How GNOME 3 is besting Ubuntu Unity

Takeaway: Jack Wallen was jonsing for GNOME 3 and discovered the best route to this new desktop was Fedora 15 beta. Can you image how surprised Jack was to find out that GNOME 3 blows away Ubuntu Unity? Read on to find out more.

In lieu of the release of Ubuntu 11.04 and the default Unity desktop, it seems GNOME 3 (aka GNOME Shell) has fallen out of the spotlight. Most GNOME-based distributions have been sticking with classic GNOME and, well, there’s Ubuntu. And since GNOME 3 doesn’t play well at all with Ubuntu 11.04, it’s in a bit of a situation. Unless you’re willing to give Fedora 15 beta a go.

I decided I needed to do just that, since I am ever so quickly becoming disillusioned by Unity. Believe me, I wanted to like Unity — and I did, at first. It seemed very slick, efficient, and just what the stale desktop needed. But then, after a few weeks of use, I realized there were many annoyances. It was time for something completely different, and that something was GNOME 3.

I’ve tried GNOME 3 plenty of times, even in its early stages, and I was impressed back then. The fastest route to GNOME 3 that I found was the beta release of Fedora 15. I knew, going into this, that I would be dealing with beta software and this (Fedora 15) marked the first release Fedora has offered with GNOME 3 as the default. But I was ready to dive in and see what GNOME 3 was looking like these days. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

Now, I should say that this is not a review of Fedora 15. It is in beta and that would be unfair of me to review a piece of beta software. So, the point of this open-source entry is to really illustrate to you just what the Fedora developers are doing with the GNOME 3 package and how this desktop is coming along.

Figure A

One of the first drastic improvements I noticed (one that Unity should take serious advantage of when they finally migrate to the GNOME 3 libraries) is the launcher and pager. When the mouse moves up to the upper left-hand corner (or hitting Alt-F1), the launcher and pager appear (see Figure A). What’s immediately noticable is that the pager has undergone some serious reworking. Prior to this release, the pager simply displayed however many desktops were configured when the launcher was opened. Now the pager shows up mirroring the launcher where individual desktops can be selected. This image shows the pager expanded. By default, only the left edge of the pager will show. When you hover the mouse over that edge, the full pager will pull out and the specific desktop can be chosen.

This also brings to light one of the shortcomings of the current release. As it stands, there’s a profound lack of configuration tools for GNOME 3. In fact, many configuration options can only be handled through the GConf Editor or by editing .xml files. On the plus side, these configuration tools are in the works.

Outside of the lack of configuration, GNOME 3 is set up quite nicely — sleek and efficient — which are the same properties I offered up to Unity. Only this time, it’s real. GNOME 3 is not suffering from the odd crashes and annoying menu behaviors that were near deal breakers in Unity. There are also some other things that help GNOME 3 easily trump Unity.

Take, for instance, the GNOME 3 search. Built into GNOME 3 is a GNOME Do-like search/launch. You can call up the search window by opening the launcher (move the mouse to the upper left corner or hit Alt-F1), and then type a search string in the search field (see Figure B). If you want to search for something outside of your desktop, you can enter the search string and then click either Google or Wikipedia, and your default browser will open with the search results.

But don’t think these to major revisions to the GNOME 3 desktop are the sole reasons you should give it a go. One of the most impressive feats accomplished by the GNOME 3 developers is how incredibly fast and reliable the desktop has become. GNOME 3 blows away Ubuntu Unity (on similar hardware) in the speed and reliability categories. I have yet to have an issue with GNOME 3 (on a beta release), whereas I have encountered plenty of issues on Ubuntu Unity.

Will GNOME 3 overtake the desktop by storm, making everyone rush to have the latest iteration of that famous desktop? Probably not. But if you want a fresh take on the desktop, and you’ve found Unity to be less than… well, unifying, GNOME 3 should do the trick. It’s fast, it’s stable, it’s very well designed, and Fedora 15 is doing it serious justice.

I’d like to drop some props to the Fedora 15 team, as they’re doing an absolutely incredible job with this bleeding-edge Linux distribution. Fedora 15 and GNOME 3 is a serious win-win from my perspective. Give it a go, and you might find that you agree!

A writer for over 12 years, Jack's primary focus is on the Linux operating system and its effects on the open source and non-open source communities.

