Moving (back) to Linux?

25 Jul 2006

Over the past few weeks, I have once again turned my thoughts towards that “other” operating system loved by some, loathed by others. No, I’m not talking about the Mac OS, I’m talking about Linux. While I did use it extensively last summer (learning tricks, jumping through hoops, and trying to get my system to like me), I eventually moved back to Windows due to a general inability to find and/or run the programs that I wanted. However, a year later, I began to run across posts like this one (or this or this or this) and started reading about the newest release of Ubuntu. In addition to these treasonous thoughts drifting through the back of my mind, I began to use more open source software such as Blender, the GIMP, and Inkscape, due to software restrictions at work.

The final blow to Windows (at least for this round) came when curiosity got the better of me and I decided to download the new Ubuntu 6.06 installer/live CD. After playing around with the CD on my laptop (if you didn’t know, I’m separated from my desktop for the summer), I was quite pleased with its functionality – in the past, I had to install a base system and then spend a week or so hunting down hacks and drivers to get things like the touchpad, wireless nic, and power management running. Ubuntu booted right into a desktop environment complete with all the normal amenities and a little “Install” icon on the desktop. After a few minutes, I decided that I wouldn’t mind running a copy of Ubuntu alongside XP (as a security blanket). In my usual haste, I clicked the handy “GParted” icon in the system menu and attempted to resize my NTFS partition. I knew this wasn’t the smartest thing in the world, as NTFS support has always been lacking in open source programs (due to the proprietary nature of the format). And sure enough, the resize failed (without losing any data) – prompting me to push harder. Of course, I ended up destroying the partition. In retrospect, I probably should have defragmented the partition before attempting to shrink it.

After that slight slip-up, I decided to go ahead and do a full install of Ubuntu on the laptop. So far I have been pleased with Ubuntu, as many things just work. I suppose I will make myself use it at least for the rest of the summer, learning more open source programs and finding new ways to do old tasks. It should be interesting… I’ll keep everyone posted as I come across solutions for any problems that arise.

Stuff I’m Using