So this weekend, I decided, it’s time to back up my Windows XP data on my laptop - which is used for work - and reinstall XP on it, just to make sure things keep running smooth.
This is a process I do once a year, at least, either as a precautionary thing or to repair a buggy Windows OS. I have been doing this sort of operation for years, and I am perfectly comfortable with it.
So this weekend, as I am using the recovery disk that came with my laptop from Gateway, I encountered all sorts of bugs and well over a hundred pieces of software that had to be installed on top of the base operating system. Now generally, I go through and uninstall all of the junk, because I don’t want things like McCrappy antivirus or BigFix slowing my pc down. (I use AVG for antivirus as it doesn’t bog down my system).
After a longer than usual wait, the OS Windows XP is online… sort of. I had to terminate a number of processes during all of the “extras” installing, one of which was an XP update. So I decided to scratch this install and do something different this time.
The time from when I decided to install Ubuntu Studio Edition to completion was less than 30 min. It only took that long because I was taking care of a baby at the time. Compare that to the time it took to run my Gateway Recovery DVD (Several hours). What a waste of a day.
So how do I intend to run my windows programs, you ask? With VirtualBox. I have previously tested it on this machine and it runs pretty well. Plus there is the option to freeze the OS, so that the programs and OS are frozen in a sate of functionality. Everytime one boots it up, it should work as it did the first time. Thereby eliminating the need to “Recover” or reinstall Windows. It is similar to Deep Freeze, an overpriced commercial product from Faronics.
I do intend to reduce my dependence on the Windows OS. There are plenty of great code editors available, but graphics applications are less developed than, say, Adobe’s Photoshop. I know all of you GIMP fans are screaming at me right now, but it’s true. There is no comparison for integration and ease of use, especially when it comes to web graphics. I have seen hope for Adobe, though, in beginning to develop software for Ubuntu and other Linux editions. I believe it is only a matter of time as the market is really beginning to open up to Linux.
I will follow up with this post at a later date to inform you of how well the process goes and works for me.
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