(Technology)
Downloading and Testing Ubuntu
To get started with a more secure, efficient and free operating system that's just as easy to use as Windows, go to www.ubuntu.com
I Downloaded the latest version from www.ubuntu.com and burnt the downloaded ISO file to a blank CD. Any good CD burning software should be able to handle writing ISO files to a disc!
When the CD finished I removed it and put it back into the drive so it auto played and followed the instructions to boot into the Live CD. Live CD allows you to temporarily run Ubuntu and most of its features without doing anything to your installation of Windows! So this is a good chance to see if you really like what Ubuntu has to offer before really committing.
I played around in Ubuntu's environment for a bit and noticed the examples folder that has various type of files that can be opened using Ubuntu's default programs installed. For example, Ubuntu will use Open Office (a free alternative to Microsoft Office) to open DOC files.
Connecting to the Internet in Ubuntu
After playing around for a bit I thought great, but just one glaring hole... what about connecting to the Internet? After looking around the Ubuntu help pages built into the operating system I noticed it read that connecting to the Internet is pretty simple, unless you have a USB ADSL modem. I'm on an Orange broadband basic package, not a popular choice, but I've never had any problems with them.
Being on the basic package means I connect to the Internet using a USB modem, not an Ethernet Live box that Orange provides on the upgraded package. So I rebooted my computer back into Windows and did a search on Google and found a web page where I was told I'd have to extract some firmware, write a boot script etc. just to get the modem to connect!
After completing the modem installation in the Ubuntu's Live CD environment I was then nicely prompted that I had to restart Ubuntu to get it to work! I'm using Live CD so if I restart I'll just be taken back into Windows!
There had to be another answer. At this point I got fed up and went back to Windows. A few months later I plucked up the courage to try Ubuntu again but the Internet connection issue was still stuck in my mind. So I searched around on Google more and searched the Ubuntu Forums. This is when I came across some luck. I found a thread in a forum where a guy made a USB ADSL modem manager program!
Was this going to end the problem? I thought. So after following the link at http://launchpad.net/usb-adsl-modem-manager and then following the link on there to the latest version, I downloaded the Debian file for it, .DEB. First thought was, being used to Windows, what the hell do I do with a Debian file? Is it a Ubuntu version of a Windows zip file or what?
I double clicked the Debian file downloaded to my desktop and voil� , it started to install the modem manager, great, must be just Ubuntu's version of a windows .EXE file. The program prompted me to unplug and plug my modem back in and it still didn't work. So after a couple of times of re-extracting the firmware, disconnecting and reconnecting using the options in the manager, the progress bar for the Internet connection located in the top right went fully green, it must've worked!
I opened Firefox, typed www.google.com in and hey presto, the Internet worked. Fortunately, this USB modem manager doesn't require a restart so it's possible to run and test the Internet while using the Live CD, which I highly recommend doing.
Taking the Plunge with Ubuntu
With this caveat fixed, I took the plunge, backed up all my files onto an external hard drive and fully installed Ubuntu over Windows.
After trying it for just over 24 hours so far I am becoming more convinced at how good it's been praised to be. I can copy large amounts of files from one hard drive to the other without my PC slowing down as much or making music stutter whilst it plays, and it copies just that bit quicker. Programs also feel a bit more responsive in that they load without as much of a delay as Windows, a placebo effect of changing maybe?
I tried opening a video file and Ubuntu complained that it couldn't play that type of file, but alas, it promptly came up with a message telling me I can download the required files to get it to work, so a click of the OK button and that was fixed. Tried playing an MP3 and the same happened, just a click of a message and Ubuntu located and installed the required files to play my music. Files need to be downloaded separately due to propriety issues.
A few other things take a while to get used to, such as the folder views it has and the prompts that come up occasionally requesting your password to be entered. This might seem odd to have to enter a password just to change the date/time but with Vista prompting for requests on almost everything a user does, the odd one or two from Ubuntu seem like a relief.
Playing Video Games and other Windows Software in Ubuntu
I don't play games much and haven't attempted to do so yet, but I'll try WINE sometime and see if that works. WINE is a program to let you play Windows only software in Ubuntu. Could come in handy for Photoshop since the free equivalent, GIMP, just doesn't cut it for some things I want to do!
Conclusion
Hopefully this guide will help the average computer user out there decide whether they really want to take the plunge with a whole new, more secure and efficient operating system.
In summary, if you're prepared to spend a few hours to get used to it and get it working the way you want, then go for it. I'm enjoying the fact I can copy gigs of files around, browse the Internet and play music at the same time with next to no lag. This is in comparison to Windows, claiming it can multi task. Have you ever ran a handful of programs without Windows slowing down to a grind? (Technology)
To get started with a more secure, efficient and free operating system that's just as easy to use as Windows, go to www.ubuntu.com
I Downloaded the latest version from www.ubuntu.com and burnt the downloaded ISO file to a blank CD. Any good CD burning software should be able to handle writing ISO files to a disc!
