Leaving Microsoft - moving to Ubuntu

When we buy a laptop or a PC, it is almost certain to have a Microsoft Operating System installed, Vista, or now Windows 7. We don't get a choice, and the licence cost is part of the purchase price. But that involvement of MS at the outset forces us to keep paying out over and over again, both in terms of money and in time.

Whatever comes pre-installed on the machine, we'll have to buy software. At the very least, we'll need to buy a subscription to an anti-virus software supplier to deal with the million or so Windows viruses out there. Most of the pre-installed packages will be crippled, or trial versions, or tasters just to get us to buy the full version. If we're software-savvy, we'll look out for free software but many people will just cough up and buy the full versions.

Before we know it, the machine is cheerfully installing its own updates without permission, taking hours of our time while we watch progress bars that move at the speed of continental drift. Within a few months or even weeks, we'll notice that the machine seems to be slowing down, that even routine jobs seem to take ages. Booting up the machine continues to take minutes and there is an increasing number of irritating features that we don't like. We'll discover that many of the defaults set in the operating system are designed for the salesman not the customer, and we'll search all over the place for ways to get at them to change them to something sensible. Our browser will be the most useful tool of all - looking for ways to fix the settings!

Despite wanting to use a computer, we find ourselves having to learn about how to correct the operating system settings and software defaults. Instead of the machine working the way we want it to, we find ourselves working the way Microsoft wants us to. We decide to do something and get messages telling us that we are not allowed to. We get obscure warnings about things we don't understand and we are not sure if we should ignore them or break out into a panic. We spend more and more of our time servicing the operating system, instead of doing what we want to do.

Those are just some of the reasons why computer users get fed up with Microsoft. But until recently, there has been no credible alternative. You could buy a Mac at twice the price but then you're effectively locked into Apple instead of Microsoft. An apple instead of a lemon might seem attractive but it's a very pricey option. Its a price white-gizmo fashion gurus are willing to pay, but for the rest of us, we need a cheaper alternative.

Why most people hesitate

The way the MS operating system is installed on most PCs means that if it ever goes wrong, you are likely to lose a lot of your data. When you buy your PC you are not given the operating system disks which would allow you to reinstall the whole thing. Instead, typically the manufacturers give you a restore disk which will hopefully restore the machine to the factory settings. When you do this, your own settings are thrown out and often you will lose a lot of your files as well.

If you accept the defaults for where all your files are stored, you may not even be able to locate them on the hard disk without searching around. So backing them up and putting them somewhere safe can be a problem. If Windows isn't working properly, you might not be able to use Windows to back up your files, then you're stuck. Reinstalling the factory defaults will cost you in time and data.

That's bad enough, but what about the possibility of trying to change the operating system altogether. For most people it's a very scary prospect. You'll want to preserve all the work you've already done on the Windows system, taking it off the computer, then you'll be installing a new operating system. That sounds like engineering work for the average computer user, something for which they are untrained. It sounds like a recipe for disaster.

If the user had to do all of the installation of an operating system from scratch, a manual process, it would indeed be a difficult systems engineering task. But if it was simply a question of following some clear menu options and clicking a button, it might be more reasonable.

Users want to be able to try out a new operating system without in any way compromising their Windows setup. They need the reassurance that if they don't like it, they can carry on with the Windows machine as usual with no harmful after effects. They want to be sure they won't lose their data.

Some people will worry about whether or not they will be able to find the right software to replace the familiar Windows software they have bought. The answer is yes, but they'll need to learn how to use it. In almost every case, the software is easier to use than the Microsoft equivalent and the transition is a pleasant surprise. Until recently, the alternatives to Windows involved a lot of user skill. But that has changed.

Ubuntu: a credible alternative to Windows

It is now possible to download a free operating system, burn it to a CD, and install it to work alongside Windows. You can even run it from the CD itself to try it out without changing your computer at all. So it really is now possible to try out an alternative to Windows, without putting your data or computer setup at risk. The free operating system is called Ubuntu and is available from http://www.ubuntu.com and if you like, you can buy a disk and get it through the post.

It all sounds so simple, but you do have to prepare carefully if you intend to make the transition from Windows to Ubuntu. There are enormous cost savings since all the software is free, and you won't need to buy an antivirus subscription. But there are things you will need to learn. It is a different operating system and although all the menus and options are much clearer than Windows, you still need to become familiar with them. That's why Ubuntu gives you the option of working alongside your Windows installation. You can take your time and get used to it, before leaving Windows for good.

Preparing to leave Windows

Your computer contains a great deal of your useful personal data which includes bookmarks to favourite sites, contact details for friends' email, but also all of your music, photos, documents, downloads, and much besides. If you are going to change the operating system, you will want to make sure you capture all of that data beforehand.

Even if you are not leaving Windows, this preparation is important for your peace of mind. Windows can and does go wrong, and if you don't have this data exported, you risk losing it.

Although it sounds like it would be easy to change an operating system, in fact it rarely is. You should expect to take a few weeks preparing for the transition, and with Ubuntu you can try it out for as long as you like until you build up your confidence.

