Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
My move from Windows to Linux started in the middle of March after I had to re-install Windows 8 Pro on my Toshiba C660-15R notebook and it refused to Activate. I could have gone down the route of downloading an Activator, but as I had the Ubuntu 12.10 disk, and an Ubuntu 13.04 Development Release Daily Build disk – along with an OpenSuse 12.3 DVD lying around, I decided to give them a go. I was a bit hesitant, as my Kodak ESP 1.2 AIO wireless printer has only Windows and Mac OSX drivers.
I first tried Ubuntu 12.10 for 30 minutes. Then I tried Ubuntu 13.04 Development Release for the same amount of time as 12.10. Next, I tried OpenSuse 12.3 for about 3 minutes and then re-installed Ubuntu 13.04 Development Release. The reason I decided to use Ubuntu was due to the fact that OpenSuse 12.3 did not pick up the wired or wireless connection to my network, and, therefore, had no connection to the Internet right out of the box. Both Ubuntu 12.10 and 13.04 picked up my wireless and wired connection. With the help of the Ubuntu forums I was able to get my Kodak ESP 1.2 Wireless AIO Printer running (but I had to use the Kodak Hero 3.1 AIO driver to get it working, as the one that was suggested did not work for me).
You might be wondering why I chose the potentially unstable Ubuntu 13.04 Development Release over the more stable Ubuntu 12.10. The simple reason for my decision was that I will probably end up upgrading to 13.04 when it is released. It made more sense to work my way up from Development Release to Beta Release to Final Release using Software Updater than having to download and burn the Beta Release to disk, then backup my data to Install 13.04 Beta, and have to do the same when the final release comes out.
The Ubuntu Forums even helped me to restore the Hibernate function that is not enabled by default.
The only software that I would like to use – that I am unable to until there is a way to get it to work in WINE – is Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium. I have been unable to get it to work in PlayOnLinux, and Crossover Office was not available for 13.04 at the time of me moving to 13.04. I've not had the chance to try Crossover Office (as at the time of writing I only just found out that it had become compatible with 13.04), so I've been using the web version of Office 365 Home Premium combined with LibreOffice. Currently, the only piece of Software I'm using via WINE, thanks to PlayOnLinux, is the excellent script and novel writing package, Celtx. I'm sure as I become more proficient with Linux, I'll probably be able to install the native Linux version of Celtx.
I'll have to see how many of my Windows native games work via PlayOnLinux at some point, but I've already purchased a couple of games since using Ubuntu 13.04. My first one was Bastion, that I got when it was in the Humble Bundle Weekly Sale. My second was the very addictive Kerbal Space Programme that I purchased directly from the Kerbal Space Programme website, as it was much cheaper than purchasing it on Steam.
In the time that I have used Ubuntu 13.04 development release, then beta, I've been very impressed with how much faster my Notebook has become, and how much free HDD space I had post install along with how much more productive I've become compared to when I was using Windows.
I'm looking forward to finding free and even Open Source versions of all the applications that I'm used to using on Windows, along with learning how to program in one or more of the various programming languages that are available on Linux.