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Published: Monday, 20 September 2021 12:36
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Ubuntu:
This is among the top 3 Linux distro. It went downhill recently by switching to GNOME3 interface (which wasn't popular with old people like me), but now they allow lots of different flavors of Ubuntu, with different and better i/f. So, it provides lots of choices, and you get a system, which is almost as easy to use as Linux Mint and CentOS. Ubuntu keeps on getting newer updates, which allows latest laptops to run without any issues (i.e outdated drivers cause sound, wifi etc not to work, but this never happens for Ubuntu). As of 2023, after having so many issues with Centos 7 (as Centos 7 has no updates since 2020), , I'm recommending Ubuntu. I've installed "Ubuntu Cinnamon" and "Ubuntu Mate" with no issues on a couple of laptops. Way to go !!
Ubuntu release numbering follows the year's last 2 digits. So, Ubuntu 22.04 implies it was released in 2022. All Ubuntu releases have 5 years of support, meaning they will update it with latest drivers etc, so newer machines built until 2027 will still be able to run Ubuntu 22.04.
The default "desktop ubuntu" can be downloaded from here: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop. Download 18.04.3 LTS (as of 2018) or latest stable version. However, this flavor of ubuntu has gnome3, so a better choice is to download some other flavor of ubuntu from here: https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours
Different flavors of Ubuntu are basically same as Ubuntu under the hood, except for the desktop Environment (DE) and some other customization.
All the flavors have attractive GUI and it depends on your personal preference on which to download. My preferred ones are the ones based on GNOME 2.Below are the various flavors:
- Ubuntu Mate: The one I tried and liked is Ubuntu Mate, which is more like Linux mint, with Gnome2, and very clean i/f. This is what default ubuntu desktop used to look like in 2010. download from here. https://ubuntu-mate.org/download/. Download 18.04.3 LTS or latest stable version. Ubuntu Mate might be the 2nd best option after Linux Mint, and ahead of CentOS., since CentOS requires an already installed linux distro, in order to get it installed. Ubuntu Mate has separate workspaces visible.
- Ubuntu Cinnamon: If you aren't tied to making your desktop look like Windows, you should consider Ubuntu Cinnamon over Ubuntu Mate. It has Gnome 2 DE (just like Ubuntu Mate), and looks like traditional Linux desktop. It was released in 2023, and is maintained by Linux Mint, other Linux distro. No wonder, the name and look is so similar to "Linux Mint Cinnamon".
- Worspaces; The only issue is that it doesn't have separate workspaces shown on the bottom right corner. It does have 4 workspaces though, they are just not visible. To switch from 1 workspace to another, use "ctrl+alt+forward arrow or back arrow button". It will show wrokspace 2, workspace3, etc as you press the arrow again and again.
- System Info: All system info shows under Menu->preferences->system info. (or just search for "system"). When I installed in 2023, the OS shows as Ubuntu-22.04 Jammy Jellyfish.
- Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu: These may serve well for people coming from a certain DE, and wanting to install Ubuntu which looks the same. Kubuntu is KDE based (and Mobile ready), Lubuntu has LXQt DE, while Xubuntu comes with Xfce DE.
- Other Flavors: I haven't tried these, they just look so awkward to me with icons on the side (similar to GNOME3 or Mac style)
There is also a tutorial on ubuntu website on how to download ubuntu, burn it on DVD or USB pen drive, and then install it. One such tutorial for creating pendrive for ubuntu on windows is here: https://tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-create-a-usb-stick-on-windows.
You can use any of these software to burn iso image to pendrive: rufus, etcher or UUI (from linuxpendrive). For me, none of these worked for pendrive, as it kept on giving error "boot failed". However, when I burnt it on a dvd, and used that to boot ubuntu, it worked flawlessly.
UPDATE 2023: As I wrote in "Linux installation", if you already have a linux m/c, use Linux "cp" cmd to cp the iso file to usb pen drive. Then reboot the laptop from within windows to get Ubuntu installed. I installed it using this method with no issues. This way of installing is the recommended way. NO need to use the above method from ubuntu site to burn iso.
Skype: Skype installation also worked, by following same steps as in Linux Mint.
Login without password:
Other Linux distro allow us to login w/o password during setup. Ubuntu Cinnamon gave me that option, but it still didbn't work. Easiest way to make it work is to add the user to group "nopasswdlogin". This can be done by going to settings -> Administration -> users_and_groups. Select user as yourself, and in groups, select "nopasswdlogin" which adds the user to this group. Now, no passwd will be required.
Install any new software on Ubuntu:
Many different ways:
- apt package manager: One of the ways is by using apt package manager. See in package manager ection for more details.
- Synaptic package manager: This is the preferred way. It's similar to other package managers as apt, but is provided as extra convenience. It's under menu->Administration->Synaptic package manager. On new pop up, authenticate with admin password. Then it will bring the software gui. Click on bottom left, which will show all packages, what is installed, etc. Search for any package that you want to install. i.e search for "emacs", and you will see lots of software, such as emacs, xemacs, etc. You can mark the ones you want to install, and then click "apply". Then it will install all marked software.
- Snap store: This is the app store for most of the Linus distro out there. Installation is so easy if you find that software on Snap store. This is also under menu->Administration.
- Software, Software Updater: These are other software under menu->Administration. They can be used for updating or downloading new software.
