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Yeah, since an official Windows Vista update corrupted my hard drive a couple nights ago, I've decided to switch to Linux as my main OS...
Once I get my laptop back from Circuit City for repairs of course... >.>

I want any advice I can get from you guys regarding Linux (Ubuntu or openSUSE at this point from what I've read), since I have virtually no experience with it...

Thanks,
Durin Kaine

rokytnji, don't scare the dear fellow :) Durin, let me lay to rest some of your fears. You don't need to be a programmer to use Linux (any distribution). rokytnji made that very clear. Second, you can do just about everything using graphical applications so that's a good thing. You can get your multimedia working without any problems. There are excellent distro-specific guides on how to play multimedia files, so again you're covered. There's good hardware support for webcams, wireless cards, graphic cards, etc. There are distro-specific Hardware Compatibility Lists (HCL) so you can check what all hardware works on what distribution.

Now, your Windows applications won't work on Linux. So, you'd have to find alternatives to the applications you're used to. There are good alternatives for just about all kinds of apps, but in case you're not satisfied with the alternatives, you can install Windows applications on Linux using Wine or Crossover:
http://winehq.org
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxlinux/

Most distros like Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE and Mandriva require 1 GB RAM. While these work well with 512, or less, having at least 1GB will make you happy.

So, all that's left for you to do is take the plunge.

Cheers!

Coauthor of Beginning Fedora: From Novice to Professional published by Apress.

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Quote rokytnji:

I have no programming experience, I am not a geek. I fix motorcycles and ride Harleys and am everything your Moma warned you about. I run Linux on all my equipment in various distrobutions. Thats because I am a adventure junkie that has always gone against the norm.

rokytnji, apologies, if you think I wasn't joking. My quip was about the above quote. Sorry about the stereo.

Coauthor of Beginning Fedora: From Novice to Professional published by Apress.

Please follow the Forum Guidelines

Hehe, I'm not that much of a noob when it comes to programming and such things. Just never actually tried Linux out, since I'm the only person in the world to keep Vista alive without a single crash for almost a year (I don't know how, don't ask me... D: ). I'm going to be sure to delete the Windows update program after this though, so I can just add whatever I need manually.

I'm good when it comes to all my programs. Spent my last couple computer-less nights researching Ubuntu, and have made a list of the programs which seem to match what I want. I'll keep Vista to dual boot for all my computer games, and probably for powerpoint.

I have plenty of memory for dual boot, so I'm good there. I'm planning on deleting that useless recovery partition on my hard drive anyway, which will be plenty for Ubuntu when I repartition. Good thing about my hard drive taking the fall, is that I can't loose anything if I mess up with the partitions... xD

Thanks for your help guys,
Can you give me some info on the more code based parts of Ubuntu?