Ubuntu for Windows users

QUESTIONS that I get in the mail show that quite a number of Windows users are curious about what to expect when they make the jump to Linux.
While answering one such question this week, I realized that I’ve already written quite a bit about how things are done in Linux as opposed to Windows, but that these snippets were scattered over many columns over the last three years. I thought it might be useful to gather that information in one column, where it might help more Windows users to make the switch to Ubuntu Linux.

Watching DVDs
Rolfe Pope writes: “I am curious if you are still just a Linux person, how do you watch commercial movie DVDs?”
Normally, of course, I simply pop the DVD into my NextBase player and watch the movie on my 42-inch Phillips LCD TV. On those occasions that I do want to view a DVD on my Ubuntu PC, however, I usually use the VLC player, which can play almost anything that moves. (See the next part to find out how to install VLC and other software packages.)

The second part of Rolfe’s question, however, hints at some previous experience with Linux, as he asks about codecs, or the coding-decoding software needed to play various types of video files. Fortunately, installing these codecs has been simplified in Ubuntu 9.10 or Karmic Koala. Simply go to the Ubuntu Software Center and install Ubuntu restricted extras. Or, if you prefer, open up Terminal and cut and paste this line:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Installing software
Unlike Windows, you will not have to buy and install an office suite separately. OpenOffice is already installed when you install Ubuntu.
In Windows, you install new software by downloading and running a .exe file. Or, the .exe file might come in a CD that you bought from a store. In Ubuntu, most applications (called packages) are free, and you can download them and install them from a menu (Applications > Ubuntu Software Center from the top panel). More experienced users might prefer to use Synaptic (System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager) of the Terminal (Linux’s version of the DOS shell) to install programs.

Before installing any software, you must enter the password you created when you first installed Ubuntu. This simple precaution and the way software is distributed in general make it much more difficult for you to accidentally install a virus.
There’s a bus load of free software available. The Ubuntu Software Center lists more than 2,000 applications. It costs you nothing to try them out, and they’re easy to uninstall if you don’t like them.

Finding your files
Coming from Windows, you may find the absence of drive letters discomfiting. But once you understand how a Linux system is organized, you should have no problem finding your files.

On Ubuntu, the equivalent of Windows Explorer is called Nautilus. You can launch it by going to Places > Home Folder. The home folder is the one with your user name on it, and is roughly equivalent to My Documents in Windows. It should not be confused with /home, which is where everyone’s home folder (in a shared multi-user system) goes. So, if your user name is “bill,” your home folder would be /home/bill. If you shared the machine with Ted, his home folder would be /home/ted.
In Linux, you can hide a folder or a file by starting its name with a period. To see hidden folders, go to View in Nautilus and check Show Hidden Files.
If you have more than one hard drive, it will show up in Places. When you use it for the first time, Ubuntu will ask you for your password before it mounts the drive to make it accessible.

USB drives are normally detected when they’re plugged in, and Nautilus will automatically show you the contents of the drive.

Burning CDs
Gnomebaker is the default CD burner installed with Ubuntu, but there are other choices. In the Ubuntu Software Center, you can find Brasero. Xfburn, X-CD-Roast and the one I prefer, K3B.  To turn audio CD tracks into MP3 files, you can use Audio CD Extractor and to rip DVDs, you can use AcidRip.

Do you have a Windows-to-Ubuntu question? Drop me a line.

Hi Chin,

I have enjoyed your column for years. Thank you.

A few points for the would-be Windows-to-Linux crowd (feel free to plagiarize and I don’t require any credit):

1. Ubuntu is very friendly. I’d try it first. It’s what I’m going to talk about below.
2. Ubuntu and Windows have many, many similarities. The learning curve is not as steep as one might expect.
3. Ubuntu keeps getting friendlier. Early Ubuntu (6.04) was so geeky that I spent half my time in the forums. Today, as of 10.4, it’s pretty easy to install and use. It even has an Aero interface equivalent (Compiz) that is slicker IMO than Aero. Dual boot Windows-Ubuntu systems are easy too, in several flavors. I dual boot with Windows 7 and Ubuntu and also have Windows 2000 (for legacy graphics) in a Sun Virtual Box setup on Windows 7.
4. Speaking of forums, they’re the best. Good folks, helpful, and knowledgeable. None of the flaming so popular in Windows forums. Don’t hesitate to use them. There’s even an “Absolute Beginners” forum, which I still use a lot.
5. Everything in Ubuntu is free. Really.
6. Generally, Ubuntu helps tend to be pithy for me. I think they’d rather code than document. Hence the forums. There ARE good helps and tutorials, but I’d never find them without the forums.
7. Ubuntu comes with nearly every program one needs, but there are thousands more available free. You only need Windows for games. Incidentally, you can download Ubuntu on either a CD or a DVD. The DVD contains a lot more stuff.
8. Viruses and anti-virus programs and defragmenting hard drives are non-issues on Ubuntu. Forget what you know about them on Windows.
9. Ubuntu is intrinsically much more secure than Windows, and the Ubuntu folks can and do patch a security hole a day or two (!) after it happens.
10. Updating Ubuntu is easy.
11. Installing and removing programs is easy.
12. Ubuntu includes OpenOffice, which is so much like Microsoft Office that you should learn it easily. It speaks Office file formats, too.
13. Firefox remains the foremost browser in the land and it comes with Ubuntu. LOVE those add-ins.
14. Don’t ask me about the GIMP. I don’t like it. Photoshop is much better IMO.

Hope this helps.

hello,

to rip the dvd, I recommend more ogmrip (single use) or handbrake.

For audio cd there is the software xcfa.

Kal torak

I hope people change their minds about whether Photoshop is better than GIMP. My graphic design teacher said to pick the tools that work for you; his own colleague in the ad industry, for instance, still uses Photoshop 4. I’m sure you’ve seen those YouTube videos where someone pulls off an insanely detailed and realistic digital painting with MS Paint. Photoshop will likely be the dominant graphics manipulation software for years to come, but you can always find ways of doing in one program what you do in the other. Me, I use the GIMP.