Ubuntu

Taking it easy
So that the casual viewer won't get shocked, let's start with Ubuntu. Ubuntu is supposed to be a user-friendly Linux made to replace current operating systems most of us use.

Installing
It's really easy to install. In fact, if you're already running a current operating system, you can just pop in the CD and test things out - without having to install anything. It's a handy CD to bring around when troubleshooting computers.

Caution
Ubuntu isn't for gamers, it isn't for multimedia professionals. It'd be great for programmers or the casual all-I-do-is-email-and-surf user.

The Look
Ubuntu looks pretty. To the right you'll see a picture of the desktop. It's clean and simple. Don't expect fancy stuff especially since Linux is known to be friendly with slow systems. If you have an old PC around, it'd be good to revive it using Ubuntu.

Downloading
You can download Ubuntu easily. I suggest using Bittorrent to immensely speed up the download time, and to give something back to the community by seeding it for a while. You can download the torrent here. If you don't know how to use Bittorrent, you can download the CD image straight from the servers here. After downloading, you'll need to burn the image into a CD to run it.

Running It
When you restart your computer with the CD in your drive, it'll ask whether you want to install or run it from the CD. Run it from the CD first to see if this'll suit your needs.

I miss my MS Word!
There are a bunch of applications that are available with Linux that are for free. Yes, graphical editing software, office productivity software, audio editing software, etc. Plus, they're super easy to install via the add/remove software button. For office, try out OpenOffice. From what I've experienced, most installs of Linux come with OpenOffice already installed. Just start the word processor or the spreadsheet program.

I hope you enjoy Ubuntu!
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That's it for now. Time to go and hack my way into installing Rails :|

Why Linux?

What I needed to do
I wanted to set up a server in the office (we're a start-up, so one person has many roles) that could be used for various purposes (web server, FTP server, router, traffic shaper, etc.) but I hardly knew how to do any. In the end, it just ended up become a web server and an FTP server.

Ruby on Rails
A big motivator for me was to set up a Ruby on Rails (RoR) server that we could mess around with, install packages and such. As soon as I'm able to successfully do so, I'll post the steps here! In the mean time, you'll see posts about various things you can do in Linux.

The Flavors of Linux
Linux comes in a variety of flavors. I've only used five of them myself - namely Red Hat, Mandrake, CentOS, Fedora Core, and Ubuntu. I've only used Fedora Core (FC) and Ubuntu extensively however. In the office I run a CentOS server, at home I run a Fedora Core server, and when I feel stubborn I run Ubuntu on my laptop.

I chose to run FC at home because it seems quite a popular choice for a non-enterprise server. I'm able to find a lot of material on it when I search in Google. In the office, I run CentOS because a guy who is my Linux guru swears by it. On my laptop, as a desktop, I sometimes run Ubuntu because it just works. FC and CentOS are very similar, it's just that FC is more up-to-date when it comes to the software available. Anyway, I could also afford to run amok with the server at home - salaries don't depend on it.

Command Line? Yuck!
Most Linux flavors have desktop that looks a bit like Windows XP, but most of the time I feel like the desktops are half-baked, merely forcing the issue.

The power then lies in the command line. Yuck? Well, no, not really. It's pretty nifty once you get the hang of it. Plus, I'm able to have the server on in the office, and I just log in from my house via Putty, and even with low bandwidth, you could work well since almost all communication is done through text. It's like I'm back in the old DOS days (maybe, just maybe some of you can relate).

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In the next articles I'll be introducing less and actually have some technical discussions.

A Linux Newbie Blog

Hello, World?
Lately, I've been doing a lot of Linux administration for business and I've decided to keep a blog for my notes and processes. I don't expect casual viewers to come and visit, but I figured it'll be better to put my notes out there instead of things pasted in my drafts folder in my email where no one will benefit except me. So, here are my notes, typed into something understandable to other people... hello, world?

Evangelist?
I'm not trying to convert anyone to Linux by the way. I believe Linux as a server should really be only for developers (and really, why should it be another other way), and Linux as a desktop (to replace Windows or MacOS X) should really be only for the completely PC illiterate or the very advanced PC user.

Not Starting From Scratch
Most of my learning was and is still done by bugging a bunch of people. You'll have to forgive me about the first few posts - I'll be doing those from memory. However, what I experience onwards will be posted as I experience them.

A Little History
About four months ago I was a complete Linux newbie. I could barely install the darn operating system. In the following blog entries you'll see how I've installed Fedora Core 6 and Ubuntu (this might change, however), and why I chose those as my operating systems.

I have a dinner now, so I gotta go!