Ubuntu

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx Noob

Asked by Adrian McCathern

Hi,

 I'm currently deployed and I am running Windows 7 Ultimate on my laptop (with an internet connection) and my newly built desktop is running Ubuntu Lucid Lynx (no internet connection). I am new to the Ubuntu community and I was wondering what I would have to start with to get my Windows programs onto my Ubuntu computer? My Ubuntu computer doesn't seem to be able to open programs on its own, possibly some files missing. I've also done some research to try to find WINE on my Ubuntu but could not find it. In addition, I've tried to download some version of WINE to install it and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or it's just not working. In a nutshell, I need a bit of help to get used to this new system. Any suggestions or steps I should take?

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Marc Stewart (marc.stewart) said : 		#1

First of all, you should know that Ubuntu and Windows are very different operating systems, so simply trying to run a Windows-version program directly in Ubuntu (even with WINE) isn't the best approach.

Many programs (Firefox, Google Earth, Inkscape, VLC) have versions for Ubuntu as well as Windows. With this kind of program, you should simply install the Ubuntu version. Open the Software Centre, which can be started from the "Applications" menu at the top left of the screen, and search for each program. Click Install to install it.

Other programs (Office, Notepad, Minesweeper, Photoshop) have functional equivalents. OpenOffice.org Word Processor, Spreadsheet, and Presentation do the same thing as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; gedit Text Editor edits plain-text files; Mines is the equivalent game. These should all be in the Applications menu already. GIMP is similar to Photoshop, but isn't installed by default. Such equivalent programs can sometimes be found in the Software Centre by searching for the Windows name, but not always. In these cases, there are websites that list such equivalents, for example:
http://www.osalt.com/
http://www.linuxalt.com/

When a native version or functional equivalent doesn't exist, then it's time to consider WINE. The website will give you an indication of how successfully a program will run under WINE (in the AppDB section of the site) as well as general information about how to use it.
http://www.winehq.org/

Finally, some programs simply require Windows. Games often fall into this category. If you are a gamer, you should dual-boot your PC with both Windows and Ubuntu, to get the best of both worlds.

You should probably list the programs you want to use in Ubuntu.

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marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said : 		#2

New to Ubuntu: read the Ubuntu Manual, it's very informative: http://ubuntu-manual.org/
Click on the "download Button" to download the latest PDF version.
The online help https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/index.html

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