Walking the (Kubuntu) Linux Walk
This post was composed using Kubuntu 6.10 Linux, freshly installed last week on a two year old HP computer I use on weekends.
I ordered the Kubuntu DVD from Budget Linux CDs. My cost? $6.50 including shipping and handling. It arrived — about a week after I placed the order — in a padded envelope via mail from France. Sure, I could have downloaded over the net, but for $6.50 having the DVD arrive, ready to install, worked for me.
The install was as easy if not easier than installing Windows. I booted from the DVD, it came up as a “live” Linux system, I chose the “install” option, and let it do it’s thing.
It made intelligent choices about repartioning my disk (I had plenty of free space) and after I returned from doing a couple of chores around the ranch it was good to go.
So far I have added the Firefox browser and the excellent GAIM instant messaging client. Kubuntu installs Open Office by default, so I have pretty much everything I need to use day to day.
The KDE desktop environment is pleasant. I selected an option so it more or less acts like Windows desktop.
I have lots to learn, but am delighted by how smooth the installation is, and how easy it is to install new programs. Kubuntu could do a better job of making it crystal clear how to add programs. I succeeded — after a bit of a hassle — thanks to some prior Linux knowledge plus using the Internet to find appropriate hints.
All in all, if you are still mired in the Microsoft monopoly Windows operating system, think long and hard before you adopt the new Vista release.
It is expensive, and comes with onerous copy protection. Life is too short. You can use an almost free operating system that has thousands of free applications and a delightful visual user interface.
There are many decent Linux distributions. Don’t dither with selecting one distro vs. another. Kubuntu (or it’s kid brother Ubuntu, which uses Gnome instead of KDE) is not just “good enough” it is a delight.
November 20th, 2006 at 9:12 am
I can’t speak for Kubuntu, but I whole-heartedly agree with your comment about Ubuntu. It is by far the easiest Linux distro I have used to date, with respect both to initial installation, and to updates. The Synaptic update manager is very simple to use.
Of course, not every package I wanted to install was available through Synaptic. Most of the time, I was able to find and download the appropriate .deb file from someplace online. On one occasion, I did run into a weird situation where package A required package B to be installed first, and package B required package A to be installed first. I gave up on that one. Everything else worked just fine.