One useful strategy to gather and protect your data is to make an exhaustive list of all you expect to need. Here's a list to get you started:

• Email addresses and contact details of all of your friends. Your email program will have an option to Export the data.
• Bookmarks from your browser for favourite site. Your browser has an option to export your bookmarks and favourites.
• List of logon names and passwords used for specific websites. You will need to do this manually because the details are not stored in plain text.
• Details of mail accounts including POP and SMTP server names. You can find this by looking up the account details in your mail client software.
• Photos, music, videos, documents. You need to find the place they are stored, and copy them manually elsewhere, such as an external hard drive.

Keep adding to the list each time you think of something new, then look up online how you will get the data out of Windows.

Next you need to think about the hardware plugged into your machine. Do you have a printer, a scanner, maybe some speakers or headphones, maybe a webcam? Each of these will have come with a CD containing the driver files. You may need these later so now is a good time to find them. It is possible that some of them might not be compatible, just as you had that worry with Vista or XP. You can query it on the web to check if the are known problems. Ubuntu supports a very wide range of hardware and almost everything just works straight out of the box.

Now that you are getting prepared, you should continue to use your Windows system but getting into the habit of copying important files to a place independent of Windows. This will make the transition easier. If you are not sure how to export the contact details, for example, look it up on the web and try it out. Once you are sure you can do this, export a list which you will use again to import later, and keep it safe.

Remember, the software in the new operating system will be different. The Ubuntu software and the open source software available to it, is remarkably good at importing files from Windows applications, but you will have to make some effort at finding out how to do it. It isn't difficult, but you need to look up how to do it using your browser. There is a huge amount of readily available information. Remember, this is all part of the preparation.

Next you should use the online resources for Ubuntu to get a clear idea of what the system looks like, how you work with it, what software it offers you. You can get all of that from the guided tours at the Ubuntu site: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/910features/

What can go wrong?

Perhaps the most important question about such a major move is what can go wrong? By using the side-by-side installation, your machine will always be able to boot to Windows so you don't risk losing anything that you currently have. There is more risk if you decide to replace Windows altogether and this is not recommended until you are very familiar with Ubuntu and have used it regularly for some months.

But just as with any operating system, there are problems occasionally. An operating system talks to the hardware you use though a small program called a driver. Just like Windows, Ubuntu talks to the driver and the driver talks to the hardware. The driver has to be written specifically for the operating system so all computer hardware in the shops comes with Windows drivers because Microsoft has a monopoly. If the manufacturer wants to sell its hardware, it has to provide a driver so it can be used with Windows.

Very many manufacturers are now also making available Linux drivers for their hardware, and since Ubuntu is a version of Linux, these drivers work well with Ubuntu. Linux is widely used in industry and academia, and so most hardware has drivers available that work with Ubuntu. Some manufacturers such as HP automatically provide Ubuntu drivers for their products. But some do not.

For example, I have encountered a problem with wireless network cards which have been provided inside cheap Dell laptops. These come with a wireless card produced by Broadcom hard-wired inside the machine, and unfortunately it has been difficult to get these cards to work properly with Ubuntu. Recently though, the company has been cooperating with developers to release working drivers, so the problem should be resolved soon. Such problems though are rare.

The new user of Ubuntu will find a wealth of software preinstalled and access to more than 30,000 free applications through a download manager. There are equivalents for all the major Microsoft packages, and all MS documents can be read by the free applications. However, because Microsoft often does not adhere to international document standards, the interchange is not necessarily two way. For example MS Office documents can be read by OpenOffice.org, but there is no guarantee that MS Office will be able to read OpenOffice.org documents. This is not a problem if you are moving away from Microsoft software.

Is it worth it?

The answer is a clear yes. In cost terms alone, you will save a lot. Ubuntu is free and it comes with a new release every six months which you don't have to accept if you don't want to. You will never need to pay for software again. It is fast, stable, and reliable. It doesn't have the eye candy which clogs up Windows and slows it down, but you can install this if you really want it. Again, you are in control. You will not be troubled by viruses so you don't need an antivirus, but I've installed a free one anyway.

You'll have to put in a little effort into learning the new system, but every time MS updates its software you have to work around various changes anyway. All of the settings and options are clear and obvious and just the time saving alone is noticeable. In almost five years of using Ubuntu, I have never known it crash, so in my opinion it is very solid.

Some people are nervous about using open source software but such software has proved itself over the years. Using Firefox as a browser instead of Internet Explorer, using Thunderbird or Evolution instead of Outlook, using OpenOffice.org instead of Microsoft Office, is very easy. And the hidden extra value of open source software is that whenever a defect is discovered, there is an international community of developers working on the fix straight away. Often someone posts a workaround immediately, so you very quickly appreciate the improved support. No expensive help-line, or support contracts. Just free, helpful support.

Ubuntu is now so well established that some manufacturers are selling their machines with Ubuntu pre-installed. Dell and Asus are offering cheap laptops with versions of Ubuntu pre-installed along with a bundle of high-quality open source software. Because no-one is paying the Microsoft tax, these machines are cheaper than their Windows equivalents.

Ubuntu is a high quality alternative to Windows and has already been adopted by many state education systems in Europe. Further hubs will look at specific aspects of Ubuntu aimed at the new user.