Thoughts about ubuntu–ubuntu Newbie Series

Using ubuntu likes using a knife to survive in wild. You cannot access to most of the convenient facilities you use daily.

Two weeks ago, after crying painfully for a whole night (I leaved it downloading something and went to sleep), my hard disk failed. I replaced it with a new one, and installed windows and ubuntu in it again. But I have not touched ubuntu from then on.

These days and in the next few months, I will be busy in applying U.S. graduate schools, writing personal statements, doing research on the schools’ requirements and so on. I have no time and no interest in surviving in wild; I need to stay in civilized society, using all the efficient ways to finish my works.

In my experience, if you want to use ubuntu, you’d better make good use of Firefox. When you need doing something, find solutions in Firefox extensions first. There are many programmers have the same needs as you (you will find that all your strange needs are not unique in the Internet world), they write the extensions for themselves, and publish them.

Maybe in the future, there’s a very simple and small operation system just for running Firefox, and Firefox with its extensions can do all things you want. Combing the promising web based services, desktop based on browser may come true.

No Sound problem –ubuntu Newbie Series

In Last post I write about how to install ubuntu, and syslik asked help for solving sound problem of his ubuntu.

I am sorry that I reply this help so late, and syslik may has already solved it now. syslik’s trust on me just a little scares me, as he/ she report the hardware data of his computer to me, which making me seems like a master. But I don’t know more than you.

I have found some pages about the sound problem in ubuntu, hope that helps.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DebuggingSoundProblems

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Gutsy#configuresoundproperly

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=47048

Some of the information may be outdate now, but you can find most of the answers in ubuntuforums.org and google.

I have met sound problem too. It’s too low to hear clearly. This is how I solved it.

double click the sound icon on the top of the desktop

then, there’s a mixer

File>>Change Device
choose another available device, and adjust the volume, you can higher your computer sound in this way.

If this cannot solve your problem, try Edit>> Preferences, tick all the possible controls, and try them all.

Good luck!

Install Ubuntu– Ubuntu Newbie Series

Before installing Ubuntu, you should have at least 3G free space in your hard disk. (5G is recommended.)

I assume that you have the Ubuntu CD now. (You can download the iso file from ubuntu.com  and  record it into a cd or order a copy from the
site.)

This CD is also a LiveCD, which means that you can run Ubuntu without installing it in your computer for just a try.

Insert the CD into your CD Rom and reboot your computer. (You should set your computer boot from CD Rom.)

The installation of Ubuntu is very easy, you may just be confused by the followings:

1. If you have Windows in your computer, it will ask you weather you want to import the Windows settings. I choose this function, and after installation, I can access to other partitions in the computer, that is C: D: or E: (I don’t know weather you can access the partitions if you don’t choose to import the Windows settings.)

2. In the process, it will ask you to build partitions for Ubuntu. I divide my 3G free space into two part, ext3 and swap. (These two are the types of the partition, not the names of the partitions.)

ext3 is used to stored the files (including system files and your own files if you like, or you can build another partition for your own purpose). This part should be at least 2G. (In my experience, 2G is too small, because the system files occupy near 2G.)

swap is something like virtual memory in Windows. It is used for running programs, I recommend at least as much as your computer’s memory. (My laptop’s memory is 512M, I set the swap 512M. Now, sometimes more than 300 memory and more than 200 swap is in used.)

Except above, there’s no other problem you will face when you installing Ubuntu. Have fun with it!

In the following posts in this series, I will write something about how to make your Ubuntu satisfy your daily usage, for instance, listening music, watching video.

Ubuntu, A promising desktop OS–Ubuntu Newbie Series

After a few days try, I believe that Ubuntu can replace Windows as long as you just want to surf the Internet, write something, listen music and watch video on a computer.

I know Ubuntu in an article written by Wall Street Jounalist Jeremy Wagstaff. And I decide to try it since the jounalist call it a revolution of the desktop use of Linux.

A few years ago, I tried Redhat, an popular edtion of Linux. After struggling in making it run on my computer, I clean it from my harddisk. Ubuntu, another edition of Linux, doesn’t dissapoint me this time, at least up till now.

If you are a person who likes to try new things and solving problems, Ubuntu worths your try.

 

You can download Ubuntu or order a copy from its website ubuntu.com.

I will write Ubuntu Newbie Series to help you, who have no programming background, like me, to use Ubuntu with convenience. So, don’t be scared by Linux, we will solve any problems as long as we connect to the Internet.

Next post I will tell you how to install it in you computer.