Ubuntu... for the masses? (Part 2 - Installation)
Having picked out my distribution of Linux, I decided it was best to just jump in. My adventure started at the Ubuntu website. There are various offshoots of the Ubuntu project encompassing different intended users. The main project, Ubuntu, is intended as a basic desktop setup using the GNOME desktop. Ubuntu also offers up a server edition as a separate distribution. Another option, Kubuntu, is similar to Ubuntu, only it opts for the KDE desktop instead of GNOME. Then there's Edubuntu, a version aimed for classroom use, which includes a number of educational tools and apps. Finally, there's Xubuntu, which was created with older, lower-end machine in mind.
Reviewing the different versions available to me, I opted for plain old Ubuntu desktop. It's interesting to me that GNOME and KDE are still at loggerheads in the fight for Linux users' desktops... I had expected one to come forward as the dominant desktop environment within the past couple of years. However, both projects appear to enjoy active development and usage. I've never really been able to decide which I like best. GNOME always seemed like a hodgepodge collection of programs that were cobbled together. KDE was always more integrated, but a little more liberal with its use of memory.
In truth, I thought KDE was going to trounce GNOME once they got their act together. With technologies like KParts encouraging integration and code reuse, I assumed that once mature, KDE would start benefiting from the economies of scale and start taking over. However, GNOME has a competing component technology called Bonobo that has apparently gained a lot of ground since the last time I looked in to it.
With the decision made, I downloaded the i386 Ubuntu desktop ISO from their website, and burned it to disc (though it's worth noting that Ubuntu (and its derivative projects) offer up CDs of their LTS distribution, a version of Ubuntu that guarantees up to 3 years of support, completely free of charge).
Prior to installing, I browsed through the installation docs, and was pleased to find that hard disk partition resizing is now supported as part of the installation process (previously, one had to have commercial software to be able to do this). My machine was running Windows Vista, and was set up with a single partition on each drive. I opted for a dual-boot configuration since I still have lots of Windows-specific things that I need to be able to do. According to the docs, I needed to defragment the disk that was going to be resized prior to resizing it, so I did that, then rebooted into the install disc.
The boot screen offers a number of different options, including choosing your resolution, booting into video safe mode, and recovering a broken installation. I took the default option (boot/install), and off it went. I got a fancy Ubuntu splash screen with a progress bar that went for a bit, then my screen went wonky. My monitor was covered with crazy colors and glitchy stuff. My first attempt obviously misguided, I rebooted and chose the safe video mode. No dice. I got the same funkiness as before. I ctrl-alt-backspace'd out of X, and started futzing around with my xorg.conf file. My monitor is very finicky about the resolutions and refresh rates that it supports. In the end, I had to switch to the VESA X driver, and drop down to 800x600 resolution. Unfortunately, 8x6 isn't very optimal for my setup, as the monitor has a 16:9 aspect ratio, so everything ended up stretched horizontally. In addition, I had problems with the mouse cursor. It just wouldn't show, no matter what I did. I tried changing it to a different style, thinking that it'd reload it or something, but to no avail. I ended up setting the option to "ping" the cursor when I hit the Ctrl key.
Now that my system was almost usable, I started looking around. Ubuntu's setup CD has multiple purposes. It can be used as a recovery disc (as noted earlier) or install disc, but it can also be used as a "live" disc. Basically, you insert the CD and boot to it, and once in you have a fully function Linux machine to work with. This can be very useful in situations where you're not sure what will be available to you, or if you just want to bring your favorite OS with you wherever you go. Setup is merely an app you run from inside the live CD's X environment. After looking around to see what the live CD provided, I started setup.
