A Visitor to the New World of Linux
Several years ago, I had tried to set up my old computer to use the Linux operating system. It was around 1998, and the computer was a Compaq 2200 with a Cyrix MediaGX 180 MHz processor, intended to run Windows 95. I got the Linux distribution (my memory thinks it was one of the Mandrake distributions, but then again this was many moons ago) out of a “Linux For Dummies” book with the included CD-ROM. In retrospect, I was probably doomed from the start for failure on this as the MediaGX processor is a “system on a chip” with audio, video, and RAM all integrated into one piece of silicon. Talk about proprietary drivers! Needless to say, after a week of effort, I never got it working, and went back to Windows with my tail between my legs.
I’ve owned computers running Windows 95, 98, 98 Second Edition, Millenium Edition, XP Home, and XP Pro. At work I’ve used Windows 3.1, NT, and 2000. That’s just about every version of Windows except the Media Center Edition. So why would I want to dump Windows and try something else? Part of it is curiosity and part of it is boredom. Windows Vista edition is stalled till 2007. From the information available I don’t see any great advantages, or must have apps thus far. The only really exciting feature, the Aero glass interface, I would have to update my ATI All-In-Wonder 9000 card with its 64 MB of video RAM to be able to use anyway. Also, Vista is less than stable according to many reviewers, with many issues that are sending the Redmond folks back to the drawing board.
A few months back, I collaborated on an article with TechNudge’s own Oldster (before we knew he was the resident Linux expert). I emailed him a rough draft of the article as a Word file. He emailed it back with his portion and a disclaimer that it was edited using Open Office on a Linux machine. While I expected a corrupted file, I was pleasantly surprised that it opened without any issues, and all the formatting remained. I was intrigued, but had no real reason to run to Linux at that point.
Now on July 11th, Microsoft is no longer going to be providing support and updates for the Windows 98 and Windows ME operating systems. They expect us all to migrate to their Windows XP operating system. If I didn’t upgrade my old desktop before, I really don’t want to be forced to do it now. I have two machines running Windows ME currently. Neither is robust enough to run Windows XP without grinding to a halt.
One option for these machines is to take them off the internet. My 475 MHz desktop connects to my parallel port printer, and scanner, which I only occasionally use. Until I upgrade them to a new all in one device, I’ll probably just keep that machine off the ‘net to keep it from getting infected or hacked.
The other one, a K6 200 MHz machine was in the pile to be put out for the trash. Then, I had a thought. I could use it as a Linux trial machine and find a distribution that I liked. While Oldster likes to play with some of the less common ones, like Blag 3003, I looked around and saw the Ubuntu is currently one of the more popular ones. It is also noted for ease of setup, and well supported on forums.
After a CD’s worth of info download via BitTorrent, I had my ISO. With a 3 minute burn in Nero, I had an Ubuntu Linux 6.06 set up disc. They will ship you one for free as they are supported by some wealthy African business man (I doubt the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is going to write a check for this…!). As this was entirely experimental, I completely ignored the OS requirement of a 1.5 GHz processor or faster and the rest. This desktop box contains a K6 200 MHz chip (somewhere between the original Pentium, and a Pentium II), with 92 megs of RAM, a 2 meg video card, and 8.4 GB and 3.8 GB hard drives. In short, state of the art- almost a decade ago. I also didn’t even bother to reformat the hard drive as it still had “Windoze” ME installed. If Ubuntu was easy to install, I wanted to witness it first hand.
I first tried the disc in the LiveCD mode. The idea is that you can run the OS off the CD and get a preview of the operating system without committing it to the hard disc. After two tries, on different machines, it was clear that it was not happening. Enough people talk about it that it must work for somebody, but it didn’t work for me. If I wanted to give it a try, it was going to have to work from the hard drive.
I honestly didn’t expect it to work, based on my previous experience. Also, I doubted the woefully inadequate hardware would be up to the task. Be that as it may, I plodded on. Actually, plodded is too quick. Chugged is probably too quick. Maybe the word I’m looking for is… snailed! I started the installation at around 1 pm, but it didn’t finish till around 9 pm. By way of comparison, Windows takes about 90 minutes to install. I think the installation disc is highly compressed as there was a lot of unpacking to do, and the older (almost antique) processor takes its time doing such things. Also, I got a little lost in the commands for partitioning of the drive, which also meant it was formatting it, although Linux didn’t use this word. I kept skipping this section as I didn’t want to partition anything. I also had to designate one of the hard drives as the root drive. I did the installation in text mode, but there is a graphical mode as well. Perhaps that is easier, but I doubt any faster.