Install and configure GNOME Do in Ubuntu Unity

Takeaway: GNOME Do has been one of the favorite search and launch tools for the GNOME desktop for quite some time. When Ubuntu Unity came around, it seemed like GNOME Do would be redundant and unusable. Both are untrue. GNOME Do still offers features users want. In this how to, Jack Wallen demonstrates how GNOME Do can be used in Unity.

GNOME Do is one of those tools that should be rolled into GNOME by default. This tool allows for the search and launch of applications or files. The new Ubuntu take on the desktop, Unity, has this feature baked in, but it’s not nearly as flexible as is in GNOME Do. Fortunately, the application will still work once you’ve transitioned from the standard GNOME to Ubuntu Unity.

Getting GNOME Do to work in Unity is not even remotely challenging. But if it’s installed without understanding how to get it to work properly, GNOME Do will simply not do. Here’s how to install and configure GNOME Do to work in the Ubuntu Unity desktop.

Installing and launching GNOME Do

The installation of GNOME Do is simple:

Open the Ubuntu Software CenterSearch for “gnome do” (no quotes)Click the Install buttonEnter your sudo password Figure A

After downloading, GNOME Do will install and be ready for use. But how do you use it? Tap the Super key, type gnome-do in the search area, and hit the Enter key to launch GNOME Do. Now, it gets a bit tricky. Under standard GNOME, the key combination to call forth GNOME Do is Super-Space, but the Super key is reserved for two very important functions in Unity. If Super is tapped once, it will call up the search dialog, and if it is pressed and held, the launcher icons will display numbers (see Figure A). The user can then press the number associated with the launcher to launch the application. Figure B

So, after you launch GNOME Do, instead of using it to search for an application or file, the very first thing that must be done is to re-configure it to use a different hot key combination so that it doesn’t use the Super key. To do this, follow these steps: Launch GNOME Do with the gnome-do commandClick on the drop-down arrow in the upper-right corner and select PreferencesClick on the Keyboard tab in the Preferences windowDouble-click on the Summon Do Shortcut, and when it displays “New Accelerator,” enter the new shortcut to be used by pressing the key combination (I have configured it to use Ctrl-Space — See Figure B)Click close

Using and configuring GNOME Do

As I mentioned earlier, GNOME Do is quite a bit more flexible than the standard Unity search. How? GNOME Do can be configured to work in conjunction with external applications, such as Google Calendars. To make GNOME Do aware of your Google Calendar, do the following:

Open the Gnome Do Preferences windowClick on the Plugins tabScroll down to the Google Calendar entryEnable the plugin by clicking the check boxClick the Configure buttonIn the Google Calendar Configuration window, enter the credentials for the calendar to be associated with GNOME DoClick ApplyClose the Preferences window Figure C

When searching Google Calendar (or any of the Google plugins for GNOME Do), it will be necessary to previously authenticate with a Google account in the default browser or an error will occur. It is also possible, once authenticated against the Google Calendar account, to bring up the Google Calendar event add page with the help of GNOME Do. To do this: Open GNOME DoType “new event” (no quotes)Hit EnterWhen the Calendar icon appears in GNOME Do (see Figure C), hit Enter againThe default web browser will open to the Google Calendar Event Add page, which will allow you to add an event and save it

Appearance and other configurations

Naturally, GNOME Do needs to fit in with the scheme and style of the desktop. Fortunately, it is possible to theme GNOME Do. Bring up GNOME Do and click on the drop-down menu to gain access to the Preferences window. Once the Preferences window is open, click the Appearance tab where Do’s appearances can be configured. There are four themes to choose from, as well as a few other options that effect appearance.

There is one particular preference that will not work with Ubuntu Unity. In the General tab, you will see an option to Show Notification Icon. This is not compatible with the Unity panel, as third-party panel applets are not installable. One particular plugin will also no longer work — Twitter. The Twitter GNOME Do plugin still uses basic authentication, which Twitter dropped a long time ago. This has yet to be fixed.

Extended usage

If the results that GNOME Do pop up do not seem to be locating files and folders, it is because the directories have not be set up. GNOME Do has to be made aware of the directories it has available to search. To do this, open up the Preferences window, choose the Plugins tab, select Files and Folders, and click the Configuration button. When the new window opens, click the Add button and add the directories that GNOME Do must be made aware of for searching purposes. With the necessary folders added, the GNOME Do search results will be much more effective.

