In this second part I'll detail my System spec and explain why Ubuntu 13.10 is better than Windows 8.1 Pro
System Spec
My System is a 15.6" Toshiba C660-15R Laptop that I've had since about 2010, over they years I've upgraded from the stock 2GB of RAM, 250GB HDD & Realtek 802.11b/g/n Wireless Adaptor to 4GB of RAM, 1TB Toshiba HDD and Intel Centrino Advanced N + WiMax Wireless Adaptor that is capable of operating on both the 2.4GHZ & 5.0GHZ Wireless Bands (Wireless Router or Wireless Access Point Capable of Both the 2.4GHZ & 5.0GHZ Wireless Bands required).
Why Ubuntu 13.10 is better than Windows 8.1 Pro
Windows 8.1 Pro can run on my Laptop just fine but it can be sluggish at times and Setup from fresh is pretty long winded with requiring most of the useful software like Office & fully featured Email Clients needing Installing after initiall setup, then all Hardware needs to have Device Drivers individually Installed and a re-boot required after every Driver has been Installed.
Another major annoyance is that Windows requires Activating over the Internet, meaning that if anything goes wrong and you have to do more than a set amount of Fresh Installs in a set amount of time that isn't published as far as I'm aware by Microsoft then you are out of look and will be unable to Activate your copy of Windows (This doesn't affect anyone whose Laptop or Desktop machine came with Windows Pre-Installed) and it will become un-usable after 30 days, leaving you with ether having to download an Activator that will make Windows think it's been Activated or do what I did in March & switch to Linux.
Ubuntu 13.10 runs lightning fast on my Laptop and a Fresh Install is quicker than that of Windows 8.1 Pro and no Device Drivers need to be Installed and Office Software comes Pre-Installed in the form of Libre Office 4.1 and a fully featured Email client in the form of Mozilla Thunderbird 24.1, this greatly speeds up initial setup as you can do everything from wite a letter, an email and browse the Internet as soon as you login. You can then brows the Ubuntu Software Centre for any free or paid application that you then require.
A plus for Ubuntu 13.10 and any other Linux distribution out there is that a license is free and you are free to Install on as many Computers as you like, the only cost involved in running Ubuntu 13.10 or any other Linux distribution is the cost of your Internet Subscription to download the ubuntu.iso and the price of a blank DVD compared to the £100's for a Windows 8.1 Pro License & DVD Pack.
Another plus for Ubuntu is that you can try the latest release from early build's all the way up to final release without having to do a fresh Install all the time (I wouldn't recommend using the development builds as it can be a bit troublesome to someone new to Linux, and the Ubuntu Forums Members aren't always going to know what your problem is due to the vast amounts of different system configurations from specific configurations between different OEM's to a custom build from an OEM like DELL through to a custom home built Desktop, even the systems made and sold by Ubuntu OEM System 76 might not work correctly with the Development builds of Ubuntu due to the bleeding edge software that is used, and as it's a Development build 1 update could quite easily knockout a perfectly working system if there is a small bug or even an incompatibility with another feature. Also to use the Development Build it requires being confident using the Command line to configure text files to make software updates from the Development Branch of the Ubuntu Servers available to you, and sometimes you can go days without getting any updates then get a ton in a couple of hours to days).
Roland
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