Ubuntu report

[Chilachuck]

I'm running Ubuntu on an ASUS P5QPL-VM mobo and the darn thing crashes a couple of times a week.

Not ready for prime time.

[Graybeard]

What language was that you were typing?  Looked kinda like Greek to me. 

[Chilachuck]

Er, that's the name of the mother board. ASUS has a fine reputation for reliability. My old mobo (another ASUS) is still good, and it's about 8 years old. (P3B-F, 550Mhz, Pentium III)

Ubuntu is a Linux release, set up sort of like Windows, but complete with an office suite. It's free if you download it and burn it to disk or are willing to wait weeks for a free copy through the mail. I think they send it out faster if you buy it.

The theoretical advantage is that the virus writers have not been able to come up with something to infect Linux. It is, however, hackable, so one of the BSDs is better for servers or anything connected full time to the net.

The blasted thing crashed this AM, and again when I booted up a half hour ago. Not good.

[Oldtimer]

I am surprised that Ubuntu is crashing on you.  I think I have had one distro of Linux crash and several lock up on loading.  Did you download it, and if so, did you run the checksum?  In downloading 600 mb+ of data, it is possible that some errors occurred.  I usually carry a bootable Knoppix disk in my briefcase as a rescue disk and sometimes even a minidisk with a Puppy distro in my wallet.  It allows me to use public machines with some measure of security if I do not have my laptop with me.  I have Ubuntu loaded but on one of the desktops, but don't use it too much, as it does not recognize the wireless router I use. 

[Chilachuck]

Nope, no check sum. The iso is in the Win98SE hard drive and I'm not sure how to get to that without setting up the old mobo.

I guess I need to do another download and burn to see.

I've had bad luck with Linux for years. If anyone can lock it up or crash it, it's me. Then again, that was mostly with the Canon laptop.

(I still won't buy anything from Canon because of the lack of support and them letting internal politics mess up the customers.)

[prairiedog555]

I am not a guru tech guy, but my IT guys are and they tell me Ubantu is everything Vista is not, meaning great, fast ect. 
the only problem would be for some game, periferal device or advanced apps that Ubantu does not have drivers for.
My family switched and it is great, no anti virus or firewall needed and comes with Open office (better than Microsoft Office) and Firefox.
I have never heard of someone having a problem.  It is the best kept secret in computing. 

[Chilachuck]

Okay, I'm going to give it another try, with some freshly downloaded disks, with checksum verified.

Something I found about Ubuntu over at Groklaw: It seems MS may have slipped something into Gnome (that's the GUI or desktop for the rest). Quite a few people think it's a poison pill they are trying to plant in Gnome for later FUD attacks, and Groklaw has a bit of discussion about how it might play out:

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2009062823330395

They also discuss how to remove the possibly offending software.