Let GNOME Do

I was very pleased to find out that GNOME Do could work in conjunction with Ubuntu Unity. GNOME Do is an incredibly powerful and handy tool that makes working on the desktop so much faster. You might be happy with the way Unity searches and launches applications and files; but if not, let GNOME Do it!

A writer for over 12 years, Jack's primary focus is on the Linux operating system and its effects on the open source and non-open source communities.

Ubuntu 11.04: Installation stumbling block and post-install impressions

Takeaway: Jack Wallen is surprised with a bit of a glitch during the Ubuntu 11.04 installation. Have you had the same experience? Read on to see his final conclusion with the final release of Ubuntu 11.04.

Well, it has finally arrived. Probably the single most controversial Linux release to date. Ubuntu 11.04 — Natty Narwhal. The distribution that dared to buck the trends and go with it’s very own desktop that everyone said would fail. Rumor has it that even as near as a month prior to release, the Ubuntu developers wanted to can Unity and go back to standard GNOME — but the board voted them down.

“Controversy,” as Prince sang.

I had plenty of testing under my belt with the alpha and beta releases and decided Natty should be labeled (to that point) a huge success. There was so much to love about the new desktop. The whole idea behind Unity was to unify the desktop so that everything was seamless and made every aspect about simplicity. And Unity succeeded in doing just that. But how did the transition from beta to full release turn out? If the state of the beta was any indicator as to how well the full release would perform, the Ubuntu audience was in for a real treat. Did it deliver?

No.

There’s your answer. In its simplest form. But why? How could something go from doing so well in beta form to not doing so well in the full release? In a word — installation.

I had planned on migrating from Ubuntu 10.10 to 11.04 on my primary desktop. I was all prepared. Everything was backed up to an external drive, I had the standard list of applications that had to be installed immediately (GnuCash, OpenShot Video Editor, The GIMP, Chromium Browser, Claws Mail, Lucky Backup, and guvcview). I was ready. So I downloaded the ISO, burned it onto disc, and rebooted my machine.

Generally, I run the Live version of the distribution and then install from there. For Ubuntu you can choose to try it out (run the Live CD) or just immediately install the distribution. I decided to go my usual route and clicked the Try It Out button.

Nothing.

The initial screen just sat there, doing nothing. I thought that odd, so I rebooted (thinking it was just a fluke). When the initial screen popped up again, I clicked the Try It Out button and, once again, was greeted with a big squadoosh. Thinking maybe it was a bum disc or ISO, I downloaded a second copy, burned it again…

And had the same results.

So, I tried it on another machine (both machines are Shuttle PCs. The main machine is beefier, with a better NVidia graphics chipset.) with the same results. This is interesting seeing as how my secondary machine was already running Kubuntu 11.04 flawlessly. But I am never one to give up. I rebooted the secondary machine one more time and, instead of pressing the Try It Out button, I clicked the Install button. That worked fine and moved on to the next step. But I (being of the curious nature) wanted to find out something. Instead of clicking the Forward button, I clicked the Back button, which returned me to the original screen. This time I clicked the Try It Out button and, can you imagine my surprise when, it worked! The Live CD booted up and Ubuntu 11.04 was running.

Curious.

I decided to try the same thing with the main machine. It worked…but…when the desktop booted, it booted to the standard GNOME. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get Unity to run. I know, with 100% certainty, the main machine has the hardware to run Unity 3D (It runs Compiz perfectly), so it wasn’t a hardware issue. But try as a might, Unity would not run on the primary machine (at least not with full installation.)

Now, here’s why I say Ubuntu 11.04 doesn’t deliver. Most users who want to try Ubuntu or Linux for the first time aren’t going to jump through the hoops that I did to get it running. In fact, if a new-to-Linux user had the experience I had, they might well have already run back to Windows or OS X. I realize this might well just be an NVidia issue, since I have Ubuntu 11.04 running fine on an Intel-based laptop. But NVidia is a fairly common chipset, so a lot of users are going to have these same issues. Imagine if all NVidia users run into the same issue as I had…will they even bother?

Another tiny issue (which won’t affect that many users) is the encrypted home directory. I really like this feature, but after adding it to the installation the request to enter the encryption key is far from obvious. In fact, it’s quite easy to over look this. Forget to create an encryption key and things are going to get dicey.

Once the installation was complete, things went back to the normal, smooth Ubuntu experience. But up until that point, things simply weren’t what I had expected. I have to admit, I have done my fair share of waffling on the whole Ubuntu Unity issue, but that is not where my problem is for the final release of Ubuntu 11.04. Once running, Ubuntu Unity is a really great desktop. But if these installation issues aren’t ironed out, Ubuntu is going to find itself losing ground.

