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.
"FruitieX", Student
I switched to Ubuntu right before Vista was released, after having some bad experience with Linux before. I was surprised to see everything working right out of the box, except for the video card which was ridiculously easy to install. Ever since I switched, I have never used Windows on any of my machines and when I have to use Windows on other machines, it feels endlessly sluggish and slow no matter how fast that PC is. Switch to some flavor of Linux now, you Windows users reading this! 8)
Mateusz Tybura, Student
I discovered Linux at some about July 2004. I bought book with Mandrake Linux 10 Power Pack. I used it until I get Fedora Core Linux 5 from some magazine. In 2006 I read in magazine about Ubuntu. I ordered free CD's of Ubuntu 6.06 .
From that time Ubuntu is my favourite linux distribution. I feld love with Ubuntu. It got perfect philosophy and community. I was translating it into Polish and now I'm learning about packaging and development on Ubuntu.
I tell everyone about Ubuntu cause it's best linux for newbie.
Christopher Hampton, Student
I have a MacBook and an Ubuntu box and I use both about the same. I am proud to say that I have gotten completely away from Windows and when I have to use Windows somewhere, I can't help but notice everything that Ubuntu has that Windows doesn't. A lot of the things you won't notice until you get used to Ubuntu, and then going back to Windows seems so unproductive. One of these things is the package manager. I get so used to just finding and installing packages with hardly any trouble, and then when it comes time to installing Windows applications, even the easy installs seem difficult. I love using the terminal, even if at first it seems kind of scary. I get so used to typing "sudo apt-get install vlc" for example and waiting a few minutes, and having VLC happily installed and configured for me. For those people somewhat afraid to leave behind windows because they have a few applications that need windows, I would like to suggest VirtualBox. It seamlessly lets you run both Windows and Ubuntu together, on the same screen. I can be playing minesweeper in one window and burning something with K3B in another. Keep in mind, though, that most games will not work if they need a video card. Most other applications run at near native speed, though.
Uncle B, I am happily retired
When I retired, I discovered, by reading the licensing agreement Microsoft provided with it that the software I was using was licensed through the company and I no longer had the right to use it. Being a law abiding citizen and a retiree, I looked for an alternative to paying a large sum of money for a Microsoft license, and found Ubuntu. I have not looked back since. The product is superior in all ways. It, simply put, works well, and that's more than I can say about Microsoft wares.
sirjoebob, tech support for ISP
I use Ubuntu (technically Xubuntu) 8.04 as the only OS on my dell Vostro 1500. I play counterstrike and half-life among other games utilizing WINE. I use Open Office for all of my school papers and have not had a single one have an issue. I run Compiz-fusion without any issues and have setup VNC and SSH on my machines to do remote work.
I also got Compiz-fusion to work on my friend's eeePC and keep a log of a lot of my work at sirjoebob.livejournal.com that I update with any issue I have had with Linux and how I resolved it.
I have always hated standard, cookie-cutter operating systems and have finally found one that allows me to be creative and productive at the same time. Truly Linux offers the best of the PC and MAC worlds for a price tag even a broke college student can afford--- free! :)
Andrew Geiger, Student
I originally downloaded Ubuntu to use as an alternative to Windows Vista. I then came to rely on my Ubuntu Feisty Fawn to do all of my computing due to Vista's instability. Ubuntu has been fun to learn. I learn about some of the more advanced Linux functions I can use, but I chose Ubuntu as my platform because it is so easy to use/install. Ubuntu makes an awesome and stable system out of the box.
Ubuntu has also opened me up to a lot of free software. I continue to maintain Windows XP on my computer, and when I was setting up my XP desktop, I realized that after using Linux 99 per cent of the applications I was using on XP were freeware, and most of that open source. Ubuntu is an excellent alternative to the grating confines of Windows, and from an advanced standpoint a lot more fun to work with than Mac OS X. Ubuntu is one of my favorite OS and one that I default to when setting up a new system.
Tom, Programmer
I started using Linux back in 1999 and I fell in love with it. After a short time, I was learning how to automate advanced Linux tasks using scripts, etc. I was a bit of a snob towards Ubuntu at first. "There's no way that simpleton of a distro can beat my Slackware!" That was how I felt. Then, on a whim, I decided to install Ubuntu and give it a go. Now, three LTS releases later, the ONLY distro installed on my machine is Ubuntu. I guess in the end, wanting to automate all those tasks was about ease of use. Ubuntu comes out of the box easy to use. I love my Ubuntu!
