Installed Linux Ubuntu On Laptop

I never had any problems using Windows Vista after it was released on my Compaq Laptop. The computer never crashed or froze, it worked "flawlessly". But after I switched to Toshiba Satellite, computer getting frozen became a norm. The most common problem would be that the sound system drive of the computer would freeze (this happens often). Everytime I try to listen and watch to videos on youtube, the computer (volume icon) would just freeze, and force me to restart Windows Explorer. You would think after that it would work - No, it would just freeze all over again, and sometimes, it wouldn't even work after I restarted the computer. I kind of suspect that Real Player may have something to do with this, as I uninstalled Real Player for some reason, and everything worked fine, but when I installed it again, things just started going downhill again. I haven't tested my theory as I need Real Player, and not having it isn't really an option. The only reason I wanted to keep this laptop instead of my old Compaq was because it had a Webcam, and I regularly webcam with my friends, and since I am a laptop only guy, I can't walk around with peripherals.

I have been thinking of making a switch to Linux, but never really got a chance. Yesterday, I had way too much time on my hand with nothing to do. So, I decided to give Linux a try. Now, I knew that there were lot of different type of linux distributions around (Just for the record, I am a total Linux Newbie). I came across a site called DistroWatch, and the site offered some very insightful information on what kind of Linux distribution I should get. I decided to install a distro that was quite popular, as there will be a lot of support for it. Some of my options were Ubuntu, openSUSE, and Fedora. After a few reviews, I decided to settle on Ubuntu. There were variations within Ubuntu though, but I decided to settle with main Ubuntu system.

After reading some documentation, I went ahead and installed Ubuntu 8.04. Everything worked like "out of the box" except my wireless. Now, it was kind of pointless to have everything working except the Internet. It turned out that my Atheros 5007EG network card wasn't going to work with my Ubuntu 8.04. I spent about 2 hours trying to get it to work, and looked up various websites that offered solutions. Unfortunately, none of them worked. I thought all of my hours of work went to a waste. I then decided to install beta version of Ubuntu 8.1, and it worked like a charm, even though it was in beta. To my relief, the wireless card worked with Ubuntu 8.1, which was what I wanted, and for the most part I am thorougly satisfied with the operating system. For the record, I installed a 64 bit Ubuntu, and there are some issues with that as well. I installed a 64 Bit operating system because I wanted to go "all the way" and not just install another 32 bit architecture OS. It turned out that there is no 64 bit Adobe Flash 9. So, one of my primary uses of Internet is unavailable to me. I have to now look for a workaround, as a lot of things on net require flash, and not having it not an option either. So, I am back to square one. Either way, I am quite satisfied with Linux, and I would recommend it - Just hoping that a 64 bit supported Flash 9 or Flash 10 is released soon.