trying it out

ok im looking into making the switch from vista to ubuntu but i want to give it a test run first. i heard somewhere you can run it on a cd without having to install it on your computer. what i want to know is can i simply download it to a cd and do the same thing.
also when i run it will i be able to use my existing programs that are compatible with linux. firefox and msn messenger for example

 

Yes, you can.
Download it from
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download
Burn onto CD (note that the download is an iso file), and ypur good to go.
Firefox is compatible with linux (I use it everyday), not sure about msn messenger, but linux has tons of messenger apps with with you can chat with your msn etc buddies (that is your buddies wont know you're on linux)

 

I don't understand your questions. A number of different Linux distributions offer LiveCDs. If you have access to broadband, you would normally download one of these LiveCD iso images, and burn the iso image onto a CD.

The LiveCD, will have a range of applications including web browser and instant messaging type application, certainly the popular Linux distributions will have the Linux version of Firefox. For instant messaging, you won't be able to use Microsoft's MSN messager as that is for Microsoft Windows, Linux has various messagers (I vaguely recall Gaim), but I don't know if it works with MSN - Microsoft has previous modus operandi (spelling?) of not wanting to inter-operate with other Operating Systems.

 

Thanx for the replies. youve been a big help. ive never used anything beside windows so this is bound to be an experience. im mainly doing this to get familiar with linux without diving head first and end up having trouble adjusting.

 

There's plenty of help here...there are some old pro's from the 'day' around here to help you out as well as a few young geeks who can run circles around them . Myself, I used linux for about 2 years from 1999-2001 (Libranet and Red Hat mostly), then windows only until last year, and I can tell you it's no longer the quirky, crash proned OS it used to mostly be (in X windows that is). It's come a long way...worthy of an 'only OS'...think you'll like it.

 

I could not agree with you more! I am not here to declare my bragging rights, but I've been using Linux since 1998, and I can attest it came a long way
I do use Linux and Windows equally, just for different task.

 

I can tell by your machine spec that you're most likely a gamer (like me) To me, that's all windows is anymore, a partition to boot into on your laptop so you can be game compatible to non linux games.

 

Yep, the Dell is an entertainment machine. I have a trustworthy ThinkPad 600E running slackware for serious stuff
My job requires me to have bunch of telnet/ssh sessions opened at any given time, running tcpdumps, etc - network management, so my work workstation is FC7 alas it is an old Dell optiplex box.

 

1. Try the Ubuntu Live CD. You can try some others too. distrowatch.com is a good place to begin. Ubuntu or Mint (based on Ubuntu), PCLinuxOS, Mepis, Fedora and SUSE are all good to demo before you make the leap. Dream Linux is an interesting newcomer.

2. You can't download and install software the same way you do in Windows. There is a different process that is easy to learn. Sometimes you can get the same program, e.g. there is a firefox for windows and a firefox for Linux. Other times it makes more sense to use something else, e.g. ditch MSN for Pidgin which handles all IM protocols.

3. Set up a dual boot system while you are learning. That way you can boot into Windows and boot into Linux. I still dual boot because of gaming and the fact that I am still dependent on MS Office 2007 for work.

 

Want to add something for the OP.
If you have a strong enough machine with at least 3GB of RAM if you are running Vista, you can get VirtualBox software (free as in beer alternative to VMWare Workstation product) and run linux in a virtual machine on your Windows box.
That way you can alternate between Windows and Linux in an easy way.

 

I normally recommend PCLinuxOS, but Mandriva has been my second place recommendation. And, since the new version has just been released, with all the latest and greatest, you really ought to give it a spin.

http://www.mandriva.com/en/download

 

Did they change their model ? Their used to be a free version and a paid version with more drivers etc. and there used to be a fee for joining the mandriva community.

 

rm2....I'll check out the 'spring' version....but since PCLOS is a spin off of Mandriva, why does Mandriva support my wireless card, and PCLOS doesn't? I guess just because it truly did take on a life of it's own? Downloading the 'spring' version now.