Hi again. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Hopefully, you’re getting over the last blast of the summer without too much pain. What do you say we pick up where we left off last week on the installation of the Feisty Fawn (Ubuntu 7.04)?
Running from Live CD or Full Install
Last week, I had downloaded the ISO file, burned it to a CD with DeepBurner and was preparing to install Ubuntu on my hard drive. Before we go much further, let me tell you that you can run Ubuntu right from the CD. That’s right! You can run it and all it’s programs right off the CD. It’s called a Live CD and this way you can check out Ubuntu without installing it. Now, you won’t be able to save anything as it’s a live CD and is read only. You would have to install it to do any of that but, the Live CD will give you the opportunity to see what all Ubuntu has to offer. It tends to run quite a bit slower than an actual installation so don’t let that influence your decision.
My installation went so smooth that I was left wondering why I hadn’t tried this before. As Ubuntu runs through the pre-installation process, it asks you questions like what time zone you’re in (it does this in a general way as my time zone was selected by way of Mexico which is CDT), keyboard preferences, language, and eventually, you get to the part where you get to decide where to install Ubuntu and how.
This can be frustrating to some as your average user (like me) normally wouldn’t have a clue as to what partition to install Ubuntu to. This is easily overcome because Ubuntu gives you several choices on how to install it. I chose to install it to my second hard drive and clicked next. The next screen allows you to review your choices and if they’re good to go, click install.
Taking Your First Steps Into Ubuntu
Now, because I still wanted to keep Windows due to the many apps/programs/files/junk that I had accumulated over the years I was a bit nervous by this point. Remember, I was a first-timer at this too at this point. Well, my fears were totally unfounded as Ubuntu recognized my other hard drive with Windows and asked for logon credentials to be able to access it. Sweet! Dual boot plus access right from the Ubuntu Desktop! Can it get any better than this? Oh yes…read on!
After the installation process completes, you remove the CD (it tells you to as it needs to reboot now) and when Ubuntu boots back up, you’re greeted by your new desktop. Right about then you’re presented by a notification that you need to update your new installation with around 148 updated files, apps and so forth. Just click the icon and follow the prompts. After it finishes you may need to reboot once more.
Now is where you see that you have a wonderful new desktop that is secure (no viruses to be concerned about, no malware), many apps to check out like Open Office (a M/S Word/Excel/Powerpoint substitute), Firefox (much better than M/S Internet Explorer), Evolution (a replacement for M/S Outlook) and many more apps and programs that are real similar to their paid for counterparts that run on Windows but are installed free on your new operating system.
Ubuntu Linux Resources
This site has an excellent tutorial on installing Ubuntu 7.04, although you don’t need to install all the apps/software that he does unless you just want to. Keep in mind that you can access your Windows drive from Ubuntu anytime you want plus having the option to boot into Windows can’t be beat.
These next sites address some neat information for those who want to know more about Ubuntu:
Now considering I was new to all this Linux stuff and was a bit unsure what to expect, I was impressed by the ease with which Ubuntu installs, updates, and operates. It’s so easy you’ll feel comfortable in no time. As a matter of fact, I’ve rarely booted into Windows at all in weeks! That’s just how impressed and at ease I am with Ubuntu now. That speaks volumes!
Next week I’ll go over some neat apps that Ubuntu has to offer that Windows also has. Call it a comparison or battle royale between the two operating systems. Either way, I think you’ll find it interesting.
Article by Scott Wilson – Scott has been involved with PC’s, operating systems and web development for around 6 years. Once he figured out how to turn a computer on he’s never been quite able to turn it back off again. He’s been continually adding to a weblog to help pass on information relating to the world wide web. You can find out more about Scott and his work at MerlinsMinute.com.
Stickies – This one has to be my all time favorite out of the all. It doesn’t just cover the basics, it also allows a lot of neat tweaks such as hiding them, setting them with an alarm, and transparency. Stickies can be transferred from one machine to another either over a TCP/IP network connection, or by using an SMTP mail server or MAPI client. Continue Reading →
