Ubuntu 10.04 Rocks the House

WOW.

Ubuntu 10.04 is one awesome operating system.

I took the leap of faith necessary and installed with WUBI, so I now have a painless, dual-booting system with XP SP3 and Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. I had already downloaded the ISO file back on release day (April 29th) and burned it to CD, and WUBI didn't even ask me whether I wanted to install from it - it just did it, and I like that a LOT.

This box works in the back room, with a wireless USB adapter for networking, and those drivers were installed without issue, automagically, as part of the install. The Windows boot menu has a new entry, so I can boot Ubuntu anytime I feel like it. I thought about virtualization, having used VirtualBox a lot in the Windows world, but I had not used WUBI in a long while and wanted to see how it was working. The answer is Pretty Darned Well.

My previous system setups with Ubuntu never quite got the hang of the proprietary nVidia video drivers. For any of several reasons, I was always unsuccessful in getting them installed and working properly. That changed with 10.04. I never saw the level of eye candy I see now, with zooming windows and wavy windows - the kinda stuff we got a lot more of in Windows Vista and Windows 7. I still think the UI is a place for interesting stuff, but too much can be a real distraction, especially when you are unaccustomed to it.

Like all good experimenters, I tried the LiveCD route first, and it worked well enough to convince me a real live WUBI install would work well enough to be usable. So far, it's working well enough for me to write this entry in a text editor, and upload it to my Blogger account. I'd say that was a positive endorsement, but this install is still very young. A few shutdowns, restarts and productive, working time will tell the bigger picture.

This new Ubuntu is a Long Term Support edition - that's what the LTS in the name stands for - and will be supported for three years on the desktop and five years for the server edition. I am hoping for a strong start followed by NO SURPRISES, a stable system that allows me to get actual work done, and the opportunity to explore this wonderful free OS that appears to have so much potential and promise.

I had saved my Firefox profile from the Windows side and copied it to the Ubuntu environment so I have all my bookmarks, login IDs and passwords, and everything I need to use the browser just as I do with XP. A simple Google search revealed the location to put the files, and once copied, Firefox started in the same spot on the screen, showing me the same home page and quicklinks, and I was off the races, baby! Everything works just like it used to, including the buttons on my mouse, and that means it's easier to move ahead.

(Remind me to expound sometime on why application profiles are so damn cool....)

Download speeds are just a hair faster than XP, but that's preliminary and will be tested often and thoroughly for a more complete report later. It's looking good so far.

The desktop is working perfectly with this widescreen monitor (1920 x 1080), and those nVidia drivers really kicked the video performance up a few notches. I've already done my first system update, and everything installed without a hitch and so I imagine I am running a fully up-to-date Ubuntu system as I type this.

This box also hosted a very recent install of Windows 7 Professional, and that worked well but remains too different for me to invest the time to relearn, as I continue supporting users with XP and older versions and can see that continuing for quite some time. I will likely virtualize a Win7 install so I can look at it up close from time to time, but as for making it my primary platform, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

OK, because this Linux chapter is just getting underway, I won't bore you with idle chatter or boasts of recent technical accomplishments (can you say Windows rescue disk on USB flashdrive?). There is never a boring time at the Strelecki Labs, and I hope to keep you abreast of what's happening with these blog entries. For now, I will return to my new universe and continue the journey. Live long and prosper!

Thanks for reading. See you next time.