what applications work on Ubuntu / Kubuntu?

The Nvidia card should be supported; I am not sure about the Realtek card but 95% chance it will work. About the windows programs you can use Wine to get some of them to work. Don't forget that there are open source alternatives. For a replacement WMP you can use Amarok. A good site to look for alternatives is osalt.com.
If you need help setting any of these up I will be glad to help.

HTH
Michael James

Hi SKay. hopefully i can help address your concerns in relatively short order, and if you have any more, or i wasnt clear, feel free to post back.

Ill address the hardware concerns first:
Most computer hardware will work out of box on ubuntu...no special drivers/steps required. period. most will work flawlessly, including hardware that has been around a while (as in your case). Occasionally, you may have to take a few extra steps to get some of the extra functionality you need/want, but these are usually not very difficult steps to follow either. and on the offchance that the hardware wont work out of box with free drivers, there is an option to use restricted/non-free and window$ drivers for the hardware via an applet called the 'Restricted Drivers Manager' that comes in Ubuntu by default. as long as you have an internet connection, then this isnt a problem. at this point id like to emphasize that if you have any problems, there are extensive knowledge bases, question archives, support forums, and a large dedicated community that can help you should you need it. Just remember to be patient, because although the developers of this awesome OS would love for it to work flawlessly for everyone, that isnt always the case. but whenever you do have a problem, there will be people there that can help you through it so you can get the most out of your Ubuntu

as for your graphics card... it should also work out of box with the free dirvers. if it does not, i would recommend using a program called ENVY NG (available for downlaod through the ubuntu archives) which will get you fixed up easy as pie.

now on to software. I understand that you might be concerned about migrating some of the software you like to use on windows over to ubuntu, and this is perfectly fine, although somewhat unnecessary. Ubuntu comes, by default, fully loaded with a media player (Rhythmbox), video player (Totem), CD ripping/burning software(Sound Jucier/Brasero), a full office suite (OpenOffice.org) and there are many other apps in the software repositories that will do just about anything else you want, including ripping/burning DVDs etc... all easily available through the 'Add/Remove' selection in the main menu.

But, if for some reason you cannot find a free equivalent, there is still a way to run the windows native software through linux, called WINE. WINE is a Window$ API compatibility layer for linux, to help the linux kernel and other systems be able to read/interpret what the windows programs are trying to do. just keep in mind though, although WINE does work well for many many programs, it is also still in constant development, and may not always work perfectly with everything. games in particular are sometimes a pain to get running perfectly in WINE, but again there more alternatives. A good free one is PlayOnLinux, and there also non-free alternatives such as Cedega, and CrossOver, but these are also all generally based heavily on WINE. WINE is also available through 'Add/Remove.'

Anyway, i hope this was helpful. Feel free to question more if you have specific questions. But above all, just remember that if you are moving from Window$ to Ubuntu, that although there are many similarities, Linux is not Window$, so there is somewhat of a learning curve associated with it, as shallow of a curve it may be. Just be patient above all, and enjoy!

Andrew

Add: Also, if you want to just try it out and get a little more familiar with it before switching completely, when you download the liveCD, just pop it in and restart your computer, and provided you have 512mb+ RAM, you'll be able to run the ubuntu directly off of the CD, without making any changes to your existing installation. Just keep in mind that any changes you make will not be kept permanently until you install it on a harddrive. hope this was helpful!

Thanks for the confidence boost Michael James & Andrew, however I seem to have problems trying to use Kubuntu

I did download Kubuntu 8.04 (Hardy) as recomeneded by the Linux site for windows users new to linux, of couse I burnt the first cd incorectly then downloaded it again (+/-678mb) burnt it correctly twice once useing freeware recommended by linux and once using RecordNow. It starts from boot fint displaying the Kubuntu logo and the choices, I did do a memory test and it seemed fine as it showed two passes, but when I try "without changes" or "Install" it sound like it starts but then the screen start flashing green, pink & all the colors of the rainbow, after +/- 15 min the systems stops flashing and the scren remains black if i then touch the mouse or any button on the keyboard the screen starts it disco flashing again.

I've looked at other linux options due to this after doing a great deal of reading on the verious types and am now strongly considering getting the full thing on DVD like Ubuntu or Feroda 9. I'm a impressed by both but still a bit scared of Feroda as the recomend it for more advance users. my only problem is downloading 3-4GB is going to cost me more that buying Vista Ultimate!

Any advise on how to run Kubuntu as a start, do I need to partition my drive, or use dos to install on the corect partition?

If I do get a Ubuntu DVD with all the drivers will this do the requiered installation of the Nivida geforce go 6200 driver?
basicly will it run better than the Kubuntu version?

Thanks Guy in the Bushes..., that solved my question.