Gnome user interface in Ubuntu 9.10 - Karmic Koala

I first started using the Ubuntu GNU Linux operating system in May 2007. Since then I have tried both desktop user interface alternatives: KDE and Gnome. Early on, I preferred Kubuntu’s KDE interface as it was easy to use and slightly reminiscent of Windows.

The only downside was that applications often crashed causing me to restart the computer many times. I never encountered the same trouble when I used the Gnome interface in Ubuntu.

So that was my problem. I didn’t like the Gnome interface but it was more stable and it seemed like it was the favoured interface by the Ubuntu team.

My last use of Kubuntu was in this year’s release in April of Jaunty Jackalope 9.04
KDE had changed a lot in that version. I never quite got used to it and on a couple of occasions I messed up the default interface layout. After that laptop got stolen I didn’t use Ubuntu again until the Karmic Koala 9.10 release.

This time I decided to try out the default Gnome interface. Now that I have used it a couple of times before (and it hasn’t changed much) I was very pleased with the way it worked. The fact that this is the latest Ubuntu release surely has something to do with that also.

Now I am happy to work with two panels and can navigate the menus with ease. I have gotten used to the default Gnome applications even though I don’t use many. My favourite and most used applications include: the open office suite, evolution email client and gwibber microblogging application. I am trialling tomboy notes and trying to find a use for ubuntu one cloud computing. I use google’s picasa instead of f-spot and I don’t bother listening to music or burning cds/dvds. I also don’t use instant messaging but there are various alternatives to try.

I hope to try Kubuntu again in 2010, I may actually become fond of the new look KDE. Until then, I am happy with Gnome. It doesn’t over-use my hardware resources and I don’t mind the simple and plain look it has.

The famous Linux Penguin

I have spent some time studying an IT related degree and I am surprised about the lack of adoption or conversation about the GNU Linux operating system. Even friends from the Bachelor of IT or software engineering degrees are reluctant to experiment with Open Source applications.

As university degrees attempt to become more workforce oriented and practical there is an enourmous bias towards the Windows operating system and all of its applications.

At our faculty there were around 4 windows computer labs to 1 linux lab. I did have some Linux interaction in a operating systems unit but the tasks were centered around process scheduling, forks and threads.

In another unit I was lucky to make a presentation about Linux as a desktop system . Most of the class listened with amazement as if I were introducing mircrowaves for the first time. My teacher knew more than the rest about Linux however, I got the impression that his knowledge had come more from magazines than first hand experience.

I once convinced a Software Engineering student to install a version of Ubuntu Linux on his PC. After a slow install and a mix-up with the partitioning decisions, he quickly uninstalled everything and went back to his more comfortable and fully modified Windows XP setup.

What is causing all of this? Is Microsoft Windows such a solid operating system that it eliminates the need to try an alternative? Is the international workforce so dependant on Windows, that other options are a waste of time? Or are we, the young university students, just too lazy and too scared to try the unknown?

Whatever the cause, you wont lose an arm or a fortune by trying Linux as a desktop. There are multiple avenues you can take to avoid the migration risk.

• You can install a version of Linux onto your Windows system as if it were a program and see how it goes. This is called Wubi Linux.

• You can reboot your computer with a live linux cd, this will allow you to run linux without installing or changing anything.

• If you are more daring, you can install Linux as a dual-boot having the option of starting your computer with either Linux or Windows each time.

I can understand that the office workers and general community would be hesitant to try a new operating system, especially if you can’t buy it in stores out of a box and if it isn’t free but if you are an IT student… what is wrong with you guys? You should be trying out new stuff, testing the alternatives and make a real comparison. If you have enough experience with Linux the chances are you will make a big difference at your future workplace if you can push some elements of the office to use open-source applications.

It might be sad but I think the only way users will take Linux seriously is when Google release its version of Linux aimed at netbooks next year. http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,691901/Chrome-OS-First-pictures-of-the-Alpha/News/

To the skeptics who view Linux as a useless fad, two things. Try Linux first, compare it to what you currently have. Secondly, do you really enjoy waiting 3 minutes for your computer to boot despite the fact you have 3GB of RAM and an Intel Duo Core processor?

Here is an article detailing Microsoft’s admission that Linux and the Open Source movement are threats to their business.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=4604
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/26746/1231/

Below are two articles I have already published on this blog for people who are willing to dual boot Linux with Windows.

http://rbravo.net/2009/06/11/open-source/partition-your-hard-drive-for-multiple-operating-systems/
http://rbravo.net/2009/06/12/open-source/dual-boot-windows-vista-and-kubuntu-linux/

Screenshot of Kubuntu

Recently I have undertaken a switch from Windows Vista to Kubuntu Linux. In order to have the best of both worlds, I created a dual boot so both systems live well on the one hard drive. In this post I will outline the instructions for a successful dual-boot based on my experience. By the way, the laptop I am using is an Acer Aspire 5735 with 3GB RAM and 320GB hard drive.

