Typing this as, well, I type I can tell you I am a Kubuntu user.  Over the past few weeks, I have been trying to get it just the way I want it.  Was I successful?  Well as somebody who has used just Windows all his life, it wasn’t easy – but it is now done.

Firefox is installed, Pidgin is up and running, so I now know I can at least do my day-to-day work done on here.

What is the Most Frustrating Thing About Kubuntu?

Well for me, my cries are pretty anal.  I don’t like that windows do not remember their locations when you close and reopen them.  Instead they just rotate corners they launch from.  I guess this will take some getting used to.

What do I like the most about Kubuntu?

The biggest positive is hard to put my finger on.  I like the basic look and feel of it, even more so than I liked Ubuntu.  Ubuntu just never felt right to me when using it, but Kubuntu does the trick.  Guess that makes me a fan of KDE over Gnome?  Hope that is right, getting the “lingo” down is another challenge for another post.

Feel like trying a new OS?  So if you have looked the other way with Linux distros in the past, give Kubuntu a shot.

I wish I had a clue of what the designs behind Ubuntu were thinking – the interface was already ugly and now they want to go uglier?

As I mentioned in the comments over on CyberNet, this is one reason why I am personally looking a lot more at linuxmint.com and the like.

Trying to search around and find a way to edit the brightness and contrast to where things don’t look ultra-bright has been a pain. If that could be made into an easier process – then sure I might give it a permanent chance. Other than that, it does seem to fit all the rest of my needs.

Of course there is probably some Ubuntu gurus out there having a good laugh at the fact I can’t figure this situation out. Afraid this old HP desktop computer though might just not have it in it to go too open source.

Also there are a lot of different Linux flavors I haven’t gotten to try out yet either, so maybe I can find one that fits me just right.

But thanks to some clever people over at the Wine project, that is soon to be a thing of the past.

Applications Galore! OK, let’s see what we have here:

Word Processing

• Windows: Word
• Ubuntu: OpenOffice.org’s Writer

Spreadsheet

• Windows: Excel
• Ubuntu: OpenOffice.org’s CalcPresentation

Presentations

• Windows: Powerpoint
• Ubuntu: OpenOffice.org’s Impress

Database

• Windows: Access
• Ubuntu: OpenOffice.org’s Base

Web Browser

• Windows: Internet Explorer or Firefox
• Ubuntu: Firefox

Email

• Windows: Outlook Express, Outlook or Thunderbird
• Ubuntu: Evolution or Thunderbird (Evolution is similar to Outlook)

Media Players

• Windows: Windows Media Player, iTunes, Winamp
• Ubuntu: Rhythmbox, Totem Movie Player, Banshee

Photo Editor

• Windows: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks
• Ubuntu: The GIMP

Instant Messaging

• Windows: AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, Gaim
• Ubuntu: Gaim (Gaim handles most all IM protocals all in one app)

Voice over IP

• Windows: Skype
• Ubuntu: Ekiga Softphone or Skype

There are many, many more apps that Ubuntu offers or is available for download that I didn’t cover here but I think you get the point. Also, there are many more apps out there that are available on Windows as well but here again, I wanted to cover some of the more popular ones.

My Take on Things

I’ve used The GIMP for some image editing and it’s similar to Photoshop albeit, you’ll have a bit of a learning curve to get used to some of the options especially if you’re used to Photoshop.

NVU is an excellant WYSIWYG web authoring app that is also similar to Dreamweaver. I’ve used both extensively and have had no issues whatsoever.

GAIM just rocks because you can run it in place of most all of the popular IM’ing clients out there today. Just add the client (such as AOL or ICQ), set it to auto logon and you’re set.

Email is also easy. Personally, I use both Gmail and Yahoo for personal and business emails but have used Thunderbird in place of Outlook Express. Thunderbird is a head on winner in my book. Evolution is Ubuntu’s version to replace Outlook and it does an admirable job.

Firefox has been my primary browser of choice ever since it’s inception so I wouldn’t have enough space here to go on about it.

For word processing duties, I use OpenOffice hands down. A document can be saved in the popular .doc format if need be for those that need to access it via M/S Word.

For entertainment purposes, I’m giving Banshee and Totem Movie Player a go. So far, I’m impressed.

To Sum It All Up

See, my point is this with all the coverage of Ubuntu here: You get a full-featured, fast and capable operating system for the cost of a little time invested. Not a bloated system that costs more than it’s worth! Many would argue with me but the sweet part of all of this is that it’s a personal choice. If you want to go through the hassles of upgrading your hardware (especially if you have an older system) and then pay several hundred dollars just for the system itself, then by all means…go ahead. It’s your money.

