Desktop Linux For The Windows Power User : Introduction
Source: Tom's Hardware UK – Keywords: ubuntu, linux, guide
Introduction
Well, it's that time of year again, when the latest version of Ubuntu is released. Version 9.04 of arguably the world's most popular Linux distribution is now available for free download. I've had more than a week to check it out and am thoroughly impressed. Ubuntu 9.04, codenamed Jaunty Jackalope, is a solid release and well worth the bandwidth. I stuck with 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) when the sub-par 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) came out last October, but I will definitely upgrade all my machines to Jaunty in the coming weeks.
Before rolling your eyes at yet another perceived Linux fanboy, let me start by saying that I love Windows. I've been a Windows user since 1995, and before that, I used MS-DOS. I had Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE. I even went out and bought a copy of Millennium Edition (Ed.: we're sorry, Adam). I was a beta tester and early adopter of Windows XP. I made sure to get my hands on the beta of Windows 7 and I've never even considered switching to a Mac.
I don't subscribe to the lunatic fringe's view that Microsoft is Big Brother or that Bill Gates is evil. Windows Vista didn't steal my girl, wreck my truck, or kill my dog. It's just utterly disappointing and incredibly overpriced.
With that said, Ubuntu Linux has been my primary operating system for the past year. I've periodically checked in on Linux since 1997. I screamed at the monitor, smashed the keyboard, pulled my hair out, and yes, even cried more than once. Experience dictated that this free operating system was definitely not ready for prime time.
Then, last April, I put together a brand-new rig and wanted a brand-new operating system to match. After reading the critical reviews of Vista (and paying no mind to the anti-hype from Cupertino), I wanted to try Microsoft's latest before paying the [then] staggering $400 for Vista Ultimate Edition. To make a long story short, I was unimpressed and not willing to pony up that kind of cash. But as much as I loved XP, and still do (in a nostalgic way), it was quickly becoming legacy.
I figured I would try Linux again, and installed Ubuntu 7.10. It had been some time since I last made an attempt. Besides, the last time I checked it was still free. And it's a good thing that I gave it another chance, because today I am as happy with Ubuntu as I was with XP in 2001.
As a lifelong Windows user, system builder, ex-gamer, and performance freak, I'm not drinking anyone's Kool-Aid. I just want the most amount of control over my system as possible, and at this point in time, Ubuntu is the best follow-up to Windows XP. Don't take my word for it, give it a try for yourself. If, like me, you've tried it before with no luck, perhaps it's time to give it another shot. You could try it with the Live CD, but let's face it, that's little more than interactive screenshots. Without installing and running software natively, you really can't give it a fair shake.
This article will walk you, the Windows power user, through the Ubuntu installation process from downloading the CD image to finding help online. There are many guides available online, but most are written for total computer newbies or people already familiar with Linux. Most of the hang-ups that I experienced with Linux could have been easily overcome with simple Windows analogies.
Writing for power users, I assume that you have a good working knowledge of Windows and computers in general, but little or no experience with Linux. Therefore, this article will not tell you to compile anything from source code, and no sentence begins with “bring up the terminal” or any other UNIX techno-babble. Common Linux pitfalls like hard drive partitioning, installing software, and setup of essential plug-ins will be addressed entirely by using the graphical user interface (GUI).
We know you're curious. Give it a shot. The operating system is free, after all.
- Next page Before We Begin
If you forget your username, you are plain stupid. But it is not an issue. Boot up in safe mode/recovery mode or whatever. Once at the recovery mode screen, choose to start terminal as root. You can type "ls /home" to list users. You're username will be there.
Type "passwd yourusername" hit enter and type in your new password type. Remember it this time dummy. Confirm it by typing again. Remember linux is case sensitive.
You've succesfully changed your password and recovered your username. Type "exit" funnily enough and boot into Ubuntu.
You win!!!
I tried out Ubuntu Ibex (dual boot with vista) for a little while a couple of months back. It was simple to install and I loved the GNOME desktop but I found that some of the software I installed didn't work and my wireless wouldn't work. I searched a lot on line (wired access of course) but every suggestion I tried didn't solve my issues. Since I loved the GNOME desktop so much though I recently tried out FEDORA 10. It's working perfectly for me (only had it a week but used it a lot already). I haven't booted to vista since bar once just to check that I can actually dual boot. I'll probably use Fed for my work and vista only for my games when I'm bored with my PS3.
