Portable Ubuntu runs Ubuntu in Windows

Robert Hallock 4 Apr, 2009 at 4:10pm ET Article published in Tech

You’ve heard about Ubuntu, you’ve probably seen it evangelized as the first consumer-friendly Linux distro, and you’re probably curious what all the fuss is about. It’s also pretty likely that you’re not willing to tamper with your system by giving dual booting a whirl, and I bet you’re definitely not willing to abandon Windows entirely in favor of Linux. Lucky for you, there’s a quirky solution to every one of those problems in the form of Portable Ubuntu.

Portable Ubuntu uses a suite of Linux tools to put Ubuntu’s applications and much of its functionality right on your Windows desktop. This is not the full Linux experience, but it’s a good taste of what Linux and Linux’s tools are like. You can get a look at the command line, all the applications, and its configuration panels. In essence, you get a good 90% of the real deal without any of the hassle. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try. You actually have nothing to lose.

If you like what you see, you can download and burn Ubuntu which boots from CD/DVD and gives you the full experience without installing a thing. Still convinced? You can install Ubuntu to the hard drive from within the bootable session, and I promise it will play nicely with Windows.

Comments

5 Apr 2009 ~ 10:11am Cliff_Forster I can tell you one thing I absolutely love Ubuntu for is its ability to take an old PC, and perform CPR on it. Perhaps something sold right at the dawn of XP, but with the service packs and updates it is not pretty much useless as an XP machine, say a late Pentium III, or really early Pentium 4, or just about any Celeron are good examples.

If it breaks your heart to just throw it out, perform CPR on that thing with an Ubuntu installation. I had a customer with a laptop, old Pentium III 933 megahertz, 128mb of RAM, acceptable to run XP on day one, but over the years with the service packs and security updates, it had become a pretty much useless brick, but it runs Ubuntu 8.1 fairly well, enough to at least get some decent productivity out of the hardware again.

So if you, or a friend of family have an old piece of hardware laying around collecting dust, that's an amazing place to start your ubuntu experimentation, it runs really well with fairly low hardware requirements. I'm not telling you it will run fun on an old Pentium pro, or even a 500 megahertz pentium 2, but if you have a Pentium III, early Athlon or better with 128mb of Ram, its a pretty decent experience when compared to a fully updated XP.
5 Dec 2010 ~ 4:45pm lezlow

Cliff_Forster wrote:

I can tell you one thing I absolutely love Ubuntu for is its ability to take an old PC, and perform CPR on it. Perhaps something sold right at the dawn of XP, but with the service packs and updates it is not pretty much useless as an XP machine, say a late Pentium III, or really early Pentium 4, or just about any Celeron are good examples.

If it breaks your heart to just throw it out, perform CPR on that thing with an Ubuntu installation. I had a customer with a laptop, old Pentium III 933 megahertz, 128mb of RAM, acceptable to run XP on day one, but over the years with the service packs and security updates, it had become a pretty much useless brick, but it runs Ubuntu 8.1 fairly well, enough to at least get some decent productivity out of the hardware again.

So if you, or a friend of family have an old piece of hardware laying around collecting dust, that's an amazing place to start your ubuntu experimentation, it runs really well with fairly low hardware requirements. I'm not telling you it will run fun on an old Pentium pro, or even a 500 megahertz pentium 2, but if you have a Pentium III, early Athlon or better with 128mb of Ram, its a pretty decent experience when compared to a fully updated XP.
5 Dec 2010 ~ 4:45pm lezlow cpr? forgive my ignorance?new comer
5 Dec 2010 ~ 7:12pm Thrax CPR. You know, the medical technique to save people.
5 Dec 2010 ~ 7:35pm rolleggroll Its a technique or an excuse to touch other people's chests inappropriately without being sued for molestation.
5 Dec 2010 ~ 7:39pm TiberiusLazarus You can do the explanation? I understand not this thing you make speak about.
7 Dec 2010 ~ 11:46am lezlow

rolleggroll wrote:

Its a technique or an excuse to touch other people's chests inappropriately without being sued for molestation.

sounds lovely
7 Dec 2010 ~ 12:10pm Basil

lezlow wrote:

sounds lovely

Oh it is, nothing generates awkwardness quite like getting to 1st and 2nd base with an unconscious stranger.

Unless of course you manage to break one of their ribs in the process.
7 Dec 2010 ~ 12:13pm Tushon

lezlow wrote:

sounds lovely

Either you are trolling, which I'm unsure about, and I know they are, but in case you aren't aware: CPR