Unleashing the Geek Within

Ubuntu 9.04 Upgrade : The Screenshot tour

May 5, 2009

I have been upgrading my work Laptop (a Dell D630) since Ubuntu 7.04.
The first couple of times there were a few glitches, nothing a few Google searches and “sudo apt-get install”s couldn’t fix.
However, the process is getting increasingly reliable and I urge users to go this route.

For upgrading from Ubuntu 8.10, Intrepid Ibex to 9.04, Jaunty Jackalope, I decided to use the Alternate CD.
The Ubuntu Alternate CDs are released alongwith the Desktop and Server versions for that release and are basically text-based installers.
Confession time : I did not know that one could upgrade using the Alternate CD. I always did it over the Internet. That shows you how much of a Ubuntu geek I really am

The only command you need to execute to begin the installation is :

$ sudo update-manager -d

That’s it !! Just keep on “Next” ing and in about 2 hours you should be done !!

And …. Voila !!!

No breaks, no crashes, no glitches !!!

All my drivers are working, my Ethernet, WiFi, my Audio, my X Server, my Touch-pad, my Mouse …. my EVERYTHING works out-of-the-box !

And Man is this Release FAST !!

So just take the jump guys and upgrade to the Jaunty Jackalope.

Open Source | 1 Comment

Ubuntu on Windows

May 5, 2009

Ubuntu Linux has opened a lot of doors for open source developers.

The real enthusiasts, the midnight oil burner are coming up with some AMAZING applications.

One such KICK-ASS app is the Portable Ubuntu, although I think the name of the project is a misnomer.

Portable Linux installs a Windows app that emulates Ubuntu Linux. In fact, it IS Ubuntu Linux modified and dressed up to run on top of Windows.

That is why I think the name’s a misnomer. It should have been simply “Ubuntu on Windows” or something like that.

Portable Ubuntu is the result of a magic conjured up from  Colinux Kernel : which in itself is a very interesting Project to run Linux on Windows, X-Ming :  which is the X Server for Windows and Pulseaudio : which is a cross-platform sound server.

As soon as I learnt about this project I knew I had to install it and without further ado, I promptly did.

Here’s what a Vista Desktop would look like with Portable Linux running :

Portable Ubuntu screenshot

I love it !!

For years I’ve been running Windows apps on Linux using Wine.

Now it’s time to do otherwise  !!!

Apart from Portable Linux, there is another app which has a Ubuntu-Windows connection.

It’s called Wubi (Now THAT’s a name ), but I’ll be talking about it in more detail and screenshots in a later post.

The Portable Ubuntu image is quite large, about 700MB, but to all the Ubuntu fans out there,you HAVE TO try it out.

In fact, I did it just for Spite !!!