Niles H.

Anyone have experience with Linux or Ubuntu Linux? Do you recommend it (for someone who is buying a netbook or netbook-like small notebook (4GB RAM, 320+GB HD, 2.0+GHz, etc.) computer to take along while touring, and wants to get away from dependencies on and unwanted entanglements with Microsoft and Norton, and who appreciates the atmosphere and spirit of the open source world)?

Is there a book or website that will cover the basics well, including installation and security?

Nigeyy

I use Ubuntu on my laptop at home, I love it. I've found it to be very reliable and easy to use. While I'm not an expert user, I do find the Synaptic Package manager to be very easy to use. Since I've had so little problems with it, I can't say I know a good website! I'd try the Ubuntu forums for support though.

You could try installing it on a home pc or laptop to give it a trial (you could make an existing machine dual bootable if you want).

bicycletothesun

Ubuntu is so easy a grandmother could figure it out.

I'll be using my 2.2 pound acer netbook (1.6ghz atom 160gig hd) loaded with ubuntu while touring. Figure this w/ my digital camera will be perfect for on the road updates to friends and family.

staehpj1

I use it at work and at home and like it very well.

Losligato

Got a netbook with it a few months ago. Our first linux. Software updates automatically every few days. Using Open Office we've been able to open every MS Office document we've previously created with zero learning curve. Firefox works the same as in Windows. It is much faster than Vista despite the fact that the processor is a fraction the size of our big laptop. Music and video programs are similar but less buggy than their MS counterparts. All in all, exceptional.

The only reason to hesitate would be if you use a specialized programs that offers only a Windows version. If so, see if they have a web based version or a linux based alternative.

sstorkel

I would say that if you don't already have experience installing and using a Linux distribution that you might want to think twice before moving in that direction. It is very different from both Windows and MacOS...

mtclifford

Ubuntu is really simple compared to most linux distros, designed for the masses it is very very easy to use.

fuzz2050

runing it now. It's not without flaws (Intrepid Ibex would NOT recognise the touchpad on my laptop, no matter what i did, but Jaunty Jackalope works like a charm).

Windows works, then crashes, then works, then crashes. Ubuntu can take a bit of doing to get running, but once it's up, it stays up. I have friends who haven't shut down their computer in months, simply never had the need too.

Give it a try, run it from a CD, and see if it isn't the easier operating system you've ever used.

nun

I have it on a eeePC and love it. Easy to use and interface, plug in my camera and it sees it as a drive and organizes the photos into Picasa

However, norw that the iPhone has an email landscape keyboard and you can email multiple pictures and take video it looks like that's all you need to blog, surf and email from the road.

SweetLou

Yes, it is different. But Linux is pretty easy to use now-a-days. No longer having to try to find ways to get things to work, most installations will find and configure your hardware. Especially one that comes with the pc. It can be intimidating at first, but a lot of it is point and click now. Even though command line is better.

I am one of the few that doesn't care for Ubuntu, but if it came with a netbook, I'd probably not remove it to install Debian. Well, yes I would

Ubuntu is based on the Debian unstable (Sid) version. I would much rather us either Debian stable (Lenny) or testing (Squeeze). There are just some things about Ubuntu that I don't care for. I also like the reliability of Debian. But, it is a good distro.

As mentioned above, the Ubuntu forums are great for information. I also like linuxquestions.org

As for software, 99% of what you want to do, you can. All of my pc's run Debian and my one desktop is a dual boot Windows/Debian. The only reason I still have Windows is to run Microsoft's Streets and Trips and DeLorme's mapping programs. I am not happy with any Linux version yet.

NeilGunton

One good thing is that you'll immediately be immune to most of the viruses and other malware out there - most of that is Windows based.

Linux has traditionally not been for novices or people unwilling to "tinker" - but Ubuntu has come a long way, and is reputedly quite stable, and they put a lot of effort in to making it user friendly. It's taken over as the dominant distro for people who want it to "just work" and not have to futz around with hardware settings.

I use Debian, which Ubuntu is based on. Even without the extra polish that the Ubuntu folks added, Debian is very, very stable. As others have said, you can leave it running literally for months and years without it crashing.

The main downside is that Windows software will not run on Linux - e.g. Photoshop, Microsoft Word and so on. But there are now quite mature Open Source alternatives, e.g. The Gimp is a pretty decent image processing program, and Open Office and AbiWord are very capable word processors that can read and write Word (.doc) files.

The nice thing about Linux is that it's not quite so much of an inscrutable black box as Windows - every setting is stored in a regular text file somewhere. The bad thing about linux is that every setting is stored in a regular text file... somewhere, if you can find it! ;-)

It's not quite "no brainer" yet, but Linux has certainly come a long, long way and I've been using it as my everyday desktop for the last 10 years or so. Gone are the days of difficult, stab-your-eyes-out-with-forks installs and mysterious errors that need a PhD in computer science / witchcraft to fix. Well, the witchcraft is still in there, but it's better hidden!

Neil

krisrayner

Running it on my laptop and desktop and love IT! Not quite as "plug-and-play" as windows has become, but if you have a decent computer knowledge (above and beyond point and click), you'll do fine. Ubuntu installed very quickly and is much more stable than any windows version I've run. There are some quirks with WiFi drivers. My desktop is rock solid with WiFi, but my laptop WiFi will drop out and I have to reboot to get it to work again. Appears to be an issue with the latest release with no definete fix just yet.

