Moving to Open Source

Forget everything you know about downloading and installing software in windows and prepare yourself for a new experience. Well you don’t need to forget everything but it is a different experience.

I will explain it as I understand it:
The software in Ubuntu is based on packages, there is a huge catalog of the packages right here on your system, there are a few ways of accessing the packages and installing the software from these packages: The easy way, the less easy way, the even less easy way.

But before installing any software you should enable extra packages.
You can do it by going to: system -> Administration -> Software sources
The first tab is Ubuntu Software, I recommend you mark all options possible.
Here you can find more information about the meaning of the options.
Now you should go to “Updates” tab and mark the first 2 options on Ubuntu updates. This is to make sure that your system will be updated regularly.

The easy way installing software in Ubuntu:
when you click on “applications” on the top tool bar and go to add/remove. You will get a screen with a huge list of software packages just wanting you to install them on your system. The packages are arranged by categories, you should browse and install your favorite software.
One of the first programs on the list is 7-zip, you should try installing it as it is very useful in opening zip/rar files. You just click on the square to the left of the software name, and click apply changes.
Note: you will need to put in your system password in order to make these changes.

The less easy way installing software in Ubuntu:
Ubuntu has many many more software packages – about 22,841 and counting.
you can’t see all these via the application menu, in order to see all these packages you need to go to: System->Administration->Synaptic Package Manager
Here you can see a full list of all the packages – and it is Huge!. If you wish to install a certain software it is best to search for it via Synaptic.
When you right click on one of the packages you have the options of installing/uninstalling etc.

The even less easy way installing software in Ubuntu:
Sometimes you would like to download and install software directly, this can be done via the terminal. I haven’t gone into it yet because I didn’t need it yet (as I said I will go according to my needs), but you can read more about it here.

Now that we enabled extra software sources we can go on improving our experience through the system.

The next stage:
Improving the surfing experience by installing flash, Java and video & audio codecs.

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I am now windowless! I removed my Microsoft windows operating system and completely installed Ubuntu on my computer.

There are 2 ways to install Ubuntu on your computer:
1. Install Ubuntu on a partition and using your machine as a dual boot machine which means every time you restart your computer you can choose if you wish to work with windows or with Ubuntu.
2. Complete install which means you remove your previous operating system from your computer.

As I am a total person who goes into what he does until the end - I chose option number 2.

here are links to a few screen casts that will help you with the installation process:
installing Ubuntu part 1
installing Ubuntu part 2
Installing Ubuntu with windows dual boot

During The installation process I encountered one problem. One of the first surprises I found is that you can use Ubuntu from the live CD white it is installed on your hard drive, So I configured the internet connection as I explained on my previous post and started searching for a solution. It was quite easy to find one.

The Problem: Ubuntu installation froze at 82%.

The solution: Disable the network icon on the top right on the screen (the icon which looks like 2 screens)

To disable it you need to right click on the icon and then choose enable networking, and then you will get a little red X near the icon.

The installation will go smoothly from there, just follow the instructions on the screen.

Now I have a Installed Ubuntu and I am ready to start diving into it.

There are many lists of things to do right after you have installed Ubuntu. Here is on good one

I decided to go according to my needs – when I will need to do something on my computer I will install the appropriate driver/accessories/software etc.

The first important thing to do after installing Ubuntu is: configure your internet connection. you should know how to do it by now as I recommended you check it out while using Ubuntu from a live CD.

Ubuntu uses The open source Firefox browser as its main internet browser ( I used it on windows and quite like it mostly thanks to all the wonderful add-ons it has). You can install other browsers.

The next stage: Configuring and updating the Ubuntu Software repositories, and then installing a whole lot of stuff on your computer, and when I say a whole lot I mean really a lot! of stuff to choose from.

