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Seriously impressed with Ubuntu

Started by Chandler, February 28, 2009, 16:40 hrs

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Chandler

Due to my job as a civil and structural engineer I can't realistically use anything other than Windows because I need access to specialist software that only exists for Windows.  As a result, my main PC runs Windows XP and my other PC which is used mostly for games runs Windows Vista.  Both are great operating systems.

But I think there are some great Linux distributions out there.  My "server" is an old Pentium III 650MHz with 384MB RAM and is runs Mandriva 2007 with ZoneMinder CCTV software.  After some initial growing pains that machine has been running stable 24/7 for over a year.  Luckily it hasn't caught anyone but it has managed to accrue a huge amount of videos of the cat coming in and gardening.  This is free software on the innards of a 9 year old Quantex PC, with a half-dead capture card.  With current energy prices I estimate that it costs approx Ã?£60 a year to run 24/7.  It's not worth replacing it with a dedicated DVR at those running costs and a DVR wouldn't be able to hold backups of my work either.  This is when you really appreciate the value of Linux.  That machine can run Windows XP no problem, but it's far too slow for any of the CCTV packages available for Windows.  It easily runs ZoneMinder with 1 camera, and I think that with some careful optimizations it can run 2.  I've seen newer systems than this thrown in the skip.

The one thing with Mandriva 2007 is that it has become a bit of a pain to maintain due to its age.  My system is working and I can get things installed, but it's not as slick as I'd like it to be.  It has a package management system, but its database is seriously out of date.  Maybe there's a way to update the list of packages but I decided to try a newer distribution instead.  Tonight I downloaded Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop.  LTS means that it will be support into 2011.  I chose Ubuntu for a few reasons, mainly because it seems to be the most popular one right now.  If you want an application you can usually find a ready-compiled .deb package to install it.  The one thing that has annoyed me with trying to find help with Linux is the general arrogance.  This arrogance means that users are expected to type inane commands to perform the most simple of tasks.  Why should it be like that - it's truly ridiculous.  Maybe it's the superior power of Linux over Windows that's demonstrated by the need to do everything in the most convoluted way possible, because it's more intelligent.  Maybe I've been brainwashed by years of using Microsoft's products.  There are situations that a command line should be used, but compiling a simple application to run on a particular Linux distribution is not one of them.  It's downright crazy.

Anyway, Ubuntu has impressed me so far.  I took a matter of minutes to install on my test system - an Intel D815EEA with Pentium III 1.0GHz and a Radeon 9200.  There are a good selection of programs installed "out of the box" but installing new ones isn't difficult.  What interested me the most is VirtualBox, which is a free VMWare/VirtualPC alternative.  The version in Ubuntu is the open source version which lacks a few features.  I went to the VB website expecting source files and endless commands to compile binaries, but the great thing is I found a version specifically for my version of Ubuntu.  I downloaded it and it opened up in the Ubuntu package manager and automatically sorted out all dependencies.  And what surprised me most of all was at the end of it, it actually worked.  No weird cryptic error messages about missing dependencies.  It just worked and I'm currently installing Windows XP in a virtual machine on Ubuntu.  Supposedly it can pass through USB devices to the virtual machine too.  That is so cool and VirtualPC on Windows can't do that.  VMWare can, but you have to pay for it.  This is free.

It doesn't stop there.  There's a version of my favourite CCTV software ZoneMinder, ready compiled for Ubuntu.  Firefox 3.0.5 was already installed.  Openoffice was already installed.  I connected to a share on my XP machine and expected all kinds of problems but no, it prompted me for username and password and even mapped a shortcut on my desktop.  I tried to play a movie I'd recorded from digital TV on my XP box and it asked me if I wanted to search online for codecs.  I accepted, and it did download a suitable decoder, and it played the video file immediately.

Then there's the visual effects.  I'm running on a dinosaur of a PC.  The Radeon 9200 wasn't a fast card when it was released but even running at 1920x1200 I can do all kinds of fancy effects when moving windows, ALT+TAB'ing and they're 100% smooth.  As for ALT+TAB, yes, Ubuntu uses standard Windows shortcuts and window behaviour.  I'll say standard here, because Windows is what the majority of the world's population uses however hard it is for some to swallow.  Ubuntu makes sense.  It doesn't try to force elitist Linux crap on everyone.  It tries to be a distro that anyone can just sit down and start using and I think that it will be the next OS on my server.

Buffalo2102

Erm....do you mind if I borrow your cat.......my garden is a mess.

Buff; your cat can come in and garden any time it wants.
Vista x64 Home Premium. Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Abit IP35, 4 Gig Kingston HyperX PC8500C5 DDR2, GTX260, Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer, Antec 900 Gaming Case.

scuzzy

I recently tried Ubuntu on an old MSI build. It installed without problems, and I enjoyed using it for a day or two. Unfortunately, I began having problems. Sometimes it would not start up, and other times it locked up or threw weird code at me. I attributed the problem to the computer itself, as I was having unusual problems with the previous Windows installation (sometimes it would not start up, and other times it locked up or threw weird code at me).

I may be able to put a new system together (using old parts) sometime in the near future. I just have to come up with another power supply and a video card. Once I do, I'll again try the latest incarnation of Ubuntu.
Antec Performance TX640B Case | WinXP Pro SP3 & Win7 64-bit | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale LGA 775 3.16GHz Dual-Core | 8GB (4x2GB) PC6400 G-Skill RAM | eVGA 7600GT 256MB PCI-E | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 16MB Cache | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 8MB Cache | 320GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 16MB Cache | External 640GB WD Caviar SATA 32MB Cache | Sony DRU-V200S DVD/RW | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W | Samsung SyncMaster 2494 (24") LCD Monitor | LG Flatron W2361V (23") LCD Monitor

Ace

Scuzzy can have Buff's cat; I don't care, I don't want it.  But there is no way you're getting one of my video cards or another power supply.  I'm not going to run this thing off house current, or that model train transformer.  Again.

If you want to canibalize something I'd suggest you start with yourself.  Try biting the hand that feeds you.

Ace; I assume it's the right one.
Ring bells for service.