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A great alternative to Windows for light duty processing
April 18, 2018

A great alternative to Windows for light duty processing

Jeff Hanson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Ubuntu Linux

We use Ubuntu Linux to extend the life of older personal computer hardware. I have repurposed personal computers that struggled to run Windows XP by installing Ubuntu Linux which provided a more modern interface and improved responsiveness, continued updates, productivity software, and access to other open source applications.
  • Ubuntu Linux is an efficient operating system and can be used to extend the life of aging hardware and provide essentially free OS software for smaller demands such as word processing, web browsing, software development.
  • Ubuntu provides command line install tools for common open source applications and provides a nice way to consciously update software.
  • Ubuntu is widely used and has a vast support community. I am able to easily gather information about requirements I have through web searches.
  • Linux is open source and has no licensing fees.
  • I currently do not have improvement comments for Ubuntu server in the areas of performance vs. its Linux counterparts.
  • Ubuntu does not support as much software as the Windows OS community. While it supports common productivity software such as Libre Office, many client installed games and applications will not run on Linux.
  • Linux does not support all hardware and peripherals. An embedded wifi adapter that works in Windows may not work with Ubuntu.
  • We have been able to repurpose old hardware and make it useful for other use cases such as sandboxing, or running light-weight OS's that don't tax the computer processer and memory the way Windows continues grow over time.
  • We have been able to rely in Ubuntu based PCs to provide development tools for more employees at a lower cost
  • We have been able to familiarize ourselves with Linux on a PC basis and strengthen our ability to perform similar tasks in a server environment, which we also operate in.
  • windows 10 and windows xp
Ubuntu is a clean, lightweight OS for use on laptops, PCs. It is not as full featured as its Windows counterparts, but is open-source (free) and requires fewer resources to provide the same user experience, particularly for browser based applications or software development environments. We use Ubuntu for our older hardware that is unable to run supported software, or that we are not licensed to run supported software.
It works well with open-source based products and development tools (Eclipse, Arduino IDE, languages like Python). Ubuntu is not appropriate for use in corporate environments where enterprise Microsoft based software rules the organization. Personal computer security integration in corporate environments is difficult as well. Many vendors do not create software for Linux, but instead focus on Windows, and to a slightly lesser extent, Mac.