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Click on the links below:
Introduction
Puppy Linux
Linux Revisited
Unix to the rescue
Ubuntu
Ubuntu Ramblings
Freespire
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Introduction
I always thought that Linux was for geeks. OK, I suppose that I am a bit of a geek, but I have only recently started looking at Linux.
First the pronunciation - the originator of Linux, Mr. Linus Torvalds, pronounces it with the Lin as in Linda. So ignore the Guys that say “Lie nux”, it’s “Lin ux”.
Linux is an operating system - so you can use it instead of Windows. Why would you want to? How about:
It’s free
It’s not from Microsoft
It’s not subject to virus attack
It can be carried on a CD, a USB stick or even a floppy
It’s developed by a community of good honest enthusiastic geeks.
Did I mention that it’s free?
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Puppy Linux
Yes, it’s a stupid name but then so is “Windows”.
Have you got an old PC that you would like to use just to surf the net, write a few letters, do some e-mail, knock up a spreadsheet?
Maybe the hard drive packed up and you can’t justify buying a new one, buying a copy of Windows, setting it up, installing and updating anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, etc, etc.
You can download a CD disk image of Puppy Linux, burn it to CD (or USB thumb drive), and then use it to run any old PC.
Puppy Linux will run straight from the CD, it runs entirely in RAM and needs no hard disk. Oh and it’s free and legal!
If your PC has less than 128Mb RAM then you will need a hard disk for it to run a swap file on, but apart from that you can breathe new life into all those old PCs that you thought were past it.
Take a trip to www.puppylinux.org , read what they have to say and give it a whirl - you have nothing to lose.
Just to be fair, there are other “pocket sized” Linux distributions like Knoppix, DSL (Damn Small Linux) and Slax, but Puppy seems to be causing a lot of excitement at the moment.
The idea is that you should be able to walk up to any PC, stick your CD or thumb drive in, run a Puppy session and then walk away without leaving a trace. I don’t think it will be possible to do that with any PC, but I haven’t found one yet that I couldn’t get going with it.
Now getting modems or wireless to work may be another matter, but a lot of people are managing to do it and it costs nothing to try.
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Linux Revisited
After a busy period with little spare time I have now returned to the little project that I originally wanted to use Linux for - to run a Network File Server.
We have three PC’s in our house. One downstairs for general home use, one upstairs in my workroom for business use and a laptop for mobile use. (Plus several old PCs in various states of disrepair)
I don’t usually have them all on at the same time, but Sod’s law dictates that when I don’t then the file I want to access is on a PC that isn’t currently switched on.
So I thought I would use a reliable old 600MHz Dell as a Network File Server. The hard disk on this Dell failed recently and I replaced it with a new one that should give the old timer several more years of use. Ideally I want this PC to sit in a corner with no monitor, keyboard or mouse, connected to the router, and just provide a central, always on, networked store.
With all data files in one place it will make backups easier too.
I was led to believe that a minimal installation of Linux with the appropriate file serving program would do what I wanted.
Now although I still believe that, I am struggling to implement it.
I have tried several of the Live CD distributions of Linux - Slax, Knoppix, Puppy, Damn Small Linux and they are all very good at getting a system up and running, connecting to the internet and running Office applications. The normal everyday stuff.
But when you try to do something slightly out of the ordinary like running a File Server you rapidly start drowning in geek speak. Having worked my way up from DOS to XP I am used to acronyms and curious names but Linux seems to be a foreign language.
All of the distributions that I have tried are packed with applications with weird names (they compete to get as many applications into 50MB as possible) but they fail to provide adequate instructions as to how to use them and in some cases, what they are supposed to do in the first place!
For instance, In Damn Small Linux there is a Daemon called SSH Server. I think that may be what I need to use, but I don’t really know what a Daemon is and I have no idea what SSH stands for.
So it’s down to trawling the net for information in forums that seem to be mainly geeks trying to impress other geeks with their geekiness.
I’m sure that DOS must have seemed very similar to most people, but at least it came with a fat manual.
What I want are clear instructions as to how to set up a minimal installation of any version of Linux that can serve files to my network. I would think that it must have been done thousands of times, but I’m still struggling. Watch this space!
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Unix to the rescue
I never found a Linux distribution that I could easily set up to do the above..... because once I found FreeNAS I had exactly what I wanted and stopped looking!
