TAG | From newb to 100 with Ubuntu Linux 8.04 |
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| by David M Williams | |
| Thursday, 15 May 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 3 Yet, unless a newcomer to Linux – or indeed, any unfamiliar operating environment – can begin achieving some of the things they use a computer for – like surfing the internet, checking e-mail, viewing photographs – it will be a disappointing experience. If there’s no impetus to persevere – like having a knowledgeable friend hanging around giving encouragement and advice – it’s possible the user will simply return to that which they know already and not come back. Here’s five important things to do which will give you enjoyment of your fresh new Ubuntu system and help you keep motivated to dig further. Get your wireless adapter working I’ve taken a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop and loaded Ubuntu 8.04 onto it. I booted from the CD and opted to let Ubuntu trash the previous contents of the hard drive. I’ve logged in using the username and password I set during the installation. Ubuntu plays its login music which immediately lets me know the audio drivers work. The screen displays at 1280x800 resolution and menu operation is pretty snappy. Yet, not all is well; I have an alert icon on the network indicator left of the date and time along the top of the screen. Clicking this gives a menu with an option to manually set up my network connection. However, there’s no option to set up WiFi. It’s a common complaint that Gutsy Gibbon had disappointing built-in wireless card support. Sadly, Hardy Heron doesn’t prove to be better in this regard for me. Fortunately, Google is always there to help – provided you have a network cable or another computer. Searching for “dell inspiron 6400 ubuntu wifi” brings forth tales of woe from many other hopefuls experiencing the same difficulty. A post on the Ubuntu forums gives a single line command which enables the wireless card, but notes that there’s a better, although more complex, answer elsewhere on the forums. This posting involves getting new packages via the apt-get command; this is used to upgrade Ubuntu or add more features. One benefit of Linux over other operating systems is its rich suite of freely available, and easily obtained, software. However, apt-get will only work if your Linux machine is connected to the Internet. You’ll need a network cable to use this command. CONTINUED |
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