My Adventures in Linux

dulpit · 18-05-2008 01:01AM #1

Hey, so as I recently started using Linux, i thought i'd chronicle my adventures so far... Anyone else who is new (or not so new) to linux feel free to add your stories...

So i have had some experience with Linux, i've used it a bit in college (suse) and i decided a while back i wanted to give it a lash, so i got myself a copy of VMWare and installed Ubuntu & OpenSuse on that. While that was fine and dandy and both installed ok, i wasn't overly happy using the VM, it was slow as hell...

After reading a post here about Wubi, i decided to install Ubuntu onto my laptop (i think i prefer OpenSuse, but that ain't supported by Wubi) and the installation went without a hitch.

I now have a dual boot of Ubuntu & Vista on my laptop. So far i've had a few problems with Linux, be it sound issues (sound was too low) or whatever.

It took me a while to realise that it's far easier to find & install software using the add/remove software tool than searching the net

I was taking ages trying to figure out how to install these weird file formats...

At the moment there is no way i would replace windows with ubuntu, but it's handy to have. I use it whenever i can, but there are times when i find it easier to use Windows. (stuff like torrent downloading, podcasting and so on, i find that the solutions available in windows (utorrent, itunes, etc.) are far superior than what i've encountered in the linux world. I might be missing some awesome tool, if i am please let me know...

So i've been using it for ~2 weeks now, and it's all going well... Is there any amazing/ultra useful/must have software i should be aware of? Also, what was everyone else's first linux experience like?

Finally, i would like to encourage people to at least give it a chance. With tools like Wubi it means you can try it out fully and if you don't like it you can just uninstall it like any other windows programme... It's not that scary or difficult! And if you're stuck the good people here are always helpful...

Sherifu · 18-05-2008 01:19AM

I think the most important thing is to keep an open mind. Linux gets more user friendly with each revision.

stereo_steve · 18-05-2008 09:04AM

dulpit wrote: »

At the moment there is no way i would replace windows with ubuntu, but it's handy to have. I use it whenever i can, but there are times when i find it easier to use Windows. (stuff like torrent downloading, podcasting and so on, i find that the solutions available in windows (utorrent, itunes, etc.) are far superior than what i've encountered in the linux world. I might be missing some awesome tool, if i am please let me know...

Well software is subjective... I'll tell you what I like and maybe you'll like them too!

If you like utorrent then you can either install deluge or alternatively you can install wine. I don't know if you know about wine but basically it allows you to run some windows programs. You can check the list of programs that work with wine here. Utorrent is one of them.

Itunes I could never stand. I think it has a nasty interface and lacks lots of features. One of the programs I miss from my windows days is mediamonkey. Its great! But alternatives in linux are amarok and songbird. I prefer amarok. It has an interface that you probably aren't used to but give it a day or two. It has some great features. I love it.

For movie playback I don't like the default movie player totem that comes with ubuntu. I find vlc much better.

CCSM is great for managing your desktop effects once you have turned them on.

Pulseaudio is the new sound management sysem in Ubuntu 8.04. It has the following really cool features http://wadeberrier.blogspot.com/2007/06/pulseaudio.html To get the most of it you should install the gui do this by going to System -> Administration -> Synaptic Packeage manager search for and install padevchooser. When it is installed you can go to Applications -> Sound & Video -> Pulseaudio Device chooser

If you have a gmail account checkgmail is quite good. Is there any specific program you are looking for?

dulpit · 18-05-2008 01:24PM

I wasn't looking for anything specific, just curious what other people use...

I did try out wine the other day, it was brutally slow running itunes so i just gave up and deleted it..

The one thing i miss is a decent media player, i use Media Monkey on windows, and rhythmbox isn't anywhere near as good... Is amarok decent?

PogMoThoin · 18-05-2008 04:11PM

Amarok ftw, You'll love it. Like stereo_steve, I hate itunes, I use Media monkey in Vista and Amarok in Ubuntu. A little bit heavy on ram tho. Heres some info

corkie · 18-05-2008 05:51PM

For torrent's look for azureus in your package management program

cmo · 18-05-2008 09:22PM

dulpit wrote: »

I wasn't looking for anything specific, just curious what other people use...

