This is the first install of what will be a periodic, ongoing series on how migrate from Microsoft's Windows to other Operating systems. This first article provides insight in the much discussed Ubuntu Linux.

Background

Have you ever been some place you really didn't want to be?  I mean, have you ever really, really had a desire to leave but for some reason you just couldn't?  There was always something holding you back. Maybe it was circumstance, the comfort of your surroundings, or it was just too familiar (even though you know you should've moved on long ago)?  Sound familiar?

Conditions like these keep many people tied to Windows.  Those users feel there has to be an alternate way, but are unsure how to proceed. Well, there are alternate solutions to Microsoft Windows. Many are robust and allow users to make the migration with little knowledge and no loss. For anyone interested in finding the route out of Redmond, WA, please continue to read on.  Today, we're looking at the new face of Linux: Ubuntu.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an African word meaning a great many things, kind of like "aloha". Ubuntu's demo CD even comes with a video interview of Nelson Mandella where he describes the word's meaning.

The Ubuntu name holds true to the vision outlined in this article. While it is freedom from the Windows chains, the Windows expense and the legacy baggage of bloatware and costly DRM, it is a Linux based system and carries with it that portion of a learning curve.

For those who don't know, Linux is a community-developed operating system with roots back to the early 1990s. Linus Torvalds originally developed Linux as a freely distributable alternative to UNIX, and one which even came with the source code. Its subsequent popularity in universities grew quickly and ever since it's been a open-source, community-developed system. There are literally thousands of developers contributing to Linux all the time.  Not all of them are paid to do so either.  Most are simply zealots who, either through a personal desire to provide something of interest to users, or in an attempt to avoid Redmond at all costs, have donated their time, talents and expertise toward these projects.  Their efforts carry with it the very spirit of Ubuntu's underlying principle: Free software for everyone.

Linux represents freedom in almost every regard because every application comes with source code. This means that if you don't like something and you want to change it (and you're technically skilled to do so) you can fix it yourself. You can extend it, alter it or whatever else you want to do with it because it's on your hard drive. This is true of any program you download which is normally licensed through Linux.  The GNU license allows you to modify it only for personal use without upward conveyance.  If you want to upload it for others to use or share it, there are some requirements that must be adhered to.  Still, this is something Windows does not easily allow you to do.

Linux has been released in many flavors over the years. Ubuntu is just one of the scores of official releases out there.  Each one has a little something different to offer and is special in some way. Ubuntu happens to be based on a root variety called <a href=”http://www.debian.org/”>Debian</a>. Debian has some stated basic <a href=”http://www.debian.org/intro/about”>goals</a> for itself.

Debian (and Ubuntu) are designed to remain 100% free forever, according to their manifesto. All programs must contain source code as well as a compiled form ready to run. Anyone who uses anything Debian-based can take any work and derive anything new from it based on their licensing.  All licensing of new products must also allow what's called “upstream conveyance,” meaning that any other Debian based distribution of Linux (like something other than Ubuntu if originally developed in Ubuntu) can also reap the full rewards of the creation.  The same works in the reverse too so that Ubuntu gains from new software written for other Debian distros. This is where the nearly 22,000 software titles now available in Ubuntu have come from. Team effort across distributions is advancing everyone.

At this point, many people's natural reaction to Linux will be something along the lines of:  “Ewe!”  Well, the times have definitely changed - even from a couple years ago. Linux is not the command-line based quagmire-enigma it once was.  There is a very competent GUI sitting atop a small, yet powerful base which is still there in the command-line world should you choose to use it.  Our latest adventure into the Linux space suggest that anyone who hasn't found Linux desirable in the past to give modern distros like Ubuntu a try. There have been advancements and the time may be ripe for the migration for some.

Linux is no longer a back-room operation (and many will argue it never was). In fact, while there are still quite a few things you need to know to get the most out of your system, most Ubuntu users need to know almost nothing about Linux. One of Ubuntu's goals has been “tidy packaging,” meaning that new software is easily installable, repairable and uninstallable.  It's part of the reason various versions of Linux exist.

To aid the newcomers,we have compiled this guide to take you through an Ubuntu install step by step.  For the most part, you don't even need to understand what's going on inside of Linux to begin this process.  Provided your machine contains relatively mainstream hardware, we found that the operating system will boot and install without any problem whatsoever. In fact, we have discovered in writing this article that some of the limitations imposed by Windows and its NT File System seem to be the most hindering facet of the entire experience.

If you can get a new hard drive to install Ubuntu I would highly recommend doing so.  Your experience will be as smooth as silk if you can begin the process with a fresh drive capable of receiving Linux.  And if you do this you'll also have a pain-free dual-booting ability between Windows and Ubuntu (and any other OSes you already have installed).

Read on the next page: Preparations and installing Ubuntu