
My Apple Mac died recently after almost five years of dedicated service. I have a MacBook so there is no need to rush into buying a new desktop. I have a PC that I think may be good for Ubuntu, it's about four years old.
The online documentation seems to gloss over hardware requirements. Will this hardware configuration handle Ubuntu or is Xubuntu a better choice due to its age?
1 256 MB RAM seems to be the minimum for Ubuntu, would more RAM be a wise investment?
2 I also have an old NEC MultiSync XE15 lying around waiting to be of use for something.
Any recommendations for a wireless ethernet card?
The documentation seems to say that a wifi card can be tricky with Ubuntu and provides a long list of compatible cards. Are any better than the others? Or do I just need to make sure the one I get is Linux compatable?
The documentation doesn't seem to mention scanners. This is not a deal breaker for me but it would be nice to have. My scanner is a Canon LiDE 20, is there a driver for it? Will a general TWAIN driver work?
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The online documentation covers most software questions that I have, but I could use some feedback in a few areas.
I know Ubuntu includes the Firefox web browser but does it work well with Netvibes and Newsvine? I use Netvibes extensively (RSS feeds, podcasts, calendar) so this is important. I also use Newsvine a lot, writing and submitting articles as well as seeding frequently.
This is important to me. I really like listening to podcasts and streaming internet radio. Is there a good podcast player/organizer for Ubuntu? How about an app to create podcasts? A few of the internet radio streams that I would like to listen to are Radio Paradise and Virgin Radio.
Does Songbird work well in Ubuntu? Songbird looks so good that I'm thinking of trying it out on my MacBook.
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I've decided on a wifi card and 512MB more memory.
More info down in the comments:Ubuntu Project Update (Comment #9).
My next Article update will be in about one week.
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I won't leave you hanging, I'll let you know how things progress. Expect an update in a week or so, I need to do some more research and get a Wifi card.
Was it easy to install? How long did it take? I hope to answer these questions.
How does Ubuntu compare with other more mainstream operating systems? Can I use it for my everyday computing needs? After I use Ubuntu for a week or two then I'll post a report.
My Suggestions:
1. More RAM the better, you can get it cheap and the performance increase will be quite significant.
2. Look for a wireless card with the Atheros chip set. They work out of the box with Ubuntu ( I use a D-Link DWL-G520)
3. I'd suggest sticking with standard Ubuntu (if you do the ram upgrade) rest of your hardware is fine.
4. Scanner I'm not sure - I'd need to look up it's information but if it's fairly new it should work (USB?)
5. Firefox will work as well as Safari or Camino does on your mac, better in some cases.
6. I've never used songbird (looks cool will try tomorrow) most used music player is like Amarok and it's got great features (itunes on steroids) will work fine with podcasts.
7. Install is incredibly awesome - you boot off a live CD and actually can use your operating system (browse etc) while the OS is installing in the background. I played bubbles or something while it installed on my system.
I personally like KDE better than Ubuntu because I think it looks nicer. Amarok is for KDE, it will run on GNOME (Ubuntu interface) but look horrible. Here's an article about GNOME audio players: http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128636/article.html
OnlineApps. Do you run Kubuntu? or another distro?
Thanks!
Kubuntu all the way!
I like it because:
I like KDE
Easy to install programs (apt-get, aptitude, AND adept)
Big user base
I've used and liked Slax, but that's just a live CD. Dreamlinux is cool, but support is hard to find unless you speak Portuguese. SuSE doesn't have apt-get or aptitude. I really haven't tried any others.
I'm actually going to write something for the Free Software Magazine about how to install and set up Kubuntu Edgy and Windows XP in a dual-boot (I can send it to you if you want when it is ready).
that would be great. I am currently running Ubuntu and may change it to a dual boot and run both Ubuntu and Kubuntu so that I can see some of the differences.
2. Look for a wireless card with the Atheros chip set. They work out of the box with Ubuntu ( I use a D-Link DWL-G520)
I installed Ubuntu on a box here at work and was looking for a wireless card when I found out we already had some just sitting around. They are D-Link cards (Atheros chipset) and they worked immediately with both the server and the desktop versions of Ubuntu.
Kubuntu is kinda ugly - not a lot of attention is given to the KDE theme and layout. Amarok looks fine in Gnome, and works fine as well. Stick with Ubuntu, once your familiar with stuff start branching out to Ubuntu's child projects.
Kubuntu all the way!
I like it because:
I like KDE
Easy to install programs (apt-get, aptitude, AND adept)
Big user baseI've used and liked Slax, but that's just a live CD. Dreamlinux is cool, but support is hard to find unless you speak Portuguese. SuSE doesn't have apt-get or aptitude. I really haven't tried any others.
