So, you've heard that Linux is the bee's knees, and you want to test it out. A quick run over to Distrowatch shows that the top distribution of the open source operating system is Ubuntu.

It actually comes in serveral "flavors": the standard GNOME based version, the KDE version Kubuntu, and the XFCE desktop for low powered systems Xubuntu. The core system is the same, only the primary desktop is different.

So you download it. Now what?

First thing you want to do is install it. I chose the GNOME version because it's the most polished of them.

The process is text based, but fairly straight forward. Follow the prompts, don't install over your XP install, and you will be ok.


Sooo cute!

Next, you want to get automatix. What is automatix, and what does it do? It is an automated python script that installs all of the things that most first time Ubuntu users need: Java, Firefox plugins, restricted media codes, Microsoft Fonts, Skype, Nividia/ATI drivers, etc.


Automatix in action.

Select the things you want, and tell the script to go. If you do not know what you want, you can either google every option, or you can install everything and uninstall it later. There is no wrong answer here.

Make sure you install Swiftfox.

You need to babysit this install a little bit. The script will ask you serveral times for your password, and most likely will install Java twice: once for 1.4.2, and once for the latest update. Mostly, it will sit back and hog your network bandwith. Go get some coffee, play Gtetris, or something.

When the script is done, you will need to reboot. This is one of the only times you will need to do this on Linux, and it is because the proprietary drivers (ATI/Nvidia) are fully integrated yet. Restarting allows the kernel to boot the new drivers, and Xorg should start without incident. You know you have it right if you get an Nvidia splash screen as the system starts.

So now what? Well, let's configure WINE. Assuming you want to run some Windows applications on Linux, WINE is the cheapest way to go. There are other options, but I will get to them next time.

To set up WINE, you can either use Automatix, Synaptic, or follow the directions here. All three methods should get you the latest version.

How do you know if it's working? Fire up terminal, and type: wine notepad.

Since I didn't have time to resize this one, if it works, you should see the following:
http://www.tacticalgamer.com/gallery...ormal_WINE.png

Now, before we get to more advanced topics, you need to fire up Synpatic, and go to the Development section.

Now, I know, you are saying "I'm not going to do development!" Hush! Not everything you want to run will be in a nice little .deb package that you can just right click on and install. You may actually have to compile something, and this step will help you later on.

Install the following (at minimum):

gcc
g ++
make
binutils

This installs the full versions of the latest C and C++ compilers, and the make utility for them. Binutils is just a nice package to have, should it ever come up. It probably won't.

Hit apply, and the system will download them and install it.

That's it for the first session.

If you run into any trouble, check the Dapper Drake Guide, or the Ubuntu Forums for answers.

Next time, we will get into advanced Linux-fu, such as setting up teamspeak, and writing to NTFS partitions.