Ubuntu is sweet
Installed Ubuntu last week on my ageing P4 box, and I really do like it. It’s so nice to install something that is totally free, no costs, nothing. Awesome.
I have some thoughts as someone new to Ubuntu:
It’s so nice and easy
Wow. What a breath of fresh air. Such a clean interface, and everything is just so lovely. The feel of the OS is something I can’t really explain here, you really must try it. It’s similar to Windows, but noticeably faster and neater.
Installation and configuration was great. It detected everything, and worked straight away. It’s actually easier to install than Windows, in some ways. Other than the partitioning info, it hardly asked me anything.
But it’s still complex here and there
Ubuntu is nice, user friendly, and for the large part, very GUI-driven. But many commands still have to be executed from the command line. It’s quite a steep learning curve for someone new to a Linux OS. I expected little to no command-line operations, but I found I had to do them, for certain things. Having said that, the documentation and help online is pretty amazing.
Can’t write to NTFS
One mildly annoying thing is that Ubuntu can’t write to an NTFS partition. I have two hard disks, one of which is a 40Gb split into two partitions for Windows and Ubuntu. The other is an 80Gb which I use to store all my data – docs, photos, music, etc. That drive is an NTFS drive.
Ubuntu can see this NTFS drive and read from it, but it can’t write to it. There is a way to add this functionality to Ubuntu, but I looked into it and it seemed a bit complicated.
However, I found a neat workaround to this problem, because my PC is networked to the other PC in my home. Ubuntu can be set up to see shared folders on a Windows network, and can write to those (permissions permitting of course). Funnily enough, Ubuntu had no problem writing to the NTFS drive on my other machine, via the network! I guess because all the data transfer is converted to TCP/IP? Interesting, anyway.
You need broadband
One of the great things about Ubuntu is that there are umpteen applications available for it out on the internet. And the best part is that they’re free! Ubuntu has this cool app which shows you all the stuff you can install, and you name it, there is an app for it. If you decide to install something, it downloads the app from the internet and installs it for you! Amazing, but you need broadband if you want to use this feature a lot. There’s so much neat stuff out there to download and try, that dial-up is just not an option.
Graphics needs a bit of figuring out
One problem which was a bit of a drag was finding the correct driver for my graphics card. I still haven’t, but a friend said he’ll help me figure this one out. Don’t get me wrong, Ubuntu loads fine as it is, but only in 800×600. If I want anything more, then I need the driver for my GeForce MX440. I don’t know if this problem applies to all graphics cards or just my one. It’s a bit annoying though.
Summary
Ubuntu (and Linux) is great. It’s a lovely way for hardened Microsoft warriors like myself to try something over on the other side. I wouldn’t call myself converted, but I’m no longer a MS advocate. From what I’ve seen, I think Linux is much better as an OS, and will only get better and stronger with time. If Ubuntu is where Linux is now, then in the future Windows won’t have a chance. They can put as many bells and whistles as they want on their OSs, that doesn’t matter.
What I love is it’s simplicity. Ubuntu is great for browsing and office work. Open Office is more than an equal replacement for MS Office. It’s just as good, and can read MS Office files, and write MS Office files. And Firefox just seems so lean and fast. Using Firefox in Linux is like eating croissants in France. It somehow feels nicer, because it’s at home, and couldn’t be any better.
I really do like Ubuntu. I won’t ditch Windows yet, but I will keep running Ubuntu on my secondary box, using it to learn more about Linux-based OSs. I can now see a day where the majority of my work will be done on a Linux OS. The funniest thing about that is just a few weeks ago, I would never have thought that possible!
Everyone must try Ubuntu. Just to see what it’s about. I would suggest that the Ubuntu advocates try to set up a public Ubuntu terminal or two at an Internet Café in Colombo, for curious people to try a Linux OS for the first time. It really is something everyone should try. Not everyone will be sold, but the seeds of an idea will be planted in their minds. Most of the IT youth in Sri Lanka know Microsoft, and only Microsoft. It’s time they saw how the grass is so much greener on the other side…
