More Windows vs. Linux Issues

I swore many years ago that Win2K would be the last Microsoft product I would own. Then the Big Move came. If Debbie was to continue her employment as an outside agent she had to have a computer with WinXP. No other option was supported by the IS department. So off we go to Best Buy to pick up a cheap laptop with WinXP Pro (Toshiba Satellite). Debbie ended up employed out here and dropped her affiliation with the travel agency back in Michigan, leaving us with a somewhat-unwanted WinXP laptop. But it just worked.

At least until a couple weeks ago.

I have no idea what created the problem, or even if it has only a single cause. But our computer has become increasingly unstable with periodic crashes of Windows Explorer, software refusing to load unless we reboot first, error messages from XP complaining about applications that aren't even running, etc.

But the latest is the killer: we lost all audio. The software runs like there is no problem, but nothing we can think to do will cause a sound to come out of our PC. This is all audio from all applications including Windows system sounds. Neither the internal sound card and integrated speakers nor the USB dongle that allows us to connect the laptop to our stereo will utter the merest of a peep, pop, or click.

So I'm back shopping around the Linux world. Again. Everyone swears that Ubuntu is Just Like Windows and while the setup requires some technical skill, the day-to-day operation is as easy or easier than Windows. Of course these same people swore the same thing about Xandros, which was about 90% true. The problem is that last 10%; it contained two of the five functions I use a PC for (watching/ripping DVD's and listening to/ripping CD's; the other functions are web use with full support for AJAX and other Web 2.0 content, pulling photos from my digital camera, editing them, and posting them on Flickr). Then Xandros seems to have gone to the dark side.

So now I'm looking at the different flavors of Ubuntu. Xubuntu is very lightweight but seems to have a primitive interface. I'm also concerned about what is left out. Kubuntu is supposed to be the preferred home for ex-Windows users. The nice thing is that I can download ISO images for the Live CD of each version, boot my laptop from the CD, and poke around a bit without committing to a full install. I've already tried Xubuntu, and will take a look at Kubuntu tonight assuming the IS gods cast a smile my way.

Anyway, more when I know more.

Meanwhile, over at Redmond, Microsoft seems to not be doing well without Bill at the controls. Vista was years late, shipped stripped of its most-touted features, and now even the most die-hard Microsoft users are telling people to wait for SP-1, which will be out sometime next year. If the Linux camp can improve as much in the next 12 months as it has in the last 12, will anyone bother?