When the CD finished I removed it and put it back into the drive so it auto played and followed the instructions to boot into the Live CD. Live CD allows you to temporarily run Ubuntu and most of its features without doing anything to your installation of Windows! So this is a good chance to see if you really like what Ubuntu has to offer before really committing.
I played around in Ubuntu's environment for a bit and noticed the examples folder that has various type of files that can be opened using Ubuntu's default programs installed. For example, Ubuntu will use Open Office (a free alternative to Microsoft Office) to open DOC files.
Connecting to the Internet in Ubuntu
After playing around for a bit I thought great, but just one glaring hole... what about connecting to the Internet? After looking around the Ubuntu help pages built into the operating system I noticed it read that connecting to the Internet is pretty simple, unless you have a USB ADSL modem. I'm on an Orange broadband basic package, not a popular choice, but I've never had any problems with them.
Being on the basic package means I connect to the Internet using a USB modem, not an Ethernet Live box that Orange provides on the upgraded package. So I rebooted my computer back into Windows and did a search on Google and found a web page where I was told I'd have to extract some firmware, write a boot script etc. just to get the modem to connect!
After completing the modem installation in the Ubuntu's Live CD environment I was then nicely prompted that I had to restart Ubuntu to get it to work! I'm using Live CD so if I restart I'll just be taken back into Windows!
There had to be another answer. At this point I got fed up and went back to Windows. A few months later I plucked up the courage to try Ubuntu again but the Internet connection issue was still stuck in my mind. So I searched around on Google more and searched the Ubuntu Forums. This is when I came across some luck. I found a thread in a forum where a guy made a USB ADSL modem manager program!
Was this going to end the problem? I thought. So after following the link at http://launchpad.net/usb-adsl-modem-manager and then following the link on there to the latest version, I downloaded the Debian file for it, .DEB. First thought was, being used to Windows, what the hell do I do with a Debian file? Is it a Ubuntu version of a Windows zip file or what?
I double clicked the Debian file downloaded to my desktop and voil� , it started to install the modem manager, great, must be just Ubuntu's version of a windows .EXE file. The program prompted me to unplug and plug my modem back in and it still didn't work. So after a couple of times of re-extracting the firmware, disconnecting and reconnecting using the options in the manager, the progress bar for the Internet connection located in the top right went fully green, it must've worked!
I opened Firefox, typed www.google.com in and hey presto, the Internet worked. Fortunately, this USB modem manager doesn't require a restart so it's possible to run and test the Internet while using the Live CD, which I highly recommend doing.
Taking the Plunge with Ubuntu
With this caveat fixed, I took the plunge, backed up all my files onto an external hard drive and fully installed Ubuntu over Windows.
After trying it for just over 24 hours so far I am becoming more convinced at how good it's been praised to be. I can copy large amounts of files from one hard drive to the other without my PC slowing down as much or making music stutter whilst it plays, and it copies just that bit quicker. Programs also feel a bit more responsive in that they load without as much of a delay as Windows, a placebo effect of changing maybe?
I tried opening a video file and Ubuntu complained that it couldn't play that type of file, but alas, it promptly came up with a message telling me I can download the required files to get it to work, so a click of the OK button and that was fixed. Tried playing an MP3 and the same happened, just a click of a message and Ubuntu located and installed the required files to play my music. Files need to be downloaded separately due to propriety issues.
A few other things take a while to get used to, such as the folder views it has and the prompts that come up occasionally requesting your password to be entered. This might seem odd to have to enter a password just to change the date/time but with Vista prompting for requests on almost everything a user does, the odd one or two from Ubuntu seem like a relief.
Playing Video Games and other Windows Software in Ubuntu
I don't play games much and haven't attempted to do so yet, but I'll try WINE sometime and see if that works. WINE is a program to let you play Windows only software in Ubuntu. Could come in handy for Photoshop since the free equivalent, GIMP, just doesn't cut it for some things I want to do!
Conclusion
Hopefully this guide will help the average computer user out there decide whether they really want to take the plunge with a whole new, more secure and efficient operating system.
In summary, if you're prepared to spend a few hours to get used to it and get it working the way you want, then go for it. I'm enjoying the fact I can copy gigs of files around, browse the Internet and play music at the same time with next to no lag. This is in comparison to Windows, claiming it can multi task. Have you ever ran a handful of programs without Windows slowing down to a grind? (Technology)
Great article - buut what cant you do in GIMP that you can do in Photoshop? If you come by http://www.askTheAdmin.com I am pretty sure we can walk you through almost anything in GIMP that you can do in PS. Is that CS or like PS7 or something?
Karl
http://www.askTheAdmin.com Free Tech Support For The Masses
Ok thanks, I'll pop over to your site and tell you what I tried doing in Photoshop that I couldnt work out how to in Gimp.
The main issue was that I run a website with a photo gallery and I upload loads of photos that I batch resize and watermark, using Photoshops feature to record my actions and then batch process the script on them.