After flirting with tech from 1989 onwards, Sam Varghese began to experiment with Linux in 1998. A couple of years later, he began using the Debian distribution as a single-boot system for his personal use. From that point onwards his interest grew and he has since written widely about free and open source software, with a great deal of his writings based on his own experiences, rather than anecdotal evidence. Open Sauce will focus on a genre of software that is present everywhere but rarely acknowledged; a genre that has little eye-candy but does most of the heavy lifting; a genre that is designed and written by people whose accomplishments are only occasionally recognised. Above all this blog will follow the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Ubuntu: first stop on the road to Damascus

by Sam Varghese

Friday, 16 November 2007

Page 1 of 2 In nearly 10 years of experimenting with, and, later, using Linux, I have never been presented with a situation where someone actually asked me to preside over their initial foray into the use of the open source operating system on a regular basis. Register now to win a Canon EOS 500D The first Tuesday in November is a significant day in Melbourne - that's the day on which the Melbourne Cup horse race is staged, an event which has earned the name of being the only race that stops a nation. That day will also be significant to me from now on for it was on Tuesday, November 6, that I helped to set the editor of iTWire, Stan Beer, on the Linux road. At the time I started playing around with Linux - December 1998 - there was no live CD available to see what the operating system looked like before it was installed. You had to take the plunge, make space on your hard drive and run a dual-boot system if you wanted to taste of what was then, more or less, forbidden fruit. My first Linux CD came with a copy of the Australian Personal Computer magazine which was selling for $A15; there was a small Linux pocketbook as well. The CD had a copy of Red Hat version 5.2.  These days, there is a plethora of live CDs which people can use to look at the interface, run the applications, and indeed even use on a long-term basis if they so desire. Thus Stan had plenty of opportunities to have a look and also play around with Linux - Ubuntu was his choice of plaything. For him - as for anyone who depends on their PC for mostly every office function - stability and speed are very important. And while he was running Windows Server 2003 - probably the most stable of the various Windows versions which are currently in use - he was still taking a hit in these two departments, despite having a PC that the average punter would give an arm and a leg to own. There were three requirements - install Ubuntu on a desktop, a laptop and set up printing from a second PC. Stan was mentally prepared for it, having tested the Ubuntu 7.10 live CD and also purchased a new printer (he needed one anyway) that was Linux-compatible. There were no undue expectations - in short, Stan was well aware that Linux is not Windows. No matter how many times one installs Linux, there is always that little tremor of fear at the time when one has to partition a hard drive and leave a portion of it to Windows. I've never had this feeling for years as the last time I had such a system was in July 2000. After that, for me it's been single-boot Linux systems all the way. After ascertaining how much space had been consumed by Windows on Stan's PC, I began the installation. The partition manager worked flawlessly on the desktop PC and rendered unto Windows what belonged to it - plus a good bit besides which I allocated to be on the safe side. The whole installation ended with no dramas. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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