Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail on an older computer desktop from 2008, and Ubuntu still runs very well with very little slow slowdown when I use Ubuntu for my everyday desktop computer tasks like Web browsing, word processing, watching video and listening to music.
I find it pretty easy to launch programs in Ubuntu by clicking on icon on the application launcher on the left side of the desktop, or I can search for the program with the search program in Ubuntu.
Ubuntu 13.04 also uses less vertical screen space, so it is possible to comfortable use it on a smaller 15″ or smaller monitor with 1024×768 screen resolution without the taskbar, and window’s border and title bar don’t take up much space. When programs like Firefox are in full screen, the title bar on the Window blends into the top toolbar for Ubuntu, so you save even more monitor space for other items like reading text on a website.
Installing programs in Ubuntu is easy as well. I just need to launch the Ubuntu Software program program in Ubuntu, and search for programs like VLC Media Player to install, or browse through the categories in Ubuntu Software Center to install programs. Ubuntu also comes with a lot of useful pre-installed free software like Libreoffice, Firefox, and Ubuntu One Online Storage which are all free to use.
Keeping Ubuntu updated is fast. I just need to open the Software Updater program in Ubuntu, and click check for updates. If there are updates, I click on Install updates, and enter in my password to begin the update process which also updates programs installed in Ubuntu, and Ubuntu itself.
I can also now use Steam to buy or install free to play games on Ubuntu Linux, so I have a secondary marketplace for buying games for Ubuntu instead of just downloading and buying games for Ubuntu on Ubuntu Software Center.
The start-up and shut down times for Ubuntu is also pretty fast. In my experience, starting up Ubuntu take less than a minute, and shutting down Ubuntu takes only a few seconds. Opening programs like Libreoffice, Firefox, and VLC Programs only take a few seconds, and they rarely slowdown even on my older computer in my experience.
Ubuntu 13.04 is also very stable, and rarely crashes compared to paid alternatives like Windows which seem to crash a lot more, and freezes more on my older computer because Windows used more RAM. Ubuntu also can be installed along side Windows, and you can install it on smaller drives with only 5GB of free space. Ubuntu is a great operating system for installing on computers with smaller hard drives like netbooks, or computers with Solid State Drives which typically have less storage space, but very fast drive performance.
If you have an older computer with less than 1GB of RAM, I recommend that you search for LXDE in the Ubuntu Software Center to install the LXDE Desktop Environment in Ubuntu instead of using the default Ubuntu Desktop Environment to make Ubuntu use less RAM. Once you install the LXDE Desktop Environment in Ubuntu, you need to logout of Ubuntu, and change your computer to the LXDE Environment before you re-login to Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is also free unlike Windows.
I also find installing Ubuntu a easy since there are on-screen instructions when installing Ubuntu after starting my computer from the Ubuntu Install Live CD. I can even try out Ubuntu on the CD before I decide to install Ubuntu. For computers without a CD/DVD Drive, you can make a Ubuntu Live USB Flash Drive with a program called Unetbootin , and use a inexpensive Flash drive like Verbatim 2 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive which you can buy for under $7 on Amazon.
After the Ubuntu install on my computer, my keyboard, mouse, monitor’s video, speakers, and computer drive work on Ubuntu without any problems. I also did not have to adjust any of Ubuntu’s settings to make it more easy to use like other Operating Systems like Windows I used in the past.
Download Ubuntu for free at Ubuntu.com