I love Linux, I've been using it since my college days (actually, I needed it, along with Unix, for engineering work). I think it's a bit complicated for the average Joe that just does not know any better than to point and click, especially if you have to play with it in the cli and the actual inner workings of the OS. Linux has come a long way but it still needs to polish some rough edges associated with the OS. Some of these issues are not the OS fault for example gaming, proprietary drivers, patent ridden codecs, etc. I hate it when I have problems with my video card drivers (yeah ATI), I hate it when a printer is just not supported (yeah Lexmark). Anyways, Linux is in the way up and I think this (rough edges) is going to change soon. I will continue to use Linux for a long time, heck I never actually used Windows ME or XP as my primary OS, Linux was my primary OS before that (Debian 2.0 rings a bell, ha)
Other people may well disagree, but the last time i tried ubuntu (8.04) It took me over 30hours to get my wifi card working, and that's depsite fllowing letter for letter guides written by other people.
I wouldnt mind but I consider myself extremely knowledgeable most of the time I used to install fairly complex multi-server networks, and the card that wouldnt work is a netgear wpn311 - not even an uncommon model.
Windows - literally plug and play, less than 5 minute job including shutdown and reboot, clearly linux has a way to go before it is acceptable for everyone.
I want to love Linux, I really do, but overall Windows makes things easier. In this day and age we shouldn't need to go to a CLI, I haven't really done that in anger since I used my old BBC Micro. I hate the fact that when I finally figure out how to get one of the many different package types to finally install, I then can't find where the program has actually gone. At least with Windows you say exactly where the program is to reside. Lets be honest, most people don't care about /usr /home /var etc etc. Outside of the Linux (UNIX?) world it means nothing and adds nothing but confusion. OK it does make sure everything is in its place but it also adds complexity. If I want to install a program on Windows I double click the install program and off it goes, installs and then adds a shortcut to the start menu. Simple. Windows even now asks for authorisation before running an executable. It isn't perfect, nor as secure as the Linux way, but a darn site easier. As I said, I want to love Linux, I want it to be easy to use and simple from an average users perspective. I love computers, always have, but I like using them, not fudging around 'under the hood' when I just want to install a simple program. Until that day I am resigned to using Windows with all the risks that go with that
What people generally confuse themselves with regards to drivers is that it's not a Linux issue. The problem is with the manufacturers of the hardware. They restrict themselves to creating windows only drivers, which means the Linux community have a hard time trying to reverse engineer those drivers to make one that will work with Linux. If the manufacturers of hardware were to release Linux drivers then these issues would simply disappear.
So for those people with misconceptions about problems with hardware and drivers, think for a second where did your windows driver come from?
People fail to realise that drivers under Linux for the vast majority have been painstakingly created from little or no knowledge of the underlying hardware. For the drivers that do work flawlessly and lets come on and admit it there is a lot of them now, hats off to the dedicated developer community for persevering.
Don't get me wrong I love Windows XP, and before that Windows 98/se but I have used linux for over 5 years and the progress these developers have made is truly amazing. I am no Linux fan boy, I have been using a Mac for more than 2 years now but have other machines that run a gamut of OS's.
smartroad, the thing is, if you want to install something in ubuntu, you can do it with a gui too. Just go to System, then Administration (I don't really know the english version of it, so I might as well be wrong), and then click synaptic. Then, you will be able to search, select and install/update whatever packages are listed on your repositories. If you want to have all your applications to be in a specific location, then you should compile from source. That won't be as easy and will require a cli, unless someone writes a script for it.
But I don't think we should be afraid of cli, there are many thing you can do a lot faster in a terminal than using a gui. There are gui tools for just about everything you will need using linux, it's just that using the cli is faster and easier on experienced users, that's why we are trying to teach the cli to newcomers.
I'll switch to Linux when Adobe release their software on it.
kthxbai
I have now actually switched to UNR on my NC10 and to be fair it is a much better experiance then I was expecting. There are a few nags I have, unlike windows it doesn't simply switch to my external monitor when I plug it in, for one thing. But on the whole it is a much better and easier experience then when I first used SUSE linux back in '98
I also want to love Linux, and the only reason I still stick with Windows, is its ample game support... but that is not Linux's fault, off course...
~ Mortov Molotov