Ubuntu Users' Stories
Below you will find Ubuntu Stories submited by people all around the World. Most of them are in english, but we are also allowing other langauges.
If you want to contribute add your own story, help us to make this page more popular by telling your friends, posting it on your blog, digging it (etc), or contact us at ubuntustory@centrologic.com if you are able to translate it to your native language.
Who is using Ubuntu?
Check out who and why is using Ubuntu Linux. Read the stories below.
John, Automotive Engineering & Business Consultant
After a week of one-too-many BSODs in mid 2005, I happened across a reference to the download link of the Slax "kill bill edition". Liking the humor in it, slightly on a whim, and slightly out of frustration, I downloaded and burned the LiveCD.
When it booted I was amazed at the quality of the user experience. I found Firefox and Thunderbird and installed them on my Windows machine, finding them fresh and capable. I started downloading a few other liveCDs and put a hard drive in an old Pentium 2 - 233Mhz pc that was too slow for Windows and started doing installs. I was looking for a distro sophisticated enough to have Open Office and yet run on that ancient pc. I ended up with Kubuntu (later I would test X/K/Ubuntu on that machine since it would be sensitive to reveal the true speed differences).
I used that P2-233 running Kubuntu 5.10 to author my consulting company's web site, from Gimp through Nvu, with only one (user induced, doh!) system crash. Next I unhooked the hard drive from my primary pc (a 1998 vintage Pentium II-450Mhz) and put an old replacement drive in it and installed Kubuntu 5.10. Used it for a while. Then installed 5.10 with LTSP in that primary pc - and had a 2.5yr old office assistant playing games on a client while I was doing work on the 'server' - fearless and without crashes. I think Microsoft announced they were discontinuing security updates for Win98/ME/2000 at about that time.
When Kubuntu 6.10 arrived I had a newer P4-2Ghz machine I'd repaired that I'm still using, but it has seen Xubuntu 7.04 and now 7.10 - to be 8.04 when work slows down and I can migrate again (and then probably leave this machine alone for a while).
I have another P4-3Ghz desktop machine specifically setup with PCLinuxOS to run the CAELinux Finite Element package, and I have a P3-500Mhz laptop that I use for presentations running 8.04 (previously 6.06) with Open Office Impress.
I did the set up for a small startup manufacturing business bootstrapping itself with in auctioned computer equipment. That system used Kubuntu with LTSP to handle client needs from the front office receptionist to the shipping department. With Freesco routers and print servers on a few machines too old to be clients as well as FreeNAS for network storage the business was all set. These packages can really keep costs low to allow more small businesses to get started - creating jobs for the local economy that might otherwise not ever exist.
When I come across someone receptive to switching to Linux, I tell them to download Firefox and Open Office on their Windows machine and try them out for a while. If they like what they see then look at installing on an older pc they might have around or do a dual-boot setup. With Wubi that advice will be changing (but I haven't had a good chance to test it out since I'm all Linux!:)
Art Hedge, CTO
Better windows than Windows.
When doing my job I am decidedly hands-on, which means I fight computer problems daily. I'm saying this not to brag, but to explain why I liked Ubuntu: it works and whatever new application I explored had little problems if any at all.
Another likable aspect is that Ubuntu can be as easy to use as Windows XP, but people who like to challenge their skills can dive as deeply as they dare to do inside the OS.
Using some applications, Compiz, for example Ubuntu (or I should say X11?) can draw some breath taking windows, more appealing than what their capitalized namesake can do.
Strike four (but not last): installing a new version is a walk in the park compared to the Russian roulette of updating to a new MS OS. The reason for that is not because the Redmond developers are not good at their job, rather because of the initially poorly designed (and never corrected) Windows archtecture.
What are you waiting for? Try it, Ubuntu is free.
Arul, Process Engineer
Being a newbie was a bit troubled when I could not get the wifi card working but with some great and abundant tutorial available on the net,I have everything working on my home desktop,work laptop a t40p & the wife's Asus eePC and have never been happier. I am amazed that such a great OS is actually free.
Devin, Student
I was a Windows user, and was very curious about Linux. I searched information on Google about Linux, and the information I received was that Ubuntu was the most secure, easy-to-use distribution and I am now a full-time Ubuntu user. Might I also add that Vista caused me many hardships.
Mike, Airport agent
I have been using Ubuntu for 6 months now and I just cant think about going back to Windows or any other system. The freedom of Ubuntu is fantastic, the graphics and the possibility to change it to what YOU like and need is great. Also all the programs I need are totally free.
David, Student
I was a windows-addict , but in the university , someone gave me a cd of ubuntu 7.10 , I tried , and i love it. I've installed it and now i can't leave it ....
Of course , it is not perfect , but is good enought , better than windows and free.
MysteryFCM, Nothing atm ..... got a broken arm/hand
I've been playing with Linux and Ubuntu on and off for a few years, and for now at least, constsantly come back to Windows as I find it a little too frustrating (well, that and I miss Outlook, along with the various programs and browser extensions I've written for Avant).
