I fancy moving to ubuntu but not knowing much about it am loathe to leave windoze. How much of a pain is it and how steep a learning curve?

The other thing is that I use MS access a lot and write apps in it using VB. I'd want to keep a windows emulator capable of running access and VB. thoughts?
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You can either set your computer up to dual-boot Ubuntu and Windows, or you can run Windows through a virtual machine from within Ubuntu.
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Originally Posted by C_steam:
I fancy moving to ubuntu but not knowing much about it am loathe to leave windoze. How much of a pain is it and how steep a learning curve?

The other thing is that I use MS access a lot and write apps in it using VB. I'd want to keep a windows emulator capable of running access and VB. thoughts?

It can be a pain depending on your hardware, but that's greatly improved nowadays.
As for the learning curve... if you've been raised on Windows and not actually tried exploring computing concepts then probably quite high. However, if you're able to use database software and VB, however despised it is :-), you should be fine.

There are several compatibility layers which provide the Windows APIs and thus allow many Windows programs to run on Linux, but they're not perfect; by far the best solution in terms of getting things to work is either a dual-boot machine or, and this I would recommend unless you have a desperate need for performance, a virtual machine running Windows inside.
I used the latter solution for my MS Access ICT coursework recently (even slipped in a screenshot during the testing stage showing that it was Windows in a virtual machine, and that the virtual machine was called 'Windoze' :-)) and now I just use the virtual machine for running Age of Empires I occasionally.
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There is a product called CrossOver which allows you to run a range of Windows applications in Linux seamlessly but not all applications are supported. It does run Microsoft Office but Access is apparently only 'supported' in the Microsoft Office 2000 version.

For general users moving over to Ubuntu (or any variety of Linux) you do not need Microsoft Office at all. The latest version of OpenOffice, which is installed by default (and free of charge) in Ubuntu, is excellent and I do not think users of Word, Excel and Powerpoint would have any problems making the transition. The database application in OpenOffice is perhaps not so good, however.

In terms of hardware it is usually laptops that present the biggest difficulties because manufacturers often do not supply Linux drivers for specialised devices. This list is a good guide to compatibility with various laptop models:

Laptop and Notebook Manufacturers - Linux Compatibility Status
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Originally Posted by Eurosceptic Atlanticist:
Yep, Kubuntu is fine. :-)

I prefer it myself we have it on an old PC we rebuilt and upgraded
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Originally Posted by C_steam:
I fancy moving to ubuntu but not knowing much about it am loathe to leave windoze. How much of a pain is it and how steep a learning curve?

The other thing is that I use MS access a lot and write apps in it using VB. I'd want to keep a windows emulator capable of running access and VB. thoughts?

You can also boot Kubuntu from a CD to try it

I find that the Kub PC boots and runs a bit quicker then the Win XP we have
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Originally Posted by g hall:
I prefer it myself we have it on an old PC we rebuilt and upgraded

I'm also quite fond of Kubuntu, but I'm quite happy to use either. :-)
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Originally Posted by g hall:
You can also boot Kubuntu from a CD to try it

I find that the Kub PC boots and runs a bit quicker then the Win XP we have

Linux distributions have a better development model, so it results in higher-quality code. In most circumstances a Linux distribution will be quicker than a Windows installation - although KDE, the environment for Kubuntu, is a bit of a resource hog.

For better performance there's GNOME, although that's only slightly better in terms of performance; xfce, which should be much better, and then a wide range of various window managers and combinations of software which will result in extremely good performance.

Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop and Xubuntu uses xfce. There's an unofficial distribution called Fluxbuntu which uses the FluxBox window manager, for much improved performance, but I tend to find its usability lacking.
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Originally Posted by Alex McKee:
What type of monitor do you have? TFT or CRT?

Hi Alex

Its a TFT screen.
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Originally Posted by Akria:
Linux distributions have a better development model, so it results in higher-quality code. In most circumstances a Linux distribution will be quicker than a Windows installation - although KDE, the environment for Kubuntu, is a bit of a resource hog.

For better performance there's GNOME, although that's only slightly better in terms of performance; xfce, which should be much better, and then a wide range of various window managers and combinations of software which will result in extremely good performance.

Ubuntu uses the GNOME desktop and Xubuntu uses xfce. There's an unofficial distribution called Fluxbuntu which uses the FluxBox window manager, for much improved performance, but I tend to find its usability lacking.

That isn't really the point of FluxBox.
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