Linux Trials - Part 2
Been a while since my last post but suffice it to say things have been busy. Between testing the Linux distro (Ubuntu) on my desktop, a change in my work schedule and an impending move nearing…it’s been tough to just sit down long enough to try to write anything. That’s not particularly good but life just gets it’s own way sometimes. 
Now if you’ve read my previous post To Vista or not to Vista…what to do? you’ll know that I was testing Xandros and Ubuntu on both my laptop and desktop computers. Well, things have changed somewhat since that post and I’ll fill you in on it now.
It seemed that Xandros was having an issue of some kind on both PC’s that affected it’s ability to continue operating after a certain update was applied. I had to reinstall it several times to get it back to working and then when that update was applied again…it would crash. After attempting to ascertain what caused this by emailing support at Xandros and not being able to figure it out…I then wiped the drive and installed Ubuntu’s Dapper version.
Now some of you might think I gave up too easily on Xandros. Not true. I still have a copy and continue to see if I can learn what the issue was that kept causing the system crash after the update. Also, keeping in mind that my intent here is to see which of the two systems is user friendly to a Windows user who is looking to make the move from Windows to Linux. The easier the better.
I realize that the two OS’s (operating systems) are worlds apart in many ways (especially installing applications/programs) but from the perspective of a Windows user, I’m trying to see if Linux will be easy enough to learn so that it would become the main OS on my machine.
After wiping the drive on my desktop I installed a fresh copy of Ubuntu (Dapper Drake 6.06) and was up and running in no time. I got to select what applications I wanted to run by running Synaptic and selecting from the wide variety on the menu.
Now, before I go further, remember that installing applications/programs can be very different than doing the same in Windows. For most, it’s not click to download and then click to install. there is a process that one has to follow or you will surely throw your hands up in frustration and walk away. I know…I did a few times. But! There is help available in many locations that will assist you in the process as well as many other things relating to your new Linux OS.
I found help for installing the upgrades for the latest versions of Firefox and Thunderbird at Ubuntu Linux Resources which is a great place for learning how to install, mount and so forth. Now, I could have just waited for the updates to come out but I wanted to learn how to do it myself so I could get more used to how things work with my new OS. I’ll talk about this further in a later post but if you want to check it out now go to the site I talked about above and read about it.
As of this posting, I am quite satisfied with my installation of Ubuntu and am learning more about it each day. It’s becoming so comfortable using it that I haven’t been back in Windows for a while now. I can’t imagine what kind of updates I have waiting on me when I venture back for some reason.
Oh, that reminds me. Updates for Ubuntu are similar to Windows except in one respect. They don’t require a reboot when they finish installing. Now that’s refreshing! 
