The Ubuntu Question

Hey guys, I've not kept up with Ubuntu as a PC desktop OS system. I played around with it several years ago (I think my Windows XP completely died on me, and I wasn't willing to pay the $$ for Windows 7 at the time), but I had a tough time trying to run my PC games on it.

That was like back in 2007/2008.

How is it now? I was hoping that at some point Ubuntu could run just about ANY Windows application, or any PC based games.

Any advice, tips, links, etc would be great!

if you want to run native windows binaries then check the winehq site, for gaming it may be possible now steams starting to convert games to linux to run them but like most things check and also remember it may require a fair bit of the old jiggery pokery to get it to work so if you are a person who just expects it to work you may be disappointed

a reply to: eriktheawful

Ubuntu has continued to improve the desktop Linux experience, but if you need to run windows applications you are better off with Windows.

Wine does work pretty well sometimes, but there will be tinkering. Steam has tried to make inroads for Linux gaming, but you will be missing titles.


You should dual boot, or try using a virtual machine for your Windows applications.

Thanks for the replies so far!

Having started with computers back with the Vic 20 and Atari 400 in the early 80's and then DOS 3.1, I'm an old hand at having to "poke" and "jiggle", hehehehe.

When I said "Windows apps" I meant programs that I've purchased that run under Windows, like my Power Director video editing software.

I'd heard about Steam and Linux last year.

Not having any issues with my Windows 7 x64 right now, but after their disaster with Windows 8 and reading news about their upcoming "Windows 10", I foresee needing to move on with my OS.

I've ALWAYS been a big fan of Linux, but never really got serious about it.

Most windows programs have a linux counterpart so theres bound to be something that will edit your video's for you but if its 'right' for you is another matter

a reply to: eriktheawful

The power of Linux is that its open source. If you can find a program that's close to what you want, you can learn a little programming, and add in the functionality you want. But if that's not your thing, you will need to keep windows. Set up a dual boot. Use Ubuntu as much as you can. The more websites that see people using it, the more game makers will consider offering their games in Linux as well, which is the real solution, not Wine.

Try linux Mint , easy to install based on ubuntu ( which itself is based on debian) I use play on linux which is a front end for wine and a virtual box for windows apps that I can't find a replacement (mostly tax software!) Been a linux user for over 15 years now!

And for those that aren't familiar, Ubuntu is geared more towards Mac users with it's stock UI/theme, and Linux Mint is geared more towards Windows users.

Years ago when my Mac was still working, I partitioned my hard drive. What it does is allocates a selected amount of space on the drive and you can do a lot with it. Part of the drive kept Leopard and on the other, I installed Linux. For Windows programs I used Wine.

It took a little tinkering and I'm sure there's been changes to the process.

There was also a program where you could switch between two separate OS's on the same computer, like separate browser windows. The program wasn't free (at least I remember) so I just stuck with partitioned drives/separate boots for different OS.

Thanks for all the advice guys!

I've never heard of Linux Mint. I will certainly have to check it out!

I've been using Mint since version 6, and now it's up to 17. Can't go wrong there.

I'll agree Bonez, that Ubuntu is geared towards emulating the Mac experience. The Unity windows manager, now default, has moved the minimize, maximize, and close buttons to the upper left corner. I just couldn't get used to that. It's also more "user-friendly", meaning simplified.

Mint however, has polish and plenty of your usual linux customizations. Paired with a Cario Dock, and the Cinnamon windows manager, it's closer to a Mac OS but with the close button in the right corner.

a reply to: eriktheawful

Been testing quite a few different Debian GNU/Linux distros over the past 10 years. Mostly on laptops. Some distros work on some hardware flawlessly, but it has been a hazzle to find the right "match", with one exeption; Linux Mint wich seem to work on the lot.
Since Mint 9 I've had no reason to change to any other. Tested a few (Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Peppermint, Zen, #!... but always went back to Mint. Now using 17 with the Cinnamon 32-bit desktop on a Sony Vaio with Intel Core i5-2410M CPU @ 2.30GHz x 2, 4GiB RAM and NVIDIA graphics (GeForce GT 540M). Very stable, very fast, very pretty.
Found the 32bit versions of most distros to be more stable than 64bit, so I suggest you go for the 32bit if you're going to try it out. Exept perhaps if you have more than 4GiB of RAM...but that's a different topic in it self
All my software works just as it's supposed, including browser-stuff like Netflix and other streaming services.
Please share your experiences if you decide to give it a spin!

try this sourceforge.net...

This is off-topic, I know, and I'm sorry for that..but since this is an ubuntu-thread I thought I post here, instead of dedicating a whole new thread to it..Ubuntu Linux turned 10 yesterday!



The first release carried the codename Warty Warthog, version 4.10 and was released 20 october 2004.

a reply to: Druid42

You can change the positions of the buttons to the other side with Ubuntu Tweak Tool.

I'm currently running a dual boot machine with Win 7 and Ubuntu Gnome 14.04. Works perfectly and have never had any of the issues some others tend to have with Ubuntu.

My laptop is less powerful, so I run Mint 17 Cinnamon and Win 7 on it with dual boot. Again, never had an issue.

I do, however, keep the dreaded Win partitions for gaming. Most major titles will never find their way to Linux - and the rare, rare ones that do tend to do so a very long time after their shelf life has passed.

Under Linux Mint, I have been able to use WINE for emulating pretty much every windows application I've tried. The only reason I'm still under windows is because of gaming and hopefully, Steam OS/Box will help with this limitation.