Sorry I haven’t been on here in a while. When i DO get on, I’ve been testing out this new operating system, Ubuntu. As far as I can tell, it’s some sort of linux, all spiffied up…. which makes testing very difficult. Learning windows was easy, but this stuff gets all weird. I greatly suspect it’s because of the security it offers. So, for those of you that are tired of WinBlows, and wanna try something new, here’s my first experiences……
Hardware - Software and hardware go hand in hand, and one is useless without the other. In order for your system to work, you’ll need drivers for the hardware. Unfortunately, hardware manufacturers don’t necessarily make drivers for Linux based systems because hardly any people even use it. That said, it’s inevitable that you either ‘just get lucky’ or, some nice person out there builds the drivers from scratch. Here’s a couple of scenarios…..
I’ve been trying to get this old computer, that Joey gave me, to run Ubuntu, but I can’t even get it installed. Later on I realized the the hard drive controller was a SCSI chipset. This type of setup isn’t all that common, but it’s around enough that I’d think there should be SOMETHING to make it work. Afterall, linux was built by super geeks, and super geeks LOVE scsi. Anyways, until I find a manual fix, that box is never going to see linux. For those of you asking ‘What is SCSI?’…. If you don’t know, then don’t worry about it…. you DON’T have it, and probably never will.
Another situation is my sound, but not the regular sound. I have an Echo Mia audio card used for multi-track recording. Since the manufacturer didn’t write any drivers for linux (big surprise), I had to hunt the drivers down myself. Luckily, there is a whole group of people out there dedicated to developing sound drivers for Linux…. even the oddball cards like I got. I ‘think’ I found what I needed, but I’m still trying to figure out out to set them up…. a little more complicated than windows.
So basically, if you have an really old, odd, or brand spanking new hardware hot off the press, then chances are, you might have some difficulty getting things to run. However, the newer the equipment, the better off you probably are. For most of you out there, it shouldn’t be a problem. For those that like the kick ass sound cards, super killer graphics cards, or whatever…. then you might have issues for a while, but will probably get a fix sometime soon.
Software - This one is kinda sucky. Since Ubuntu is completely different than windows from the ground up, that means any software you want MUST be written specifically for Ubuntu (or Linux… jury is still out on that). In other words, walk into any store and look at the software selection….. you can’t run ANY of it. The market is saturated with windows based software, and even Mac is picking up speed. But linux users are left in the dust.
However, that doesn’t mean you don’t get any options! The system menu has something called Synaptic Package Manager. Running that will connect the software to Ubuntu’s servers, where you’ll find all kinds of software written for linux users…. and it’s all FREE. You can get free office software, free games, free anything you want. The trouble is grinding through the list to find what you need. Linux doesn’t work the same way as Windows, and to put it more simply - You can actually install ‘portions’ of software.
Example - Ubuntu comes with some audio software, automatically. But the software wouldn’t play MP3’s… major bummer. So I did some looking, and it appears that the software needed a plugin for those types of files. I then used the Synaptic Package Manager to browse for updates on this audio software. While looking, there was a whole list of plugins for this file type, that file type, etc…. all over the damn place. In the end, Ubuntu/Linux’s theory is ‘give them ONLY what they need’. After that, it’s all about customizing your system by installing the things you want. For some, this sounds stupid, but the reality is, it makes for a much more stripped down system, with programs that run better, faster, and securely (more on this later).
I also tested out the cross compatibility of the office software. James sent me an MS Office 2007 Excel spreadsheet to try…. the test resulted in complete failure. Not only could the built-in office software (Open Office) not open the file, but it completely crashed. The menus where all scrambled with different oddball characters, and the file was empty. I closed the program, and restarted Open Office by itself…. still broken. I restarted the computer… still broken. Finally, I completely removed it from the system and re-installed it (with the handy package manager), and everything worked out great. (note to self…. don’t do that again). I’m told that using MS Office files shouldn’t be a problem, but I suspect that is an ‘update’ sort of thing. Open Office probably needs to be updated, by the original people, to handle the newest versions of MS Office files. And it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if ‘ol Bill put something in there to crash Open Office… after all… it’s FREE office software.
So, by now you’re saying ‘Why even bother?’
Two reasons - Security and Stability
Security - Almost ALL viruses, malware, spyware, and fuck-you-in-the-ass software is obtained by opening suspicious emails, or just browsing the net (yes, you can get all that crap from just LOOKING at a page). Two reasons make Ubuntu/Linux far more secure than windows….
1) Structure - In order for ANYTHING to be changed in the system regarding functionality, you’re required a password. To put it simply, this would be like having a password on your windows ‘program files’ and ‘windows’ folders. Software trying to access these areas to make changes would hit a brick wall every time, and Linux password security level is nothing to laugh at. Linux is based on the Unix operating system, which is THE operating system for the largest corporations in the world. If you work for a big company, and they don’t use a version of Unix, then they suck…. period… no questions asked.
2) 99.9% of viruses and such, are written specifically for windows based systems. Not only because it’s the most common OS across the planet, but because linux based users usually (but not in my case) know what their doing with their system. So, to write a virus for linux would be pointless. i.e. - The users would know how to fix the problem within minutes, by hand, without much effort. Not only that, but because the virus is written for windows, Linux won’t physically know what to do with the files. Linux is written differently from the ground up, so it doesn’t understand what an ‘executable’ file is…. so it ignores it all together.
Stability - Sometimes computer problems are a result of trying to ‘make everyone happy’. This means creating software thats bundled to the hilt with boatloads of extras that you may never use. This is where you end up running into problems. Software written to handle every type of scenario is bloated, which leads to all kinds of funky things in the windows registry. Even if you uninstall your software in windows, there’s always crap left behind in the registry, which makes for slower startups, goofy anomalies, etc. Just by shear design, windows is made to fall to pieces, right outa the box.
Linux on the other hand, forces you to install ONLY what you need. And if you don’t want it anymore, there is none of this registry bullshit. Nothing left behind, no loose ends… nadda, zip. If you want the software gone, it’s fricking history. Because of this type of setup, the ‘core’ of the system can not be modified (for the most part) by external software. So basically, your OS sits all by itself, watching over your software like little children. And if the kids are fucking up, then you send them off to adoption. =)
In the end, if you’re a gamer (mark) or have a business to run directly from your computer (james), Ubuntu probably wouldn’t be a good thing to look at. No support for the latest games, and only SOME support for business related software (though I did spy some karaoke software somewhere in the package manager).
However, if you’re just using your computer to surf the net, listen to music, get e’mail, and any other normal day-to-day stuff, then I’d seriously give it a whirl. Chances are, your Ubuntu box will be running at the same level of security and stability 5 years from now… unlike windows, which is due to give away all your information and crash at any given moment.
K… I’m done geeking out…. going to bed.
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be patient … there is a commercial 1st.