FreeNAS is Unix based (Free BSD to be exact) and I have been able to set up my old Dell as a fully functioning NAS, stuck in the space between two desks, with no peripherals attached, running all day every day.
More about it here: FreeNAS
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Ubuntu
According to DistroWatch this is the most popular Linux distribution at the moment.
It is so free that they will even send you a CD completely free of charge. (But on a 6 - 8 week delivery)
So download it overnight and burn it to a CD yourself.
I have had a quick play with it and it’s a lot more user friendly than the live CDs that I’ve been playing with. A lot less Linux-speak.
It works initially as a live CD and you can then install it to hard disk.
It found my internet connection without any help at all.
It setup an old printer in almost the same way as Windows.
And it comes with Firefox and OpenOffice pre-installed.
It ticks most of my boxes for a Windows replacement.
Get it from www.ubuntu.com
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Ubuntu Ramblings
I thought I would have a look at the latest release of Ubuntu Linux (7.10).
Downloaded OK.
Burned CD OK.
Loaded as a live CD OK. But...
The first PC I tried to load it on wouldn't let me increase the screen resolution above 600x800. Probably a weird video card that it didn't like. So I tried to go ahead and install it to the hard drive anyway, in the hope that the full installation would solve the problem. But the installation windows were too big for the screen, so I couldn't access the buttons at the bottom to answer the installation questions. I got through some of them by just pressing enter, but eventually it all ground to a halt. So much for all the beta testing!
So undetered I installed it on another PC. No problem this time. I forgot to physically install a network card initially, but I just switched off, fixed it in and booted up again and it recognised it straight away. And no messages about finding new hardware etc., it just did it.
Given that this version was released in October 2007 (version 7.10 - geddit?) I was disappointed when it immediately asked to download 88 updates. Blimey, that’s more than Vista (50 something) which has been
out a year now.
So I thought I would try installing a new program. It's supposed to be a doddle with this version.
Applications, Add/Remove... I clicked around but it kept wanting to reload the application list. I gave up for a couple of days and then spent an hour or so searching around the Ubuntu forums.
Before you can meaningfully use Applications, Add/Remove you have to select some "Software Sources" because the default installation doesn't come with any (other than the installation CD) selected! So it's System, Administration, Software Sources, Ubuntu Software and tick the first 4 of the 5 boxes.
Now I could add applications! I tried GnuCash and it installed OK - not unlike watching a Windows application install.
I found GnuCash in the Office section of Applications. All going well - "Welcome to GnuCash". I chose to "Open the new user tutorial". It couldn't do that because the Help files were not installed! Doesn't anyone try out these things on real users? OK, mustn't grumble 'cos it's all free, but come on!
So back in Applications, Add/Remove... (why do the Yanks call 3 dots an "ellipsis" - it's 3 dots godammit!) I looked for the GnuCash help file. Not there.
So with my new Ubuntic confidence I ventured into the scarily named "Synaptic Package Manager"
And I found it and installed it!
The link to the new user tutorial now works - but there is no specific new user tutorial, it just goes to the contents page of the help file.
So I'm quite pleased with myself and Ubuntu so far.
Memo to the developers: YOU know, and the geeks know, that each Ubuntu release has a silly name, but it worries a new user when he suddenly comes across instructions for "Gutsy Gibbon"!
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Freespire
In 2001 a project was launched to create a version of Linux that looked and ran like Windows.
Very quickly they were made to change the name to Linspire (I wonder who put the pressure on?) and the Linspire Linux distribution is now on sale for 50 US dollars as a download or 60 US dollars boxed.
But if you go to their website - http://www.linspire.com/ you will find that their is a free version of the Linspire distribution called Freespire.
“Freespire is a community-driven, Linux-based operating system that combines the best that free, open source software has to offer (community driven, freely distributed, open source code, etc.), but also provides users the choice of including proprietary codecs, drivers and applications as they see fit. With Freespire, the choice is yours as to what software is installed on your computer, with no limitations or restrictions placed on that choice. How you choose to maximize the performance of your computer is entirely up to you.”
I am trying it out on an old PC and it seems fine. It is the only Linux distribution that I have found so far that plays the videos on the BBC website “out of the box”.
There is a new version (2) in development at the moment, based on the Ubuntu core, with final release planned for May 2007.
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