It didn't take long after installing Canonical Ltd.'s Ubuntu 7.10 version of Linux for me to decide I liked what I saw. A quick tour of the Applications, Places, and System menus indicated that converting from Windows to Linux would be relatively seemless. The only fly in the ointment was my inability to get any of three wireless adapters to work with the OS.
World-class applications without paying a dime
I expected to find the Mozilla Firefox browser bundled with Ubuntu, and seeing links on the Applications*Office menu to OpenOffice.org's Database, Presentation, Spreadsheet, and Word Processor apps--all of which are compatible with their Microsoft Office equivalents--was no surprise. But some of Ubuntu's other built-in programs were a nice bonus: the F-Spot Photo Manager, GIMP Image Editor, OpenOffice.org Drawing app, and XSane Image Scanner give you all the graphics functions you're likely to need; and for audio and video processing, you get Movie Player, Rhythmbox Music Player, Serpentine Audio CD-Creator, Sound Juicer CD Extractor, and Sound Recorder.
[Cue late-night-TV announcer] But wait, there's more! For VoIP, use the Ekiga Softphone app; for e-mail, there's the popular Evolution open-source program; and when the IM bug bites, open the Pidgen client (previously known as Gaim), which supports just about every IM system out there. You also get about a dozen games, including Blackjack, Sudoku, and a Tetris knockoff; there's even a version of my favorite time-waster, Mahjongg.
Fly in the Ubuntu ointment: Wireless woes
"Too good to be true," I'm thinking as I work my way through Ubuntu's many options. And indeed I hit the wall when I tried to connect to my wireless network. The Linksys WPC300N PCMCIA adapter worked without a hitch when I booted the laptop in XP, but Ubuntu didn't recognize it. I searched the many Ubuntu forums for a solution and found that the Ndiswrapper utilities I needed to mimic the adapter's Windows driver weren't enabled. I tried the adapter again after enabling the wrappers, but still got nowhere. Next I downloaded and installed the Ndisgtk utility that lets you install device drivers without having to deal with the command line in Ubuntu's Terminal application.
Enable the Ndiswrapper utilities, and download and install Ndisgtk, to allow Windows wireless-adapter drivers to work in Ubuntu.
I copied the driver files from their CD to the Ubuntu desktop, and then pointed to the appropriate .inf file in the Wireless Network Drivers utility it added (via the System*Administration*Windows Wireless Drivers shortcut that Ndisgtk provides). I now had a "Wireless connection" option in the Network Settings window (see below), but no matter how I configured the connection, I couldn't log onto my wireless network.
After enabling the Ndiswrapper utilities and installing the Windows drivers for the wireless adapter, Ubuntu recognized the wireless network, though it wouldn't connect to it.
After going through the same process with another PCMCIA card and a USB wireless adapter and getting the same results, I decided to do some more trolling for a solution on the Linux forums. I tried several of the suggestions offered by forum denizens, but nothing worked. That's when I decided to stick with the wired Ethernet link, which connected to the network right away.
While the wireless glitches made me glad I dual-booted Ubuntu with Windows (so I could simply load Windows when I needed to connect to a wireless network), I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to use Ubuntu the same way I use Windows, at least not until I figure out why I couldn't get Ubuntu to establish a wireless link. I haven't given up hope of replacing Windows with Linux, but neither am I willing to spend hours searching for a solution to a problem I can avoid simply by loading Windows.
Monday: Save time and trouble by partitioning your hard drive.
Running Linux from a CD in Windows doesn't get you much closer to computing in a Windows-less world. To make Windows and Linux and either-or proposition, you have to set your PC to dual-boot. With Canonical Ltd.'s Ubuntu 7.10, a.k.a. Gutsy Gibbon, the repartitioning is done for you during installation.
Before you install Ubuntu, create a full system backup. Creating a system restore point may not be sufficient, because a misstep during installation could render Windows unbootable. Make sure that you've got your restore CD/DVD handy, and that your system is set to boot from its CD/DVD drive.
Once your backup is completed, insert the Ubuntu installation CD and restart your system. When the Ubuntu logo appears, the option to Start or Install Ubuntu will be selected. Press Enter, or wait 30 seconds for the installation to begin on its own. This runs the OS from the CD. To install it on your hard drive, double-click the Install icon in the top-left corner of the screen that appears after Ubuntu finishes loading.
The first of the seven-step installation asks you to select a language, the next to choose a location, and the third to pick your keyboard layout. Now you're ready to set your disk partitions for dual-booting. You can let Ubuntu do the partitioning by going with the Guided - resize option that's selected by default. This sets the new partition size automatically. You can also choose to set the partition sizes manually by choosing the Manual option.
Once you've set your partitions, you're given the option to migrate some of your Windows settings to Ubuntu. Select the user account, and the folders you wish to make available to your Ubuntu account (you'll also create an Ubuntu account and password to import the folders to). When the account is complete, you'll see a summary of the options you selected. Click Install to confirm the choices and begin the installation. When all the files are loaded, you'll be prompted to restart your PC.
When the PC restarts, you'll see a menu of your OS choices, one of which will be Windows. Make your selection, and get to work.
Tomorrow: Troubleshooting Ubuntu hardware glitches, and getting to know the OS's applications.
This is the year I kiss Windows good-bye. Well, maybe not entirely, but the writing is on the wall for Microsoft's flagship operating system, and all other desktop bloatware: The future of PC software is open source. (I'll add that the future of PC applications is on the Web, which I'll cover once we've got Ubuntu in place.)
Being the belts-and-suspenders type, I'll make the conversion from proprietary to open in baby steps, the first of which is to get a copy of Ubuntu 7.1 (a.k.a. Gutsy Gibbon), the version of Linux from Canonical Ltd. that has a reputation for being complete, well supported, and easy to use. I know the OS only by reputation, however. Wikipedia provides a comprehensive comparison of Linux versions.
There are three ways to get an Ubuntu installation CD: Download the distro and burn it to a CD, buy a copy at Amazon ($13 plus shipping), or request a free CD by mail (allow six to 10 weeks for delivery).
If you go the download route, be patient: The program is 700MB, so even over a broadband link it will take some time to complete. The download is an ISO file required to make an installation CD. Look for an option in your CD-burning application called "Burn from Disk Image" or something similar.
If you use Windows XP, you may need to download Alex Feinman's ISO Recorder utility. The program is free, but the author requests donations. Insert a blank CD in the drive. ISO Recorder should open the CD Recording wizard automatically when the download completes, but if it doesn't, right-click the ISO file you just downloaded and choose Copy Image to CD. Click Next, and complete the recording.
With your Ubuntu installation CD in hand, you're ready to take the OS for a test drive.
Tomorrow: Run Ubuntu from the CD, or create a drive partition for dual-booting the OS with Windows.
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