Is it cheaper to buy an Ubuntu box?

[grettawallace 0]

How much money will I save by choosing a computer with Linux Pre-installed vs one with Windows 7? Is it worth it?

[alexmvp 369]

Personally, I say no. It you take a look at the laptops which ship with Ubuntu only, the price is about the same if you compare it to a DELL, HP or Toshiba etc... That being said, you will save cash if you buy a Netbook just because it's smaller and slower than a standard laptop and since those are typically low powered devices, going Ubuntu is probably a good thing as they don't require as much power to run them Vs. Windows 7.

[Jack 280]

I agree with AlexMVP. The reason why Ubuntu or another Linux distro might save you money is by making a previously unusable computer usable again, thereby obviating the need to buy a new computer altogether.

My suggestion: if you're looking for another computer for the family room or for a kid in middle school or something, dust off that old desktop/laptop and install a lightweight ver of Linux on it.

Caveat: older macs probably won't take linux, cuz they have powerpc processors.

[hutsirmagus 0]

I Would not buy a Ubuntu computer for the following reasons:

Ubuntu does not work with Microsoft Word. You will not be able to do college work on it, if that is why you are buying it. You will end up going to the computer lab everyday anyway.

Ubuntu does not work with Verizon High Speed Internet. There was a news story about a girl who tried to install Verizon onto her Ubuntu Dell and it did not work! It was a disaster and she got kicked out of college for it because she couldn't complete her online classes. I would sue, if I was here! See: http://www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9667184&nav=menu1362_8_6

Linux is mostly an operating system used by HACKERS. This is what my nephew told me, so I wouldn't trust it--you'd probably have more problems with viruses and trojan horses.

If you do not know what oyu are doing you should use Windows--UBUNTU is very much in beta, which means that it is not ready for the public yet .I would wait until they have finished programming it.

JUST MY TWO CENTS

[Jack 280]

I Would not buy a Ubuntu computer for the following reasons:

Ubuntu does not work with Microsoft Word. You will not be able to do college work on it, if that is why you are buying it. You will end up going to the computer lab everyday anyway.

Ubuntu does not work with Verizon High Speed Internet. There was a news story about a girl who tried to install Verizon onto her Ubuntu Dell and it did not work! It was a disaster and she got kicked out of college for it because she couldn't complete her online classes. I would sue, if I was here! See: http://www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9667184&nav=menu1362_8_6

Linux is mostly an operating system used by HACKERS. This is what my nephew told me, so I wouldn't trust it--you'd probably have more problems with viruses and trojan horses.

If you do not know what oyu are doing you should use Windows--UBUNTU is very much in beta, which means that it is not ready for the public yet .I would wait until they have finished programming it.

JUST MY TWO CENTS

 

Whoa - okay, I don't even know where to begin, except to say that everything you mentioned here is about 99.9% wrong. I don't even know where you get all of this...

[grettawallace 0]

I Would not buy a Ubuntu computer for the following reasons:

Ubuntu does not work with Microsoft Word. You will not be able to do college work on it, if that is why you are buying it. You will end up going to the computer lab everyday anyway.

Ubuntu does not work with Verizon High Speed Internet. There was a news story about a girl who tried to install Verizon onto her Ubuntu Dell and it did not work! It was a disaster and she got kicked out of college for it because she couldn't complete her online classes. I would sue, if I was here! See: http://www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9667184&nav=menu1362_8_6

Linux is mostly an operating system used by HACKERS. This is what my nephew told me, so I wouldn't trust it--you'd probably have more problems with viruses and trojan horses.

If you do not know what oyu are doing you should use Windows--UBUNTU is very much in beta, which means that it is not ready for the public yet .I would wait until they have finished programming it.

JUST MY TWO CENTS

 

Wait, can you explain why what hutsirmagus said is wrong? I have Comcast, but I want to get on the Internet with my computer no matter what.

[alexmvp 369]

I agree with AlexMVP. The reason why Ubuntu or another Linux distro might save you money is by making a previously unusable computer usable again, thereby obviating the need to buy a new computer altogether.

My suggestion: if you're looking for another computer for the family room or for a kid in middle school or something, dust off that old desktop/laptop and install a lightweight ver of Linux on it.

Caveat: older macs probably won't take linux, cuz they have powerpc processors.

 

You also might want to wait for the new Google ChromeBook http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-kind-of-computer-chromebook.html.

 

It was just announced yesterday.

[riphilbrook 0]

Ubuntu is actually a very stable operating system, and you are going to have way less virus issues on any given linux system than a Windows system; that being said don't use that as an excuse to not get a good anti-virus program. I think what it really comes down to is what do you wan to use your computer for. With Linux you still have the ability to use either google docs or open office both of which are compatible with the microsoft office suite. So if your primary need is using the internet I personally say don't pay the extra cash for Windows. Ubuntu actually has a really user friendly front end and you shouldn't have too much of a learning curve if you're new to linux. As far as the verizon issue goes I use verizon as my internet provider and have absolutely no issue with any linux distro and my ability to connect to the internet. If you know anyone who uses linux I'd get them to let you take their linux box for a test drive to see how you're feeling. But if you are looking for something fun and new I say jump in and go on that open source adventure. I did and haven't looked back.

[Steve 1,657]

I agree with AlexMVP. The reason why Ubuntu or another Linux distro might save you money is by making a previously unusable computer usable again, thereby obviating the need to buy a new computer altogether.

My suggestion: if you're looking for another computer for the family room or for a kid in middle school or something, dust off that old desktop/laptop and install a lightweight ver of Linux on it.

Caveat: older macs probably won't take linux, cuz they have powerpc processors.

 

@alexmvp - good call.