One PC at a time

ONE good turn deserves another.

Sometime in September 2005, my editor at Standard Today, Jojo Robles, thrust his old Apple G3 iBook at me with “a request” that I learn to use it. Fortunately, I liked what I saw, and when it came time to retire my old Fujitsu Windows 98 notebook, I chose a G4 iBook, which continues to serve me well.

The transition from Windows to Mac OS X wasn’t very difficult. A bigger change was in store for me in June 2006, when, in a fit of frustration over repeated crashes on my home computer, I nuked Windows XP and installed Ubuntu Linux over it.

I have since chronicled my open source journey in this column, pointing out both the difficulties I encountered and the satisfaction I derived from the exercise. On the balance, the satisfaction of installing and using free and open source software on my personal computer has far outweighed any of the disadvantages of leaving the proprietary world of Microsoft Windows.

I did not miss the the viruses and the spyware that were constant, day-to-day threats, or the mysterious crashes that accompanied every other Windows update. And I certainly didn’t miss Windows Genuine Advantage, Microsoft’s heavy-handed way of assuming all Windows users were pirates. With Linux and open source software such as Open Office, Mozilla Firefox, VLC Media Player and hundreds of other free programs, I could essentially get for free the kind of functionality that Microsoft sells for a small fortune.

These days, I get a big kick when I see Windows Vista Ultimate selling for P26,430 and MS Office 2007 Standard Edition going for P26,990. Each time I fire up OpenOffice on my Ubuntu Linux desktop PC, I feel P53,420 richer.

Increasingly, I’ve been eager to share this bounty with other computer users.

Why should you put up with expensive and buggy software, when you can get a stable and modern operating system and excellent programs for free? Unless you play a lot of PC games, need to run custom software, don’t have a broadband connection to the Internet, or you don’t know how to use Google (to find help on Linux), there’s really no reason to stay locked in a Windows world.

Given this mindset, I was eager to convert my editor’s desktop PC—a year-old 2.66-gigahertz Pentium 4 with 1 gigabyte of memory, an Nvidia 3D graphics card with 256 megabytes of RAM, and a 160GB hard disk—into an experimental Linux machine for the office. Up until last month, the PC had been seeing duty as a Windows XP game machine for my editor’s son—before the siren call of an upgrade to an even faster processor became irresistible.

A tinkerer in his own right, my editor agreed. After all, he already had some experience with open source software, having installed NeoOffice—a version of OpenOffice for Mac OS X—on his MacBook Pro. If the experiment works out, he says, we might even convert some of our other Windows machines to Linux.
This step will take more study. For now, I’m happy to have converted just one more desktop PC—and its user—to an open source computing platform.
Elsewhere, the change is taking place more swiftly.

By June, the French National Assembly will convert 1,154 desktop PCs from Windows to Ubuntu Linux, ZDNet reports. Members of parliament and their assistants will use Firefox, OpenOffice, Mozilla’s e-mail client Thunderbird and other applications. Our own Congress should certainly consider a similar move.

In September last year, the southern Indian state of Kerela converted all computers in its 12,500 high schools from Windows to Linux, in line with state policy to promote free software, the Associated Press reported.

In Brazil, three companies have begun shipping computers with Linux installed for the government’s low-cost PC program. They expect to deploy 10,000 of these a month.

Even in the United States, open source is gaining steam.

Spurred by widespread calls from users to bundle the open source operating system with new desktop PCs, Dell has launched an online survey to identify areas where it can support Linux.

The survey, which runs until March 23, asks users about applications they would use, their support requirements and specific distributions.
So far, Dell has not offered any mainstream desktop or notebook computers with Linux installed.

A suggestion to bundle Linux with new PCs garnered 110,000 votes on Dell’s IdeaStorm, a Web site that solicits feedback from its regular users. A suggestion to offer OpenOffice came in second, with 76,000 votes.

All this is great news for existing Linux users, because as our numbers grow, hardware and software companies will have no choice but to take notice—or lose our business. That’s why I’m excited about doing my share, converting one PC at a time.

Hell Yeah! :D

One thing though, having a dialup is not an excuse for not trying out GNU/Linux. I have been using many Linux distros on a dialup connection. Astoundingly, I manage to update (with the help of my USB flash disk). I found that one can mange to update Slackware and Ubuntu even if you are on a dialup connection. In Slackware, if you got slapt-get (a tool that works like APT on Debian), just do a simulated upgrade command, you can see the packages needed to be installed/upgraded, copy the output to a text file and go fetch the packages from a netcafe and save those to a USB flash disk, then copy the packages over to use machine and do a upgradepkg *.tgz for the upgradeable packages and do a installpkg to the new packages. On Ubuntu, it’s a bit easier: apt-get update, apt-get -s upgrade, copy the output, get the debs from a netcafe, save to your usb key, copy the debs to /var/cache/apt/archives and lastly apt-get upgrade I had a sad story on managing RPM-based distros on dialup :((

Hi, Chin!

I’ve installed Ubuntu 6.06.  It’s cool especially when I installed
beryl.  I’ve never seen a Vista, but I think Ubuntu (with beryl) will
catapult WinVista in desktop enhancements.

My only regret is that I’ve installed Ubuntu on a 6gig partition.  Now
I’ve only got 2.5gig of space remaining for future installation of
useful packages and updates.

I can’t remove my current winXP because my wife prefers it over Linux.
That was why I dual booted Ubuntu with it.

I’m very thankful for the tips and help you gave me.  I am now a
registered Ubuntu user #12714.

Thank you and more power.