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I am very excited, I spent a few days trying out Ubuntu on a Live CD an I lived to tell about it
So here is my report of running ubuntu via a live CD without touching my current OS:

It wasn’t a smooth sail, and it started with a problem.
When you run the CD after the reboot you will get the following screen:

In Order to run the cd you will need to choose (using the keyboard arrows and not the mouse) the first option: Start or Install Ubuntu.
Here I encountered a Problem – the computer started to run the operating system but suddenly froze. The solution for the problem was running Ubuntu via the second choice: Start Ubuntu in safe graphics mode. It started fine.
The screen you will get will be the following one:

note: the screen shots were not taken from my actual running process.

Now you are ready to try Ubuntu.
You can check out the various software applications (play some games), check out the places and the system menus. You can even browse the internet.
And here came my second problem. But thanks to the online community I found a solution.
I had to configure my ADSL internet connection.
The first thing I would like to do after installing any operating system is configure the internet system so I will be able to download stuff an access support and help.
After restarting the computer again in windows, I found a solution.

This is how you configure an ADSL connection on Ubuntu:
Start Ubuntu live CD again and the do the following:
applications -> accessories -> terminal
In the terminal window type the following:
sudo pppoeconf

then follow the instruction which means : answer yes on all the yes/no questions, and typed your login and password to your internet connection. After completing this run the Firefox browser by clicking on the Firefox icon on the top bar and vioala you have internet.

A small warning: Running Ubuntu from a live CD is quite slow, when it is installed on your hard drive it will run much much faster.

After trying it out a bit I decided to install it on my computer. Now there are 2 options: 1. Installing Ubuntu as the sole operating system on the computer. 2. Installing Ubuntu as another operating system and have an option to dual boot it with windows or other OS.

Before you attempt installing Ubuntu you have to Backup all the data you wish to keep, and write down all your internet settings. Once you have access to the internet you have access to all the Help you need, Try configure your internet connection via the live CD in order to confirm that it works properly.
Here is a Blog Post and a Podcast about 10 things to do before installing Ubuntu

The Next stage:
Finally Installing Ubuntu and diving into it.

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As Raseel mentioned in a comment to my previous post all modern Open Source Operating Systems have the option of trying them on a LiveCD. LiveCD means that you can burn the Operating System files on a cd, restart your computer and run the open source operating system from the CD without installing it and without deleting or touching your current operating system.

In order to see if I like using Ubuntu I will Download it and try running it from a LiveCD.

Getting Ubuntu:
A New Version of Ubuntu is released on April and on October every year. The versions are given numbers according to the year and month of release. The last release was on October 2007 so the version number will be 7.10 (7 for 2007, 10 for October). The next version will be 8.04 (you can figure it out yourself by now). But why deal with numbers if you call give each version a name. each version of Ubuntu is given a name. Version 7.10 is called Gutsy Gibbon, The next release will be called Hardy Heron (Don’t ask me why).

Ubuntu has versions that suit 32 bit and 64 bit computer architectures. If you want an operating system in another language other than English, don’t worry, Ubuntu supports multiple languages.

So stage number one: Downloading Ubuntu from here , Saving it to your hard drive, and then burning it onto a CD.

Here are a few video tutorials which might help you with the process:

Downloading and burning Ubuntu CD
Burning an Ubuntu CD using Nero
Burning an Ubuntu CD using Infra Recorder

There are many other video tutorials which I will probably link to on my next posts.

Ubuntu had very useful support documentation , you can try it out if you encounter problems, otherwise you can just Google your problems you will probably find a solution.

If you don’t want to start burning stuff you can always order a CD at minimal cost or even request a free cd.

After you have a CD with Ubuntu files on it, insert it in you computer CD/DVD player, and restart your computer. You will probably have to press a key so the computer will run from the CD, or even configure your BIOS in order to start from the CD.

OK Now I am ready to run Ubuntu for the first time from the LiveCD.

I have Ubuntu running from my CD, so I can try in out without affecting my current operating system.