Also, for anyone expecting to configure any desktop effects, you’re going to have to install some software. It was said that Unity would be using Compiz as a compositor, but by default there is no way to configure Compiz. To do this, the Compiz Configuration Settings Manager (ccsm) package must be installed. Also, don’t expect to run the Compiz Cube, as it can not be loaded so long as the Unity plug-in is running.

Other than that (and the that being an incredibly minor issue), once the desktop is up and running it is quite good. So for those that do make it through the installation woes, the final result is well worth the trouble. Ubuntu 11.04 is an outstanding platform for all levels of user. For a first “official” release, Ubuntu Unity might well be the only desktop worthy of production desktop at such an early age. Unity makes you feel like you’re using a GNOME-like desktop, with the speed of a much lighter-weight environment (like Fluxbox or Enlightenment.)

At this point however, I would make the case that the overall experience with Kubuntu 11.04 has been far and away better. So, if you’re looking for a new release that is easy to install, and offers an amazing desktop experience, go with Kubuntu 11.04. If you’re looking for something a bit different, that might well be the future of the PC desktop (as well as the most likely candidate for Linux tablet interface) go with Ubuntu 11.04. Either way you can’t lose (unless you can’t get beyond the Try It Out button of course.)

A writer for over 12 years, Jack's primary focus is on the Linux operating system and its effects on the open source and non-open source communities.

The Perfect Server - Ubuntu Natty Narwhal (Ubuntu 11.04) [ISPConfig 2]

This tutorial shows how to set up an Ubuntu Natty Narwhal (Ubuntu 11.04) server that offers all services needed by ISPs and hosters: Apache web server (SSL-capable), Postfix mail server with SMTP-AUTH and TLS, BIND DNS server, Proftpd FTP server, MySQL server, Courier POP3/IMAP, Quota, Firewall, etc. In the end you should have a system that works reliably, and if you like you can install the free webhosting control panel ISPConfig 2 (i.e., ISPConfig runs on it out of the box).

I will use the following software:

Web Server: Apache 2.2.17 with PHP 5.3.5, Python, Ruby, and WebDAV Database Server: MySQL 5.1.54Mail Server: PostfixDNS Server: BIND9FTP Server: proftpdPOP3/IMAP: I will use Maildir format and therefore install Courier-POP3/Courier-IMAP.Webalizer for web site statistics

Please note that this setup does not work for ISPConfig 3! It is valid for ISPConfig 2 only!

I want to say first that this is not the only way of setting up such a system. There are many ways of achieving this goal but this is the way I take. I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

To install such a system you will need the following:

In this tutorial I use the hostname server1.example.com with the IP address 192.168.0.100 and the gateway 192.168.0.1. These settings might differ for you, so you have to replace them where appropriate.

Insert your Ubuntu install CD into your system and boot from it. Select your language:

Then select Install Ubuntu Server:

Choose your language again (?):

Then select your location:

If you've selected an uncommon combination of language and location (like English as the language and Germany as the location, as in my case), the installer might tell you that there is no locale defined for this combination; in this case you have to select the locale manually. I select en_US.UTF-8 here:

Choose a keyboard layout (you will be asked to press a few keys, and the installer will try to detect your keyboard layout based on the keys you pressed):

The installer checks the installation CD, your hardware, and configures the network with DHCP if there is a DHCP server in the network:

The Perfect Server - Ubuntu Natty Narwhal (Ubuntu 11.04) [ISPConfig 2] - Page 2

VBoxHeadless - Running Virtual Machines With VirtualBox 4.0 On A Headless Ubuntu 11.04 Server

Version 1.0
Author: Falko Timme
Follow me on Twitter
Last edited 05/09/2011

This guide explains how you can run virtual machines with VirtualBox 4.0 on a headless Ubuntu 11.04 server. Normally you use the VirtualBox GUI to manage your virtual machines, but a server does not have a desktop environment. Fortunately, VirtualBox comes with a tool called VBoxHeadless that allows you to connect to the virtual machines over a remote desktop connection, so there's no need for the VirtualBox GUI.

I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

I have tested this on an Ubuntu 11.04 server (host system) with the IP address 192.168.0.100 where I'm logged in as a normal user (user name administrator in this example) instead of as root.

