upgrading Windows - try Xubuntu instead

This last weekend I decided to upgrade my laptop from Vista to Xubuntu. I was tired of Microsoft's ever growing system bloat. I did install Lubuntu but decided to go with Xubuntu due to some panel/toolbar issues. I use this laptop for programming, listening to podcasts, watching Hulu, Amazon Unbox, and other videos. I have multiple monitors (large monitor for videos along with the laptop screen). Here is my final laptop screen layout.

Application

Applications I need to bring over from Windows were:

• Gimp
• Filezilla
• Firefox
• Chrome (using Chromium now)
• OpenOffice (using LibreOffice now)
• Eclipse
• Picasa
• Hulu Desktop
• Google Desktop
• Amazon Unbox (no linux version)

Lightweight solution

I'll list Xubutun's current (11.04) requirements and then show Window's ever growing minimual requirements from Vista to Windows 7. My system is 2 @ 2 gigahertz processors, 6 gigabyte RAM, and 320 gigabyte disk space.

Xubuntu system requirements

If you want to run Xubuntu on your PC, here's what it takes:

• 700 megahertz x86 processor
• 192 megabyte RAM, but 256 MB RAM is strongly recommended
• 2GB gigabyte disk space

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/SystemRequirements

Windows XP system requirements

If you want to run Windows XP on your PC, here's what it takes:

• 300 megahertz processor
• 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)
• 1.5 gigabytes disk space

Windows Vista system requirements

If you want to run Windows Vista on your PC, here's what it takes:

• 1 gigahertz processor
• 1 gigabyte RAM
• 40 gigabyte hard drive with at least 15 gigabyte

Windows 7 system requirements

If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:

• 1 gigahertz processor
• 1 (32-bit) or 2 (64-bit) gigabyte RAM
• 16 (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) gigabyte available hard disk space

Next post will be about the Linux applications I found and installed for screenshots, backup, tweaks, media, and video player. I'll talk about some some items I changed from the default Xubuntu instance like terminal and the file explorer to lighter alternatives.