As my son has left home, there is now an idle PC. I decided to install Linux on it. The version I chose was Ubuntu. The choice did not involve a lot of research, no extensive study. The choice was driven primarily by the press it is receiving, the potential adoption by Google and some positive comments from friends on ease of install.
In preparation for the move, I ensured that any and all important files were backed up to CD. My intent was to rebuild the system from scratch. After downloading the software, the deployment proceeded as follows:
8:21 – 8:57 – Burn Ubuntu CD
8:57 – 9:10 – Run validation program against CD
9:12 – 9:16 – Prepare installation by answering a series of simple questions
9:16 – 9:31 – Install Ubuntu
9:31 – 9:32 – Restart PC with Ubuntu.
I was pleasantly surprise to see that all devices (mouse, keyboard, screen resolution, etc.) worked as expected. Once installed there were no tweaks that needed to be made.
Below are some before an after pictures:
I had put off the installation for a little while as I wasn’t really sure what I would do with a machine running Linux; I already have a machine for myself, and dealing with two machines is too much trouble. Yet, already I’ve learnt a few things: it’s very easy to install; it comes with a fairly complete set of applications; it works on my hardware (which is a “generic” machine, not from a named vendor); it seems quite responsive; it connects to my home LAN and is able to see the other machines on it (although I can’t seem to connect to it).
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