Ready
for a new operating system? Shake hands with Gutsy Gibbon
by
Alan Zisman (c) 2007 First published in
Business
in Vancouver November 6-12, 2007; issue 941
High Tech Office column
Many consumers have been
reluctant to move to Microsoft’s Windows Vista. Wisely, few have jumped
to upgrade older hardware to the now 10-month-old release. And many are
reluctant to get it pre-installed on new systems. I spoke to the owner
of a computer shop in my neighbourhood. His rough estimate: only 2% or
so of his customers were wanting Vista.
While most of the
Vista-avoiders are sticking with Windows XP, the aversion to Vista
creates a window of opportunity (no pun intended) for alternatives to
Microsoft operating systems. Apple released OS X 10.5 Leopard, its new
operating system version, on October 26. (More on Leopard after I have
a chance to try it out.) Also released in October: Ubuntu 7.10,
nicknamed Gutsy Gibbon, a new version of the most popular desktop Linux
version.
To run Leopard, you need a Mac. But Ubuntu, like other
Linux distributions, runs on standard PCs, replacing Windows. It also
includes a rich set of applications to replace Microsoft Office and
other applications. You can download a CD image file from
www.ubuntu.com and burn your own installation CD, or (if you’re
patient) Canonical will mail you a CD free. You can legally load it on
as many computers as you like, no serial numbers or product activation
required. Canonical can provide paid tech support if required.
Nicely,
the install disc is a “live” CD: when you boot to it, you’re in a
working version of the operating system, which lets you see whether it
supports your hardware and whether you’re comfortable working in this
new environment without installing anything onto your computer. If you
decide to go with it, double-clicking the install icon starts up a
straightforward installation process. You can choose to entirely
replace Windows on your computer or to free up some hard drive space
and install it alongside Windows, giving you the option to boot to
Windows or Ubuntu Linux whenever you restart your system.
Ubuntu
users have traditionally had difficulties with drivers for some
hardware and with using many multimedia file types. These problems are
more political than technical. Canonical includes freely distributable
open-source software only in its standard installation. The new version
automates the process of allowing users to get around these
restrictions.
When my Dell laptop restarted for the first time
after I installed it (alongside Vista), it noted that there were
“restricted drivers” for my laptop’s Intel network adapter and ATI
video and gave me the option to choose to use them. A few clicks and it
went to its online “repositories,” downloaded the drivers and installed
them for me.
Similarly, when I tried to load movie and music
files for the first time, the system noted that it lacked needed
“restricted codices” to play these files and offered to download and
install them. After a few moments, it could handle all the file types I
could throw at it. (In fact, one Windows-style AVI video file that was
playing only audio in Windows and not at all on my Mac ran properly –
sound and picture).
Laptop owners will appreciate new easier-to-use connections to wireless
networks and to digital projectors.
To
keep up with Vista and Leopard, the new Ubuntu promises fancy desktop
effects installed by default. That didn’t work on my Dell, so I can’t
comment on how its eye-candy compares with the competition’s. But
that’s a minor quibble. Even without it, Ubuntu 7.10 is an attractive,
stable, easy-to-install system that replaces Windows and provides a
range of free applications that lets me do pretty much everything I
need with a computer. And like Mac OS X and other Linux variants, it’s
free from the viruses and spyware that keep online life perilous for
Windows users.
I just can’t bring myself to refer to it as Gutsy Gibbon. •