I've documented alot of my experiences both on forums, and in my old newsletter (I'll not link to them - just search for "MysteryFCM + Linux" ;o)), but more recently, I installed Ubuntu using Wubi, and whilst I don't use it often, it does give me the chance to play with it without having to load the live CD (pretty important considering my lappys CD drive is dead), and so far, thanks to help from Scotts Newsletter forums, I've been able to solve a couple issues, so may be moving it to a more permanent partition.
Winael, Support IT
In 2006, I decided to test the Cube Desktop in Beryl, and so I install my first Linux system, that was Mandriva. Unfornately, I was totaly lost, and no access to the Community.
After that I heard about Ubuntu. I decided to test it... and it didn't work because of my ATI graphic card.
I post a thread on the French forum of Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu-fr.org) and in 40 minuts somebody help me.
The French Community is very active, and the Wiki is so good.
And The distribution is so easy to use. That's why I installed Ubuntu on all my computer. I become an Ubuntu addict. I update my Ubuntu to the news Alpha 5 for each version since Gutsy Gibbon :p. I joined recently the Ubuntu-party-Paris team.
That's all Folks !!!
Shivkumar, Technology Consultant
I have been using Linux (Redhat 6) since 1999. Debian was my distro of choice till recently. I have been using Ubuntu since 6.10 and have never looked back. I even deploy Ubuntu servers on all my clients' hardware! Last week, I got myself an Asus EeePC 701 (eeepc.asus.com) and replaced the existing Xandros distribution with Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron).
Its the most user friendly desktop distribution I have encountered and I always have a few admirers and converts whenever I show off Beryl (on my Toshiba laptop) or Compiz-Fusion on this one.
Ubuntu Rocks!!!
Toby Adams, Vendoe ICT Teacher
My subject at the Leigh Technology Academy, London, UK is heavily focused on pioneering ICT systems and technologies. I believe that Ubuntu Linux is a pioneer of innovation in today's rapidly diversifying landscape of technology. Implemented on a few systems in my department, soon to be expanded department wide.
Dave, Small Business IT Support
A little over a year ago, I took over IT support for a small company. I'm not exactly a "professional", but I'm a geek, the company belongs to some friends, and I couldn't really turn them down.
The machines I "inherited" were a real mess - my clients had no appreciation for licensing or copyright laws. (Neither do I, really, but this is a Business environment, and with the livelihoods of several people on the line, I couldn't afford to take too many chances)
I think they had one legitimate copy of Win2K, several legitimate installed copies of WinXP (Pre-installed - no installation disks) and various "evaluation" copies of Win2K Server and Win2K3 (If you didn't get "Pirated" from that euphemism, there's no hope for you)
The sum total of my linux experience was about 10 minutes using a Knoppix LiveCD, and I wasn't thrilled with abandoning a system I "knew" for one that I had no idea about.
With Windows Vista looming on the horizon and a client-expressed desire to upgrade, and knowing that P-III were not going to cut it, my options were to either help them break copyright law, abandon them entirely, bill them a fortune for new equipment and licenses, or find some less expensive option.
My Linux experience started out pretty rough. After trying to install 4 different distros on what turned out to be a marginal hard disk, I had actually given up and started reinstalling XP. It wasn't until XP crashed on install that I new I had other problems. When I tried again, Dapper Drake was on the top of my stack of distros, it installed quickly, and gave me very few issues.
In 2 weeks, I was confident enough to press a Dapper server in to cover the minor functions of their primary server (A win2k box), and over the next two months, I slowly pulled every function off the old server, boxed up its hard drive for a fail-back.
That original server has been upgraded every 6 months, about a month after I've used the distro on my own machines. I've never done a "clean" install since Dapper - and it's running great now on Hardy. (Its backup has had clean installs after each distro)
A few weeks back, my sister was talking about purchasing a point-of-sale system for her restaurant. Thanks to my experience with Ubuntu, I think I can build the whole system for a tiny fraction of the costs she was expecting to pay.
Maxo, Programmer
I was always helping my wife get around the quirky things Windows would do after being installed for just a few months. I tried Ubuntu on a dual-boot and became sucked in.
As a complete computer nerd, I love all the playing that open source allows me to do. I can configure almost every aspect of the desktop very easily (without any hardcore modding.)
I now have four computers in the house (if you want to include OLPCs XO) and they all run Ubuntu. I couldn't afford to buy a full Windows license for each one, and don't have the time to constantly trouble-shoot and fix every single Windows problem that comes up.
This is not to say that Ubuntu is 100% flawless, but the number of problems I run in to is much smaller.
My non-techie wife had no problems moving to Ubuntu either.
