Date: 06/13/07 (Computer Geeks)    Keywords: linux

Okay, I think I want to make the switch from WinXP to Ubuntu. I do, however, have some questions that I need to find the answers to before I make the jump.

1) I'd like to keep one hard drive with Windows installed on it, just in case I need it for something. How exactly does one set up a dual boot to multiple hard drives?

2) Speaking of hard drives, I've got three of them, all with lots and lots of data on them, all formatted NTFS. I would imagine that Ubuntu won't work with NTFS, is this true? If so, would I be converting them to Fat32? If so, how would I do that without losing a metric ton of stuff in the process?

3) Programs. Most of the programs I use are available. OpenOffice, Firefox/Thunderbird, UT2004, etc. But a couple aren't. What would a good alternative for MSN Messenger be?

4) MediaMonkey. This is the (excellent) program I use to manage my music. I've got a paid lifetime license for all future updates, etc. I really enjoy this program, and the community I'm so involved with. The problem is, there are no plans any time soon for a Linux version of MediaMonkey. So... how can I use this program, or can I at all?

5) Hardware. I know my ATI video card should be fine. Not so sure about, say, my memory card reader, my usb wireless internet dongle thing, other things like that. What do I do about this?

6) General nervousness. I don't know how to install programs, I don't know the folder structures, I don't know what file types it handles, I don't know almost ANYTHING about Ubuntu, or Linux in general, in specific sorts of ways. Any sort of guide or stuff like that would be awesome.

Thanks in advance.

Source: http://community.livejournal.com/computergeeks/1079630.html