I actually made my friend OS agnostic this way. He asked me for a help because after he had updated his IBM aptiva with 128MB of RAM and 450MHz AMD K6 processor from Windows 98 to Windows XP(in 2007) it took almost 20 minutes to boot up. I offered his ubuntu, kubuntu, xubuntu, lubuntu and Knoppix HD install. He agreed but said he will probably switch back to windows after he got a new computer. He liked Knoppix(with KDE 3.6) the most and he used it until he bought a new (used) computer(in 2008. I don’t remember specs) and then after he had taken it home he called me there and told me to transfer his data from his Aptiva(which he had kept updated very well) to his new (for him) dell. I put old HD in it with the new one and he booted it up from the new HD and much for my surprise it was actually running kubuntu. He explained me that he had installed windows xp first but he liked linux more and he had repartioned his HD then reinstalled xp to smaller partion and then installed kubuntu to the space that was left. Now he has 3 computers which all run some sort of linux and some sort of windows(One actually runs my homemade distro and ReactOS) and he is thinking about buying a mac.

Good job!

I’m in the same sitatioan as u (geek, developer, linuxer) and since te netbooks are on the run, more and more “non-geeks” are trying ubuntu, just because even on those with a harddisk xph umpc needs about 3 minutes to boot – jaunty needs around a minute ;-)

i have been using debian or ubuntu full time for 3 years at home and 90% of my work is with windows, i know i won’t be getting away from it and i don’t care.

i don’t want it at home but i know i’m not about to change my entire workplace just because i’m in charge of desktop deployment

earning a new OS will only help make a better pc user out of them,

you should send your friend to http://www.ubuntumini.com

an awesome resource for Dell Mini users who want to run Ubuntu.

@ Travis McCrea:

Get a console and play games from the comfort of your living room couch!

Brilliant! :D Always glad to see new members in the Linux community! It’s also great to see that your friend now knows that there exists a world without Windows. One of my all-time favorite quotes:
“In a world without walls, who needs Windows?”
A play off of Windows’ own advertising campaign
“Windows: a world without walls.”
Old joke, yes. But funny nonetheless.

Heh, I have a laptop without a CD drive myself (Toshoba Portege M200, love it). The magic acronym when you want to install Windows and don’t have a CD drive or a USB drive big enough is of course PXE :P

lol after being on windows for a month or so now.. I can honestly say taht I still hate it and I keep clicking ctrl + -> to get to an available workspace… and :( nothing.

Buuut I now can play games, which is kinda cool… its been a long time since I have played decent games. I hate dual booting because I leave my computer on all the time and rarely reboot it… and I like to multi-task, I don’t even play games in full screen because I am typically doing something else… and if I start opening 2 programs while I am playing a game.. then I will just keep using them after I shut the game down… and … well then I am back on windows?

I don’t know… :( I don’t want to stop playing Pirates of the Burning Sea… but hate winshit… Yes I am an evangelist and in the end its all your fault anyway… :( I hate you for introducing me to Ubuntu.

Happy birthday btw

@ Jenn:
Apparently Linux is not good enough to serve you ;)

j/k

Last semester in CMPT 109, I was talking about open source software, and a few of the students ended up converting to Linux! One of them, a mother of five from Colorado, said “Why am I paying hundreds of dollars for Windows, when all I need is to browse the web, email, and write papers?” I did explain that she can do much more, but you get the point.

I wonder how the economy has affected people’s choices of software – I know a lot of folks that have opted to buy a $100 copy of Coda and $60 for Pixelmator (Mac) instead of shelling out hundreds for Dreamweaver and Photoshop.