Posted on 08/23/2007 12:14:39 PM PDT by N3WBI3
Rave: Two months with Ubuntu Linux and loving it
by RickGeek posted on August 22, 2007 2:45 pm
In late June of this year, I made a type of executive decision. I have been a software developer by trade throughout my entire professional career. I began programming commercially in 1987 and have followed the progression from MS-DOS 3.31 through 6.22, then Windows 3.x, 95 and up. I’ve moved from the library of custom-developed tools in C and assembly during my MS-DOS days to the GUI + libraries present in Windows OSes. Still, even today, I continue to code for Windows even though I am migrating much of that knowledge to the Linux side after having such a successful run with Ubuntu. Ubuntu is currently in a release called Feisty Fawn, which is version 7.04. The next release, called Gutsy Gibbon, is due out in October.
Ubuntu Linux has opened up my eyes to alternate OS possibilities. And with VMware Server able to run even multiple instances of Windows simultaneously from inside of Linux, I will never look back. I have found the stability of Linux to be top notch. And Ubuntu is easy to use, is Debian based, and comes with very powerful package manager software, which allows you to keep track of your installed and available-for-installation programs. It makes upgrades and installs as easily as clicking a few buttons.
I’ve been using the GNOME desktop, though KDE and XFCE desktops are also available. Many users swear by KDE, but I don’t see the appeal at all. XFCE is very nice. If properly configured, it looks like Vista– only better, though it can also be set up to be much more lightweight than even GNOME. If you really want to put Vista to shame, install Beryl or Compiz. Both of those offerings turn the desktop into something almost like a 3D game, yet for productive work. It’s beautiful, stunning, graphical, and animation-based. It’s just an amazing alternative to even Vista’s flash, with much more presence and a real feeling of “being there.”
My machine is an ASUS M2N32-SLI Premium (Vista Ready). I have an Athlon X2 4400+ (2.3GHz, 512 KB L2 per core) and 2 GB of low-latency memory. Vista rated this machine at 5.1 (see the Windows Experience Index) when I first got it, and I have had absolutely no problems whatsoever running everything I’ve tried with Ubuntu. My typical day consists of launching the OS in the morning (takes about 20 seconds to load from cold boot). I run the built-in Evolution e-mail program, Opera, OpenOffice apps, and other utilities pretty much all day. I go in and out of Windows as necessary through VMware Server. I have tried VMware Player, and it seems to work fine, though I prefer Server, because it has all configuration options and allows me to set up new virtual machines. I typically run XP, even though Vista is supported, and I do have it installed along with 2K.
I suggest that if you’ll be running VMware for Windows, then you go with the lightest-weight OS version you need. For many, that might even be Windows 98SE. It’s smaller, faster, and will provide most users with everything they need to make their programs run. It just won’t carry the flash that XP or Vista has. But it’s also much better with fewer resources, meaning you can run more virtual machines at the same time if you want, or your virtual machine will run faster, because it’s not so bloated. A typical Win98 install can operate well on 128 MB of RAM, and even 64 MB if required. XP should be fed 512 MB to really hum, though 256 MB will do. Vista needs 512 MB or more, lest it not be happy.
I can’t recommend strongly enough making the migration. Switching from Windows to Ubuntu as my primary OS was a snap, and it’s the best thing I’ve done for my PC. I made computing fun again, and that’s the truth. Ubuntu comes with a Live CD (downloadable ISO), which also doubles as an install program once the Live CD boots into a full test-drive version of Ubuntu. Double-click the desktop icon to install Ubuntu onto your own machine if you like it. One thing I do recommend is getting yourself a new hard drive for the install. It will make everything so much easier and will allow you to keep your complete system setup as it is today should you wish to go back to whatever OS you’re currently using. Ubuntu can be installed without a new hard drive, but some users may find it more tricky and more difficult than it needs to be when a US$60+ investment in a new hard drive can save so many hassles.
Leaving Redmond, Washington, was never so easy. Just hop on the Ubuntu Express Way, put the pedal to the metal, and go.
I’d like to hear your comments and experiences with Ubuntu, Linux in general, Windows, or any other OS. Please post them below.
OSS Ping
On my day-to-day workstation I run XP; I’m tethered to it both by long familiarity and by some engineering applications that simply aren’t available for Linux.
But... I also run Ubuntu (currently Edgy) in VMWare on my XP machine. I love it! I found that Ubuntu is the best distro for my needs, after dinking around with Fedora and Slackware. Simple to download and install, easy to upgrade, easy to install new apps, intuitive to use. I am also impressed at well the Ubuntu workstation interoperates with the rest of my (primarily Windows) network.
I have lots of memory on my workstation so I give the Ubuntu VM a gig and away it goes. Performance is quite satisfactory for me, even at tasks like compiling a uCLinux kernel. I highly recommend the VMWare strategy for anyone who is currently running XP and wants to explore Ubuntu. (Incidentally, one of the reasons I selected Ubuntu is that it’s one of the free distros that is officially supported by VMWare.)