Setup wasn't very nice at 800x600. For some reason, setup was too tall for 800x600. The buttons on the bottom of the dialog ended up hidden underneath the taskbar that takes up the bottom of the display. I fixed that by forcing setup to be on top of everything. Now that I could actually see and interact with the setup app, I got to installing. Most of the setup was straightforward for someone with Linux experience. Resizing the hard drive partition that was to house my install was a cinch. I was a little confused, though, on the timezone selection page. In Windows, you select your timezone, but in Ubuntu, you're given a list of locations. Presumably, each location follows different time rules, but I was confused by the lack of options on the west coast. I'm in Seattle, so I chose "America/Los Angeles". I assume that's right, though I'm a lot closer to Vancouver, B.C., which I think follows the same time zone rules. Anyways, install was fairly painless from this point on.
After the install completed, and my machine rebooted, I went right in to Ubuntu (though it was nice to see my Windows install on the GRUB menu). Unfortunately, my install of Ubuntu encountered the same problem as the live CD had -- X had horrible problems... it was actually worse here, though. When I ctrl-alt-backspace'd out of X, I ended up on a console that was entirely illegible (due to apparent video corruption). I had to reboot and choose the single-user boot option to make X use the VESA driver. After this, I rebooted and began the process of getting X working correctly. For some reason, the "nv" driver hates using scan modes that my monitor can agree with. I installed the commercial nVidia driver via GNOME's snazzy Synaptic package manager, and managed to get everything working correctly (though not before something completely nuked my computer's BIOS configuration) at my monitor's native (and odd) resolution of 1360x768.
At this point, I tested to see if Vista still worked properly. GRUB chained to the Vista bootloader with no issue, but Vista failed to boot properly. I suspect that when I resized the partition, some files at the end of the disk got clobbered. For this I blame both GNU Parted and Vista. Vista's disk defragmenter no longer shows the physical layout of files on the disk, so it's much more difficult to figure out if the disk is really defragmented. That said, GNU Parted should have some way of finding out if a user is about to perform a dangerous action.
All-in-all, my Ubuntu installation was typical of the install experience I'm used to from 5 years ago: it's a complete pain in the ass. It's only through vigilance, determination, and a fair bit of experience that I was able to get as far as I did. Clearly installation is something that needs to be improved before Linux becomes an OS for the masses. There's no way my mom (hey mom!) would know what partition GRUB should be installed to.
Though I do have to admit... the desktop is pretty. Here's what mine looks like right now:
Next up: Configuration and Cool Tools.
Reviewing the different versions available to me, I opted for plain old Ubuntu desktop. It's interesting to me that GNOME and KDE are still at loggerheads in the fight for Linux users' desktops... I had expected one to come forward as the dominant desktop environment within the past couple of years. However, both projects appear to enjoy active development and usage. I've never really been able to decide which I like best. GNOME always seemed like a hodgepodge collection of programs that were cobbled together. KDE was always more integrated, but a little more liberal with its use of memory.
In truth, I thought KDE was going to trounce GNOME once they got their act together. With technologies like KParts encouraging integration and code reuse, I assumed that once mature, KDE would start benefiting from the economies of scale and start taking over. However, GNOME has a competing component technology called Bonobo that has apparently gained a lot of ground since the last time I looked in to it.
With the decision made, I downloaded the i386 Ubuntu desktop ISO from their website, and burned it to disc (though it's worth noting that Ubuntu (and its derivative projects) offer up CDs of their LTS distribution, a version of Ubuntu that guarantees up to 3 years of support, completely free of charge).
Prior to installing, I browsed through the installation docs, and was pleased to find that hard disk partition resizing is now supported as part of the installation process (previously, one had to have commercial software to be able to do this). My machine was running Windows Vista, and was set up with a single partition on each drive. I opted for a dual-boot configuration since I still have lots of Windows-specific things that I need to be able to do. According to the docs, I needed to defragment the disk that was going to be resized prior to resizing it, so I did that, then rebooted into the install disc.