I'm actually going to write something for the Free Software Magazine about how to install and set up Kubuntu Edgy and Windows XP in a dual-boot (I can send it to you if you want when it is ready).
Not to get into a Geek argument but of your points only one seems valid the "I like KDE" which is a personal choice and that's cool.
Easy to install programs point is true for any Debian based distro (Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc).
Big user base? Ubuntu is the incredibly more widespread than Kubuntu and it's Gnome. KDE may be wide spread more throughout other distros ... but in this case of Ubuntu based distros - Gnome wins.
SuSE is a great OS and is my second choice for anyone looking for Linux @ home. I generally give ubuntu to people who are light users and just want to play a bit and SuSE for those looking for a small biz type desktop. SuSE uses YaST which is very similiar to apt-get, and is extreemly clean and fine tuned. SuSE is likely the most professional distro out there.
Dual boots are ok but I've had better experince getting people to switch cold turkey for 2 weeks. Then give them the option to go to a dual boot system after... dual boot is too much of a crutch and first time you get a bit lost and don't feel like learning you'll go back to what your used to.
Best of luck with your article - more people need to write useful articles such as that, I've written for Linux.com previously as well, definitly worth it.
Cool - infact I just DL the latest Ubuntu, Knoppix and Dreamlinux this week end. I am trying all 3 out from the CD then will install at least two that I like and go for a multi-boot.
If you have an old computer, I believe Xbuntu ould be more suitable (according the the website).
A few suggestions:
Ubuntu is probably fine
Firefox is a ton more standards compliant than IE, so it will run Netvibes and Newsvine terrificly (I'm in it now!)
Songbird isn't bad, but Banshee is probably better. Songbird's in heavy alpha status.
Make sure you get Automatix (getautomatix.com) and use it to install some plugins.
Use this guide for installing software:
http://monkeyblog.org/ubuntu/installing/
And get Battle For Wesnoth (wesnoth.org)!
I've heard some people say not to install Automatix because you need to learn how to install those plugins without an automatic script doing it. What do you think?
To that I'd say, why?
Besides plugins, I don't really use Automatix though. To me, sudo apt-get install is a lot easier.
256 megs of RAM is just fine for Ubuntu.
I, in fact, am running Ubuntu on a server with a 400mHz processor and 192megs of RAM just fine.
Lower levels of ram are fine for servers, but on the desktop you might want to go higher than 256. If you're going to be scanning images that's almost a must. The ~$30 you'll spend to add another 256MB will make a world of difference for ordinary desktop apps. Firefox can be a bit of a ram hog (even on Windows).
I agree anything under 512 is going to hurt when your running Firefox, Gnome (the gui), maybe an mp3 player, and say open office... painful ....
Trust me DDR ram is cheap, since your not paying for the OS spend 50-60 bucks and invest in some RAM.
oh and just as a side note - there is nothing special about running amarok under ubuntu - ignore the whole KDE / GNOME thing... the software will run fine, and while it won't look exactly the same as most of your other apps it's not ugly (imagine a windows program running on your mac).
Songbird - http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/songbird
I know Ubuntu includes the Firefox web browser but does it work well with Netvibes and Newsvine? I use Netvibes extensively (RSS feeds, podcasts, calendar) so this is important. I also use Newsvine a lot, writing and submitting articles as well as seeding frequently.
I uswe both netvibes and Newsvine and have a new box at home that I put Ubuntu on and have had no issues yet with either.
Good luck and keep us informed of how it is going! I am pretty much a newbie when it comes to Ubuntu but have also recently begun playing around with it.
The psychocats Ubuntu site is a great guide.
BTW, you can also install Songbird via Automatix (see above).
My Ubuntu system is a 2.0ghz P4 with 1.5gb RAM and 80gb hard drive. I originally had it with 256mb of Ram with no problems; I just got a deal on the 1.5gb. Linux seems to make very efficient use of system resources.....get one of those resource meters installed and you will see what I mean.
Can I use a USB keyboard and an USB optical mouse with Ubuntu?
I just checked my Ubuntu box and I'm using a USB keyboard and mouse, so yes.
Can I download and burn the Ubuntu install disk-image with my Apple MacBook even though I will use the CD to install Ubuntu on a Windows machine?
Thura has already replied, saying the filesystems are different, but since you will be burning an iso image I don't think it should matter. The computer you install on won't have a filesystem until the installation creates one. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose but time.
Here are some useful urls I found this morning. Hack Attack: Top 10 Ubuntu apps and tweaks How to install ANYTHING in Ubuntu! 5 ways to run Windows software on a Linux system
Little late, but here's a podcast from Linux Reality about wifi cards:
http://www.linuxreality.com/podcast/episode-52-wireless-networking-basics/
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