Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

[AKBessy]

Does anyone have comments or thoughts about the Ubuntu v6.10? Seems I remember hearing somewhere (here?) that a newer version was coming out and it was supposed to be better? Limit on a PC's age or hardware?

[Paul S]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

I started using Linux with Fedora Core 1, and I have been using SuSE for about 2 years.

I just installed Ubuntu 6.10, I wanted to try out an add-on called Linux MCE. My thoughts on it are that it seems to hide a lot of things from the user. Programs that are installed are not available from the menus, by default. I finally found a config GUI where I could show all of the programs that were installed.

Ubuntu is an off-shoot of Debian, which I had never used before. Everything seems to work OK, or no better/worse than other Linux distros.

You download Ubuntu as a single CD (Fedora and SuSE take four or five CDs). You can run the CD as a "Live CD", Just boot into the CD. This usually only works well if you have a lot of memory. Otherwise the computer will be slow and unresponsive. Do this if you want to check it out first. You install from the live boot.

On the up side, Ubuntu seems to be very popular. So there is a lot of support out there.

Paul

[AKBessy]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the comments. I only started using computers on a regular basis in 1998 and then it was Win98 that just came out, so that was my introduction. After seeing Vista (on someone else's machine), I think that Vista is "pretty," but maybe that's it. I have XP Home on this machine and 98Lite on another. My son wants to install Ubuntu on the laptop he is using; maybe that would be a good place for me to learn. The laptop is running XP Pro right now; I think he's holding off because he is not sure about the Ubuntu gaming compatibility. Ya, memory would be an issue. This one I am on has 512 mb in one slot, and the old Dell is maxxed out at whatever little memory it has ;-).

Hearing that Ubuntu seems to hide programs makes me nervous. I am not at all familiar with Linux and would hate to feel like I couldn't navigate at all. Oh shoot, I get nervous on a Mac, because I am not used to them! LOL.

Again, Mahalo! Hope to hear some more input.

[Paul S]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

I didn't mean to scare you off!

Memory would only be an issue for running the "Live" CD, as it totally runs off of the memory.

I have SuSE installed on my Dell Inspiron 1150 with 512mb RAM. Windows XP is also on it, although I rarely boot into it. You can have both on the same hard drive, they will be on different partitions. The Ubuntu installer should be able to make the Windows installation fit on a smaller section of the drive. It will then use the remaining space to install Ubuntu.

You should first run the defragment application in Windows. Also, run Disk Cleanup to remove unneeded files. You may want to go through the Windows files and remove any large files that really are not needed (like videos and music collections). Basically, do some spring house cleaning on the laptop.

Don't worry too much about the "hidden" programs. I think this is done to make things less cluttered and therefore easier for Linux newbies. Also, you can set it up to access your Windows partition, once you are comfortable with everything.

[berniedd]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

I tried installing Ubuntu 6.10 on a 5-year old computer with onboard video and it won't do it - problem it seems is the lack of drivers for the old video hardware. I tried my older 5.10 Ubuntu (released October 2004 I believe) and yes, it completed the installation.

[dood]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

I tried it and it STILL doesn't natively support the dell 1470 wireless that's in my Latitude d410. I am thinking about loading on my desktop at home, though.

[Paul S]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

I tried it and it STILL doesn't natively support the dell 1470 wireless that's in my Latitude d410..

Linux, in general, has trouble with a lot of the wireless chips. The problem is the manufacturers don't release Linux drivers, and they also don't release the chip information needed for someone to write a Linux driver.

Depending on the chip manufacturer, there are different ways to get wireless working. I have two wireless cards, both with Broadcom chips. Originally the only way to get these to work was by using a program called Ndiswrapper. It actually uses the Windows driver to make the wireless work. While Ndiswrapper is the best for Broadcom, a newer Linux driver is available in newer kernels. It is a module called bcm43xx. There is a different process to make this work, but it will only do 11mb/s, max. If you have a broadcom chip, you may actually have to disable the bcm43xx module before you can use Ndiswrapper.

I don't have much knowledge on the drivers for other chips, except that I know that there are other drivers. The key is to determine the chip used in your wireless. Type the following into a terminal window (as root):

# lspci

My Dell Inspiron 1150 laptop gives me this (along with other devices):

02:02.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 03)

Once you know which chip you have, you can search for the Linux driver (module) for it.

[dood]

Re: Ubuntu v6.10 - comments, thoughts?

Paul-

I've been through about 6 fresh re-installs and many different "how-to" guides on getting this chip to work with NDISwrapper. Needless to say... none of them worked. I've simply given up on it for now.