The boot screen offers a number of different options, including choosing your resolution, booting into video safe mode, and recovering a broken installation. I took the default option (boot/install), and off it went. I got a fancy Ubuntu splash screen with a progress bar that went for a bit, then my screen went wonky. My monitor was covered with crazy colors and glitchy stuff. My first attempt obviously misguided, I rebooted and chose the safe video mode. No dice. I got the same funkiness as before. I ctrl-alt-backspace'd out of X, and started futzing around with my xorg.conf file. My monitor is very finicky about the resolutions and refresh rates that it supports. In the end, I had to switch to the VESA X driver, and drop down to 800x600 resolution. Unfortunately, 8x6 isn't very optimal for my setup, as the monitor has a 16:9 aspect ratio, so everything ended up stretched horizontally. In addition, I had problems with the mouse cursor. It just wouldn't show, no matter what I did. I tried changing it to a different style, thinking that it'd reload it or something, but to no avail. I ended up setting the option to "ping" the cursor when I hit the Ctrl key.
Now that my system was almost usable, I started looking around. Ubuntu's setup CD has multiple purposes. It can be used as a recovery disc (as noted earlier) or install disc, but it can also be used as a "live" disc. Basically, you insert the CD and boot to it, and once in you have a fully function Linux machine to work with. This can be very useful in situations where you're not sure what will be available to you, or if you just want to bring your favorite OS with you wherever you go. Setup is merely an app you run from inside the live CD's X environment. After looking around to see what the live CD provided, I started setup.
Setup wasn't very nice at 800x600. For some reason, setup was too tall for 800x600. The buttons on the bottom of the dialog ended up hidden underneath the taskbar that takes up the bottom of the display. I fixed that by forcing setup to be on top of everything. Now that I could actually see and interact with the setup app, I got to installing. Most of the setup was straightforward for someone with Linux experience. Resizing the hard drive partition that was to house my install was a cinch. I was a little confused, though, on the timezone selection page. In Windows, you select your timezone, but in Ubuntu, you're given a list of locations. Presumably, each location follows different time rules, but I was confused by the lack of options on the west coast. I'm in Seattle, so I chose "America/Los Angeles". I assume that's right, though I'm a lot closer to Vancouver, B.C., which I think follows the same time zone rules. Anyways, install was fairly painless from this point on.
After the install completed, and my machine rebooted, I went right in to Ubuntu (though it was nice to see my Windows install on the GRUB menu). Unfortunately, my install of Ubuntu encountered the same problem as the live CD had -- X had horrible problems... it was actually worse here, though. When I ctrl-alt-backspace'd out of X, I ended up on a console that was entirely illegible (due to apparent video corruption). I had to reboot and choose the single-user boot option to make X use the VESA driver. After this, I rebooted and began the process of getting X working correctly. For some reason, the "nv" driver hates using scan modes that my monitor can agree with. I installed the commercial nVidia driver via GNOME's snazzy Synaptic package manager, and managed to get everything working correctly (though not before something completely nuked my computer's BIOS configuration) at my monitor's native (and odd) resolution of 1360x768.
At this point, I tested to see if Vista still worked properly. GRUB chained to the Vista bootloader with no issue, but Vista failed to boot properly. I suspect that when I resized the partition, some files at the end of the disk got clobbered. For this I blame both GNU Parted and Vista. Vista's disk defragmenter no longer shows the physical layout of files on the disk, so it's much more difficult to figure out if the disk is really defragmented. That said, GNU Parted should have some way of finding out if a user is about to perform a dangerous action.
All-in-all, my Ubuntu installation was typical of the install experience I'm used to from 5 years ago: it's a complete pain in the ass. It's only through vigilance, determination, and a fair bit of experience that I was able to get as far as I did. Clearly installation is something that needs to be improved before Linux becomes an OS for the masses. There's no way my mom (hey mom!) would know what partition GRUB should be installed to.
Though I do have to admit... the desktop is pretty. Here's what mine looks like right now:
Next up: Configuration and Cool Tools.
posted by Paul Campbell at 1:11 AM
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