As of August 26th 2007 I am Windows free!

Disclaimer: I don't know jack about Linux or anything else for that matter. If you come across this and find something you think is wrong, than it probably is. If you come across misspellings or grammatical errors and you want to seem smarter than everybody else by pointing them out, good for you, I hope it makes you feel better about yourself. This blog is for people like me who have no idea what they are doing but want to learn and I hope we can all learn something together. If you would like to email me about anything my Email is: jeremydlamb@cox.net. Enjoy...

As of August 26th 2007 I am Windows free. My journey into the world of Linux has been pretty shaky. I have been running Windows ever since my first IBM compatible computer. A quick rundown of my computers from day one are: Apple II, Apple IIe, Apple IIgs, and then the great and wonderful Packard fricken Bell 386sx Running Windows 3.1. From there I had a series of different computers running 95, 98, Windows Me, and the ever powerful Windows XP! My XP experience started with my brand new Dell P3 computer. It came with the biggest joke of an operating system, Windows ME. I soon reformatted and found [stole - shhhhhh] a copy of Windows XP Professional Corporate Edition. Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking "Corporate edition Huh?" yeah like I was going to pay for it after they screwed me with ME. I have become very comfortable with XP over the last 6-7 years but it was time for a change. I first tried Mandrake which was a free version of Red Hat (I think) but it didn't work well with me. That was a couple of years ago, so I had the Linux bug and tried Ubuntu. Some of the biggest problems with Mandrake are the same problems I have with Ubuntu but we will get into that later.

So why Linux? For starters: it's free - no five finger discount required. It doesn't have the security problems that Windows has. At the present point I do not run a firewall, virus protection, or any type of anti-adware. Why you ask? I am under the impression that I don't need it. Why Ubuntu? The fact that Dell is sending out units with Ubuntu weighed heavily on my choice of operating systems. They had to know something that I didn't. I mailed away for a free copy and it came in the mail. So there you go, I really had no hardcore technical reason for picking it.

Being a Windows user, I had a couple of questions when I started. What is Root, KDE, Gnome, Ubuntu, Sudo etc. So I asked, Guess what? I received a bunch of links to a bunch of websites that had all the tech info you could use. Did this help? No, it did not. I don't speak or read Nerd-lish very well. So, my next question was "what is the Windows equivalent?" This question evolved into an argument between many users on the Ubuntu forums but this is the best I could get out of it:

Linux is an OS like Windows
The Kernel is like MS-DOS
Ubuntu Linux is Like a windows XP/Vista
Gnome is what Windows was when windows 1.0 came out (its the graphics interface to the command script)
KDE...see gnome
Root is how you always run your computer in Windows -- basically the main admin (a bad thing most of the time you're not in root)
Sudo is running Root in mini sessions
Wine is a Windows emulator (yes you can run Windows in Linux)

So now that I somewhat understand that part of it I was wondering what kind of programs Linux offers. For the most part every program you use in Windows has a Linux equivalent. The list is too long to list but here is a link to a website that has a ton of info on it.

The first problem I had was that my video card is really not all that compatible with Ubuntu / Linux. I have a Geforce 6800xt. Before you install, I would check this list to make sure that your video card is compatible. My next big problem I ran into was the installation of programs. After hours of research I have found there is a thing on your new Linux install called a repository. This is a place on your computer that has a wealth of programs that you can directly install. Installing programs straight off the internet is still a mystery to me but I am working on it. The last thing that has completely baffled me is how to bypass the password protection on everything. The passwords are used for security purposes and is advised not to mess with them. I don't like them so here is a way of getting around some of them.

Installation was a piece of cake. I popped the CD in and it did all the install itself except a few personnel settings. The really cool thing is that you can run Ubuntu off of the CD itself - try that with Windows. When I had my video card problem I used the CD to search the internet and to help me find ways to fix it.

All and all, I learn something new everyday. Before installing Ubuntu or any other Linux operating system, check to see if all your components are compatible - it really sucks when you install everything to find out that your printer doesn't work. Will I ever go back to Windows? I don't think so. I really don't see the point in it right now. Below I have many helpful resources that might come in handy.

Download Ubuntu
Ubuntu Forums
Windows look alike
Hardware support components
Ubuntu Wiki
Free Ubuntu CD
Free Ubuntu Stickers