Warning: This post is slightly longer than usual so use the headings that apply to you for an easier read.

Reasons for the Switch

Out the of open source operating systems, I have tried openSUSE, Kubuntu and Ubuntu. Late last year I received a new laptop from my family as a birthday present. It came with Vista Home pre-installed. After a few weeks, I got used to it and found the interface  to be a great improvement from XP. Before receiving the laptop I was using Ubuntu version 8.04 (Hardy Heron). When Jaunty Jackalope was released in April, the desire to see linux run on 3GB RAM was just too overwhelming.

One aspect I didn’t like about Vista was that it felt heavy and took a great amount of time to boot and load. It would be about 2 minutes from seeing the wallpaper untill the machine stopped loading and I could finally open a program. Wireless detection was slow and ofcourse I would need to cough up many dollars for complete access to MS Office and to renew the anti-virus. I downloaded openOffice but I was tired of all the other proprietry stuff so started planning my comeback to linux.

1st Encounter with Linux

My first experience with Linux was in 2007 with openSUSE 10.2 on a live disk. After reading up on different linux distros I decided to see whether the Ubuntu free delivery of their system was genuine. Two weeks later I learned that it was. Not wanting to change user interfaces, I had asked for KDE based Kubuntu to aid the transition. I was happy with the live cd so I installed the system with dual boot shortly afterwards. The whole setup was very easy and it surprised me how little time and effort it took. Since then I have tried the Gnome flavour and realised that it was easier to stick with the very popular and well supported User Interface (UI). I always liked KDE for its similarities to Windows. Visually, it helps a lot with getting accustomed.

Note: I would have probably stuck with openSUSE if it were not for a message posted on their website from a disappointed programmer who had quit because of the Novell deal and he stated he would go onto to help the Ubuntu team so that made it easier for me to try Ubuntu.

Which Distro to choose

If you’re having a go at this for the first time, I recommend using Ubuntu. Everybody’s using it and there is a lot of support on the forums. You’ll be amazed at how many other people run into the same problems (or glitches) as yourself. I have used Ubuntu before but this time I wanted to go back to the KDE interface (Kubuntu).

What to do

1. The first thing I did was to backup Windows Vista. I used the backup feature in Programs>Accessories>System Tools and about 3 hours later it was all on an external hard drive.
2. After this, I downloaded the latest Kubuntu release and burned the software onto a blank cd. This step requires making an ISO image as opposed to creating a data cd but don’t let that intimidate you, it’s pretty damn easy.
3. For people who are dualbooting, downloading a software application called G-Parted is recommended. Like Kubuntu, you will need to make a live cd by creating an ISO image that will be burned onto a blank cd.
4. Stick the G-parted live cd in, restart Windows and somehow get the boot menu to appear (F12 when starting might be it). Once the program is opened you will now destroy and create partitions to make way for the linux install. If stuck, read this post first: How to Partition a Hard Drive for Dual-booting
5. With Acer, the hard disk was separated into three partitions: Windows Vista(C:), a spare (D:) drive for data, and one partition called PQservice which supposedly is for Acer data recovery services. So it had 1) Fat32. 2) NTFS (vista). 3) NTFS (empty). What I did was delete the spare NTFS and created an EXT3 partition. I left abour 6GB spare to create one last partition under LINUX-SWAP. In the end my partitions were: FAT32(PQservice); NTFS(Vista); EXT3(Linux install); Linux-swap(memory file). Create something like this and be as stingy or generous as you like with the sizes, just ensure that the swap partition has about two times your RAM capacity. If this is too complicated, read this article first: How to Partition a Hard Drive for Dual-booting
6. Now reboot again but this time with the Kubuntu live cd in the machine.
7. Once it reads from the cd you should probably “try Kubuntu without installing”. After messing around without any difficulty you should consider installing it.
8. If you are able to get this far without any troubles, the rest of the install should be easy. Once done you should dedicate some time to installing programs that will be useful such as firefox, skype, thunderbird, filezilla.

Conclusion

After using Kubuntu for the past weeks I think I have finally it set up the way I need it. I am very impressed with the performance so far. The last time I used KDE, I remember it crashing a lot and having to manually restart my computer frequently, but that might have had something to do with the fact that I had installed automatix.

