Ubuntu

[talos2]

I'm about to try Linux / Ubuntu in my spare PC from a disk I got with Computer Active this week, has anybody got any do's or dont's for me please, any advice would be welcome

[D-Dan]

Do give it a fighting chance.
Don't give up too early.

Ubuntu is different from Windows, and you will become frustrated at times. However, the forums are amazing and very helpful. Once you get used to it, you'll find yourself using it with increasing regularity (e.g. - my PC has been on for 3 hours, and I got around to booting Windows 5 minutes ago).

Steve

[kinmel]

Make sure it is Ubuntu 8.10 and not 8.04

Is it going to be dual boot with windows ? if so try it first using the installer from within Windows ie WUBI, because it is then very easy to remove if you don't like it.

[talos2]

Make sure it is Ubuntu 8.10 and not 8.04

Is it going to be dual boot with windows ? if so try it first using the installer from within Windows ie WUBI, because it is then very easy to remove if you don't like it.

Yes dual boot on a system running 98, I hope

[vitriol]

Rather than  create a new thread I'll just post here that I've just installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala? using the wubi installer mentioned in the other Ubuntu threads.  My laptop has vista on it and the hard disk is partitioned into a 120GB C: drive and a 110GB D:  

I installed Ubuntu to the D: drive with no problems at all.  Coming for a pure Windows background I was expecting alot of trouble getting the computer to do what I want it to do.  It's very different having to specify software repositories and such but the package manager works very well.

I've installed the required software to play .mp3's, and VLC media player so I can play .avi, .mp4 etc and it was pretty straightforward.  Surprisingly.

I've heard that the Linux desktop environments are highly customisable so after a bit of googling I installed Compiz and the required settings manager.  Wow wobbly windows and cube desktops that you can rotate are very cool, although probably not that useful.  Impressive non the less though.  Can't do that sort of thing with Windows (for free).

Everything feels very snappy and quick on my Core2Duo 2.1Ghz, Radeon Xpress1250 lappy.  (Using the standard drivers atm, not the ATI ones, haven't figured that out yet)

So know I kinda have a blackout, I've got my music and videos working, a funky desktop to play with, Email and IM all work......so now what?  What else can I do with Linux?  Any suggestions for some cool software?

Thanks

vit

ps..  Do I need to worry about having some sort of AV program?

[kinmel]

Servers can be very challenging and yet the basic Ubuntu Server runs as easily as the desktop version, it can keep you occupied for months.

Other than that, what type of software do you want to play with, just about everything is available !


No need for AV  

[D-Dan]

If you can do it with Windows - you can do it with Linux. Even games will work these days (to a greater or lesser degree).

If you like the funky desktop effects, I recommend installing Emerald as well (similar to WindowBlinds - but free), and be certain to install wine, for when you absolutely must use a Windows program.

Steve

Edit: If you find you like the Linux experience, you may want to try Linux Mint rather than the naked Ubuntu unstall. I had some problems with Ubuntu, which Mint fixed (it's based on Ubuntu - but H/W support is better).

Steve

[Steve]

I run Ubuntu on the Mac via Virtualbox vm software.GParted, saved my bacon this weekend,a very versatile partitioner plus you can add additional support for a variety of file systems.

[vitriol]

I've just installed Google Earth !!!  Runs ok but a proper video driver would help out a little I think.  Install was a little frought this time as it's not in the package manager.  Had to install using the terminal.  Thats going to take some getting used to.  Commands are a little weird but I suppose that it's something that you get used to over time.

As for trying software, I don't know really, I've pretty much got everything running that I need or use on a regular basis.  Just though that there might be something mindblowing out there that I would have to try out.

I've been using it for about 24hours now and it's been a positive experience so far.  Gaming is not really an option on this laptop as the video card isn't the strongest so I'm not going to bother trying to run anything too strenuous.

