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Yes, you should do it! Unbuntu!

I switched my Mac Powerbook to Linux recently. How weird is that? Since I really only use it for web browsing and a terminal, ubuntu is just fine, and boots and runs much faster on the slow CPU and 640MB of memory that I have.

I had to reinstall my operating system (windows XP) because I could not get rid of Norton Anti Virus. last year, I tried to remove it, but could not, so ended renewing for a year. This year, when the time came, I decided that it was better to reinstall!

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I had (K)Ubuntu and was satisfied
I have now Simply MEPIS 6.0 and I am more than satisfied; I prefer SimplyMepis because it is Ubuntu but much "simpler"

I am switching several users to Kubuntu (Ubuntu base with KDE gui). Works xcellent once you set it up. Otherwise I recommend Avast! antivirus, free for home users like your wife. I find it better than AVG

Good move! I've been using Grisoft's AVG for a couple of years now, ever I got tired of dealing with problems with Nortons. Best move I ever made.

I'll second the recommendation of Avast! AV if your wife must remain (or insists on remaining with) Windows. Been using it for about 4-5 years now with no problems whatsoever.

If there was still a decision to make, I would of recommended Kaspersky Pro. It is not free, but it kicks ass. 98.8% detection in wild according to the "Virus Bulletin" Although, if you want to get technical, you can go with Kaspersky on Ubuntu... Solid.

I strongly recommend switching to some flavor of Linux. (I've been happy with SUSE 9.3, myself - no doubt that's too old.)

All you'll really need to do is
* make sure your wife doesn't log in as root
* ensure that you have some sort of firewall

Regards,

Moving from Windows, you will probably find SimplyMEPIS 6, which is based on Ubuntu and uses Ubuntu repositories, a better choice than plain Ubuntu. It is superior in ease of use and functionality to XP and is much better configured than plain Ubuntu or Kubuntu (or Suse, for that matter).

Get Norton Killer at

http://tools.house-tech.net/

URL for direct download:
http://www.ocalalive.com:85/Computer%20Tools/NortonKiller.exe

I've changed My laptop and desktop, as well as my wife's computer to ubuntu. Just add Easyububtu, and you have everything you need, except maybe windows gaming capability - and you lose virus and worm suseptibility.

Has networking with a Windows LAN gotten any easier since the last time I tried to use Linux as a desktop system 18 months ago?

There are lots of reasons, maybe, to switch to Linux, but I wouldn't have thought the difficulty of administering the Windows environment was one of them. Really, if the issue is spending less time fiddling and fixing and more time just using it, I don't think Linux is your answer.

Admission: it's been a couple of years since I've made a concerted effort at using Linux as a desktop OS.

My own experience disagrees strongly with this earlier comment:
"Really, if the issue is spending less time fiddling and fixing and more time just using it, I don't think Linux is your answer."
The WinXP machines I tend (spouse + 3 at work) each require far more attention than this PCLinuxOS system.
I have used 3 Mandrakes, 2 Mandrivas, and one each of Knoppix, Kanotix, Mepis, and PCLinuxOS.
PCLinuxOS has proven to be the easiest install, recognizing all my various hardware, and it just works without any 'fiddling and fixing'.
Two caveats for would-be Linux users:

(1)Using a different application, program, or OS is initially daunting simply because it is different.
Just changing from the first web browser you used was difficult.
The more different versions you tried, the more alike they seemed and the easier it became to adopt the next 'new thing'.

(2)As you become used to a Linux system you will eventually try some of the more technical things that Windows wouldn't allow you to do.
Initially you will be your own worst enemy.
Learning to run as 'root' is fraught with danger.
As long as you back up your personal data, it is a simple matter to reinstall from scratch and pick up where you left off.
And no one will pester you for a validation number.
If you want personal technical support, some distro's can provide it, but as you would expect, the cost is higher for those products.

In short, you have nothing to lose and probably much to gain by trying Linux.
The biggest hurdle is the anxiety of deciding.

either way, good luck.

I couldn't agree less with the comment that " ... if the issue is spending less time fiddling and fixing and more time just using it, I don't think Linux is your answer."

The answer, simply, is Ubuntu. It's a fully-functional, fully-formed desktop Linux distribution with every tool most users will need right out of the box. Installation is a snap (6 questions or, if you prefer, running as a live CD). Administration couldn't be easier. And, it works and works and works.

I've been in a Linux-only home enviornment for years as a longtime and faithful Red Hat user. I switched to Ubuntu nearly a year ago, and will probably not have another Linux distribution on any of my machines.

My wife likes to say she has a "proper perspective of technology" (read "non-geek"). She's a happy Ubuntu user, as well.

Linux users have been promoting some flavor of the OS as "ready for primetime" for years. Periodically, I fall for it and install the thing. I have yet to see one that was even remotely close to delivering the goods. Back in the day it was Redhat. Now it's Unbuntu. Next it'll be something else. I'm convinced that no OS designed by nerds for nerds will ever have what it takes to cater to average users.

I predict, however, that a variant of Linux will one day do this, but it will brought to us by an organization that charges money for it's support and it will be universally hated by the existing Linux community for taking too many choices away from the user.

/rant

I must agree with the gentleman who mentions that the easiest linux distribution is PCLinuxOS. I have tried several linux distributions, and the easiest of them all is PCLinuxOS. Anyone interested can download the latest iso and boot the pc using the live mode; no need to install the thing, just try it out. It is amazingly friendly to windows users and everthing just works.
You can install a great variety of software packages according to your needs, via synaptic package manager, which is very easy to use. No need to tun automatix or anything like it; all the necessary packages for a complete multimedia experience are available.
Also, should someone need any help with the OS, the members of the forum are indeed very friendly and eager to help.

"I'm convinced that no OS designed by nerds for nerds will ever have what it takes to cater to average users." scott

That's a point I and other (non-zealot) Linux fans have been shouting for years now. If we want to remain a niche OS like Solaris or FreeBSD that is fine. But stop with the "year of the Linux desktop" fantasy. To be fair much of the blame goes to hardware, device and application vendors who logically follow the money. But the BGFG mentality (by geeks for geeks) does not help at all.

I'm a shameless Xandros fanboy and use it 90% of the time but even Xan does not cover the full range of user needs like XP. I know it is possible with lots of tweaking and hardware replacement etc but many of us just want to get in the car and drive down the road. Advice to a newbie to simply "open a console, navigate to the usr/local/bin/plugins directory and create a symbolic link to...." could only come from a mindset so divorced from user reality they might as well be living in an alternate dimension.

Now in late 2007 with the release of Xandros 5.0 ...THEN there will be no more excuses to live in the MS darkside. DanH

hi,guys
is there any one who can help me how to remove the avg free anti virus,there's an error,stating that
i need the product,but since i downloaded the free
version base on thier web.
thanks in advance.....

stalker