Daniel, Doctor
I finally made the switch to Linux about a month ago and haven't looked back! Having used windows for years I got fed up with the sluggish performance, BSODs and security holes..there had to be a better way. Buying a new laptop recently with Vista preinstalled was the last straw. Why buy a new laptop with a new operating system with the end result that it runs slower than the pc you are replacing!! Off went Vista and on came Ubuntu! Ironic, that thanks to Vista, more and more people will be trying Linux!!
Dan Palmer, Student
I was a Windows user for all of my life until I was introduced to linux early in high school. However I didn't know enough about it at the time to use it.
Now I use Ubuntu along with Mac OS X as together they make the perfect system. The only thing I was worried about was Linux's apparently terrible support for wireless networking. I have to use the internet wirelessly, so this was an important issue for me. But I decided to try Ubuntu anyway.
After a very quik install and reboot out of the Live disc, I logged in for the first time havinginstalled no drivers myself, and the first thing I was presented with was a box saying: "Ubuntu has found a wireless network. Would you liek to connect?". So much for bad wireless support! It supported the encryption on my network as well, which is more than I can say for Windows Vista which didn't support anything above WEP!
Linux is the perfect OS replacement for Windows. Get it now and be part of the revolution!
Skar, Network Administrator
I have used linux for few projects in the past but never really felt like using it as my main OS. But then everything changed after I started using Ubuntu (Gutsy).
Not only have I switched from Windows, but I have completed formated my HDD replaced it with just Ubuntu. I have never experienced an operating system that is not only rich in features. Getting all your applications are just a click away from the Synaptics pkg manager. Stability and security is as good as it can get. And have the options and means to harden this OS to any level you require.
From the ease of use to the interface design Ubuntu is simply beautiful. And most importantly with Ubuntu, YOU ARE FREE.
Steven, United States Air Force
I have been using an old laptop (800 MHz, 512 Megs of RAM) for years, running winxp. It was suggested to me that I try Linux on it, and see if it worked better. It did, not surprisingly. I continued using it for a few more years, when eventually I grew tired of it, and longed for a new computer. I was going to recycle the computer through my new computer's program, but it would cost me . I was tempted to throw it in a dumpster, but I wanted to do the right thing. I kept it around a few months, updating it to 7.10, then 8.04. I wanted to try to use it to help somebody else get into Linux. Eventually, I sold my old laptop to a fellow Airman for . I only asked for , but he said the extra was for tech support. I have since helped him grow accustomed to Ubuntu and it's peculiarities and difficulties. It's amazing that such old computers can still be useful today.
Mike W, Corporate Developer Drone
Write Your story Having messed around with Ubuntu since 7.04 (dual booting with XP) I finally made the jump and went Linux-native with 8.04.
Main reasons?
I loathe the necessity to install (and pay for) so-called 'anti-virus' software which only seems to nag and leech performance.
I admire the community ethos of the whole 'nix thing (especially Ubuntu, natch).
As a professional Windows developer I have absolutely nothing against Microsoft but I feel they totally dropped the ball with Vista - An OS whose design seems to have been totally driven by the type of gross corporate ineptitude I have to deal with at work every day.
Vista was the last straw for me (at home, at least).
There are, of course, more reasons...
I've a few work related XP VMs running under VirtualBox on my Ubuntu system and they run faster than Windows natively.
My one gripe?
Please, please someone create a friendly, capable UI to deal with the demonic xorg.conf
Chris Dominowski, Ubuntu Forever!
If I were to say how many times my windows machine has crashed, the string theory could not accurately personify it. I was thinking about getting a mac, but they are also notorious for breaking down. Needless to say, when I heard there was a better alternative to either system, I was ecstatic. To make a long story short, I haven't used windows again after installing ubuntu. Why would I? The difference between Winblows/Smackintosh and Linux is the difference between a Lean-to hut and a Mansion. Ubuntu is clearly the better choice, and I'm never going back... ever.
Mike Moya, Tech
I turned on my Windows Xp computer and got denied access, it would not load up at all. Only way to fix this was to reinstall windows entirely and loosing everything.
So what I did was I got on a friends computer and downloaded Ubuntu 6.10 and I installed it on my computer on a new hard drive so that I can recover my stuff from the windows drive. Success!!! Ever since then I'm a complete Ubuntu user with out any crashes or access deny junk. Also I've been able to learn another language and become completely fluent with it. It is for human beings!!!
Finley, retired
I have been messing around with various Linux distributions for years, always running a dual boot and engineering some spectacular crashes. I don't know how many times I've had to reformat/reinstall. I have always hated Windoze. It is like they just don't care how many crashes and how much grief you have to put up with. Anyway this isn't an anti Windoze rant.
After I recovered from my two year addiction to World of Warcraft I downloaded Gutsy Gibbon, burned it and installed it. I couldn't believe how smoothly it went. I wiped windows from my hard drive and now run Ubuntu 8.4. I love it.
Only reason I can see to run windows is if you are a serious gamer, but Wine (running windows apps in Linux) gets better all the time.
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Please tell us why are You using Ubuntu. Share Your story!