. You may think that distro repositories and their dependency management obviate that need, but you would be wrong. Its also not an SDK if the developer docs for the whole spectrum of libraries and services and cannot be accessed in one place in a single format. Its also not an SDK if developer docs are confused as to whether they are addressing application developers or system developers (they are often treated as the same audience in FOSS circles).
3) Check this out: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/Resolution#Setting%20xrandr%20changes%20persistently
According to Ubuntu, users must add commands to scripts or change xorg.conf manually to make X settings persist. What a joke. The same organization that writes the settings-parsing code must also supply convenient ways to WRITE/SAVE any adjustments to those settings (if the settings involved are even a little bit complex).In any case, Ubuntu has seen fit to dump X11 for future development. Hopefully they can dump the "we're a Linux too" identity-clusterfk also.
4) Names and branding are extremely important, and 'Linux-Phone' would certainly have died a deservedly horrible death. No one should get away with foisting that must cognitive dissonance onto innocent phone users. The distros you pointed out (by truncating their names in some cases) all prominently identify themselves as Linux products and seek to lump themselves into the "Linux" genre.
Here is the start of Ubuntu's own description from their home page: "Commercially sponsored Debian-derived Linux distribution that focuses on usability, a regular 6-month release cycle...". Red Hat is really "RHEL" with "Linux" right in name (not that I care... a server product isn't aimed at average users). They all want you to think they're basically the same OS, but from an end users standpoint they aren't -- from a tech support standpoint they aren't, especially if you must guide the user over a phone.
All this is markedly different from how the Android brand/identity is handled. Same thing with WebOS (another success that includes the Linux kernel). These products refused to define themselves as "Linux distros". Even Blackberry avoided the syndrome when they acquired QNX (they do not call their new phone OS a 'QNX distro' or other such idiocy).
I'd also like to point out that Apple's iPhone could have also turned into a clusterfk if they asserted it as just another hardware platform for "Mac OS X". It would have attracted the wrong set of first-adopters harboring unrealistic expectations and the iPhone would be in worse shape than AppleTV. Phones do not adhere to PC expectations (and vice versa) so Apple dubbed the OS X variant with a new name.
5) Yeah, free as in 'go twist in the wind'. Incidentally Mozilla identified and avoided this game long ago, so they refuse to package programs for the many flavors of "Linux". Instead they have a tar file that any experienced tech can knit into their system tree structure with only an hour or two of their time (and before you go there, no, simply untaring does not w
-
Re:Don't drag, it's still easy to do it
In essence, you double-click a large area vs regular-clicking a small button. Sounds like you never want to double-click. Some suggestions: Bind a mouse button to double-click, or perhaps set a keyboard modifier that turns the primary mouse button into a double-click. You may also want to just enable mouse-keys, so you can hover your pointer over the area you wish to double-click, and press the 0 key on the numeric keypad. You might also want to add some fire to this conversation.
-
Re:"Dumbing Up"
All of them have tools to compile a kernel. And who cares if it is out of the box? Working through the kernel configs used to take hours each time and several tries I was thrilled when Alan Cox started releasing good quality out of the box kernels.
But all the distributions still allow you to do it including your arch villain: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Kernel/Compile
-
Re:And people were upset over Apples 30%.
I have to admit i'm not quite so keen on ubuntu as I once was. Maverick is not an option i dislike unity so I stuck with lucid which is pretty good and I will probably wait a while till canonical make a better release or perhaps I will look towards debian or mint. I kind of feel like I should have left Ubuntu behind and moved on but it is easy to stick with what I know.
What canonical seem to have done is taken their first apple like steps and I don' like it at all. Ubuntu doesn't really have an app store. Taking a cut from Amazon referral fee's away from gnome just sucks. to be honest the devs could spend it on crack and whores if they wanted too. Banshee is not Canonicals. Maybe they want to take a slice of firefox's revenues next after all you can run it on ubuntu and mozilla get revenue from google. UbuntuOne is canonicals baby and they can do as they please with that.
incidentally
You can cancel your account by doing the following:
1. Open https://one.ubuntu.com/account/
2. Click on the "View details or make changes" link
3. Click the "Cancel this subscription" link
4. Click the "Cancel subscription" buttonI'm cancelling now. well I would be but apparently its down for maintenance. coincidence?
I'm not biased oracle is a lot worse but seriously Ubuntu seems to be acquiring people with poor people skills like a cat gets fleas.
-
Re:Why use FreeBSD when you can use Linux?
My thoughts on FreeBSD vs Linux... FreeBSD chroot jails are more secure than Linux chroot jails. Even says so in the Ubuntu man pages: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jaunty/man2/chroot.2.html
http://www.bpfh.net/simes/computing/chroot-break.htmlFreeBSD also has kernel-level virtualized jails which are far more secure than chroot jails, and a virtual network stack for jails is right around the corner (vimage/vnet). Then there's also the kernel securelevel, extended attributes/ACLs, TrustedBSD/MAC, and pf/ALTQ which is far superior to iptables. BSD has really been leading Linux in the area of security--Linux is more focused on spreading GPL and getting the media wheel on your USB keyboard to work.