To install VirtualBox 4.0 on our Ubuntu 11.04 server, we open /etc/apt/sources.list...

sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list

... and add the following line to it:

[...]deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian natty contrib

Then we download the VirtualBox public key...

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

... and update our package database:

sudo apt-get update

Afterwards, we install VirtualBox 4.0 as follows:

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential virtualbox-4.0 dkms

(The dkms package ensures that the VirtualBox host kernel modules are properly updated if the Linux kernel version changes.)

Starting with version 4.0, VirtualBox has introduced so called "extension packs" and has outsourced some functionality like remote desktop connection support (VRDP) that was part of VirtualBox packages before version 4.0 into these extension packs. Because we need remote desktop connections to control our virtual machines, we need to install the appropriate extension pack now. Go to http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads, and you will find a link to the following extension pack:

VirtualBox 4.0.6 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
Support for USB 2.0 devices, VirtualBox RDP and PXE boot for Intel cards.

Download and install the extension pack as follows:

cd /tmp
wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.0.6/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.6-71344.vbox-extpack
sudo VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.6-71344.vbox-extpack

(Make sure you grab the latest version from the VirtualBox web site.)

(Make sure you run the last command with sudo - sudo VBoxManage extpack install ... - because otherwise you will get an error like this:

administrator@server1:/tmp$ VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.6-71344.vbox-extpack
0%...
Progress state: NS_ERROR_FAILURE
VBoxManage: error: Failed to install "/tmp/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.6-71344.vbox-extpack": The installer failed with exit code 127: Error creating textual authentication agent: Error opening current controlling terminal for the process (`/dev/tty'): No such device or address
administrator@server1:/tmp$

)

Now we must add the user that will run VirtualBox (administrator in this example) to the vboxusers group:

sudo adduser administrator vboxusers

VirtualBox is now installed and ready to be used.

To create a VM on the command line, we can use the VBoxManage command. See

VBoxManage --help

for a list of available switches and (highly recommended!) take a look at http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch08.html.

I will now create an Ubuntu 11.04 Server VM with 512MB memory and a 10GB hard drive from the Ubuntu 11.04 Server iso image (which I have stored in /home/ubuntu-11.04-server-amd64.iso):

VBoxManage createvm --name "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" --register
VBoxManage modifyvm "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" --memory 512 --acpi on --boot1 dvd --nic1 bridged --bridgeadapter1 eth0
VBoxManage createhd --filename Ubuntu_11_04_Server.vdi --size 10000
VBoxManage storagectl "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" --name "IDE Controller" --add ide
VBoxManage storageattach "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" --storagectl "IDE Controller" --port 0 --device 0 --type hdd --medium Ubuntu_11_04_Server.vdi
VBoxManage storageattach "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" --storagectl "IDE Controller" --port 1 --device 0 --type dvddrive --medium /home/ubuntu-11.04-server-amd64.iso

Let's assume you have a VM called examplevm that you want to reuse on this host. On the old host, you should have a directory Machines/examplevm in the VirtualBox directory; Machines/examplevm should contain the examplevm.xml file. Copy the examplevm directory (including the examplevm.xml file) to your new Machines directory (if your user name is administrator, this is /home/administrator/.VirtualBox/Machines - the result should be /home/administrator/.VirtualBox/Machines/examplevm/examplevm.xml).

In addition to that copy the examplevm.vdi file from the old VDI directory to the new one (e.g. /home/administrator/.VirtualBox/VDI/examplevm.vdi).

Afterwards, you must register the imported VM:

VBoxManage registervm Machines/examplevm/examplevm.xml

Regardless of if you create a new VM or import an old one, you can start it with the command:

VBoxHeadless --startvm "Ubuntu 11.04 Server"

(Replace Ubuntu 11.04 Server with the name of your VM.)

VBoxHeadless will start the VM and a VRDP (VirtualBox Remote Desktop Protocol) server which allows you to see the VM's output remotely on another machine.

To stop a VM, run

VBoxManage controlvm "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" poweroff

To pause a VM, run

VBoxManage controlvm "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" pause

To reset a VM, run

VBoxManage controlvm "Ubuntu 11.04 Server" reset

To learn more about VBoxHeadless, take a look at

VBoxHeadless --help

and at http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch07.html#vboxheadless.