I also use Ubuntu (in this case, Dapper server) as the OS for our corporate intranet server. The Ubuntu server runs, in turn, on a Xen-based VPS. We are a small, geographically-distributed corporation, and this scheme has worked out very well for us. I found that administering Ubuntu server over a TTY interface presents a significant learning curve to a Linux N3WBI3 (heh), but not unmanageable, and there’s lots of help on the Web if you’re willing to look for it.
Conclusion: Linux and Ubuntu get 2 thumbs up from me!
Give it some time and you don't know how you lived without it. Incidentally I heard the next incarnation of windows server will have by default *no telnet (yay)* *Will run sshd (yay)* and will include TUI tools for remote administration (yay).
Here’s a good Linux question.
Can you use a DVI monitor with it?
Does it have font smoothing anti-aliasing like Microsoft Cleartype which first appeared in Windows XP.
So far, I like Ubuntu Feisty Fawn a lot. It lets me do almost everything I want to do. OpenOffice can work with MS Word doc files and MS Excel xls files. The OpenOffice database program so far can't deal with mdb files, but I can RDP to my desktop (running Windows XP Pro) and do that remotely. Firefox works great, and I am using Zimbra (a web-mail app) through the Firefox. Some of the available Linux programs, free or not, are a little rougher and more primitive than their MS cousins, but I would imagine that now that Dell has "legitimized" Ubuntu Linux, a growing user base will drive the application developers and choices will improve.
Right off the install disk (downloaded an ISO and burned an install CD), Ubuntu 7.04 had no trouble connecting to my WPA2-protected wireless LAN. I am still having some trouble connecting to SharedDocs on my Windows workstation, although the shared HP LaserJet 4 share came right up. The only other problem I haven't been able to resolve is screen resolution: the default is 1920 x 1600 or some such, instead of 1280 x 800. So I just bought these coke-bottle reading glasses...
(A) Yes you can use a DVI monitor and most distros have the drivers included
(B) Ubuntu does have font smoothing but its not turned on by default you can enable it through the options. I dont think, however its as good as you would find on XP or OSX.
Thanks. XP’s font smoothing is important for my eyes
If you want to find out you can download a live CD and try it without unloading windows. I have not used that distro yet so I honestly dont know how good their font smoothing is..
Telnet is still incredibly useful as a troubleshooting tool, but I'm not surprised that MS is just dumping it completely.
It's good to hear that MS will finally be joining the rest of the world in supporting ssh. I'm sometimes astounded at how long it takes microsoft to make sensible moves like that. I haven't used telnet for anything other than a network connectivity troubleshooting tool for years. Anyone still running telnet servers except in really specialized circumstances should have been shot years ago.
Ok, I know I’m late to the thread (I actually found it searching on something else), and I’ve had Ubuntu setup in a separate partition on my desktop (lightly used) and recently on my HP 6000 laptop. I like it, and use if afterhours and weekends, but boot back to my MCE (XP) partition by default.
Ubutnu is ALMOST there, I did have a ton of difficulties with various technical glitches (Nvidia drivers, Beryl, WPA2, even Grub issues with the dual boot) but I’ve got most of them ironed out because there is excellent help out there on the net.
The one issue I’ve not yet resolved, is use of USB Flash drives. I have an external 160gb drive and two flash drives that I use for important documents, passwords, and PortableApps (Win32 only). does anyone have tips on reliable dynamic use of USB storage drives with Feisty?
Thx, -Snerdley
As a tool: The telnet client yes, but not the server that has been the only option for years on MS for low bandwidth connections. Telnet is about the best first line tool there is for trouble shooting smtp problems.
Snerdly,
Not specifically with Ubnutu but I know on most Linux distors I have used they automount as a scsi device.
I run a MacBook Pro (Santa Rosa) set to either triple-boot Mac OS X, Vista, or Ubuntu 7.04, or run all three at the same time via VMWare Fusion on the Mac side.
Ubuntu is important for the chip engineering work I do, and of course it is good to have access to all kinds of source that is written for Linux. But I have to say that I find the Gnome UI that ships with Ubuntu by default to be quite, ah, “sparse”.
And the amount of work it takes to get it up and running on to newly released hardware, oy! I can’t tell you how many packages I had do install, compile, determine dependancies, look up on Google to see how to get past issues compiling or installing, etc.
User workstation Linux holds a lot of promise, but it still takes a lot of hand-holding for those of us who like to do a lot on a computer. But I also can easily see it being deployed corporate-wide in fairly boring machine configurations with OpenOffice to wipe out MS-Office running Window boxes, though!
Yup. It's only remaining use is as a tool for troubleshooting network problems. I still can't believe the dearth of tools that come with ms-windows.
Well Im sure they will be keeping the client on the system but it will be nice for them to join everyone else in the 21st century by switching to an encrypted terminal interface..
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