Vista 64-bit vs. Ubuntu 64-bit?

I notice a lot of lappys are coming out now with Vista 64-bit.

If you were contemplating a traditional dual-boot (shrink Vista, create an extended partition, install Ubuntu) on a Vista 64-bit lappy, would you try Ubuntu 64-bit, or stick with 32? I haven't really kept up on the progress of Ubuntu 64, but a few months back lots of folks were saying it's not quite ready for prime time.

 

There's no reason to not use 64bit versions of Linux. Linux was 64bit ready across all of the software available long before Windows was (and I still don't think Windows IS ready, it's got a very half-arsed implementation)

 

I'm running Ubuntu x64, and I'm pretty much linux-n00b. I haven't had any problems. Although, there are certain and sometimes several things you have to do differently/manually if you go Ubuntu x64, depending on what you're trying to accomplish.

 

I try linux so many times and i dont see any real advantages unless it is a financial one...

/end rant.

 

Hah, pretty timely topic here.

I recently installed Ubuntu, for the second time in attempts to fully convert over.

I just rebooted back in to Vista (and probably won't see Ubuntu again for a while) b/c although I'm in LOVE with Compiz, I can't shake the Windows only programs that I use every day. I even had M$ Office 2007 running via CrossOver, but it's just not the same experience.

Let's face it, even though I can't customize Vista as much as ubuntu, it's pretty dang awesome in it's own right.

 

Jeepers, a lot of Linux bashers this evening on the "Linux Compatibility" section...

Our Acer lappy is dual-booting Vista and Ubuntu. Both 32-bit. I use Vista when I have to, or to help someone out with their Vista problems. The rest of the time I'm much happier over on the Ubuntu side, and it seems like the experience just keeps getting better.
Ubuntu doesn't do everything. For instance, the card reader doesn't work. It's a known bug, recorded in Launchpad.
Know what? I don't care. I plug the digital camera in direct anyway. The sense of freedom, of being part of a wonderful movement and community, is such heady stuff I'll gladly put up with a few hiccups.

 

Only real snag is that flash isn't 64 bit, so in distros that don't provide compatibility libraries, you need to run your web browser in a 32 bit zoo. Other than that, 64 bit Linux is virtually no different than 32 bit.

 

So is it just a matter of time before Adobe gets around to writing a 64-bit version of Flash, and it gets into the repos?

 

they sure have been stalling for ages

 

One of the big problems with Ubuntu is that it has a SEVERE learning curve. Even for someone who is very apt in computing.

but COMPIZ!!!

 

I use Linux for the high amounts customization and the command line : )

Its very friendly to programmers, especially when running code in parallel IMO.

 

You could say that for linux in general. But it is oh so worth it....

 

I wouldn't call it a 'learning curve', but a 'get used to curve'. It's not something you really need to learn. It's just a different way of doing things.

 

I'm not saying that Linux is bad or worthless, in fact, I think it's awesome.

I just can't make the full-time switch b/c I like Vista too much.

@Zeph: Call it what you want, you're just playing a semantics game. Learn, get used to...in the end you have to invest a LOT of time tweaking to get your install up to snuff (at least I do, b/c out of the box, Ubuntu is far from nice to me).

 

I think what zeph means is that it's just as difficult to attain a given level of competence in Windows as in linux, which, I believe, rings true depending on the distro. It's more a matter of familiarity than anything else.

I, for one, find Windows registry hacking a very steep order, while a certain friend of mine, who is a hardcore Windows user, can do manual modifications to the interface that way on the fly whenever the mood hits him.

 

Agreed, and agreed.

Just remember, virtually every switcher to Linux is coming from Windows, and the majority of them have no Idea what 'sudo' means or what being 'root' is or how on earth to load 'nautilus'. Let alone the difference between gnome & kde or how to install things on 'synaptic'.

It's a whole new way of thinking. Whether you are 'learning' it or 'getting used to it' it's a sizable investment.

 

Linux is not Windows. It's actually much more common that someone who is apt at working with Windows (which is NOT the same as being apt in computing) has more trouble switching to Linux than someone who just uses a computer as an appliance to get on the Internet and email and so on.

If you really understood how Windows worked (Windows actually has mountpoints, did you know that?), Linux would actually make quite a bit of sense.

 

Haha, you did NOT just bust out Bog's Linux rant on me?

Listen, I'm not a programmer, I'm not a CS guy, I'm just a joe-schmoe that happens to know enough about windows to get himself into trouble and help a lot of other people out.

I have a REALLY hard time imagining my mother or my dad, for that matter, getting on Linux and having a clue of what to do.

Now, if no one had ever sat down at a computer before, and you wanted to see which OS would be 'learned' or 'gotten used to' (is 'gotten' a word?) the fasted, by no means am I claiming that it would be Windows.

I'm not a Windows fanboi, I just love my Windows, and have had more than one go at trying to convert to Ubuntu. I just don't love Compiz, or Ubuntu, or the computing with Ubuntu for the sake of open-source enough to sacrifice doing the tasks the way I enjoy and am comfortable with doing.


EDIT: I'm done here, Telkwa, sorry for hi-jacking your thread. Long story short, I'd dual-boot if I were you, Ubuntu is a lot of fun, and II 8.10 performs much better than 8.04 did for me (x64 that is). You might even find in playing with it that you want to ditch Windoze altogether. Paz guys.

 

Well, if you think of it that way... I always think of the reason why we're all generally better in Windows is because it's become almost standard learning procedures in school. I started by computer life with Windows, learned how to click Start, learnt about .exe, etc. So even for me there was an apprehension like 'what is this? What? Why? maybe I should just go back to XP'. We humans are animals of familarity.

But if you give a person who has no experience with computers, ie, a child or an elder or like my mother who's forgotten everything, then using Firefox in Windows is no different in using Firefox in Linux.


On topic: It does seem to me that Microsoft seems rather much slower to adopt 64-bit than Linux. Whether it's because the drivers are closed sourced, so fewer people can work on it, or whether it's the fact that XP lasted for 6 years and seems to have stagnated Microsoft progress, it just seems that MS is slower to adopt. I think even back in 2003 there were 64-bit apps for Linux where most of the Windows people were still using 32-bit even if they had a dual core processor.

 

In my recent experience with x64 ubuntu, I couldn't get the mouse wheel scroll working, cairo-dock started acting weirdly, and some of firefox add-ons didn't work. I had to switch back to 32-bit because I don't enough time to tweak x64 until thanksgiving (not that i'm gonna be geek about it and work on it during thxgiving). Some things just work differently on x64.

 

Hmm.. All my stuff work fine. Where did you try to download the add-ons? If you go to the website itself, the more popular add-ons have options for 64-bit.

Alternatively, you can just install lib32 packages and it'll work just the same. After I've converted, I just can't go back. My computer is 100% compatible, and I like the feeling that I'm gettnig the most out of my CPU.

 

I will try that and get back to you I totally forgot about that option..
Did you get the trackpoint middle button scrolling work? :/

 

Trackpoint middle button scrolling? I only use the middle button to open/close tabs in firefox. I didn't even know it could scroll. I use my Logitech MX518 *loves* for that.

I tried to get it to scroll and it'll just open a new webpage with that word I clicked as the address. It's not a top priority for me, though.

 

Installing updates and software via Aptitude (or apt-get) in Debian-based distros is much easier than doing it in Windows.

The "simplified" Windows Vista Control Panel makes me dizzy.