Ubuntu 8.04 Questions

z22 2006 User · 11-06-2009, 07:11 PM

Well, I installed Ubuntu on one of my Dell notebooks. It's running a LOT better than when it had windows XP. Any general tips or software you would recommend?

brickman65 · 11-06-2009, 07:14 PM

Along with FF browser you may try Google's Chrome browser. I have played with it some. It seems nice. Of course there is Open Office as well.

palmgeek5394 · 11-06-2009, 07:19 PM

Browse the repository (the Add and Remove apps thing). You'll find all kinds of interesting stuff there.

headcronie · 11-06-2009, 07:29 PM

Might I ask, why 8.04? 9.04, and most recently, 9.10 came out.

z22 2006 User · 11-08-2009, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by headcronie

Might I ask, why 8.04? 9.04, and most recently, 9.10 came out.

I don't have readily avaiable access to the internet, and 8.04 was all I had access to, as I already had it on a CD.

SGosnell · 11-10-2009, 10:41 PM

You can get a free CD sent to you. I recommend avoiding 9.10 for awhile, but 9.04 works very well on netbooks. If 8.04 works for you, there is no imperative to upgrade, though.

I've been using Ubuntu for some time, after trying most popular Linux distros. I like it a lot, and there is a ton of software available, all free. I have installed wine in order to run one Windows program - Pokerstars. They don't provide any Linux help, but that's the only Windows program I use, everything else is native Linux, and I have no need for any Windows stuff. Ubuntu is not Windows, and it doesn't work exactly the same, but with a little effort you can learn it fairly easily.

jigwashere · 11-10-2009, 11:22 PM

Oh, my. I feel so stodgy sticking with Windows XP on my AAO.

Maybe if wozofoz installs it, I'll be inspired (he's my hero

).

Are you using Ubuntu Netbook Remix? Why/why not?

EDIT: I have the AAO 150 which is a Tier 1 netbook for UNR.

bluefish · 11-11-2009, 08:53 AM

I recommend updating to 9.04 as soon as you can. It is a great distro and very stable on my Acer 5050 laptop.

I agree with the Sgosnell about avoiding 9.10 for the meantime.

Another app I would recommend is the recently developed Autokey.
It is the Linux version of Autohotkey but is only really useful for text shortcuts.
eg: adr=your address.

Welcome to the club.

r0k · 11-11-2009, 09:29 AM

I updated to 9.04 a few months back. Alas I don't use my AAO as much as I once did. I just don't like that 600 pixel screen height. It's not the notebook's fault. It's software developers' fault. All of them seem to think I need to stare at 700+ empty pixels between the text I'm reading and the "ok" or "next" button that is lingering somewhere off screen below.

If a netbook comes out with 768 or more vertical resolution, I might grab it and sell my AAO.

I find that 9.04 boots faster. I'm a little annoyed with the need for a python script to update firefox but I live with it. I use whatever default email client came with the distro. I can't remember what it's called at the moment but I find it to be no worse than Apple mail on OS X.

I find that 9.04 suspend and resume is more reliable than 8.x. I remember sometimes hitting suspend and the system sits there looking almost, but not quite as stupid as windows for 30+ seconds before it finally goes dark. With 9.04 that almost never happens.

I use Open office dot org for my word processing needs on my Macs and on my AAO. I also use iWork but I find that OOO is a bit more "cross platform" savvy. I'm also planning to pick up MS Office for my Mac because I can get a "deal" through my job.

When I have something to look up quickly and don't want to walk to my Mac which is in the basement, I grab my iPod Touch. If I want to run out to a meeting and want a computer with me, I grab my AAO. One thing I like about Ubuntu is it plays nicely with all my printers. Any printer that OS X can see, Ubuntu can see using it's "cups" drivers. Upgrading to 9.04 didn't make printing any better or faster but it didn't break anything either. Unlike dealing with Windows updates, OS X and Linux updates are "in place" updates which install right over what you have. Next time you're in a wifi spot for a few hours, go ahead and let the 9.04 update run via wifi. I think mine took about 90 minutes to download everything and I seem to remember it didn't actually start to run until it successfully downloaded everything which meant it didn't need a connection during the upgrade. This is a big deal on netbooks because there is a certain amount of wifi anxiety caused by driver issues. This is especially true for the AAO. I can report that I had nagging driver issues on 8.x but no such issue with 9.04.

Scott_L · 11-11-2009, 12:11 PM

9.04 on my old Compaq notebook with a Netgear (PC-Card) WiFi adapter kept dropping me. I upgraded to 9.10 this weekend and I haven't had a drop since. Otherwise no real changes other than app updates and different look at login. Some apps were dropped and some added, but the ones I need are there and Wine is still working.