Tag Archive for: Ubuntu

Installing Ubuntu with Wubi

I installed the Ubuntu Hardy Heron release onto my desktop via wubi. This isn’t a how-to on how I did that. You don’t need a how-to, the installation was that easy. You burn the cd, put it in the tray and follow the installation procedures that follow. It’s like installing any other program in Windows. Once you’re done, you reboot and choose which installation you want to run, Windows Vista or Ubuntu in my case. The install doesn’t touch your Windows files, doesn’t change your boot record, and if you want to get rid of your Ubuntu install when you’re done trying it out, you just remove it from Add/Remove Programs in Windows’ Control Panel like you do with any other program. I’m quite pleased by all of this.

As for Hardy Heron, there isn’t much new to talk about. It’s very similar to Gutsy Gibbon that came out 6 months ago, with the addition of some new program defaults (Transmission for Bit Torrent, among others) and some under the hood changes that a casual desktop user won’t notice too much. Ubuntu is definitely making it easier and easier to transition from Windows to Linux with each release. If you were ever afraid to take the plunge, now is your best time. You have nothing to lose by installing it via wubi and trying it out.

Welcome Back

I knew I couldn’t stay away for long. It was only a matter of time before I came back to you. What am I talking about? Ubuntu on my laptop. After spending a couple weeks back on WIndows XP on my laptop I had to switch back. I put XP on the laptop for work reasons, but now I don’t care. I want an OS that I like and that runs well on this laptop. That would be Ubuntu. Not only am I running Ubuntu, but I’m running the beta of their October release Gutsy Gibbon. I had a few troubles with screen resolution, but I think I have that all figured out now. Enabling the wireless this time was easy. All I had to do was click the use restricted driver button for my wireless card and it downloaded the driver and firmware and I have wireless on my Broadcom card with no problem. The one downside to getting back on Linux is the one wireless access point at work is far enough away to give me a really low signal (2mbps most times on Windows XP), but that was good enough for when the computer needed to be used by a student. Linux refuses to connect to that access point and I’m guessing it’s because the signal is too weak. I have no trouble connecting to other wireless networks when I pick them up.