All of this came about because one of my wife's friends gave me a netbook (no DVD drive) as Windows wasn't booting.  I tried booting in safe mode but it would stop shortly after starting.  I downloaded the Universal Linux USB Loader and Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix and created the bootable USB drive.  Inseted it into the netbook and booted from the USB stick.  I managed to save all of her photographs and documents to another memory stick for her, then burned these to a CD.  I found it quite strange that there was no recovery option on the netbook though and this got me thinking about my own laptop.  What would I do if something happened to my Vista install?  I checked my laptop by pressing F8 at boot and I've got lots and lots of recovery options, so I would assume that there is a hidden partition on my hard disk which has the Windows Vista install sotfware on it.  At least know I know that if something should go wrong with my Vista I am able to get the computer up and running on another OS.

Anyone know if there are plugins available for .wmv files?  Shouldn't VLC play these with ease? Or does VLC rely upon the Microsoft libraries to play .wmv files?

[kinmel]

Grab your video driver from here   http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/linux/Legacy/Pages/radeon_linux.aspx?type=2.7&product=2.7.4.3.3.3.1&lang=English

People do have problems with the WMV files, but it does work once you have sorted it out, look on the Ubuntu help  forums  https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats

[Niall]

My mate installed this today and said that there are problems with it connecting to his mac & iphone (it can't!). No idea if he's solved it as he spends hours away when he's rendering things!

[Ted]

If Ubuntu seems a bit strange, its because it uses GDE (Gnome Desktop Environment). But you can always try Kubuntu which uses KDE (K Desktop Environment. Looks and feels a lot more like Windows.

Both have their lovers and loathers, I prefer KDE, just seems a lot more intuitive to me.

[Ted]

Anyone know if there are plugins available for .wmv files?  Shouldn't VLC play these with ease? Or does VLC rely upon the Microsoft libraries to play .wmv files?

Try adding these.

win32-codecs (may be something like w32codecs for Ubuntu)
libdvdcss2
mplayer
mplayer-gui
mplayer-plugin

That should handle just about anything you can throw at it.

[vitriol]

Thanks, will try it out.  Still not having any joy with video card drivers though.  Will post again tomorrow.

[Steve]

ATI linux wiki http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Main_Page

[Dangerjunkie]

My mate installed this today and said that there are problems with it connecting to his ... iphone (it can't!).

That is a deliberate act by Apple to stop you using any software other than iTunes (they don't want you using anything that doesn't have the option to pay them more money.)  iPods used to work with Linux just fine (My iPod G4 still does) then Apple frigged the OS on the Touch and iPhone to fix that.

Cheers,
Paul.

[esh]

My linux setup is currently...

Kernel: 2.6.32 x86_64
WM: Fluxbox 1.1.1
X-Terminal: urvxt
E-Mail: Claws mail 3.7.4
MSN: emesene (svn version)
IRC: XChat
Web: Opera 10.1
Editor: gVim 7.2
Mp3: Audacious w/plugins
Monitor: gkrellm

This is on an 8-CPU 4GB system with a 3-disc RAID-5 on LVM.

Linux is fantastic as a server or workstation like I use it here in the office. But as for a multimedia/gaming setup I found myself fleeing back to windows pretty fast.

[Dangerjunkie]

My linux setup is currently...

Kernel: 2.6.32 x86_64
WM: Fluxbox 1.1.1
X-Terminal: urvxt
E-Mail: Claws mail 3.7.4
MSN: emesene (svn version)
IRC: XChat
Web: Opera 10.1
Editor: gVim 7.2
Mp3: Audacious w/plugins
Monitor: gkrellm

This is on an 8-CPU 4GB system with a 3-disc RAID-5 on LVM.

Linux is fantastic as a server or workstation like I use it here in the office. But as for a multimedia/gaming setup I found myself fleeing back to windows pretty fast.

I'm not a 64-bit junkie (could really do with someone to show me the secrets of making it a happy place for 32-bit software). I can see from the software you've got loaded that you know your stuff

I've had great success in 32 bit with multimedia. I use MPlayer as the media player with the (slightly naughty) w32codecs non-free codec package. I believe there is a package called w64codecs which should suit your install. SInce I installed these two I've not thrown a video file at it that it couldn't play back. There's also a really cool program called DeVeDe that can turn any pile of files that Mplayer can play back into a DVD that will play in a normal DVD player. I work in TV and I've used this to get downloaded video onto the prime time news shows.

