Note: Keep in mind while reading this that many times I will be looking at Ubuntu from Joe Schmo's point of view, and how easy or difficult it is to do things in Linux compared to Windows or OS X where the average user and point and click to do anything, never having to touch a terminal window.

After my problems preventing me from installing Ubuntu on my MacBook, I decided to install the latest stable Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy on one of my many desktop partitions. I have some experience with Linux, but nothing more than managing a couple servers using Red Hat Enterprise 3 through a secure shell. This was my first time actually installing Linux on a computer and setting it up, which was probably one of the easiest tasks I have seen with Ubuntu so far. I would have to say that getting Ubuntu up and running so you can check your mail, run your office applications and surf the web is quicker and easier than with any Windows OS I have used.


After downloading the latest version of Ubuntu and burning it to a CD (and setting up a partition for it to install to), I popped in the CD, rebooted the computer and in fifteen minutes, I was looking at my brand new operating system. Ubuntu actually boots up off of the CD (this is called a LiveCD), so rather than starting off with an install process, you're start off already in Ubuntu. After the OS has booted up, there is an icon on the desktop that when run, starts the install process. All you really have to do is select what drive or partition to install to, tell Ubuntu your name and timezone, let it do it's thing and within minutes I was back at my desktop, this time from the installed OS.

At this point, I took a look around to see what I could do 'out of the box' so to speak. I was already connected to the internet, didn't have to install any drivers (yet... but I'll get to that in a minute), and had a wealth of applications such as Firefox, Evolution Mail, OpenOffice and more. What's more is the "Add/Remove..." utility which is an interface that checks hundreds of online repositories and gives you a simple interface to install tons of open source software. You basically run the application, it scans the repositories for new or updated applications, and displays them in a somewhat categorized list. Simply check a few boxes and click 'Apply' and you've got new software on your computer. While this is an awesome feature, it could use a little improvement in finding certain applications. If you're looking for something specific, browsing through hundreds of software titles can be a little time consuming. I found many times that I would just search on Google for the software I wanted, then find it in Add/Remove...

I was a little dumbstruck at how simple this has been. Linux sure has come a long way. Then I started looking at my display preferences and good-ol command line linux reared it's ugly head. I'm on a 20 inch widescreen LCD, and the maximum resolution in the display properties was 1024x768, just a tad smaller than my monitor's native 1680x1050. I also found that while Ubuntu supports several graphics cards already, I didn't have any 3D acceleration abilities with my NVIDIA 7900 GT. So I decided to search online for what I would have to do to get some graphics acceleration in this mutha and went through two online sources offering two different methods of installing NVIDIA drivers that didn't quite work for me (the directions in the official Ubuntu documentation didn't work for me). Both times after restarting, I was told that my graphics card was not supported by my drivers and I would have to restore my previous configuration through the command line. Finally, I found a guide on the Ubuntu forums which worked out quite well. After the drivers were installed, I ran into a problem of the resolution reverting back to 1024x768 each time I restarted. Apparently the NVIDIA drivers, when trying to write the new configuration to a file, didn't have the permissions to do so, requiring that I manually do so.

I had a similar experience when trying to setup my Logitech MX1000. The mouse worked without any additional drivers, but all I could do was left and right click and use the scroll wheel. I couldn't use the scroll wheel horizontally or use the back and forward buttons when say, using Firefox. I found several different guides explaining how to setup the MX1000. The first couple times, things didn't work out and I ended up fixing the problem at the command line so I could boot into the graphical user interface again. Once again, the third time's a charm and I have my MX1000 working. However, because I had to map this specific mouse to a specific USB port, unplugging it and plugging in my Logitech VX Revolution caused a crash.

I only go through the details of this because I want to point out that while Ubuntu makes it much easier for a novice to get into the Linux game, I wouldn't consider it an alternative to Windows or OS X at this point if the user is going to want to use anything more than the basic hardware capabilities. While there is better driver support than there used to be (I had internet and audio without having to do a thing), it still isn't perfect. This is however, just my initial impression and Ubuntu is still a great alternative if you don't need anything fancy and just want to get your work done. If you're willing to jump in and take some chances, it really isn't that bad at all, but you should have an idea of what you're getting into.