However, with Ubuntu you don’t have to pay an expensive price for a capable operating system. It’s absolutely free. Just some time invested to download it, burn the ISO to CD and then install and configure (set up your desktop). That’s it. Many of the apps I mentioned above are already installed or free to download either through the Package Manager or via Synaptic. What more could you ask for?

Now I’ve generalized a lot of information here for the sake of space but if I’ve worked up your interest enough, go ahead and check out Ubuntu Linux for yourself. I think you’ll be impressed!

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.

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:

• Ubuntu Linux Resources
• Installing Software in Linux
• UbuntuLinux.org

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.

So what is a guy wanting to play with Linux, but doesn’t want to do the whole partition dance need to do? Go give Wubi a whirl.

From start to finish, Wubi just makes it almost dead brain simple to get Ubuntu up and running. As a matter of fact, over the past two days I’ve played with Kubuntu and Ubuntu trying to decide which one I like more. When your done with it – you can just uninstall it like you would any other application and it is gone from your system. No messy clean up and no sticky mess.

Good because this article is about the process of installing Ubuntu Linux right along-side Windows XP Pro, my expectations and what actually happened. Egads, you say! Are you nuts? No, in spite of the rumors I’m quite sane and if you read on you’ll see why.

Been keeping up with the latest news on the Vista home front? All the bugs that are beginning to come out in the light? Again? Hear the horror stories about the costs of the upgrades? The extra hardware that’s needed to make sure that Vista will run like it’s advertised? It can be intimidating to say the least. Well read on gentle readers as I have a sound solution for you and your computer. The sweet part of it? All it’ll cost you is a little time. That’s right, it’s free!

What Are You Talking About Ubun-who?

Now, before you start the nay-saying, let me explain. Linux (of which Ubuntu is a distribution or distro) is based on what’s called Open Source Software. It’s not proprietary like Windows which allows it to be free for everyone to use as they wish. An entire global community works together on many variations of Linux. Each one has it’s followers like Ubuntu which this article will follow.

Some might say that “you’ll get what you pay for and if it’s free, it isn’t going to be much good!” Wrong again! I’m here to tell you that what you get with Ubuntu is a full-featured, rich operating system that will blow your mind away.

Follow along as I work my way through the process of installing Ubuntu’s Ver. 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) along-side Windows XP Pro on my desktop PC, what I expected from it and what I end up with. I’ll include what you’ll need to accomplish this task so easily that you’ll wonder what you were nervous about in the first place.To be honest with you, I was terrified that I’d screw up my PC if I tried to monkey around with it. But to my absolute amazement, it all went smoothly.

Getting Yourself Ready and Started

I downloaded the ISO file from Ubuntu’s website, burned it to a CD and checked it to make sure the image was a good burn. Keep in mind that an ISO file should be burned as slowly as possible for it to work properly. I also downloaded an ISO image of an app called GParted (free for download) for future use. More on this later.

Now, this is where your details might differ slightly from mine but no worries, mate! It’s all gonna work out.

I have 2 hard drives mounted in my PC. One was for storage and the other for apps and all that other junk that we accumulate over time. I also have 2 external hard drives connected by USB. Yes, I have a lot of junk!

I chose to install Ubuntu on one of my internal drives because I had moved all my files to the external ones. So, I had one to play with. You can install Ubuntu on the same drive as Windows if you wish. It will happily co-exist there with Windows and you can boot to either at anytime.

Next, you’ll read about how easy the installation went, any issues realized and what I wind up with.

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.

So a few days ago, on a total whim – I downloaded and burned a live CD for Ubuntu. This Linux flavor seems to be all the rage these days so I wanted to see what all the fuss was really about.

Now I haven’t ever used linux for long periods of time. I did have a phase where I was playing with Fedora, but I never had a reason to use it – so I never did. With my good old reliable and easy Windows PC in the corner there was no need or urge felt to learn how to do things. That is my fault.

Back to Ubuntu though, it is nice. It might not be Vista candy-coated-shell nice, but it does look like something I could use from a day to day basis. The only problem I have is finding the time to switch over and learn how to do the simple stuff all over again.

I don’t use Windows because I love it, I use it because it is convenient. I grew up on Windows and everything I know thus far (as far as computers are concerned) is based around Windows.

Maybe one of these days though, if I can take a week off to dedicate myself to switch – I would. Overall I would say it was nice, but I don’t know if I am totally ready to switch over for my day to day activities just yet.

If anybody has an good suggestions for articles or books on making the transition a little easier I might give it a shot. Could always keep Windows on my notebook and Ubuntu on my poor old PC that would probably kick the bucket if I even whispered the word “Vista” in its ear.