If you try Medibuntu.org and the Penguin Liberation Front I think you may have some luck.

The only game I run regularly is Second Life and the Linux port of the 2.0 client works well for me.

Cheers,
Paul.

[Ted]

I'm not a 64-bit junkie (could really do with someone to show me the secrets of making it a happy place for 32-bit software). I can see from the software you've got loaded that you know your stuff

I've had great success in 32 bit with multimedia. I use MPlayer as the media player with the (slightly naughty) w32codecs non-free codec package. I believe there is a package called w64codecs which should suit your install. SInce I installed these two I've not thrown a video file at it that it couldn't play back. There's also a really cool program called DeVeDe that can turn any pile of files that Mplayer can play back into a DVD that will play in a normal DVD player. I work in TV and I've used this to get downloaded video onto the prime time news shows.

If you try Medibuntu.org and the Penguin Liberation Front I think you may have some luck.

The only game I run regularly is Second Life and the Linux port of the 2.0 client works well for me.

Cheers,
Paul.

DeVeDe looks interesting, Paul. I just pulled it down from  the Mandriva repos and having a play with it. Looks like it may take some time to create the image, only 2% done so far. 

 

[esh]

I guess I've been using BSD/Linux for a few years now... I never had quite as much joy with BSD. It works with enough prodding. Mostly.

It came out of a necessity. I currently work in a field where a lot of the software used originates from the 70s and 80s, obviously when Windows didn't exist. Some of it has been ported from VMS. Some of it uses one letter variable names because programs used to run faster like this 'back in the day'. A quick glance shows that we actually have something like 210MB of source code, all "in house" applications. No one wants to start porting *that* to Windows anytime soon. You look at fields like optics and there are giant proprietary software packages for Windows. I guess this field has less budget

When I'm not working though I tend to indulge my creative side a little. Photography isn't so much a problem these days, as GIMP is slowly getting there (16-bit please!) and several good raw converters exist. There's still not really much to replace Adobe Premiere sadly, and I also use ID-Imager to catalog all my digital content which I don't believe works on WINE yet either. I should probably point out this 'distribution' isn't strictly Ubuntu, but some ungodly mash of things like Arch and Debian. We do have a few Ubuntu systems around here but they have the curious quirk of having some new version of one scientific package that doesn't work with another thing we use, and recompiling it once took more than 8 hours.

I strictly run NVIDIA cards these days, Linux or not. The drivers just work, especially the twin-screen setup. It's dead easy. This system has a rather mid-range 9500GT in it (mostly for the twin DVI connectors) but my other rig has a GTX 295 in it, which I rather suspect Linux would not have a clue what to do with. It is primarily used for heavy transcoding in Windows, and of course most importantly, Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 on Windows 7

[Dangerjunkie]

my other rig has a GTX 295 in it, which I rather suspect Linux would not have a clue what to do with.

oooh  That is a seriously sexy card. I wish I could afford one (and a sexy enough machine to warrant it) It shows up as supported by both the 32 and 64 bit Linux binary nVidia drivers and Ver 192.13.15 is certified

Cheers,
Paul.

[esh]

Nice that it'll run in Linux... goodness knows if it'll be SLi. I did manage to get Guild Wars running under Linux using WINE but it was a mighty battle, and then it stopped working one version and came back again later. It's dreadfully jumpy too -- the framerate doesn't seem too disastrous but it rattles the disk drives a lot and so on.

I do sometimes joke I only run an X Server in Linux so I can put more terminals on the screen at once

[vitriol]

Well, still running Ubuntu here.  For a completely free OS that gives you, net access with Firefox, email, Office programs, Instant Messaging and audio and video out of the box, I must say that it's great.

It's pretty simple to use but has enough advanced features to keep me tinkering also.  Anyone getting a bit bored with Windows .....go on give it a try.

[mrapoc]

im waiting for the 10.04 lucid lynx before going back to it again

9.10 seemed a bit of a fail in terms of speed

[esh]

I think a sizeable chunk of current speed regressions are ext4 related.