Linux has landed
I’m officially using Linux Ubuntu. Yeah, I already said it in the previous post that I couldn’t wait to try this open source operating system and it only took a day to get my hands on it. Hehe. Well, definitely thanks to my gf for allowing me to use her old small laptop since she already got a new shiny MacBook (although she complains about the weight being much much heavier than the previous laptop =p). So I completely removed Windows XP and installed Ubuntu (I know the name actually sounds quite lame, scrapping the “U” in front, “buntu” in Malay actually means sorta like rotten but especially used for fish gone bad. It can also be applied for stupidity terms. LOL.)
It took a little less than one hour to complete the install and upon booting up, everything ran smoothly and the graphical user interface is pretty sweet. The panel is quite a reminiscence to Windows XP except that there are two; on top displays Applications, Folder and System menus along with app shortcut (like quick links), user, taskbar and date/time. Whereas the bottom shows tabs for opened applications, quick hide windows button, Workspace Switcher (like Spaces in Mac) and recycle bin. These two panels are movable to any edge of the screen, hidable and new panels can be added too. Check out the desktop screenshot below.
Firefox, Open Office (for word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, etc.), Evolution Mail client and some more applications are pre-installed which is good. There are a couple of games too. So far I’m loving it. One thing I realised about Linux is that installing applications is not that straight-forward. Unlike in Windows XP where you have to use the executable file or Mac which involves dragging the app into the Application folder, here in Ubuntu it requires package sources. This actually reminds me of the Installer and Cydia in the iPhone. They kinda work the same way.
Well, it’s only been less than a day since I started using this. For the first time I didn’t use my MacBook at all yesterday. I think I better give it a rest for a coupla days. It’s been a very hard worker for the past three years so it deserves it. In the mean time, I will spend more time on this alien operating system and learn as much as I possibly can.
So far, Ubuntu rocks my socks off.
Alright then, I’m out.
Good choice man! But… .deb files are basically the same as an .exe , all you have to do is make sure that you have the correct libraries installed.
Or of course, you could just use the Add/Remove Feature which is even simpler.
Unless you are compiling from source, I don’t think it’s really any harder to install stuff than on Windows.