VBoxHeadless - Running Virtual Machines With VirtualBox 4.0 On A Headless Ubuntu 11.04 Server - Page 2

The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu Studio 11.04

This tutorial shows how you can set up an Ubuntu Studio 11.04 desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.

I want to say first that this is not the only way of setting up such a system. There are many ways of achieving this goal but this is the way I take. I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!

To fully replace a Windows desktop, I want the Ubuntu Studio desktop to have the following software installed:

The GIMP - free software replacement for Adobe Photoshop Shotwell Photo Manager - full-featured personal photo management application for the GNOME desktopGoogle Picasa - application for organizing and editing digital photosFirefoxOperaChromium - Google's open-source browser Flash Player 10 FileZilla - multithreaded FTP client Thunderbird - email and news clientEvolution - combines e-mail, calendar, address book, and task list management functionsaMule - P2P file sharing applicationTransmission BitTorrent Client - Bittorrent client Vuze - Java Bittorrent client Empathy IM Client - multi-platform instant messaging clientSkypeGoogle EarthXchat IRC - IRC client Gwibber Social Client - open-source microblogging client (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)LibreOffice Writer - replacement for Microsoft Word LibreOffice Calc - replacement for Microsoft Excel Adobe ReaderGnuCash - double-entry book-keeping personal finance system, similar to Quicken Scribus - open source desktop publishing (DTP) applicationAmarok - audio player Audacity - free, open source, cross platform digital audio editorBanshee - audio player, can encode/decode various formats and synchronize music with Apple iPods MPlayer - media player (video/audio), supports WMA Rhythmbox Music Player - audio player, similar to Apple's iTunes, with support for iPods gtkPod - software similar to Apple's iTunes, supports iPod, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iPod photo, and iPod miniXMMS - audio player similar to Winampdvd::rip - full featured DVD copy programKino - free digital video editorSound Juicer CD Extractor - CD ripping tool, supports various audio codecsVLC Media Player - media player (video/audio)RealPlayer - media player (available for i386 systems only)Totem - media player (video/audio)Xine - media player, supports various formats; can play DVDs Brasero - CD/DVD burning program K3B - CD/DVD burning programMultimedia CodecsKompoZer - WYSIWYG HTML editor, similar to Macromedia Dreamweaver, but not as feature-rich (yet)Bluefish - text editor, suitable for many programming and markup languagesQuanta Plus - web development environment, including a WYSIWYG editorVirtualBox OSE- lets you run your old Windows desktop as a virtual machine under your Linux desktop, so you don't have to entirely abandon Windows TrueType fontsJavaRead-/Write support for NTFS partitions

Lots of our desired applications are available in the Ubuntu repositories, and some of these applications have been contributed by the Ubuntu community.

As you might have noticed, a few applications are redundant, for example there are two CD/DVD burning applications in my list (Brasero, K3B). If you know which one you like best, you obviously don't need to install the other applications, however if you like choice, then of course you can install both. The same goes for music players like Amarok, Banshee, Rhythmbox, XMMS or browsers (Firefox, Opera, Chromium).

I will use the username falko in this tutorial. Please replace it with your own username.

The installation of the base system is easy as 1-2-3 because the Ubuntu Studio installer doesn't offer a lot of options to choose from, so you cannot go wrong.

Download the Ubuntu Studio iso image from http://ubuntustudio.org/downloads, burn it onto a DVD, and boot your computer from it. Select your language:

Then select Install Ubuntu Studio:

Choose your language again (?):

Then select your location:

If you've selected an uncommon combination of language and location (like English as the language and Germany as the location, as in my case), the installer might tell you that there is no locale defined for this combination; in this case you have to select the locale manually. I select en_US.UTF-8 here:

Choose a keyboard layout (you will be asked to press a few keys, and the installer will try to detect your keyboard layout based on the keys you pressed):

The installer checks the installation CD, your hardware, and configures the network with DHCP if there is a DHCP server in the network:

You can accept the default hostname or specify your own one:

Please check if the installer detected your time zone correctly. If so, select Yes, otherwise No:

Now you have to partition your hard disk. For simplicity's sake I will create one big partition (with the mount point /) and a little swap partition so I select Guided - use entire disk (of course, the partitioning is totally up to you - if you like, you can create more than just one big partition, and you can also use LVM):

Select the disk that you want to partition:

When you're finished, hit Yes when you're asked Write the changes to disks?:

Afterwards, your new partitions are being created and formatted.

The Perfect Desktop - Ubuntu Studio 11.04 - Page 2