As far as I can tell the best version of Linux to use is Ubuntu 7.10. Most hardware appears to work, except for a few wireless NIC's and a few printers. A few things do not run on Linux, but most things do. There is also most likely some sort of Linux equivalent anyway, so you should have few problems. You have OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, Totem-xine instead of Windows Media Player, Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, gnomebaker or K3B instead of disc burning software from Nero.
Installation is easy on a desktop computer, but a little harder on laptops. As I mentioned, some wireless NIC's do not run on Linux, especially those from Broadcom. That is why I bought an NIC from Intel, the 2915ABG, and that instantly worked. That is all for now.
Sin Cere,
Cisco IT Essentials student
The Wheatland California Linux User's Group website.
Kyle Dilks
Dirk Limon
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Linux runs best
About Me
- Site Administrator
- I received my CCNA certification on November 6, at about 4:40. That was when I passed my test. I was born in Austin, Texas.
Installing programs in Ubuntu and using the terminal
To install programs in Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc find "Add/Remove" programs and type in the name of the program in the little "Search" box. If any of my instructions are vague or do not work post a comment somewhere. I check the website at least once a day.
To use the terminal in Ubuntu go to Applications>Accessories>Terminal.
Playing DVD's in Ubuntu
To play a DVD in Ubuntu use the following command. Just copy and paste these commands into the terminal, you may make a mistake if you try typing all of this out. First :
sudo apt-get install libdvdread3 libxine1-ffmpeg totem-xine build-essential debhelper fakeroot
Next:
sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread3/install-css.sh
I got this tip from yoten.blogspot.com
To all owners of iPod's.
There is no iTunes for Linux. The two other options are gtkpod, which you can download from the package manager, or floola, which you can get from floola.com. Gtkpod has worked quite well for me, and it has no Digital Rights Management, yay!
Printers in Linux
The printers that seem to always work in Linux are from HP and Epson. Some Lexmark, Canon, and Brother printers are supported, but do not count on it. I am not sure about Xerox printers, I will have to look around on their website and ubuntuforums.org to find out.
If you have an HP printer just type in sudo hp-setup and follow the simple instructions. It is not very hard.
To see how to install the printer you have go to
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Printers.
To see reports of how well your make and model of printers work go to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsPrinters.
Installing Adobe Flash Player
I am putting these instructions here because the Ubuntu Repository that stored Adobe Flash Player broke on December 13, 2007. I do not know if it was fixed yet.
Go to Adobe.com and download the tar.bz file. Right click on the file and open the file. Then find the option in one of the toolbars that says extract and extract this to you desktop.
For Ubuntu:
If you are using Ubuntu open the folder you created by extracting the file and double click on "flashplayer-installer". Run the file in the terminal and follow the instructions that are given in the terminal.
For Kubuntu:
In Kubuntu open the terminal(called Konsole in Kubuntu) and open the folder you just created. Then drag and drop the "flashplayer-installer" onto the terminal and press enter. Follow the instructions the terminal gives. If you have any problems just post a comment on this website somewhere. I check this website at least once a day. To verify your installation go to http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about
Note: There is no Adobe Flash Player for 64bit versions of Linux.
Installing Java in Ubuntu
If you want to use Java, just follow these simple steps. Type in Java in Search, then click on Others on the left side of the Installer and click on Sun Java 6 Runtime and finally click on apply changes. You should then be good to go.
6 comments:
I'll get Kubuntu installed after I move into my new house, THEN I can actually discuss Linux with you I guess.
"As I mentioned, some wireless NIC's do not run on Linux, especially those from Broadcom."
But what if you wanted to use you're Broadcom wireless NIC? Are there any available drivers for it that you can download? I know they have drivers on the Broadcom website, but I believe they are just for wired access.
It is possible to get Broadcom wireless NIC's to run on Linux. Go to Ubuntuforums.org and look under the wireless section of the forum. At the top are instructions to get a Broadcom wireless NIC working. I hope that this helps you. By the way, the driver is not the problem, it is the firmware.
Sin Cere,
Dirk Limon
I seem to be having a bit of trouble getting it downloaded. I got the ISO on the disc (I've been using ISO Recorder to put it on the disc). I open it up, and it gives me a menu with choices. I choose the first one "Start or install Ubuntu" and it shows the loading bar. But after that, it just gives me a black screen, and eventually a small white "X". Is it the CD that's corrupt or am I doing something wrong?
On the boot screen use the option that says "Check CD integrity", or something like that. It would be easier if I could see for myself what your laptop is doing. What is the hardware in your laptop. Be very specific. I hope I can help you.
Sin Cere,
Dirk Limon
I did that, and it worked fine. I opened it in safe mode with graphics and it opened, but it would just stop working when i tried to install it through there. i think it's my cruddy hardware. i have a celeron processor and only 256 Ram. I downloaded the text version and am installing it as we speak. Let's cross our fingers and see where this takes us. Haha
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