Ubuntu + Laptop = ???

[jonyb222]

I was wondering how easy/hard it would be to put ubuntu on a vista laptop (taking into acount having to find drivers) and also how good is the compatibility with windows, like say could windows and ubuntu comunicate over a network with ease? (my bro has trouble doing it with his mac) and how hard would it be to transfer files to one another?

Btw in case it matters, the laptops I'm looking at are from ASUS with Radeon 2600, I don't have the links with me

 

[linux_0]

Ubuntu and other Linux distributions can communicate with other operating systems with relative ease.

Most of the time windows is the one that does't want to cooperate 😉

You can use samba for file and printer sharing, SSH for remote access, file transfers, tunneling, remote X11 and a variety of other tools for various tasks.

http://us1.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-HOWTO-Collection/

Do not let the size of the official howto intimidate you, on most Linux systems all you have to do is modify /etc/samba/smb.conf a little ( sometimes you do not need to do anything to it the default will work ), start samba, make a couple of samba accounts and open a few ports on the firewall.

http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch10_:_Windows,_Linux,_and_Samba a quicker howto

The commands in the quick howto are for redhat-like distributions so a little bit of translation will be necessary.


GL

 

[linux_0]

Here's an ubuntu specific howto to get you started

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202605


As far as the laptop is concerned Ubuntu or any other modern distribution should be able to recognize mostly everything. Ubuntu will automatically offer to install the proprietary ATI graphics and wireless drivers for you.

GL

 

[bmouring]

Ubuntu and other Linux distributions can communicate with other operating systems with relative ease.

Most of the time windows is the one that does't want to cooperate 😉
...

QFT, I really appreciate all of the hard work that the guys and gals who work on Samba put in. It's a much more stable implementation of MS's own standard, IMHO.

To add to what was already said, the best part of Linux is you can try out liveCD's to see how well your hardware is supported (and most hardware that isn't initially supported either becomes supported or is already supported and requires some post-install updates).

 

[undoIT]

In my experience, getting the right drivers is much easier in Linux than with Windows. Most of them are installed automatically and for the proprietary drivers, a notification is given that prompts you that there is a driver available. These are automatically downloaded and installed for you, and they are automatically updated when new versions are available. Compared to tracking down the right drivers for Windows, trying to figure out which one to download, and then keeping them updated manually, it is much easier in Linux.

However, manufacturers allocate a lot of resources to supporting hardware drivers for Linux, so there may be some issues or the drivers may not be available for less popular hardware.