Kasper J, Student
I've been using Ubuntu Linux for a year now. Ubuntu is not only software, it's a way of life. The community, open-source, sharing and giving, open-minded, those are only a few words to describe it.
Ubuntu: Humanity towards each others.
StevenEddy,
Have been an Ubuntu user for two and one half years and haven't looked back. Ubuntu looks great, runs well and the stability and dependability is second to none. My daughter installed here own version by herself and I run Ubuntu on my laptop. I use my laptop for work (internet, Office software, e-mail, printing to network printer, etc.) and at home for the regular stuff like bills, e-mail and chatting with friends and family. Ubuntu hasn't crashed once or caused us to reinstall due to virus, trojan or spamware. There is what seems like an endless list of software available at the click of the mouse that helps use with our computing needs.
The look and feel of Ubuntu is levels above what we can find in Windows and you can turn on the eye candy and not get a performance hit on your processor. The PC still runs crisp and snappy with the visual effects on and it is nothing that you can see on Windows.
Give Ubuntu a spin from a Live CD, or a CD that contains the entire operating system, and it can run from the CD drive without installing anything.
Ubuntu, the future of computing.
Sordelka, Student
For those skeptics out there! Ubuntu is the definition of FREEDOM. It is also EASY to use. I have been using Windows since it came out as the 3.1 version, but as soon as I checked Ubuntu out, I completely transferred to it! You will never experience any blue screens of death (they are yellow in Linux), you will never EVER have to buy any software because Open Source has it all!
Just try it and you will see that this OS doesn't break down into pieces after certain time. So you will never have to reformat anything again.
Ahmed, student
After vista crashed on me a week before finals started, ( mind you it was not even 5 month old laptop ), i was fed up lost all my notes, solution manuals EVERYTHING, then a friend showed me ubuntu i have a copy of xp and vista for my laptop ( both legal btw ) but wow does ubuntu run so much better and faster! the 2 desktops and my laptopt are ubuntu now and all my friends are always curious to try it and the ones who do normally start wiht dual booth then delete windows off for the extra hardisk space !
TimS, Student
I switched to (k)ubuntu around a year ago, and haven't looked back.
Whilst the operating system is great and the software is amazing, the one thing that keeps me on ubuntu is the community. No other distro or operating system has a community this diverse yet so close. I know that if I ever have a problem, the guys on IRC can help me out in seconds, and for this I am grateful.
Thanks to everyone on the ubuntu team, and thanks to all the members that make the operating system possible.
Azeem, Student
I added Ubuntu 7.10 to my hard drive via dual boot and I am just amazed. All of the problems Windows have and all of the restrictions Macs have are gone. Just plain gone. Even if I do encounter a problem, it's probably really easy to fix and I can easily find the answer by asking the community on the Ubuntu forums. All it takes is copying a line of text into a box and pressing Enter.
I still have to keep Windows for some applications, but I am gradually switching to Ubuntu for my daily computing needs. I already use Ubuntu more than Windows on my home computer. It has a high quality office suite, web browser, and all the basic stuff, and anything else you would need is in the large list of applications in the Add/Remove window. Installing applications is a breeze, too. All I have to do is check the box of what I want to install (and uncheck what I want to uninstall) and click Apply. Everything else is done automatically. No need to worry about clicking "Next" all the time, reading ridiculously long EULAs, or worrying about product activation. Free software is good software.
The reason to use Linux and the benefit I love the most is the community. Almost everyone is helpful and kind, and there are millions of people who are using and working on Ubuntu to fix bugs, add features, change the look, and just make Ubuntu cool. I think installing Ubuntu was the best computing decision I have ever made.
Nick Johnson, Student
I first had a run in with linux a few years ago, when I tried to install Debian on an old mac mini. I saw how amazing it was as a free OS, but I moved back to OS X because it didn't have the things I needed for everyday use.
A few months ago, I needed a new computer. I found that it was cheap and easy to build a desktop from parts off the internet, but I was troubled because it would not run OS X like my old computers. So I decided to dual boot Windows and Ubuntu. I thought that having linux would only be as an experiment, and for if Windows got a virus or crashed, but I was wrong. Ubuntu was both fast and useful, despite s couple problems with the video card. I used to go back to Windows just to play videogames, but now I haven't used it in months. Ubuntu remains fast and stable even after I install tons of programs.