If you have Windows specific programs you need, you can run a lot of them in WINE, a windows emulator that runs in Linux that seems to work quite well. I have a couple that I couldn't get to work in WINE, so I'm running a dual-boot with Windows XP. I only use windows for those apps though.

sstorkel

It's the install and config that would worry me. Haven't tried the latest Ubuntu/Kubuntu releases, but we ended up banging our heads against it last year when we tried to install it on some of the latest and greatest laptops. IIRC, the installer chose the wrong video driver and it took a bit of poking to find and configure the right one. Not a problem for us, but a user who isn't used to running command-line tools or poking around in config files might find it to be problematic...

If the OP is talking about buying a machine that has Ubuntu pre-installed, I'd say that's a much safer bet than trying to take a Windows machine and convert it to Ubuntu.

poopisnotfood

Been on it for years. At home I have only Apple and Linux boxes, don't use Windows at home at all. Work, I have to. It is not difficult to learn the basics. Very simple if it is just going to be for Internet and Word Docs. Like others have said use Open Office and go nuts. Piece of cake.

mangosalsa

Hey OP, long time Linux user and Sys Admin here. Been using Ubuntu on the home desktops for years now. Using Debian and CentOS for the servers. The best Ubuntu versions are the "LTS" versions, for Long term Support. The last LTS was 8.04, which you can get here:
https://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

It is VERY easy to install this distribution. Drop the CD in, boot the box and then you can test out Ubuntu without installing it. You can test everything, sound, movies, the net, on and on. Here's the Ubuntu Guide for 8.04 ... go for it .. you won't regret going with Open Source. https://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy

Also ... the newer versions, 8.10 & 9.04 (Not LTS), can be installed inside of Windows, literally. Check out the Wubi Installer if you are interested. https://wubi-installer.org/

mev

I have ubuntu installed on my eeePC.

There are a few links you'll want to watch for:
1) The folks that provide support for ubuntu have a distribution for the netbook:
https://www.canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/unr
2) There are some that might be preloaded as well:
https://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/151
3) If a netbook you purchase doesn't already come with ubuntu, do some searches on the net to figure out the sequence you'll need to install (and/or if there are major issues). Netbook will occasionally use special purpose display or wifi hardware and frequently there can be some configuration steps to make that work. Ubuntu by itself is an easy to use configuration, but as you troubleshoot hardware related issues (at install time), then you might need more expertise and/or someone else who has already created a cookbook. [Another thing to consider is to install ubuntu onto a SD card and run from there]

As far as ubuntu itself, that is more of a computer/OS topic than really a bike touring topic. Once it is set up, you should be able to do all the standard bike touring things like connect to wifi or land networks, open browsers, use email, etc.

mev

You don't even have to install it. Download and burn a "live CD" then boot off that CD to try running ubuntu.

mev

One other thing I've done there is to run ubuntu on the laptop/desktop and then run Windows in a virtual machine. Two useful sites for doing that setup are https://www.vmware.com to download their free player and https://www.easyvmx.com to be able to create a virtual machine. Once you've created a virtual machine, power it up and place the windows install disks on a CD drive and boot from those disks to install into the virtual machine. // I haven't done that on a netbook[*] but ran my work laptop that way for many years and was able to have both coexist at the same time.
[*] Not quite true, I also have a Acer netbook with Windows installed and I have a virtual machine installed there running ubuntu 9.04.

enigmagic

Yeah, running eeebuntu on my eee1000he and its pretty effortless. Once I had all the ornery bits and pieces well configured the system is solid as a rock. Used a usb drive boot and installation was dead simple, I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a reliable computer.

Find a good online linux guide and bookmark it, and learn how to use the manuals. Try to do a bit of work within the console just to familiarize yourself with it, it pays productivity dividends.

SweetLou

Wine Is Not an Emulator. Sorry, I had to do it.

mylesau

Free PDF download of Ubuntu Pocket Guide should help with the basics.

staehpj1

The install was completely straight forward on the several systems I have installed it on recently. Everything just worked right off. That is a step forward from a few years ago when there was a need to do a lot of tweaking to get stuff to work.

mustang1

Used ubuntu and loved it (still do). But there were some apps that dont work on it which I need.

Nigeyy

Very true and a great bit of advice, forgot about that (though it will run more slowly). I tried Knoppix this way -bah, I must be getting old and forgetful!

m_yates

I'm posting this on Firefox in Ubuntu. I'm amazed at how many Linux geeks also bike tour. I use Ubuntu at home and work. I've used Linux for the past 8 years and it has come a long way. Ubuntu has made it drop dead easy to install and get working.

I also use a commercial product called Crossover Office, that makes Wine easier to use to install Windows programs. I'm purchased repeated versions of Crossover over the years as well. It too has come a long way and many windows programs work without any problems.

I have a portable handheld computer called a Nokia N810 that I took on my last bike tour. It also runs linux (based on Debian) and works great. I can get on the internet with it, make voip calls, and transfer files wirelessly to/from it and my other Ubuntu-running computers.