Life without Windows
Here's what my list looked like: 1) Write this column; 2) Browse the Web; 3) Get new software and install it; 4) Download files; 5) Play music and video files; 6) Burn CDs; and 7) Print my documents.
Of all these, the first was the easiest. Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice.org 2.0, an excellent personal productivity suite that works much like Microsoft Office, with its own word processor, spreadsheet, database and presentation programs. It reads and writes files in MS Word, RTF and a variety of other formats, so sharing your files with colleagues who use Windows or Mac PCs won't be a problem. Unlike earlier versions, too, the program seems to load and run much faster.
OpenOffice.org 2.0 seems to run much faster now. I open up XMMS to listen to some music while I work.
Browsing was just as easy. Ubuntu lets you take your pick from several Web browsers, including Firefox. I experienced some glitches initially with YouTube - the videos were playing without sound - but that worked itself out after I rebooted the system.
For Windows users, downloading and installing new software on Linux can be rather daunting. Where's the .EXE file? What do you do with the downloaded file (called a package, in Linux)? What file do you run? Fortunately, Ubuntu takes care of most of these problems for you. A program called Synaptic Package Manager takes care of finding new programs and installing them for you. These are sorted by program types, but the sheer number may be overwhelming. When I ran Synaptic Package Manager, it happily reported that there were more than 18,808 programs available, only 1,221 of which I had installed.
Downloading music and videos? Check. My favorite BitTorrent client, uTorrent, isn't available on Linux but KTorrent, which works much the same way, already comes with Ubuntu. I put the program through its paces and found it held up quite nicely against my trusted file-sharing utility.
To play music and videos, Ubuntu comes with a number of multimedia players. For MP3 files, I like XMMS, which looks like WinAmp. Downloaded AVI files won't play properly on the default Movie Player, but installing VLC Media Player (using Synaptic) will take care of that.
Burning CDs proved to be trickier.
Ubuntu is smart enough to detect a blank CD when it's inserted and will ask if you'd like to burn a data or an audio CD. If you choose data, it will open a window into which you can drag files you'd like burned. Burning a data CD in this manner is simplicity itself, but it might be a bit too simple. The program, Nautilus, doesn't even tell you how much disc space you're using.
If you choose to burn an audio CD, Ubuntu will start a program called Serpentine, which enables you to add audio files to an audio CD compilation. The puzzling thing is, Serpentine will not accept MP3 files by default! All is not lost, however. You need to install the LAME encoder for the Gstreamer package (gstreamer0.8-lame), again using Synaptic. Once you've done that, Serpentine will burn your MP3 files into an audio CD without a hitch.
Serpentine burns an audio CD.
Burning a VCD from AVI files is even trickier. In very broad strokes, you'll need to install K3b, a CD burning program, and a package called VCDimager, and tell K3b where it's located. You'll also need a command-line program called FFmpeg to convert AVI files to MPG, which is the format that K3b uses. Sounds complicated? It is, but it's doable.
Finally, I wanted to print documents on my Epson Stylus C50 inkjet printer. Simple as it sounds, this last task almost stumped me. Even though Ubuntu detected my printer and said it was using the correct printer driver from a program called Gimp-print, my C50 kept spewing out garbled, unreadable text. Hours of online research about Gimp-print only confused me further with what seemed to be gobbledygook. Many sheets of wasted paper later, I remembered a snippet of information from a mailing list. It was written before the C50 driver was available and suggested that the driver for an earlier Epson model, the C44UX might work. I went to Ubuntu's printer setup utility and told it to use that driver and - voila!-I was finally able to print. Frustration faded away and a sense of satisfaction set in. I had survived the weekend without Windows.
From Digital Life by Chin Wong
http://www.chinwong.com
Chin Wong has been covering the technology industry since the 1980s, starting as a reporter for Business Day, Southeast Asia's first daily business newspaper. He is now a lecturer in journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and associate editor for the Manila Standard Today. Before that, he also served as technology editor of the Manila Times until October 2004.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Improper Way Of Marketing Reflects Poorly On A Company.
New business, product or service everything requires visibility, awareness in order to come into the - Replacing Paper Prints With Online Versions
Nowadays saving out on resources and being additionally informative are both aspects that are in. In - Stop Smoking Effectively
If I told you of a way that you could stop smoking harmful tobacco would you believe it? Most people - What Is Runtime Error 182? And How To Fix It
Are you finding an effective way to fix runtime error 182? Do you think fixing runtime error 182 is - Do You Know How To Fix Runtime Error 87 In Minutes?
Are you finding an effective way to fix runtime error 87? Do you think fixing runtime error 87 is to - Knowledge About Avi, Avi Player, Avi Converter On Mac
Knowledge about AVI, AVI player, AVI Converter on MacWhat is an AVI?AVI, an acronym for Audio Video - Buy Your Highly Successful Email Survey Software Today
Email Survey Software- Boost Your Business and Increase ProfitsAn email survey software could be one - Xrm - The Anything Relationship Management Solution
I recently attended the Microsoft Dynamics West Region FY11 Sales Planning Retreat. This year's meet - What Are The Benefits Of Working With Electronic Medical Records
Recording medical information is a vital part of health care services. These records are necessary f - Basic Factor To Make Website Business Oriented
Internet is home for millions of websites. The online business is becoming more and more competitive
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Parental Control Software
Parental control software is software that can help parents protect their children when they are onl - Digital Asset Management Software
Managing and organizing your organization's documents is a critical component to your business's suc - AdobeRGB vs. sRGB
Understanding color spaces I'll try to explain it very simplified, but understandable for everyone - Confessions of a Prankster
I wanted to get a jump on April Fool's Day, partially because of the long, cold winter blues, and pa - Malicious Thoughts About The Spyware Ills Of My PC
Who would think I was capable of such revengeful thoughts about the parties responsible for inflicti - Recover File and Recover Deleted File Tools
Data recovery software is a very effective way of retrieving data from a worn or damaged hard disk d - What Benefit Does an Online Software Download Site Offer You?
Are you having a problem that where you find a good softeware when you consider to have a try or wan - Maintaining A Website
There was an era when people were talking about how to create a website using html coding or some ea - Benefits Of Proper Time Tracking
Have you ever written down time when you have started and finished your work? Maybe you have had mul - Editing MP3 Music Files
The MP3 file is one of the most popular ways to store music on computers and portable audio players