Up until now it was quite easy

The next stage:
Trying out Ubuntu for the first time and writing down my first impressions. I will even Bring some screen shots in order to impress you as well.

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I like a variety to choose from, but when the variety is too big it becomes overwhelming. When searching for Open Source operating systems you start to encounter a lot of unknown names: Fedora, Red Hat, Debian, GNU, and many more. Here is a full list of all open source linux distributions.

How can a beginner like me know what to choose from?

Well it was quite easy!
After reading a bit about the variety of systems, checking out the internet site of the various open source operating systems, reading reviews and articles, and of course after reading the comment Peterix left on my previous post I came to one obvious conclusion.

The chosen open source operating system I want to try is: Ubuntu.

The reasons for choosing Ubuntu over other open source operating systems are:

1. Is is extremely user friendly, very good for beginners or people with no programing experience, who want a simple and easy to learn window based operating system.
2. The community is very supportive, when you encounter a problem you just need to search for a solution and you can find it easily.
3. Every 6 months an updated version is released regularly.
4. The final reason isn’t connected with computers, it is rather personal. Ubuntu is an operating system which originated in South Africa, as having a common denominator with Ubuntu (I am not an operating system but I was born in South Africa), I felt that by choosing Ubuntu I gave some respect to my roots.

Ubuntu is a word in Zulu which means Humanity to others. A very important message to all humanity.
I can write all about Ubuntu history and releases but It is all written on the official Ubuntu site.

After choosing the open source operating system it is time to get down to business.

The next stage:
Downloading, Burning & Trying Ubuntu on the Live CD without touching anything on the hard drive.

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The Decision:
I want to move from a window based environment meaning windows operating system & commercial software packages to a complete open source environment.

The Reasons:
Trying something new, stop spending my money on software which isn’t satisfactory. Moving the power from big companies (yes Microsoft I am talking about you) to the user and his needs.

The Mission:
Turn my computer into a complete open source based computer.

So what are the Pros and cons?

The Cons:

1. I am not a computer programmer I am a simple user, I cannot dig into codes.
2. I have no experience with open source based operating systems I will have to learn everything from the beginning.
3. I know the open source community is a very big and supportive one, but I have the fears of being new to a community of veterans – It is like being the new guy in the class. The difference is the they know everything and I know nothing.
4. Too many options to choose from. For someone like me who has no experience with open source software how would I know what to choose?
5. Not buying commercial software can hurt big companies like Microsoft. Are you serious? I don’t really care about that !
6. Fear of the unknown - I am afraid that my hardware won’t be supported, I am afraid that it will be too difficult to use etc.
7. Software I am used to using under the windows environment won’t work in the open source environment

The Pros:
1. Open Source based operating systems are free to use, meaning they don’t cost money and everyone is invited to use them. I don’t need to worry about being charged later for using it.
2. They are thought to be much more stable than windows based operating system.
3. A big supportive community. The knowledge is out there.
4. A big selection - the freedom to choose.
5. Open Source Solutions are Allegedly safer to the user.
6. Open Source Solutions Shift the power from the big companies to the users.

Here are 2 articles about the pros & cons of open source solutions:
http://www.netc.org/openoptions/pros_cons/comparing.html
http://www.neilgunton.com/doc/open_source_pros_cons

Giving to the community:
Open Source solutions are based on communities, as I am not a programmer I need to think of another way I can give back to the community. This is why I decided to write this Blog – maybe it could help others do the transition to an open source solution, maybe it could help them solve some problems which I am sure I will face (and hopefully solve) during the process. I see this blog as some kind of contribution to the community and hopefully it will help many others. I am inviting all of you to go through the process together with me.

Finally – a question with no answer:
Why do companies & organizations (commercial companies, government organizations, schools etc.) choose to spend so much money on commercial software licenses when they have a free alternative which can reduce costs in the long-run?

The Next Stage:
Choosing the correct open source operating system to suit my needs.

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