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For Anybody Who Has Thought About Trying Linux
By Drew Kwashnak, Linux SIG Leader, Danbury Area Computer Society, CT
www.dacs.org
dacseditor(at)dacs.org

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

For anybody who has thought about trying Linux, it has become easier than ever before with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Hardy Heron. As with most Linux distributions, Ubuntu is
available as a free download and is freely distributable. It is even available already
installed on Dell computers. The most common method is downloading the ISO image from Ubuntu's website (http://www.ubuntu. com) and burning it onto a CD.

From the site, you can download the Desktop version or Server for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. There is even an option to download what is called an alternative version which is just the installer and does not include the LiveCD portion, which also includes an installer. If you are like me, until a couple months ago, and living on dial-up or you do not have a CD burner handy or just don't want to put in that much effort then you can
order a free CD through the corporate sponsor of Ubuntu, Canonical, ShipIt department.
I have been very pleased with the speed with which their CDs arrive. Alternatively, the website contains links to vendors where you can buy the CDs from under $5 to more, and they can handle large orders as well. 

Once you have your CD in your hot little hands, trying Ubuntu is as simple as placing it in your CD-ROM tray and rebooting your system. If system will boot from the CD and after a short moment you’ll be greeted with the Ubuntu welcome screen.
If you want to “try before you buy,” then you can choose the default “Try Ubuntu without any changes to your computer” and your hard drive will not be touched during your session unless you choose to. You don’t even need a hard drive to select this option; you just will not be able to install it from the session.

If you are more certain or just daring then you can go straight into the installer and in
about 60 minutes (45 minutes if you know what Different Strokes For Anybody Who Has
Thought About Trying Linux by Drew Kwashnak you are doing) you’re booting to your new Ubuntu installation.

Ubuntu will scan your hardware and load the modules and drivers necessary for your system. If you have hardware that has proprietary drivers available, Linux cannot include them in the CD for legal reasons. Ubuntu works around this by providing a Restricted Drivers tool that lists all such hardware found on your system and provides
the ability to download and install the necessary drivers in a click or two, legally. 

Now that you have Ubuntu up and running on your system, what can you do? Plenty! Ubuntu brings you a fullfeatured operating system complete with:
• Firefox 3.05 beta web browser
• OpenOffice.org 2.4 full featured office suite compatible with pre-Office 2007 Word, Excel, PowerPoint and some Access files.
• Evolution personal information manager for email and calendar goodness, a Microsoft Outlook user can feel comfortable with. There is even plug-ins to allow Evolution to access existing Microsoft Exchange servers.
• Pidgin multi-protocol instant messenger including Yahoo, MSN, AIM, Jabber, IRC and more.
• Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a powerful Photoshop-like image editing program that includes filters, layers and a host of goodies.
• F-Spot image manager for categorizing and minor editing of all of your pictures as well as easily importing pictures from your digital camera.
• And much, MUCH more…

If Ubuntu doesn’t come with a particular application, thousands of free applications are
available from the Ubuntu online repository which are easily installed and updated from
the Synaptic package manager. 

When you decide to install Ubuntu onto your hard drive or virtual machine you only need to click the “Install” icon on the desktop to start the process. After seven or so easy questions the installer will copy the files over to the hard disk. Depending on your system’s speed this could take about 60 minutes, more or less. It will even detect if you have Windows installed and offer to transfer over your files and compatible settings from your Windows accounts!

Of course, if the limitations of the LiveCD, such as settings are not saved from session to session, and you are hesitant to partition and install the full operating system on your hard drive Ubuntu offers yet another alternative called Wubi. Wubi is, from the Ubuntu website: “Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way. 

Are you curious about Linux and Ubuntu? Trying them out has never been easier!”
Wubi can be downloaded as an .exe file directly. With Linux the installation is not the
end, only the beginning! Whether you try the LiveCD, Wubi or a full installation
you will find a wealth of quality applications, refreshing freedom and a community unlike any other! If you have problems, questions or want to find out more then you need look no further than the third Wednesday of every month for the DACS Linux SIG at
7:30 p.m. in the DACS Resource Center!

Drew Kwashnak: Has been losing more nights of sleep with Linux since 2002 and
just can't keep from downloading and trying the latest versions! When not working with
Linux he works with ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server for a small financial company.
He is also the DACS Linux SIG leader and a father of 3.

Links:
Ubuntu:
http://www.ubuntu.com
Get Ubuntu:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu
ShipIt:
https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).