How To Smoothly Transfer From Windows to Linux

Ubuntu 8.10 has stunned me with many ways. Even if it may seem the same at first look for someone who’ve used Ubuntu 8.04, I saw tremendous progress. The impression currently have, about Linux, is going to be changed forever. Intrepid Ibex shows epic compatibility with the various system setups that I tried it with. And, looking back to some 5 years, Linux has improved a lot in being user-friendly and visually appealing.
So, for those of you who’ve been working with Windows from birth, this is the time to hop in. The Ubuntu band-wagon is growing. We all know what Vista was like. It was horrible and all it did was successful leech the hardware resources. Ubuntu is the way to go for the future.

I believe this is the day of conversion. Linux is ready for you. So, come with me on a ride to the brighter side of computing. So, enough with the stories right ? Here we go.
P.S: Most of these stuff are Ubuntu-specific.

Configuring Software Installer
I usually hear people say - "Software supports is low for Linux. There’s barely any". Thats plain wrong. Linux supports almost the same amount of software Windows does. Maybe not more than it. But, there are a lot of softwares, both open source and closed source, which are being supported by Linux.
Ubuntu simplifies the software installation in linux through the Synaptic Package Manager. You can find it at System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager. Or, you can use the Add/Remove at Applications -> Add/Remove. Both basically work the same way but Synaptic Package Manager gives you more control.
But, to get the best apps from the Linux ecosystem, you need to enable some additional repositories. Here’s how you do it :

1. Go to System -> Administration -> Software Sources
2. In the "Ubuntu Softwares" tab, check every checkbox (it won’t do any harm).
3. Ensure that all checkboxes are checked in the "Third-Party Software" tab.
4. If you’re interested in online updates, go to the "Updates" tab and check "gutsy-security" and "gutsy-updates".
5. After doing the above stuff, press close and in the window which pops up, press Reload and wait for a while.

Now, Ubuntu will list a lot more software in its software manager.
Getting The Right Apps

There are some essential apps you can’t live without. Since I work the Release Candidate, I don’t know how much our software composition are similar. Go to Applications -> Add/Remove for a newbie-friendly and visually appealing installation experience or go to System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager for more control. But, install these if you don’t already have it :

• VLC Media Player : Absolutely necessary. It even plays .wmv and .flv.
• GnomeBaker : Works better than Brasero in CD/DVD burning.
• Azureus/Deluge : For torrent downloads.
• Macromedia Flash Plugin : Works on Mozilla and Gecko-based browsers.
• GStreamer ffmpeg video plugin : Lot of extra plugins.
• Real Player : To play Real media files.
• Comix : If you’re like me and read a lot of digital grapical novels

Using Aptitude Installer
You can use the command-line to install software too. Softwares can be GUI or CLI. But there are a lot of good CLI softwares out there that you might want to check out. (Eg: Mencoder, ffmpeg etc).
Its as easy as typing - sudo apt-get install <software-name>. It’ll ask you for your root password. Give it and you’re done.

Run Windows Softwares on Linux with Wine
Before anything, Wine Is Not an Emulator. Not I’m joking. Thats what WINE stands for. Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. And it does not need Microsoft Windows.
Wine can open any .exe or similar Windows files. Select a .exe, right-click and enter properties. In the "Open With" tab, select Wine Windows Emulator (ironic though since they say its not a emulator) click +Add and take it from the options.
You can run apps such as uTorrent, Winamp etc very smoothly. Some games run well too. Good luck experimenting with it.

Summing Up..
Hope that pretty much took care of the basic stuff you need to do to have a good time with Ubuntu. Linux is ready for the desktop. It supports most of the formats and the softwares are growing too. Maybe one day, big companies may start developing games for Linux and I’m sure that would be the end for Windows cuz I’m believe that’s the reason why most of us still use a Windows. So, I wish you all a smooth ride.