I would say that Linux has much more diverse hardware support and more complete support for cutting-edge whiz-bangs and desktop gadgets like sound cards and webcams--although current FreeBSD is not too far behind. Meanwhile, FreeBSD is focused on powerful features for administration and for servers, such as jails, pf, ZFS, netgraph, GEOM framework, HAST replication, CARP failover, consistent integration of kernel and userland, consistent interface for startup scripts, the ports system and repository, etc.
Of course FreeBSD has the better license without question.
I think the clear choice for security and network related infrastructure is always a BSD box. The only times I choose Linux are when I'm forced to, such as installing to embedded hardware or using as a desktop/workstation.
-
Re:Mixed bag
Having just switched to a Mac, my biggest irritation (other than the odd keyboard) is that the menu bar is always at the very top of the screen and is not attached to the window. When you have lots of small windows open, it just drives me crazy having to go to the menu at the top of the screen.
Any way to fix this short of installing Linux on the machine?
-
Re:What's going on?
We are talking about the Gnome Display Manager, right? AFAICT gdm3 is just a virtual package and has been for a while, it's probably just there to help with some upgrade scenarios.
aptitude show gdm3
No current or candidate version found for gdm3
Package: gdm3
State: not a real packageThe proper package is gdm, and it's at 2.32 in Natty. Though I'm not sure how a gdm issue would prevent a boot in the proper sense of the word - gdm is started pretty much at the end of the boot process. Anyway, you should be able to choose recovery mode from the initial grub boot screen, after the BIOS, which puts you into a text mode boot that finishes with a nice menu were you can choose options like "try to free space" or "let me log in in text mode". Though I think that in Natty and Maverick before that the default is not to show the grub menu in order to be prettier and not to scare away noobs. You can press Shift to make the menu appear (see "Hidden" here https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2#Boot%20Display%20Behavior), but yes, that's not very well advertised.
-
Re:What's going on?
Certainly I know that after a recent install of Ubuntu Natty (late beta) my system wouldn't boot.
Natty is in alpha, https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NattyReleaseSchedule
-
Frankly, I'm not surprised....Having made the switch to Linux myself a few years ago, I often face problems with getting peripherals to work well - easily.
Anyone tried getting the G15 keyboard macro keys working easily? This is not what I call easy. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LogitechG15
I persisted because I want to support FOSS, but I can easily understand that if government departments and companies are faced with similar issues, they probably don't care about FOSS - they focus on budgets and the costs involved in support.Until the desktop industry embraces Linux in the same way the hobbyists do, this issue is a major roadblock.
-
Re:I hope not
All the more reason to use heavy encryption. You know, like before you go around pissing people off.
This is also why I use btrfs. Fsck that, bitches!
-
Re:Just asking
Just to answer my own question, it seems Cannonical have their own maintainers for this. http://packages.ubuntu.com/maverick-updates/i386/krb5-kdc
-
Re:Al Jazeera has been available in the US for YEA
Or the one-liner to watch AJE from the command-line:
rtmpdump -v -r rtmp://livestfslivefs.fplive.net/livestfslive-live/ -y "aljazeera_en_veryhigh?videoId=747084146001&lineUpId=&pubId=665003303001&playerId=751182905001&affiliateId=" -W "http://admin.brightcove.com/viewer/us1.24.04.08.2011-01-14072625/federatedVideoUI/BrightcovePlayer.swf -p "http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/ -a "aljazeeraflashlive-live?videoId=747084146001&lineUpId=&pubId=665003303001&playerId=751182905001&affiliateId=" | mplayer -
Other 24/7 live RTMP streams here: http://paste.ubuntu.com/564760/ -
Re:What's wrong with NTFS?
Try a more recent version of Ubuntu[from your comment later on/further down].
I run Kubuntu, which is Debian-based Ubuntu with a KDE user interface, instead of Ubuntu default Gnome desktop envoirment/user interface.
The full read and write ability for NTFS has been present in the default install since 8.04, IRC.
I remember downloading NTFS-3g from the repository in 6.06[?] Dapper Drake for read only, but don't remember having to do so with 8.04.Currently I am running 10.10, and the default install has read-write support enabled for NTFS, and has been the same since 9.04, for certain.
What you're probably running into is not having your Windows partitions mounted.
If they are not mounted, they won't even show up in your file manager. (Nautilus)Without knowing more, here are some helpful links:
Pick your distro. Ubuntu has good tech support doc's and forums.
"Mounting Windows partitions" for 9.04 search results from the above link[I randomly selected 9.04]
Here is what you're looking, for most likely.; top answer from the above search results.That info took about 1 minute to find, starting with a google.com search for 'Ubuntu', BTW.
Admittedly, there is a 'learning curve'/mindset change going from from Windows to *nix, but it's not different from just starting with Windows originally.
Remember when you first started using a computer?
Well, going from Windows to *nix is actually a lot easier if you really want to make the jump.....*first-strike dibs on pedants*
I started with a Win95 PC in 1996, and migrated to Kubuntu 6.06 when I ran afoul of WinXP WGA with a legitimate copy of XP Pro in 2004.
I was heavily into gaming and upgraded hardware often, and either due to 'key-gens' on the net, or HW changes in my PC, I could not re-activate my retail copy of XP without buying a new copy from Microsoft. I had been dual-booting XP and Ubuntu since Ubuntu 5.04, so it was a 'no brainer' for me. YMMV