My first experiences with Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn)

This blog is sequel to my blog titled “Another step towards Open Source Operating System”. As indicated in the blog, the installation was smooth for a dual boot arrangement. Ubuntu recognized all internal hardware, loaded required drivers without my knowledge during installation. I had to set up my printer manually. This was also easy. Ubuntu loaded the driver files from its own library after selection of my printer make and model in printer setup dialog. There is a wider selection of printers in the library and most of the printers can be added without any hassle.

I noticed that there was an application in Ubuntu that could be used to communicate with Palm OS devices. I connected my PDA, Palm Tungsten T, to my PC though usb port. I could synchronize and upload data from my Palm PDA to PC. However, there was no front-end application in Ubuntu to view uploaded data. I decided to look for an application at a later date.

I started FireFox. It was not connecting to the net. The problem was with the internet modem. I had a DSL modem. Unfortunately, this modem could communicate with Windows system only. I contacted my ISP (Internet Service Provider), Airtel, to provide a solution. They suggested to change my USB modem to Ethernet modem. But, I decided to change it with a “modem + wireless router”. I always wanted to have a try at networking. This was the best chance for me. ISP Engineer came and installed the wireless router. He connected router to my PC through cable, since I did not not a wireless adapter. I booted Windows, checked the net and then in Ubuntu. The net was working with both systems. Now, I could surf the net from Ubuntu also

Having bought a wireless router, I could not wait to buy a wireless adapter for my PC and test wireless connection. I bought a netgear wi-fi PCI adapter and installed in my PC. The disc provided with the adapter card had the required driver files. The adapter was installed without any hick-up and worked perfectly with Windows. Unfortunately, the installation disc did not have driver files for Linux. I had to search Ubuntu documentation and download driver files. Initially, the downloaded files did not work. I had to download another set of files, which worked. It took many hours to fix the problem after going through support documentation in the net. I had to switch between Windows and Ubuntu to check support and documentation in the net with Windows and then try later recommendations in Ubuntu. In the process, I have become more experienced in using the terminal, commands and their structures and file accessing in Ubuntu. I am gaining confidence in tweaking configuration files.

From Ubuntu, I am able to access all the files in my PC including Windows system and application files. Reverse is not true. From Windows, I am not able to access the drives (called devices in Linux) formatted by Linux and files saved there.

I also tried language support. I selected my local language, Tamil, as language for Ubuntu and OpenOffice. I also changed keyboard layout to Tamil. I could create a document in Tamil. I could read menus in Tamil. Some menus, still appeared in English. Translation was not complete. The picture shown here is a snap shot of my screen, while I was using Tamil as default language.

I started liking Ubuntu.

Foot Note:
In my previous blog "Internet Speeds", I discussed about internet speed in India and compared it to that in USA. Next day to my blog publication, I saw a news item that Airtel is going to offer 8Mb/sec broadband service in a few months. The company is working on pricing and devising schemes to suit various customer needs. My prayer has been heard. It is happening in India!