ExtremeTech: Preview: Ubuntu Linux 4.10

When the topic of Ubuntu Linux came up in our weekly ExtremeTech conference call, there were chuckles and guffaws after my colleagues heard the name of the distro. It didn't help that the current release is codenamed "Warty Warthog." Ubuntu is actually a word from the African Nguni language family, meaning "humanity, caring, and harmony"--a fine sentiment to be sure.

The Ubuntu Project is sponsored by Canonical Ltd., a company owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical has vowed to keep Ubuntu free: Its business model focuses on selling services rather than selling the Ubuntu distribution itself. Ubuntu is on the bleeding edge of Linux development, incorporating the 2.6 kernel, Gnome 2.8, and Evolution 2.0.

Ubuntu lives up to its name in the sense that it brings more than a little humanity to Debian Linux. Debian has a reputation for being difficult (compared with certain other distributions) for new Linux users to install and configure sometimes. Ubuntu has taken a large step towards changing that perception.

Please note that we looked at the preview release of Ubuntu. There may be various changes by the time it hits final release.

We installed Ubuntu in a dual boot with XP on our main desktop box, a dual boot on our laptop and--just for the heck of it--in a VMWare virtual machine on our Windows XP desktop. All of our installs went very well and, when they completed, we booted into a brand-new Gnome 2.8 desktop (more on that shortly). Install time took about a half hour or so, with some additional time needed when we decided to update our system via the Internet after the initial install (more on that later).

The Ubuntu installer is not particularly pretty: It's essentially a text based installer that functions adequately. (No, you're not at the command prompt, so don't panic if you're new to Linux). It's certainly not as slick as something like Fedora's installer, but it gets the job done. To see a slide show of the entire Ubuntu install process, head over to LinuxBeta.com.

The only spot where you might run into a problem is when you have to partition your hard disk. You get to choose between using the whole disk and manually partitioning the disk. If you are familiar with disk partitioning this shouldn't be a problem for you. But if you're totally new to it and aren't sure what you're doing, opt for using the entire disk (assuming of course there's nothing else on the disk).

At the end of the installation, we were asked if we wanted to use APT (Advanced Packaging Tool) to update our system. We said yes and our system was updated over the Internet before we even booted into our Gnome desktop. This is a good way to introduce newbies to APT and to make sure that security packages and so on are all updated before they use the system.

apt-get over the Internet. --> Unlike certain other distros, which feature KDE, Ubuntu uses Gnome--but not an old version of Gnome. Gnome 2.8 is here in all its glory, making Ubuntu a great way to check it out if you're curious about the latest version of that popular desktop environment.

Among other things, Gnome 2.8 features an improved file manager, the new "glider" theme, an on-screen preview of keyboard layouts, panel applets, a calendar integrated with Evolution, a bulked up network monitor, a better battery monitor, and an improved weather alert feature.

It also ships with Evolution 2.0, the Microsoft Outlook clone for Linux. Evolution has quite a few new goodies, including support for Novell GroupWise and Microsoft Exchange, Spam Assassin for junk mail control, online calendars with multiple sets of appointments in one calendar, and a Usenet newsreader.

It's beyond the scope of this review to cover Gnome 2.8 in depth, but suffice to say, if you're a Gnome user you'll feel right at home in Ubuntu Linux. The Gnome desktop in this distro is clean, uncluttered and best of all . . . it's just Gnome. What more do you need?

Ubuntu comes with a healthy range of applications, but not so many that you'll feel overwhelmed. Here's a list of what you can expect to find when you boot into your Gnome desktop:

Internet: Evolution Firefox GAIM GnomeMeeting Xchat gFTP

Games: Blackjack Mahjongg Mines Solitaire Four-in-a-row Gnometris Nibbles

Graphics: The Gimp Image Viewer Xsane Image Scanning

Multimedia: CD Player Music Player Sound Juicer CD Ripper Sound Recorder Totem Movie Player

Office: OpenOffice.org Suite Evolution

Since Ubuntu is a Debian based distro, you can simply use apt-get to get more software. We like using AbiWord at times for our word processing chores, so we opened a command prompt and just typed "apt-get install AbiWord-gnome." Our packages downloaded and installed, and we were then able to run the new software. Don't worry if you aren't comfortable installing packages at the command prompt. The GUI software manager Synaptic is included, so you can access it simply by clicking on the Computer menu at the top of your Gnome desktop and then choosing System Configuration. Synaptic makes finding and installing packages very, very easy. You can browse to see what's available, and installation just takes a few clicks of your mouse.

We were disappointed by a few things in Ubuntu. First, there's no VPN wizard included in its Gnome desktop. We've been harping on this for a while but we still don't see Linux vendors responding by including this basic network functionality. Come on folks, Windows has had this for years and any user-oriented Linux distro needs to have it built-in to the desktop. It's not rocket science, get it done Linux vendors!

We'd also like to see more software bundled with Ubuntu. What's there is good and will fulfill basic needs, but there's so much more out there and we'd like to see more of it included on the Ubuntu CD. Users new to Linux may be unfamiliar with APT when they first start using Ubuntu, making the included software bundle even more important. We'd also like the ability to choose individual packages during installation, rather than being stuck with the default software installation.

Finally, we were disappointed (but not surprised) that Ubuntu did not detect or configure the wireless card in our laptop. We've come to expect this, unfortunately. But it would sure be nice at some point if we could connect wirelessly right after installing a Linux distro, with no extra effort required.

We think Ubuntu Linux has a bright future. In some ways it reminds us of our old favorite, Libranet, but slimmed down and solely focused on Gnome as the desktop. Our experience with installing and using Ubuntu has been very positive, and we're looking forward to seeing future versions. Like OSX, it wisely uses sudo rather than root to execute commands as the superuser. We were also pleased to note that Firefox was the default browser for Ubuntu rather than the dreadful Epiphany browser.

If you've been too afraid of installation headaches to try a Debian distro, consider giving Ubuntu a download. Ditto if you are a Gnome user and want a quick and easy way to check out Gnome 2.8 to see what it has to offer.

Don't let the name throw you off: This distro is anything but weird. Ubuntu definitely makes Debian accessible to less-experienced users . . . talk about bringing some "humanity to others". Wow! Well done indeed.

Product: Ubuntu Linux 4.10 Preview Summary: Debian-based distro that uses Gnome 2.8 as its desktop. Install is easy and software can be updated via APT. Pros: Easy install; Gnome 2.8; solid selection of software; apt-get and synaptic. Cons: Still no VPN wizard in Gnome; needs more software and the ability to choose individual packages during the install. Price: Free Rating: Site: www.ubuntulinux.org