Using Kubuntu 9.04 offers everything I need with internet and computer use. My email client Thunderbird works well, I have skype, filezilla, amsn so I’m not missing a thing. I’m not going to lie and say that linux now flies with the 3GB of RAM but it is much faster than Vista. Today I played with the video editing software I had downloaded and it works fine. I also downloaded the equivalent to Paint and FreeCiv which is supposed to be a Civilization substitute. I haven’t played it yet out of fear of getting addicted (like I did with Civ III).

For many people, migrating from Windows to Linux entirely is not an option. They can do one of two things, they can either run Linux in a limited capacity through wubi on the Windows HD or, they can get their hands dirty and give dual booting a try.

Dual booting from hard drive

For those of you thinking of dual-booting, good on you! I’m sure that if it weren’t for Civilization IV you would migrate completely. There is a safe way to do this and in a few paragraphs I will detail how to proceed.

Before you begin

First you will need to download a program called G-Parted. Once downloaded, it doesn’t stop there. You will need to burn this to a blank CD by creating an ISO image. I haven’t placed any links on where to get any of this in order to make your journey more of an adventure.

Once you have created a live CD for G-parted you will need to restart your system with the cd in the tray. During the boot-up try to get into the menu by pressing F12 or similar style keys. By booting from the CD you will enter into the G-parted program.

Here you will be destroying partitions, resizing partitions and creating new ones. Don’t be afraid, even if you do mess things up, at least you still have your computer.

The partitioning plan

There is much written on the Internet about how to best manage a dual boot and exactly how to partition. After reading pages and pages about how it should be done, I will present you with two practical options (both of which I have tried and tested).

1. You will leave the Windows partition alone and be creating 3 new partitions.
2. You will leave Windows and the other weird FAT32 partition alone and create only 2 new partitions.

On some systems, there are sometimes three partitions used up. On my Acer there were two NTFS partitions (one for Vista and one for spare storage) and a peculiar Fat32 partition called PQservice. For people on the same boat as me, try option 2. Once in the G-parted menu, if you notice there is only one NTFS partition for Windows, then you will use option 1.

Option 1

What you will need to do here is resize the current NTFS partition. This can be a very hard decision for some, the room you make for Linux will take storage away from your current C: drive. My advice is to go halves or leave at least 15GB for Linux. It sounds like a big commitment but you’ll know it’s worth it when you realise that Linux will consume most of your computer using time.

Resize the NTFS partition and with all the space left over you will make 3 new partitions under the file systems: NTFS; EXT3; and LINUX-SWAP. The linux-swap is a very small partition, about twice the size of your RAM memory. If your RAM is 1GB then allow 2GB for the Linux-swap partition (remember that the linux swap is at the very end of the hard disk.

So what we have here are three main partitions and one real tiny partition. Let’s pretend you have an 80GB hard dirve. What you could do is allow 30GB for NTFS-windows, 30GB for NTFS-spare, 18GB for EXT3-Linux, and 2GB for LINUX-swap. Once this is done, commit the changes and leave the program. The computer will restart and you can verify the changes on Windows. This leaves you ready to install Linux into the ext3 partition that you have just created.

The extra NTFS partition created is to be used as a backup drive or a gateway into both operating systems. Here you can put all your photos, music and documents. Making it an NTFS file makes it accessible from both Windows and Linux.

Option 2

When you run g-parted from the CD and see that there are two different partitions there already, then it’s best to leave those alone and create only two new partitions. You will need to resize the NTFS file and shrink it to make way for the linux partition. Once you have shrunk the original partition by half (or less), then create a new partition with the empty space. Remember that you will need to leave about 2GB free (or two times the RAM capacity) for the linux-swap partition.

So you have a FAT32 partition taking up a small amount of storage, you have a NTFS partition that contains the Windows operating system – this probably takes up about half of the storage or more, then you have an EXT3 partition allocated for the Linux installation – this will take up half or less of the total drive, and finally you have a small amount of space left for linux-swap – this will be between 1 to 3GB.

Commit the changes, leave the program and then reboot. When using Windows you wont be able to see the ext3 partition but it is there. You are now ready to install Linux into the ext3 partition.

Conclusion

It’s not too difficult creating partitions but its best to be certain about how you will do this. Once you have shrunk the original partition, you cannot undo this so don’t give away more than you can afford. If something should go wrong with the linux instalation, you can always delete this partition and start again – it’s the first partition that is most complicated.

If you would like some guidance on how to proceed with the linux install, visit this article from my blog: Dualbooting Windows Vista and Kubuntu Linux