Hello,

I learned computers on Vic-20/C-64, MS-DOS boxes and now, Windows. I even took a unix intro course.

I've only suffered one crash of Vista [java exploits] and finished Neal Stephenson's "In the Beginning was the Operating System" last night and am ready to take 'the plunge' into a dual boot system.

Ordered ubuntu disks. searching the web for advice on which flavor of linux to choose for dual boot.

If linux will do everything I want [? Corel Graphic Suite 9 ?] on my hardware, THE HECK(TM) with windoze!

Any helpful comments appreciated!

Y'r [new] ol' Bud, Fike

The Commodore-64 was the most reliable computer I have ever owned.

Ubuntu is a fine choice for dual booting. Welcome to the forums!

All though buying a CD may help support the cost of Ubuntu project you can alost download the image file from one of their mirrors and burn it to a disk with no worry of copyright. But Ubuntu is a great start how ever in my opinion with the 10.x release they kinda went backward and a few areas but overall still a good distro to use.

Being familiar with Windows it will be frustrating at first, simply not immediately knowing what to do on a Linux-based system. For that reason it would be nice to be able to easily switch between systems. I have had many multiple boot systems but could seldom be bothered to reboot into a less convenient system; have you considered installing Linux in a virtual machine running on Vista? That way you can easily switch between the two systems to explore and familiarise yourself with the Linux-based system while still having your familiar Vista available to do day-to-day work until you are ready to take the plunge.

Another option you might consider to ease the transition would be to install Windows versions of software you intend to run on Linux so you can become familiar with those before switching systems and climbing that steep learning curve -- office suite, web browser, password manager etc.

How did you choose Ubuntu from amongst the many Linux-based systems on offer?

1 members found this post helpful.

How/is it a better choice for dual booting than others?

Roughly equal, I would say.
Since the OP already has the Ubuntu CD it is a good choice.

Ubuntu is well documented and has a beginner-friendly forum at http://ubuntuforums.org

Why did you order Ubuntu before deciding what you want? Anyway, Ubuntu is generally good for newbies, and if you don't like it, you can always try a different distro by downloading it and burning it to a CD/DVD.

Also, I'd recommend you get VirtualBox. It's basically a physical PC and all its hardware implemented in software. It will let you use Linux with no risk to your data and without having to leave Windows. I think it's a comfortable way to familiarize yourself with Linux since it's risk-free and you don't have to leave Widnows and close all your programs to work with Linux and vice-versa.

And once you get comfortable with Linux and are tired of the limitations of the VM, then go ahead and install. You might even want to install VirtualBox in Linux and run Windows as the guest!

Of course not, that's Windows software. Just like Windows software won't run on Mac, it wouldn't run on Linux, either.

But there might be a good alternative that you'll like. And of not, there's a program called "Wine" that lets some (not all programs work well with it) Windows programs run on Linux by intercepting Windows calls it makes and translating them to Linux calls.

Hi,

to giving a start to your journey across the Linux distros, Ubuntu would be a friendly choice. Easy to install, good at recognizing peripherals, and its desktop oriented style will help you getting your fingers into the spirit of virus-free systems, without loosing your ability to do many things you want. Corel? Try Inkscape.

Just to note Linux can run lots of Windows Apps with possible errors as well. Some run flawlessly aswell. You can run windows apps under WINE (Wine Is not a Emulator). To do keep that in mind but it is always recommended to find a linux native app.

Looks like Corel Suite 9 is pretty old. From Wikipedia:

Ver. 9 (1999): Mesh fill tool (for complex color filling), Artistic Media tool, Publish to PDF features, embedded ICC color profiles, Multiple On-screen Color Palettes and Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications 6 support. The suite included Canto Cumulus LE, a piece of software for media management.

For graphics editing, look at Gimp. It has capabilities similar to Photoshop. For the other bits you'll need to find Linux equivalents.

OR... run your dual boot and keep Windoze just for the Corel 9. We run dual boots at home for the same reason; some software we use and like is only available on 'doze.

But do look at Gimp. It's nice!

I second the idea to run Linux in a VirtualBox for a while until you're used to it.

Just try linux.

Install it an old computer if you are worried about losing windows. Beg, borrow or buy one.

Get comfortable with it - this takes a few weeks, then go from there if you are happy with linux.

I am.

Or install VirtualBox.

This depends on the OP's hardware configuration; e.g. if the OP's CPU doesn't support hardware virtualization extensions, then something like VirtualBox may leave some nasty first impressions.

I miss my C64...meemooriees...maybe I should add that boot option to my system, lol. Have something like Puppy boot straight into VICE....Damn, can't wait till I get home from work now! I could even plug it into my TV for the real oldschool feel. I don't miss waiting 2+ minutes for a game to load though, although the anticipation did make the games seem better, well most of them.

Back to the topic though, you can try it on a Live CD, or thumb drive to if you're worried about accidently nuking your windows partition. I think I've only managed to to frazzle my Windows partition once though, and from memory that was just the boot sector so no damage to my data. Chuck in a spare drive and give it a go, heck any old drive bigger than a few GB will do, (I guess I just gave away how old my gear is, lol).