Ubuntu - Alternative OS

Ubuntu - “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”.

Ubuntu is an alternative Operating System. It’s based on Linux and available as an open source project. Meaning it’s FREE and ANYONE can update/improve it. I played around with Linux couple years ago but there’s a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo which I don’t quite understand. Ubuntu makes it all so simple!

Why heck, you can even install it side by side your Windows, but like I have discovered with my Mac, there’s really not many reasons why you HAVE to stick with Windows. Unless you like to enjoy all the virus, spyware, adware attacks.

You could download the whole Ubuntu OS of 700+MB or buy the CD. It comes complete with a suite of software that you could get it off running immediately!

For example, when asked to consider alternative OS, most folks balk at “but I need to use Microsoft Office!”. Nah, you don’t. If you need a word processor, spreadsheet application, there’s a host of alternatives. The one I’m using in my Mac is OpenOffice which is
- compatible with Microsoft Office (meaning could open/edit/save all your Word/Excel/Powerpoint stuffs)
- free to download (open source!)
- and comes with a very useful “Export to PDF” function that really makes life so simple!

Guess what? OpenOffice is bundled with Ubuntu!

For web browsing, it comes with Firefox which I recommended on my “How to Make My Windows More Secure” blog.

Another application I recommended was Gaim, a multi-protocol internet messaging apps. You may want to read “Yahoo, MSN, GoogleTalk - I’m Confused!” for more info.

But of course, the chief reason to use an alternative OS is for security reasons. Can you envision a world without computer virus, worm, trojan horse, spyware, adware?

You could with a Mac! You could with Ubuntu!

firefox, mac, os ubuntu

3 October 2006 | Computer stuffs | Comments