10th Apr 2005
Ubuntu on iMac
What was it, a few days ago I was talking about all of the different Linux distros, and that there wasn’t enough of a common face?
Well, allow me to restate, update, and elaborate … There really ARE way too many Linux distros. I think many of them are more from the idea of “hey, I figured out how to make a distro!”, than the idea of “hey, let’s advance the state of the art in some way…” Consider what the situation looks like from the POV of someone still mentally stuck in Windows la la land – they peek at the Linux world, get scared at what looks like chaos, and go running back to the illusion of Windows comfort and safety. Keyword: Illusion.
So with that in mind, it’s been an interesting week, because Ubuntu Linux got a major update. It so happens that I’ll be doing a round of Linux installs soon, so I’m in the market to find something, anything, that saves me from the tedious process of dealing with Debian. (plus I know I’ll be dealing with new hardware…)
Ubuntu is based on Debian, but with some important differences:
- the install should “Just Work” – hardware detection is very good
updatesnew versions available every six months- more recent kernel
I also like the fact that it seems to have a very well developed web site, an active community, and what looks to be a commitment of money (free CDs shipped to you, if you’d like) from Canonical (which gets support from Mark Shuttleworth). It looks like it will be there for a while, and that a lot of thought and effort is going into it.
Winding back to “here and now”, I’m about to head back to NYC for a couple of months, and know that I’ll want a Linux box or two there. I figured I’d take a little time to install Ubuntu on an old iMac DV I have lying around [1]. I recommend using BitTorrent to download a disk image to burn.
Some things noticed installing to a Mac iMac DV (400 mhz):
- text installer – but so what, it detected everything
- there was a hiccup of the “multiseat” module not installing. Ignored this. (it turns out this has to do with multiple users simultaneously hitting the window system (x.org))
- didn’t have to answer any silly questions about my framebuffer, or my mouse. Gnome comes up, and it “Just Works” as advertised
- scrollwheel mouse works out of the box – w00t!
- Mpeg streaming (SomaFM) does not work out of the box, but a quick Google search gives me hope
All in all, Ubuntu seems to live up to the hype. It’ll be the distro I use on PC or PPC hardware when I get back to NYC (that’s another post).
[1] Sorry Sophia, I have co-opted your west coast box! But your old PowerBook may be getting a new friend soon :-)
