Ubuntu pro and cons ?

[grahamdvddvddvd]

I want to add a operating system to an old computer which will just be a bit of internet browsing and music playing/jukebox, is Ubuntu suitable and what are the pros and cons ? It is free ?

[nevermind1534]

Pros:
can be more lightweight
extensive library of open source software
can run windows apps with WINE

Cons:
not always as easy to install/configure some things compared to windows
WINE doesn't have 100% support

[mtekk]

On any linux system the threat of virus or malware infection is reduced greatly. For webbrowsing and music it should do just fine, provided you are not trying to use a USB WiFi card for internet. Of course Ubuntu is 100% free.

[progbuddy]

On any linux system the threat of virus or malware infection is reduced greatly. For webbrowsing and music it should do just fine, provided you are not trying to use a USB WiFi card for internet. Of course Ubuntu is 100% free.

8.10 fixed a lot of errors associated with wifi and sound. If not, then just plug it in for a short time and download the correct linux driver.

[sloppyc]

Pros:
1. Free
2. Stable (I very rarely reboot)
3. a) Easily customizable (gnome-look.org)
3. b) Linux distributions give you a variety of destop environments to choose from. Don't like Gnome? Try KDE. Want something a little more lightweight? Try Xfce, Fluxbox,...
4. Many media center applications run on Linux (Elisa, xbmc...)
5.Most (if not all) of your hardware will be detected and installed out of the box.
6. Live CDs. The full OS on a CD/DVD that can be run without making any changes to your computer. Great way to test for hardware compatibility. There's also Wubi that will let you install/uninstall Ubuntu from within Windows.
7. Malware is a non-issue. No antivirus or anti-spyware software need waste your CPU cycles.

Cons:
1. Ubuntu is straightforward as Linux distributions go, but there is a learning curve. Things that come naturally to the seasoned windows user may not be so obvious. The flip side to that, of course, is as a seasoned Windows user, you'll know what to ask when you go to Google or ubuntuforums.org for solutions.
2. I haven't found a music player that satisfies my needs yet.
3. Drivers generally aren't written for Linux, so you may lose some features with your peripherals and/or other hardware (see pros # 6).

[jdbnsn]

I have never used linux prior to a month ago when I set up an Ubuntu server (with much help from OvRiDe) and at first it was very difficult to understand the way linux commands work. But after a little getting used to, it's not half bad I must say. I still don't know my ass from a hole in the ground with linux, but it certainly can be done if you are willing to play around with the system and learn the way it works.

[Xpirate]

I have a Rosewill PCI wireless card on my old 32 bit AMD machine. With Ubuntu 8.10, it just found that card and got me on the internet without any hassle at all. I couldn't get the wireless card to work with 8.04, but 8.10 was completely effortless.

That old AMD with Ubuntu boots up faster and has the system ready to use a full minute faster than my quad core Windows XP machine does. I used to think that when people talked about the windows "tax" that they were referring to the money you have to spend to get it. I have learned that it is also the fact that Windows operating systems are resource hogs compared to Linux. That is way more taxing than the cost of the OS.

If you are just starting out with Linux, Ubuntu is probably the best one to start with. It is still not a complete cakewalk to make everything you might want to run right. I had to run a chmod command to install Google Earth.

[NightrainSrt4]

I couldn't get my WG111T to work correctly in 8.10. Got the drivers installed with ndisgtk and it saw the hardware and accessed it as a wireless device, but trying to connect to the network it just kept cycling over and over again asking for the WPA pass and trying to connect again. I do have a long pass, 18 char, which has been said to cause issues.

Not worth the hassle to figure out how to get working when I can just toss a cat5 in and go.

So ya, I love linux, but by no means am super experienced, and because drivers and such have to be emulated from the windows versions, it can be a pain trying to get everything working correctly.

[Killa_Ape]

weird my wg111t worked i hate it though

[simon275]

I couldn't get my WG111T to work correctly in 8.10. Got the drivers installed with ndisgtk and it saw the hardware and accessed it as a wireless device, but trying to connect to the network it just kept cycling over and over again asking for the WPA pass and trying to connect again. I do have a long pass, 18 char, which has been said to cause issues.

That is odd maybe you have a problem with WPA supplicant. Getting wireless to work on ubuntu can be tricky.

Ubuntu is super easy to use if it is something simple but the moment you want to really start messing around you will find yourself in the deep end very quickly and that is to much for some users.

With what you want to do Ubuntu is a very good choice for web browsing and music. It will work on a lot of old hardware to.

If you need help I suggest checking out the offical ubuntu forums and doing a search almost any problem you have someone else would have had it and been given help.