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How to Start With Ubuntu Linux

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Are you a Linux fan? I know my System Administrator Allan would yell to forget Linux and use FreeBSD. This isn’t a FreeBSD conversation, though, it’s an Ubuntu one. But it’s just funny that Allan came to mind here, since today at work in Canada, he was recognized by someone for being part of my live show. He is a professor at a college up in Canada. Earlier today, he was walking along the hallway when he heard another instructor and a student discussing FreeBSD. Since he is a FreeBSD fanatic, he had to stop and talk with them. As soon as he started talking, the student’s eyes got huge and he blurted “I know you! You’re on Chris Pirillo’s show.” Allan couldn’t believe it, but there you have it. We’re even reaching college students in Canada. While this doesn’t really pertain to this list, I did find it very cool. Now, on with our top five list!

  • Have a broadband connection. Ubuntu is very Net dependent. When you start with a clean install of the operating system and begin popping in your music CDs and reviewing Web sites like YouTube, initially Web plugins, audio, and video codecs are prompted automatically to the user to install — but only if the computer has access to the Web. This also includes certain proprietary video and network drivers that need to be obtained when updating the current system. The reason for this is these multiple sources of code are under different licenses and though they may be free, the license requires the end user to electronically agree to the terms and conditions of the patent software.
  • MAKE SURE YOUR HARDWARE IS SUPPORTED! Many people assume everything will just work right out of the box. That’s not the case in certain hardware. The toughest problems people have is when it comes to wireless hardware. There is one major chip designed by Broadcomm which is used by many companies in their wireless devices in many major retail products and white box systems (i.e. HP, Dell, Gateway, etc.). Though older models of these Broadcomm chipsets have over time been worked out to get them functioning, some do have difficulty with connecting to a secure wpa2 wireless routers, or flat out won’t work at all. To avoid this, many laptops that have Intel and Realtek based chipset cards work right out of the get go. There is also a list created by the Free Software Foundation of supported wireless chipsets that will also work out of the box. Another option that I find works well are wireless bridges. Many companies such as D-Link, SMC, and Linksys make these products. They plug into your existing ethernet port on your PC and redirect it to connect to the local router programmed on the device you set up. They may be best for those who have desktops as they are a bit too clunky to travel with a laptop.
  • If you are a gamer, you may be limiting what possible game titles you can play. There are a slew of games for Linux that are free, and there are certain commercial game titles you can play using Wine. There are, though, limitations on what may work under Wine. If a certain game is heavily dependent on Direct X10, or a combination of Active X plugins, it’s not likely going to port over well into Wine. Since Direct X and Active X are copyright protected plugins and are two of Microsoft’s exclusive technologies, it’s not going to be available for other operating systems any time soon. You can find out what games work by checking the Wine database list of software tested that works. However, companies like Activision, ID Software, Bioware, and many more have made commercially supported cross platforms of their games for Linux. Example: Quakewars, Call Of Duty 1-4, Doom 1-3, Quake 1-4, and Unreal Championship 1-3 all have NATIVE Linux installations. Many of these companies I mention also make Macintosh platforms of the same titles.
  • Drivers not needed. Many devices such as scanners, digital cameras, Web cams, and printers need to be factored, and you don’t need, in many cases, to install drivers for them. *If you have a device that doesn’t have proprietary chipsets* Ones I know that just “work” include:
    • Web cams: Logitech
    • Digital cameras: Canon, Fujitsu, Any camera that essentially is recognized as a removable USB disk device.
    • TV/FM tuners: WinTV, Asus tuners, AMD/ATI tuners, any tuner card that uses a Phillips semiconductor chip (which many do).
    • Scanners: Hewlett Packard (single or all-in-one)
    • Printers: Hewlett Packard (single or all-in-one), any printer that supports postscript printing support.
  • Just buy a prebuilt, Ubuntu-supported PC. Instead of second guessing on everything, you can just buy a full system complete with 30 days to a year of tech support from the following vendors that support Ubuntu-tested hardware:

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