Entries Tagged 'Open-Source' ↓

The downloading and installation of a new operating system is definitely a major hill to overcome, mainly because of information overload.  All of a sudden, you have to know about .iso files, bootloaders, burning software, partitions, and a ton of other jargon.  With Ubuntu, you don’t need to worry about any of that. In fact, with a virtual CD/DVD drive, you don’t even need to worry about burning to a CD or DVD and choosing software. 

If you really want to, Canonical (the corporate force behind Ubuntu) will send you a free CD, but the wait is 6-10 weeks.  Don’t do it - rather, download Ubuntu from any server located near you.  I used the Michigan server, but I believe that they’re all pretty fast.  I was receiving speed rates peaking at around 700kb/s - the whole 600MB download finished in less than half an hour (I’d know, I was watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at the time).  If you don’t have speedy Internet, you can just leave the computer on while you go to work or sleep and have Ubuntu download while you spend time elsewhere.  That’s half the battle.  Onto the fortress of installation!

Usually, installation is an easy battle with Windows - click a few buttons, check the Terms & Conditions, wait a bit.  But with many distributions of Linux, there are text-based installers and command lines - and you don’t want to open the can of worms.  Ubuntu is different; it uses the Wubi installer, making installation no more difficult than a regular piece of software.  You can actually burn the Ubuntu .iso file you downloaded to a CD or DVD, and then stick it into your computer.  You don’t have to reboot or shut down, just stick it in like you would a normal CD, and run it.  Click a few buttons.  Wait a while.  Ubuntu will automatically begin installation and prompt a reboot - which will then continue the setup, provided you choose to boot into Ubuntu and not Windows XP or Vista by accident.

As the tech consumer’s blogger, I’m obligated to find an absolutely free method to installing Ubuntu - so put that Loonie or dollar bill away, folks - we won’t need a CD or DVD.  Simply navigate your way to the ocean of Daemon and pull out your Excalibur - Daemon Tools Lite.  Basically, what Daemon Tools does is mount the .iso file into a virtual CD or DVD drive.  For example, if you had a Starcraft .iso, you could run the game just on your computer - without the physical CD required (I’ll let you decide whether that’s legal or not).  Thus, following this principle, we can mount the Ubuntu .iso file and run it just like that.  Usually, this scenario would not have worked with other Ubuntu versions, as they need a rebooting which means deactivating Daemon Tools along with your computer.  But, because Ubuntu 8.04 allows for a simple installation within Windows, then you will be able to mount .iso file right from Windows.  Read on, because the battle’s almost won.

When prompted to reboot, please save any other work you might’ve been working on and do so.  After booting up, you will have the option of either loading Windows Vista/XP or Ubuntu (I used Windows Vista, but I’m not completely sure about XP - I’ll assume that they have similar booting options).  Boot into Ubuntu and allow the setup to continue.  Fifteen minutes later,  you will have Ubuntu 8.04 working right on your computer - the whole process will probably take an hour, so I’d suggest turning on the TV, grabbing a book or playing some video games - just make sure the computer’s close by, because there will be some buttons that still need to be clicked.

Choosing a reliable, stable, and yet sensational operating system nowadays is hard work. There’s the alternative of paying a high premium for Apple’s Macintosh just for OS X Leopard; alas, for the budget consumer, there really is only two options: Windows or Linux. Team Windows is alluring in the sense that it can run on all PC’s, provide a genuine GUI experience without prior knowledge of coding, and is relatively affordable to purchase. On the other side of the court, we have Team Linux, the team with a content penguin for a mascot. While Linux is known for its ability to be indefinitely customized via commands and code, it is the very same ability that turns mainstream users off. Rather, it’s the required knowledge in coding and commands.

I’m no Linux fanatic - in fact, I had tried Ubuntu 7.04 on a virtual PC before. It was unimpressive - there were problems connecting to the Internet, and worse yet: the standard-aspect resolution didn’t fit the widescreen display on my laptop. For crying out loud, I couldn’t even figure out how to install Flash or those Windows fonts because the bloody tutorials gave me some code I couldn’t understand.

However, lately, I’ve been thinking of switching back to Ubuntu for a variety of reasons:

• I needed a new environment to get away from my formal work where I could perform some research - on anything and everything, from holistic learning to customizing Ubuntu.
• I wasn’t pleased when Vista’s Aero - which does look pretty, in my opinion - was turned off by Java to revert to Vista’s Basic theme. Sorry, I’m picky.
• I wanted to try Ubuntu to take advantage of the open-source liberty: free, both price-wise and limit-wise.
  
• My Co-op supervisor encouraged me to cultivate my interest in open-source technology - which I did, a bit too much. I had discovered Ubuntu 8.04 was released; this release was apparently a major one that finally featured a display manager and simple installation.

I took the jump - and I reaped the rewards. No driver installation - everything just works. I know this must be weird to hear, because typically OS X or Windows would convey such an image, as opposed to Linux. In the following series of posts, I will show you what I absolutely love about Ubuntu - but also, why I can’t uninstall Windows Vista yet.

1. Download & Installation of Ubuntu 8.04
2. The major issue: command knowledge and why you don’t need it to use Ubuntu.
3. GUI: ordinarily simple, but can be pushed to look much smoother and more modern.
4. Work: a lack of fonts, but otherwise online documents and Open Office make up for it.
5. Play: iPod Connection? Tons of free games - amongst my favourites are Gnotris.
6. Customization: Hack ubuntu, please.
7. Support: community support works!
8. Try it in reality, not virtually - it doesn’t do it justice and takes away from the Ubuntu experience.

Here’s some motivation to get you moving; a screenshot of the beautiful Ubuntu. Its visual effects are actually somewhat reminiscent of those of Mac OS X’s - speaking of which, is actually based on Linux FreeBSD, another UNIX-like operating system. Take that.

Download it here: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download