After a work day of installation, what did I get? A great operating system that proved stable, and robust in the initial testing. After I switched the ugly brown desktop background, I felt right at home. It is also great that many productivity apps, like Open Office and GIMP are included with the initial installation. Even my familiar browser, FireFox, was there and ready to go online.
The whole desktop is a little slower than when it had Windows ME installed. However, it did perform stably, and I was able to get on the internet via a LAN connection with no issues.
With all the integrated software, I noticed that there was no antivirus and antispyware included. These are both staples of the Windows world. When I researched it, apparently there have only been 3 viruses ever identified in Linux, so most users feel it is unnecessary! Windows spyware can’t infect a Linux box either and is generally not a problem.
I must admit that initially it felt a little strange to be using my computer without the familiar Windows icons and apps. However, within about 10 minutes, I forgot that I was using Linux, and was just doing my usual computing.
With Windows withdrawing support for their older operating systems, and Vista still delayed, I think a full featured Linux distro, like Ubuntu, is a compelling option for these older computers with some life left in them. If I worked for Microsoft, I’d definitely be concerned. What started as a very exclusive niche movement, is now ready for the masses. I plan on keeping Ubuntu Linux around.
--Jonas
Ubuntu Linux home page
I’ve owned computers running Windows 95, 98, 98 Second Edition, Millenium Edition, XP Home, and XP Pro. At work I’ve used Windows 3.1, NT, and 2000. That’s just about every version of Windows except the Media Center Edition. So why would I want to dump Windows and try something else? Part of it is curiosity and part of it is boredom. Windows Vista edition is stalled till 2007. From the information available I don’t see any great advantages, or must have apps thus far. The only really exciting feature, the Aero glass interface, I would have to update my ATI All-In-Wonder 9000 card with its 64 MB of video RAM to be able to use anyway. Also, Vista is less than stable according to many reviewers, with many issues that are sending the Redmond folks back to the drawing board.
A few months back, I collaborated on an article with TechNudge’s own Oldster (before we knew he was the resident Linux expert). I emailed him a rough draft of the article as a Word file. He emailed it back with his portion and a disclaimer that it was edited using Open Office on a Linux machine. While I expected a corrupted file, I was pleasantly surprised that it opened without any issues, and all the formatting remained. I was intrigued, but had no real reason to run to Linux at that point.
Now on July 11th, Microsoft is no longer going to be providing support and updates for the Windows 98 and Windows ME operating systems. They expect us all to migrate to their Windows XP operating system. If I didn’t upgrade my old desktop before, I really don’t want to be forced to do it now. I have two machines running Windows ME currently. Neither is robust enough to run Windows XP without grinding to a halt.
One option for these machines is to take them off the internet. My 475 MHz desktop connects to my parallel port printer, and scanner, which I only occasionally use. Until I upgrade them to a new all in one device, I’ll probably just keep that machine off the ‘net to keep it from getting infected or hacked.
The other one, a K6 200 MHz machine was in the pile to be put out for the trash. Then, I had a thought. I could use it as a Linux trial machine and find a distribution that I liked. While Oldster likes to play with some of the less common ones, like Blag 3003, I looked around and saw the Ubuntu is currently one of the more popular ones. It is also noted for ease of setup, and well supported on forums.
After a CD’s worth of info download via BitTorrent, I had my ISO. With a 3 minute burn in Nero, I had an Ubuntu Linux 6.06 set up disc. They will ship you one for free as they are supported by some wealthy African business man (I doubt the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is going to write a check for this…!). As this was entirely experimental, I completely ignored the OS requirement of a 1.5 GHz processor or faster and the rest. This desktop box contains a K6 200 MHz chip (somewhere between the original Pentium, and a Pentium II), with 92 megs of RAM, a 2 meg video card, and 8.4 GB and 3.8 GB hard drives. In short, state of the art- almost a decade ago. I also didn’t even bother to reformat the hard drive as it still had “Windoze” ME installed. If Ubuntu was easy to install, I wanted to witness it first hand.
I first tried the disc in the LiveCD mode. The idea is that you can run the OS off the CD and get a preview of the operating system without committing it to the hard disc. After two tries, on different machines, it was clear that it was not happening. Enough people talk about it that it must work for somebody, but it didn’t work for me. If I wanted to give it a try, it was going to have to work from the hard drive.
