Ubuntu Linux Experiences
Late this afternoon I received a comment on my post “XP to be euthanised despite poor Vista sales“, which discusses how the Windows XP operating system will become largely unavailable as of 30 June 2008, thereby forcing all new PC users to adopt Vista.
Rohesia commented:
“Bugger! Looks like I really will have to try and learn Linux :(”
I started to respond via comment but quickly realised I had a full-fledged train of thought going that warranted proper elaboration.
Up until about 9 months ago I’d never touched Linux, thinking it was a distribution well above my skill level and better left for computer science wizards who could speak command line as eloquently as Shakespeare. Though over time I became more and more curious and eventually installed Ubuntu Fiesty Fawn on a test bed to see what this open source stuff was all about.
My logic for choosing Ubuntu over the other Linux distro’s was influenced greatly by Ubuntu’s slogan “Linux for Human Beings.” I’d seen screen shots of the GUI and found the introductory documentation to be exceptionally straightforward, all of which combined to build my confidence.
Factoring in the fact that descriptions of the distro I’d read elsewhere reinforced this concept, I was inspired to give Ubuntu a try.
For example, according to Wikipedia:
“Ubuntu aims to use only free software to provide an up-to-date yet stable operating system for the average user, and features a strong focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation at the expense of platform diversity.”
On the average day I switch primarily between Mac OS X and Windows XP, so relatively speaking there is still only occasional time left for Ubuntu; however my experiences with the distro so far have been extremely positive.
It has required forays into command line programming via the terminal, however the amount of resources and support forums available online these days is phenomenal. So the information is definitely out there to help overcome most obstacles. As a result Ubuntu has not proven to be the ominous and frightening technical challenge than I had previously anticipated, but rather an exceptionally positive learning experience.
In fact the most time consuming tasks I’ve had to deal with have been learning what code to enter in the terminal. Once the information is located it’s incredible how transparent Ubuntu processes are under the bonnet.
It’s called open source for a reason after all.
For example, the first time I installed MediaWiki on a Windows 2000 Server it took me a week of painful frustration - this included research time into configurations and settings, but also an equal amount of time spent fighting and swearing to get Windows to play nicely with open source software.
Fast forward to the same task on Ubuntu and it took me only a matter of hours to set-up everything, including all the configurations of Apache, PHP, MySQL and finally MediaWiki. More importantly it was an extremely pleasant experience in which most of the work I did was to locate the terminal commands and occasionally enter a line of code. The rest of the time was letting Ubuntu work its magic.
Furthermore, all subsequent installations of web applications that run on the same frameworks - such as Drupal, Elgg and Wordpress - have been completed in 30 minutes or less. It’s lightning quick.
I now use open source as often as I possibly can. The fact it’s free is certainly attractive, but its real value lay in its flexibility and straightforward nature. Open source fans often pontificate about freedom in software, and I now see why.
With that said though I’m beginning to realise that open source software runs best when it’s installed on open source operating systems. The fact it will run on Windows and Mac machines as well is a sign of the movement’s willingness to maintain open lines of communication with proprietary software.
What does it say about non-open source programs when you realise this isn’t a two-way street?
