Anyway, my computer setup has changed since I wrote the article, so there’s no way for me to re-check it. In case you’re interested, here’s the thread I posted on the Audacity forums to ask for help: [audacityteam.org]

I do get your point, most of the computer users aren’t ready to move on to linux, but it’s the user who is not ready, not the OS.
I recommend you to read this article:
[linux.oneandoneis2.org]

And just one more thing I’d like to tell you very quietly. Do not debate redundantly. If you tell that pidgin is inferior to MS Live Messenger and someone draws your attention to emesene or amsn then the answer for it is:
You are right! and not “but it lacks yahoo…” since MS Live Messenger never had the option to interact with yahoo.

Basically, if you decide for any reason to change your OS than you have to look for solutions and not subtitutes. Linux does offer solutions but does not offer subtitutes for windows. And it does not intend to offer. Things work different and they are meant to be diferent.

I’m sorry to say this but that is a lie. I repeat, A LIE.
Windows XP does not support DVD playing. You have to buy a codec for media player or you have to download another player that does have the codec. So, no internet, no dvd playback in XP right after a fresh install.

In ubuntu, if you put a DVD in drive, Totem player (the default player of Ubuntu) will try to play it and if it fails, it will try to lookup the codec on the net, it will find it, download it and after a couple seconds, it will play your DVD.

For your information:

“How do I play DVDs in Windows Media Player?

To play DVDs using the Player, you must have a DVD-ROM drive, a computer running the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, and either a software or hardware DVD decoder installed on your computer. (By default, Windows does not include a DVD decoder.) For more information about DVD decoders, see the DVD Support in Windows XP Web page.”

Source:
[microsoft.com]

It goes like this: hard disk failure: replace hard disk. New copy of XP is pricey so install Ubuntu, time to make the change.

Previous experience:
Install XP
Put DVD in DVD player
Watch DVD

Ubuntu:
Install Ubuntu
Inset DVD
Need codec
Google for codec
Hike to Internet cafe
Download codec
Fail to install codec “dependency to satisfied
Hike to internet cafe
Google “dependency not satisfied”
Download new bit
fail to instal – something else not satisfied
Hike to internet
Download something else
Do this for four days starting from “need codec”
decide to download program that does need codec.
Google for it
Program is not available in .deb, only as source code.
Download source code
Attempt to compile source code
“C compiler cannot create executable”
Google for a solution
Can’t find one.
Day six: realize that the time I’ve taken to try and get Ubuntu to play a DVD has cost me as much as buying XP and I’m not nearer to satisfying the need to pay a DVD than I was six days earlier.

Day seven
Install XP
Put DVD in drive
Watch DVD

Conclusion: Linux is great if all you want to do is satisfied by what’s on the installation CD. If you want to do anything else, forget it. A computer is a tool, nothing more. Imagine buying a hammer and having to shape the handle and cast the head and fix the head to the handle before you can use it. That’s what using Linux is like.

Sadly, for me it’s back to Windows until Linux gets it’s act together and realises that computer are nothing more than tools, not articles of faith.

What the hell does that mean?

Honestly, I have no clue. Even they can’t change the fact that virtualization involves a lot of complicated technical procedures.

VMWare offers pre-built packages for most popular Linux distributions, so that shouldn’t be much of a problem.

They do have a free version available.
[vmware.com]

I’d recommend VirtualBox over VMware though. VirtualBox seems to consume less RAM than VMware and its installer is more than five time smaller than VMware’s.

This gets better by the min…