I honestly didn’t expect it to work, based on my previous experience. Also, I doubted the woefully inadequate hardware would be up to the task. Be that as it may, I plodded on. Actually, plodded is too quick. Chugged is probably too quick. Maybe the word I’m looking for is… snailed! I started the installation at around 1 pm, but it didn’t finish till around 9 pm. By way of comparison, Windows takes about 90 minutes to install. I think the installation disc is highly compressed as there was a lot of unpacking to do, and the older (almost antique) processor takes its time doing such things. Also, I got a little lost in the commands for partitioning of the drive, which also meant it was formatting it, although Linux didn’t use this word. I kept skipping this section as I didn’t want to partition anything. I also had to designate one of the hard drives as the root drive. I did the installation in text mode, but there is a graphical mode as well. Perhaps that is easier, but I doubt any faster.
After a work day of installation, what did I get? A great operating system that proved stable, and robust in the initial testing. After I switched the ugly brown desktop background, I felt right at home. It is also great that many productivity apps, like Open Office and GIMP are included with the initial installation. Even my familiar browser, FireFox, was there and ready to go online.
The whole desktop is a little slower than when it had Windows ME installed. However, it did perform stably, and I was able to get on the internet via a LAN connection with no issues.
With all the integrated software, I noticed that there was no antivirus and antispyware included. These are both staples of the Windows world. When I researched it, apparently there have only been 3 viruses ever identified in Linux, so most users feel it is unnecessary! Windows spyware can’t infect a Linux box either and is generally not a problem.
I must admit that initially it felt a little strange to be using my computer without the familiar Windows icons and apps. However, within about 10 minutes, I forgot that I was using Linux, and was just doing my usual computing.
With Windows withdrawing support for their older operating systems, and Vista still delayed, I think a full featured Linux distro, like Ubuntu, is a compelling option for these older computers with some life left in them. If I worked for Microsoft, I’d definitely be concerned. What started as a very exclusive niche movement, is now ready for the masses. I plan on keeping Ubuntu Linux around.
--Jonas
Ubuntu Linux home page
posted by digitaldoc at 10:14 AM
7 Comments:
I installed Ubunut on my one system, and kind of like it. I had HUGE problems upgrading to the new version, and now it wont let me do anything except from a command prompt.
Linux needs to make installing programs easier! It is a pain to install things that are not in that package thingy. Try installing Folding@Home - oh lord I have a mess on that system, but it runs..lol..dunno how, but it does.
Linux is a snappy OS...it seems a LOT faster than windows XP. If people would make it a bit easier for installing/make icons, etc, and make the updating the OS somethign that doesnt kill it :|, I would run it on my main machine!!!
Mike
Oldster - you have any tips/programs taht do the things I said about for installing software? if so, I would appreciate a link, and I think Jonas would too - especially once he tries installing something the first time and realises you cant do a nice double click install :(
nice article - hope you keep chugging along, err...snailing along ;)
Thanks for the tips. Ubuntu is one of the more stable and better polished distributions. I'll keep playing around as it was kind of neat to be using a non-windows OS. This also opens up some more possibilites in terms of software, and with no more support for Windows ME, we're going to keep it running.
I do't think Oldsetr should give them away for free. He should write up hist tips and make you pay for them by reading TNL.
If you think Linux is fun, you should try FreeBSD or one of it's variants. I was trying to install version 5.something and broke it bigtime. I now have Karoraa on the box working well.
I vote for the tips list :)
I did the upgrade/update from inside ubunutu and it freaked like this - I guess the update worked, but it killed the gnome desktop.
Mike
Oh and installing software that is available thorugh the package manager thingy is easy, its the ones that are not on that that area royal pain!
tips list, tips list, tips list
Great discussion, and we await your article Oldster.
Ubuntu has an updater built in, you just have to click. It will update the OS, as well as the included software. Ubuntu is quite easy to navigate once you get past the no icons look of the desktop.
Thanks for the update Oldster. I think you've even confused yourself. Perhaps double up on the Aricept for a while (just kidding).
Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop as the default. Everything is still quite easy to find, so I'm not going to change anything for the minute.
Actually, the only thing wrong with Ubuntu so far is that the K6 200 MHz is just too slow. I'm figuring out where to install it next so I can really use it.
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