Lee, Engineer/Programmer
i've been off and off linux for the past few years, but it looks like they have won me over with ubuntu hardy 8.04. dont care what any one says, this is when people are going to start turning to linux (big time), microsoft are going to feel it :), anyways i have enjoyed using ubuntu. easiest of them all so far. all though some trouble getting my dvb card to work only took me 15 mins on google to figure it out. (im trying to convert my mates as hmmmm this msg is being typed.
Keaton James P., Student Tech Support
I first discovered Linux when I started doing tech support work at my school about 2 and a half years ago. Back then, we used Fedora Core 4 thin client servers and despite how spartan the setup was, I was so taken by the open source philosophy that I petitioned a friend of mine, a Linux guru, as to what distribution I should use. Sure enough, he suggested Ubuntu.
Now, I'm running the latest version of Kubuntu on my home computer, and even play Steam games through wine! I'm learning to write C, truly mastering the Linux system, and my school even uses Ubuntu Server on it's webserver and will shortly be switching to Edubuntu for our thin clients!
Ubuntu, despite what the critics say, is my favorite distribution because it's so quick and flexible. I can sit down at a workstation with an ubuntu CD and have a working OS in 30 minutes, a customized setup in an hour.
Thanks, to everyone on the Ubuntu team!
Nico, Student
Last year (2007) I heard about Ubuntu the first time. I was amazed of the good-looking Desktop and I heard I can have it for 0€ (I live in Austria/Europe)! Two days later I had installed Ubuntu on my PC and I knew that I couldn't use another OS, but Linux.
Now I'm writing on Win****, because I have a Medion-PC and the Hardware (WLAN) is not supported... But deep in my heart Linux is my choice!
And I don't think Ubuntu is the reason, why we are use Linux. No! It is, because of the community! We are one big (of course very big) family!
Two weeks ago I had a presentation about Linux at school. Not even my teacher, who had to study EDV to teach it, knew about Ubuntu and Linux! My classmates were amazed, when I showed their Ubuntu. Now all classmates are Ubuntu-users.
I hope drivers will become more in future, that EVERYBODY can use Ubuntu.
For myself I'm going to buy myself a computer with hardware, which is supported. Probably an apple - I don't know. BUT: I will always use Ubuntu, the fastest, best and most secure OS on the planet!
(I hope my englisch was not too bad...)
--Thank you!
Ed, Junior College, IT Instructor, Continuing Education
I came to Linux, and ultimately to Ubuntu after getting furiously fed-up with Windows OS and Windows applications always wanting to "call home to mama," reporting on my systems configuration and what I might be doing with it at the time. Further, as Microsoft has now instituted forced updates, whether or not I want them (even with Update Manager turned off!), I've become quite tired of the corporate intrusion. Stability issues, security issues, and now deliberate intrusion? I don't think so...
I first loaded Ubuntu 6.04 on my laptop via disk in late 2006, and haven't looked back. I had some problems with wireless networking for a time, but that was easily overcome. Ubuntu recognizes and runs all my old peripherals (printer, scanner, digital camera), saving me from costly hardware upgrades, and, to quote a phrase: "It just works." My laptop is now more potent than my previous two desktops, and for a fortune less than replacing the desktops to accommodate Windows Vista.
I'm now anxiously awaiting the Ubuntu 8.04 online upgrade. Keep up the good work, guys!
Cheers;
Ed
James Dearing, computer science student
I just convinced my dad to try Ubuntu; he was getting tired of running so many anti-virus and anti-spyware utilities on his Vista computer. While he wasn't initially impressed by the installer (we had forgotten to defrag his hard drive before repartitioning it, which caused it to appear to hang during the partitioning process), he does like the increased speed and usability of Ubuntu.
I talked him through installing his printer. It was a piece of cake - all he had to do was connect the printer and turn it on, and Ubuntu took care of the rest. No questions asked, no driver disks needed, it just works. The same goes for his other hardware - it just works.
Mandrill, Loafer and father
I use Ubuntu on my home file server and only restart it every 6 months or so (not counting restarts required by upgrades). Its great, the server lives under my stairs and I can forget about it.
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