The AM Forum

I don't know how many fellow Linux fans there are on this forum, but the new Ubuntu distro (10.04) is a real winner. I've been using WinXP Pro and playing around with Linux from time to time. Never had a spare confuser to dedicate to Linux and didn't want to mess with a Virtual Machine.

Ubuntu 10.04 has a new feature called WUBI (Windows-based UBuntu Installer). It installs Linux as a folder in Windoze and installs the GRUB boot-loader which lets you choose the OS you want on boot-up. Purists may object that the WUBI install conforms Linux to the NTFS filesystem, but it seems to work just as well as the Linux native EXT3 FS.

The install procedure is simple and easy. Just download the ISO file from http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download (http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download), burn a CD from the ISO and go from there. Select "Install from within Windows" when prompted and it's a done deal. I allocated 20 GB of the 320 GB HDD in my Dell Vostro 1500 lappie to the Linux install and it's working perfectly.

One of the advantages of this install over a VM is that you're not forcing the two OSes to share machine resources. When one OS is running, the other is totally out of the loop. The disadvantage is that you can't tab back and forth between them as with a VM. You retain all the features that Linux is famous for, including the fact that there are virtually no viruses or malware which are designed to attack it.

Since I installed Ubuntu via WUBI last weekend, I've only booted in WinXP once and that was to keep up to the WX on GRLevel3 radar. It's unfortunate that several of the major software vendors for ham oriented software have stated that they have no intention of ever porting their products to Linux. Among them are; the GR series of WX radar software, HRD and the programming software from RT Systems. So, it's handy to keep Windows around for those applications.

Ubuntu found the network and my HP printer on the first try, and without forcing me to install a printer driver. Gotta love it! The update process and the location and installation of additional software is totally painless under Ubuntu as well. If you decide you don't want the Linux install anymore, just go to the Windoze "Add/Remove Programs" utility in Control Panel and remove it. It's that easy.

If you've been thinking about playing with Linux, I heartily recommend Ubuntu 10.04

ldb
K5WLF

agree!
but i recommend doing the install from the cd, and completely removing windows  ;D

I've been using Ubuntu since 2007. I had a few issues with the 9.10 release, there's a stupid bug in CUPS which crippled printer sharing over the network.

I rolled back to release 9.04 and everything is back to normal now. Not sure if I will try anything newer, it's sometimes too much of an exercise in teething problems with minor stupid things (like this CUPS printer sharing issue or some other issues).

Ubuntu just came out with another LTS (that's "long term service") release this month. This is a bit of a relief, since I've got some servers at work running 8.04 LTS, and they're in desperate need of an upgrade.

I only point this out because the LTS releases typically undergo a lot more testing than the standard releases do.

I'll be installing the latest LTS release on my Dell PowerEdge server at home before deploying it in the workplace, just to make sure the services we rely on don't go belly-up after the upgrade.

The rest of my systems run 9.04 and/or 9.10. The PowerEdge currently runs 64-bit 9.10. No issues for me (though I haven't used CUPS for anything, so I can't comment on that).

Guess I'm doing something wrong....downloaded ubuntu and wubi both...never could get either one to install.  Get a "no disk in drive" that refuses to go away notification from windows when I try to install Wubi.   Oh well, I'll stick to AM.