I did try out wine the other day, it was brutally slow running itunes so i just gave up and deleted it..

The one thing i miss is a decent media player, i use Media Monkey on windows, and rhythmbox isn't anywhere near as good... Is amarok decent?

I tend to use amarok, opera, konsole, ktorrent, pidgin, xchat most of the time, I use KDE 3.5.x on suse. I like amarok it's got support for a lot of hand held devices afaik. Though I never use this functionality. Of course using ubuntu I am not sure how easy things from the KDE project are to get working but I'm sure there is a way.

sobriquet · 18-05-2008 09:52PM

cmo wrote: »

Of course using ubuntu I am not sure how easy things from the KDE project are to get working but I'm sure there is a way.

Trivial, I just installed amarok this evening with `apt-get install amarok` then loaded it from the Applications menu. The GUI equivalent is just a matter of selecting it in Synaptic and clicking Mark for Installation and then Apply.

My first Linux experience was trying to get Debian 2.x (can't remember which) installed years ago. It was solidly terminal based for a while, I remember that. Oh, and trying to get winmodem support working. *shudder*

Grudaire · 18-05-2008 10:12PM

Your 'adventures' in Linux inspired me, so I went and got Wubi, and downloaded it all etc etc

My internet is wireless, and in the instructions it says to go to settings/Applications/ etc and then install gtk etc etc

explained here

the ndisgtk thingy is invisible...

ethernet · 19-05-2008 07:14AM

Cliste wrote: »

Your 'adventures' in Linux inspired me, so I went and got Wubi, and downloaded it all etc etc

My internet is wireless, and in the instructions it says to go to settings/Applications/ etc and then install gtk etc etc

explained here

the ndisgtk thingy is invisible...

So did you try searching for it? I somehow question if ndiswrapper is in the OSS repositories. If searching for that package doesn't work, you'll need to edit your sources (should be System --> Administration --> Software Sources and tick the boxes to enable repos). Then the package should turn up after a search in the Synaptic package manager.

If you've already installed ndiswrapper, you can open up a terminal and do:

sudo ndiswrapper -i WINDOWS_DRIVER.inf

where WINDOWS_DRIVER.inf is the Windows driver for your wireless card (have a look on the CD). A reboot usually gets things going after this.

pickarooney · 19-05-2008 07:53AM

Try smplayer for videos. It's the only one I've found which supports .SUB files and has excellent configurable keyboard and mouse options (I love mouse-scroll for FF/REW). I think it might even be the standard with Ubuntu these days.

Also, amaroK for music is a must, although I have issues with the volume levels myself.

Khannie · 19-05-2008 09:44AM

corkie wrote: »

For torrent's look for azureus in your package management program

+1 for azureus. Top notch IMO. I had heard that utorrent runs through wine also.

NotMe · 19-05-2008 11:33AM

I've been messing around with VirtualBox and getting XP running on a virtual machine. The seamless mode is really cool, it lets you merge the two desktops like this:

Sherifu · 19-05-2008 11:45AM

That's pretty sweet NotMe.

Grudaire · 19-05-2008 12:45PM

ethernet wrote: »
So did you try searching for it? I somehow question if ndiswrapper is in the OSS repositories. If searching for that package doesn't work, you'll need to edit your sources (should be System --> Administration --> Software Sources and tick the boxes to enable repos). Then the package should turn up after a search in the Synaptic package manager.

If you've already installed ndiswrapper, you can open up a terminal and do:
sudo ndiswrapper -i WINDOWS_DRIVER.inf
where WINDOWS_DRIVER.inf is the Windows driver for your wireless card (have a look on the CD). A reboot usually gets things going after this.

I searched for the package, and it's not there, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by enable repos, but I went into Software sources and pretty much everything's ticked...

I appreciate the help btw.

screenshot attached.

stereo_steve · 19-05-2008 03:11PM

Just go to Applications -> then Add / Remove type ndiswrapper in the search field.

