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A Retired Academic, I Use Linux

Welcome to My Website!!

Switch from Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 to Ubuntu

Here's how I managed to switch from Microsoft windows xp to Ubuntu. You might want to switch to any other flavour of Linux such as Mandriva, Mint, Open SuSe or Fedora. The guidelines remain the same. All have live CD in the form of an ISO image.

Download CD of Ubuntu. A new (upgrade) version comes out every 6 months. The current version is 9.10 or Karmic Koala. The CD is normally just under 700mb in size. It has to be burned as an image or as an ISO.

The beauty of any Linux distribution is that you can boot from the CD. It leaves your windows operating system untouched. This gives you the chance to explore Linux without installing it. When you restart the computer after unmount, and ejecting the CD, your original Windows is restored.

The current version of Ubuntu is 11.04, more affectionately called Natty Narwhal. A new version comes out every 6 months. It is not necessary to upgrade, if you do not want to. Everything you need to access in Ubuntu is on the side panel. It is a good idea to try clicking on the icons to see what's on offer. The screen shots show what it looks like.

The first thing you will notice is that your INTERNET connection is automatically configured. You can access the web. The next thing you need to do is configure the email client which is called 'Evolution. When you first open Evolution you will be taken through a step-by-step procedure. .Some of the most common applications you are likely to want in any OS are, music player, player with mp3, Video player, Office suite, a graphics editor(Gimp). Linux has it all. It is always a good idea to make a list of all applications that you are likely to need and test them out on the CD

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