Hi.

I'm an experienced computer user, repairer, upgrader etc. I switched from Windows to Mac about 10 years ago and am now thinking of switching to Ubuntu. I have used Ubuntu since about version 5 and the newer versions - especially 9.10 have really impressed me, with just how easy to use and how intuitive it has become.

Being a Mac user puts you in the minority of computer users anyway and things are never as straight forward as Windows. I preferred older Macs so am used to hacks, mods and tweaks to get the best out of it.

Mac OSX is built around a Unix base so has more in common with Ubuntu than Windows, but it is still a very GUI orientated OS, with only a few things needed so do in Terminal or Open Firmware.

Is there any advice or stories people would like to share with a Mac to Ubuntu switcher?

I've been running the latest Live version on my wifes Windows machine and testing out my peripherals and everything seems to be ok. As I have a mixed OS household I tended to buy hardware that would work on both Mac and Windows and format drives/flash drives to NTFS or FAT32 anyway, so this gives me a bit of a head start in moving over.

I have an old 40GB iPod which I have found out I can use in Ubuntu as long as I change it from a Mac formatted one to a Windows formatted one, so that is good news.

I have an old Epson Stylus Photo 1200 which I can't find any reference to but suppose it would require CUPS or Gutenprint to work possibly.

I've read that RaLink RT2500 chipset based PCMCIA cards and USB wireless dongles tend to work out of the box with Ubuntu so that takes one less thing as I have an Asus WL-117G USB wireless dongle.

I'm getting there. It has always been a side passion of mine and now I want it as a main machine, so need to check as much as I can prior to wiping and installing.

Simon Royal

--- Catch me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SimonRoyal or Skype: Simon-Royal


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