It should pop up straight away. Welcome to the world of linux! Its just a shame you started out like this! After ndiswraper it should be plain sailing!

ethernet · 19-05-2008 03:50PM

Cliste wrote: »

I searched for the package, and it's not there, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by enable repos, but I went into Software sources and pretty much everything's ticked...

I appreciate the help btw.

screenshot attached.

Thanks for the useful screenshot. That ndisgtk program seems to be a graphical utility which allows you to pick the .inf file as an alternative to doing the command I originally posted. I don't know if substituting 'ndisgtk -i' for 'ndiswrapper -i' actually works.

Of course, neither command will work unless the programs are installed so you need to do this first. Sorry didn't explain the software repos thing too clearly but you did what I meant in enabling them all. When you did this, were you prompted to update the database of packages available?

If you want to know where ndisgtk is installed (if at all) do: whereis ndisgtk and then you can execute it using the full path, which could be /usr/bin/ndisgtk as an example.

PogMoThoin · 19-05-2008 04:23PM

sudo apt-get install ndisgtk

It should install ndiswrapper package with it. I've gotta use it myself for my wireless card. ndisgtk is just a gui for ndiswrapper, see screenshot. Have the windows driver (.inf) ready on your desktop

Grudaire · 19-05-2008 07:39PM

Ok, I've tried all the above:

typing "whereis ndisgtk" in the terminal gets a response: ndisgtk:

sudo apt-get install ndisgtk in the terminal looks promising, then an error comes up, cannot locate it

Finally the add/remove progs one basically says that it won't work on my pc... (attached)

So its not a new Pc I'm on, it runs XP any idea's?

And stereo_steve yea, so much for it being as easy to run stuff:D

NotMe · 19-05-2008 08:36PM

That's strange that it doesn't show up in synaptic. This is what I get when I search for ndiswrapper.

Try 'sudo apt-get update' before 'sudo apt-get install ndisgtk' .

What does your /etc/apt/sources.list file look like?

Grudaire · 19-05-2008 08:41PM

Could it be that my Pc doesn't accept it for some mad (potentially Kernel related) reason

Grudaire · 19-05-2008 08:59PM

Ok still no luck

CJackson · 19-05-2008 09:22PM

joined the linux family about 2 weeks ago as well. A touch frustrating at times but Im enjoying the challenge of a new OS and have to say I dont really miss windows.

Would like a few more extensions for firefox3 though. Its a bit shaky at times and has crashed at least once a day

An Fear Aniar · 22-05-2008 10:38AM

CJackson wrote: »

joined the linux family about 2 weeks ago as well. A touch frustrating at times but Im enjoying the challenge of a new OS and have to say I dont really miss windows.

I'm loving Ubuntu because it's so customisable, I can make it to be just the way I want it.

.

syngindub · 23-05-2008 08:16PM

for movies in linux and windows look no further than vlc.
This is one of the best pieces of freeware software out there.
on a debian system just install it by

sudo apt-get install vlc

if you don't like it, just uninstall by

sudo dpkg -r vlc

syngin

dulpit · 25-05-2008 12:01PM

Ok, after reading some reviews and such, i went with amarok as my media player of choice, it seems pretty good except i can't get the media keys on my laptop (Dell Vostro 1500) to work with it, which is irritating as hell..

Anyone know of a fix?

dulpit · 27-05-2008 09:46AM

Also: I decided to go and install XP on Ubuntu using Virtual Box, which was one of the easiest things i've done... Having never installed Windows before, i prefer the installing of Linux over Windows (less questions pop up in linux)

Now i have XP working away grand, handy for stuff like itunes that would not work for me through wine...

PogMoThoin · 27-05-2008 05:00PM

dulpit wrote: »

i can't get the media keys on my laptop (Dell Vostro 1500) to work with it, which is irritating as hell..

Anyone know of a fix?

Have You tried System-Preferences-Keyboard shortcuts?

I failed to get them working on my Acer laptop

cmo · 27-05-2008 08:34PM

Cliste wrote: »

Ok still no luck

don't search using whereis, use locate or find

find /* -name "*ndis*" <= run as root

or

updatedb <= ( as root and must have findutils or some such installed )

locate ndis

My Adventures in Linux

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