Ubuntu: Windows vs. Ubuntu

I have been using Windows since the very beginning of my computing life. When I first heard the name Linux, I was surprised. What is this thing? What will it be like? I kept wondering about all these things. Later, I didn’t have the courage to test this new thing. In 2011, one day I finally mustered up the courage and bought Ubuntu 9.10. I was worried that installing Linux might cause problems with the hard drive. With great apprehension, I booted it up. I was amazed by the graphical work. Turns out, it’s not bad at all. Anyway, I invoked the name of Allah and started the installation. While going through the installation options, I noticed something interesting. It could apparently be used as an application alongside Windows. That made me very happy. Great, no need to partition the hard drive. I installed it as an application with Windows. And I, Aritra Ahmed, fell in love with Ubuntu.

Why?

Ubuntu

Good question. The most annoying thing about my Windows life was viruses, and from time to time spending money on antivirus or on internet packages just to download antivirus. Sometimes I would even have to reset the whole Windows system. And those essential programs (Skype, Google Chrome, Facebook Video Chat Plugin) that I’d set up via stream download would occasionally disappear. But let me share some good news:

• While using any distro (distribution) of Linux, you don’t have to worry about viruses at all. That’s a yearly saving of 2,000–2,500 taka on antivirus alone.

According to the Free Software Foundation’s definition, published in 1986:

Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. Firstly, the freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor or friends. Secondly, the freedom to change the program so you can control it, not the other way around. This requires access to the source code.

• You’ll be delighted to know that according to the above definition, the Linux kernel and all its distributions (Open GPL) are absolutely free. Therefore, you won’t have to spend nearly 10,000 taka to get a genuine copy of Windows. Of course, if you have money to spare or are compelled to, that’s a different story.

So you’ve installed it. Now the question is, for work, you’ll need thousands of software. You’ll have to search for them. You’ve probably already opened Google’s homepage. Wait, wait. No need to go through all that trouble. Since I’m talking about Ubuntu, I’ll say everything with Ubuntu in mind.

Ubuntu provides you with the Synaptic Software Repository, where you’ll find countless software. All completely… free. You’re looking with disbelief? Don’t be surprised.

The name Ubuntu comes from a popular proverb in South Africa. The word means “humanity towards others.” Ubuntu’s founding company, Canonical, and the developer group Ubuntu Foundation launched with this motto on October 20, 2004.

• Since you visit Bangla blogs, you might be in a rush to look for software to display Bangla. Don’t worry. Ubuntu uses Unicode encoding, so you can view Bangla without any hassle.

Ubuntu is based on the Debian operating system, which is built on the Linux kernel. If you were to ask any computer expert in today’s world who Microsoft’s worst nightmare is, the answer would be Ubuntu.

• Now you might be thinking, what about graphics work? There isn’t a version of Photoshop for Ubuntu. Then what? Just go to the Synaptic Software Repository and install GIMP. This free software is not in any way inferior to Photoshop—actually, it’s much lighter.

Each version of Ubuntu has its own name. The current version, 11.04, is called Natty.

• But what if I encounter a problem while using Ubuntu? With Windows, if something happens, I can just call the neighbor’s Rahim or Karim for help. Yes, that’s a concern. No worries. Don’t stress yourself out. In this case, Ubuntu is a step ahead of Windows. There’s the Ubuntu Foundation and Ubuntu Forum. There are Ubuntu geeks. Just write out your problem. Thousands of Ubuntu experts will jump in to help you. All completely free. Some help sites: ubuntuforums.org www.ubuntu.com/community ubuntugeek.com/forum/

There’s more. For every version, the Ubuntu Foundation provides user help and support for 18 months after release.

• But brother, I listen to music! Where do I find drivers for audio? You don’t need to go anywhere. All necessary drivers are included in Ubuntu. Just set it up and enjoy your music at full volume (without disturbing others, of course).

This is one of Ubuntu’s unique features. You don’t need any drivers. No need for the driver disc that comes with your motherboard. Everything from basic audio drivers to Bluetooth and graphics are all inside Ubuntu. Go ahead, keep exploring. There’s a lot more to come.

• You’ve managed to endure all this talk, but what about my office work? No worries. There’s LibreOffice. From Ubuntu 11.04 onwards, every version includes LibreOffice. Older versions have Open Office. With it, you can do everything you do in Microsoft Office, and even create PDF documents directly—without any plugins. All absolutely free.

Check out at a glance what’s included in Ubuntu 11.04:

Linux Kernel: 2.6.34
Python: 2.7.2
GNOME Desktop Environment: 2.32.1
Firefox: 4
GIMP: 2.6.11

The next version, my favorite—Ubuntu 11.10—includes:

Linux Kernel: 3.0
Python: 2.7.2
GNOME Desktop Environment: 3.2
Firefox: 7

Note: GIMP is not pre-installed in this version. You’ll need to set it up yourself.
What else does it have?

Are you asking what it DOESN’T have?

• For all your chatting needs, there’s Empathy. It’s a chat client for everything from Facebook to every major social network and community. Chat away. And yes, the chat emoticons are fun.
• Firewall? This is the boss of Windows Firewall. If you’re a hacker, make a run for Ubuntu. You’ll be safe.
• Set up Adobe Flash and watch YouTube videos with ease. There’s a version of Flash player for Ubuntu.
• Used to Chrome? That’s available too.
• There’s “Liferea” so you can read the latest news from all the major news networks, via RSS feed—no browser required.
• There’s Shotwell—view your photos with ease. In my opinion, it’s the best tool for easily importing photos from your camera.
• Use your phone to connect to the internet? No problem, there’s Blueman. You can get online via Bluetooth without Nokia PC Suite.
• All your files will remain encrypted.
• Set up a password at boot—no one will be able to get into your PC.
• Phishing scammers are done for with Ubuntu. Phishing doesn’t work on your PC.
• If there are no hardware issues, Ubuntu will boot in a maximum of 8 seconds.

And now, my favorite feature. Suppose you want to back up some important data but don’t want to keep it on a file sharer. What to do? Disks can get corrupted, pen drives can get lost, hard disks can crash. Enter Ubuntu One: a cloud service. It gives you 1GB of space, absolutely free. Open an account from your PC, upload your data. If your PC or hard drive crashes, just log in with your username and password—either from a browser or another Ubuntu PC—and retrieve your data. No need for separate software to upload or download files.

[I’ll be posting more about Ubuntu soon.]

Take care, everyone. And one more thing—love your country. It’s the only one we can truly call our own.