Ronald R. de Jesus
Office of CEO-Library
Araneta Center, Inc.

I think you got me here Chin.

I’m thinking now of migrating my Windows XP PC at home to a Ubuntu over the weekend but I have few concerns like the drivers… I’m not sure if all my hardware are supported especially the video, sounds, and modem. And of course, the most important if i could play NBA Live 2007 too with Ubuntu. hehehehe

By the way, may machine is a old HP Pavilion 750n. Any advice?

Hi Jeffrey,

Please DON’T install Linux on your home PC if you want to continue playing Windows games on it. Wine just doesn’t cut it. That’s why I said “unless you play a lot of PC games”—so no, you shouldn’t

Hi Ronald,

Many thanks for writing in to tell me about your experience in migrating to Linux. It is extremely rewarding to know that what I’ve written has helped someone.

Hi Chris,
Dial-up? Ugh. I guess you’re right--it can be done, but why?

Because I’m still on dial-up :( And broadband is not coming anytime soon to our household. That’s the problem if you are the only Linux user (and geek) at home, they don’t understand my agony… :(

Hi, Chin: I think I have a few suggestions when it comes to games --> http://ubuntuliving.blogspot.com/search/label/Games

Thanks, Dom. Impressive as these games are, they really do not match the complexity and variety (or number) of games written for the Windows platform.

On the other hand, there’s something to be said for playing your games on a different machine altogether--an Xbox, PS3 or Wii--and do all the other cool stuff on your PC.

BTW, about that Ubuntu T-shirt…

Ahem...fixing that Real Soon Now.

The examples cited in the article show just how far behind the Philippine government is! While other governments have embraced open source, proprietary software vendors are their congressional lackeys are blocking the FOSS Bill in Congress!

Proprietary software is an albatross that is dragging down our economy and siphoning scarce government funds into the pockets of fat cat big businesses. It’s about time we gave these highway robbers the kick in the pants they deserve and ditch proprietary software in our government. The FOSS Bill is a step in the right direction. And this article makes it clear that the switch is not as difficult as the paid hacks of the proprietary vendors want to make it seem.

Keep it up! One PC at a time is still real and tangible progress. It’s certainly better than what Congress has done so far.

how right you are! ive actually been using linux as my main desktop OS...ditched Windows *pirated syempre* a year ago and wow! im glad i did it!

Cheers!

http://jagtalon.wordpress.com/

You can also try PC-BSD (http://www.pcbsd.org), which is an open source OS, you can easily install it, and if you try their PBI installer (http://www.pbidir.com), you would loved it, because it install software applications in an instant, and it doesn’t necessarily need an internet connection to install software applications. If you’re afraid to migrate from windows to an open source OS, you should try this, btw, the operating system we used to deploy in this project http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2007/02/19/TECH2007021987556.html
are PC-BSD for client and FreeBSD for server

if you need some support you can go to http://forums.pcbsd.org or you can email me at nalvinr [at] yahoo [dot] com

cheers

btw Chin, what’s the difference of Ubuntu with Kubuntu, Edubuntu, and Xubuntu?

I visited their site and its seems they’re just the same.

Sorry guys for being so naive… hehehehehe

as far as i know, the difference between each type is their Desktop Environment, Ubuntu uses the GNOME Desktop environment, Kubuntu uses the KDE and Xubuntu uses XFCE, while Edubuntu uses the GNOME but it is more designed for educational purposes

"It amazes me how people ‘expect’ to pay exorbitant fees to combat what is essentially poor design and programming… people have become conditioned to mediocrity when it comes to PCs.” That was a quote from my friend, a former employee of Sun Microsystems and another open source user. Frankly, I agree. I covered Microsoft’s local launch of Vista a few months ago, and I wasn’t overly impressed with any of the “new” features of its new baby, especially at the price they sell it.
On my friend’s recommendation, I recently started transitioning in to Ubuntu Linux myself. While I wish installing certain software were simpler, taking time to learn the system is worth it to me, much more than prolonging my dependence on Microsoft and its faulty software.
By the way, I’m not sure if you remember me, but I was a student in your Intro to Journ class in ADMU a few years ago.

Hello Allan,
Of course I remember you. Congratulations on shifting to Ubuntu and welcome

Hurrah, Chin for another informative piece. 

Indeed, the Open Source wave is morphing into a tsunami.  I would also like to point out the latest release of Bayanihan Linux put together by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of DOST.  It is a Debian based distro using KDE desktop. 

Sana suportahan natin ‘to. 

Jeffrey:

Chin was right.  Ubuntu is GNOME-desktop based while Kubuntu uses KDE desktop.  Both are highly customizable but may demand more “juice” from your system.  Edubuntu is designed for schools (can’t say much about something i haven’t tried).  Xubuntu meanwhile, uses XFCE desktop which is leaner and therefore demands less from your system and is faster and suitable for older rigs or when u are a speed demon.

It’s good to see that BL has a new version and now, Debian-based I used to beta-test BL But people grow up I guess, I fell in love with Slackware :D

Hi Chin

Have you seen this site http://ubuntu-ph.org

I am opening up a cyber cafe, and 13 computers will be running on Kubuntu, imagine how much i would save for only the basics such as the OS license and office application license and if you would calculate the other open source programs such as photo edit, music edit, cd burning, system back-up, antivirus and utilities its a heap of money that i will save, that is why i am going to promote Kubuntu, Linux and Open Source, i have already emailed them about what we can do together i want to put their logo in my signage and handouts. If you guys have any suggestion, opinion or criticism please do reply. thanks