Last september, I discovered the true beauty and power of the Linux OS through Ubuntu Linux 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot. I have spent the last few months systematically replacing my most used software for Windows with its Linux equivalent. To date, I have spent 99¢ on software and that was only for my TV, but, I’ll explain that shortly. The initial oohs and ahs were short lived. They quickly became replaced with expletives and fits of rage peppered with shouts of jubilation and excitement. Now I am beginning to see the end of the learning curve.
So far, I have created new brochures for my business [insert Fat Frog Networks plug here] with GIMP and Scribus, written and edited a few documents with LibreOffice, and rebuilt my lab environment with VirualBox. I've also built a Plex Media Server on some beefy decommissioned equipment from my job. This has been my favorite project so far.
I installed Ubuntu 11.10 64bit on my new (read:used) PowerEdge 850 in roughly half an hours time. Shortly thereafter I had installed and configured Plex Media Server. I downloaded the app for my GoogleTV for 99¢ and created a free MyPlex account in less than 5 minutes. Overall the initial setup took just over an hour. After I ripped my LoTR Two Towers DVDs and transferred them to my server I was off enjoying the fruits of my labor. Plex is super easy to configure and does an excellent job streaming high quality video without sucking up too much of my bandwidth. I haven’t tested to see how much it uses when I watch a flick, but I didn’t notice any reduced speed at all.
All of the awesome features I get for a little bit of work are not without their frustrations. For instance, I have learned to watch out for drivers. I purchased my system with an ATI Radeon 6700HD graphics card. The generic drivers weren’t a problem. I was able to use a dual extended monitor setup without any hassle. Then I installed the proprietary ATI drivers for my card and it became unusable. After months of searching forums for an answer there finally came an update that appears to have solved the issue. I still get some problems here and there with a service hanging, but I am not deterred.
Now, I’m not going to lie and say I never use my Windows 7 machine anymore. I still use it for things I need to do quickly and haven’t had a chance to test on Ubuntu. Also, I can’t sync my tablet without Samsung Kies, which isn’t supported on Linux. Despite the minor setbacks and temporary frustrations, I’m still absolutely convinced that Linux is a perfectly viable replacement for Windows for the home user.
So far, I have created new brochures for my business [insert Fat Frog Networks plug here] with GIMP and Scribus, written and edited a few documents with LibreOffice, and rebuilt my lab environment with VirualBox. I've also built a Plex Media Server on some beefy decommissioned equipment from my job. This has been my favorite project so far.
I installed Ubuntu 11.10 64bit on my new (read:used) PowerEdge 850 in roughly half an hours time. Shortly thereafter I had installed and configured Plex Media Server. I downloaded the app for my GoogleTV for 99¢ and created a free MyPlex account in less than 5 minutes. Overall the initial setup took just over an hour. After I ripped my LoTR Two Towers DVDs and transferred them to my server I was off enjoying the fruits of my labor. Plex is super easy to configure and does an excellent job streaming high quality video without sucking up too much of my bandwidth. I haven’t tested to see how much it uses when I watch a flick, but I didn’t notice any reduced speed at all.
All of the awesome features I get for a little bit of work are not without their frustrations. For instance, I have learned to watch out for drivers. I purchased my system with an ATI Radeon 6700HD graphics card. The generic drivers weren’t a problem. I was able to use a dual extended monitor setup without any hassle. Then I installed the proprietary ATI drivers for my card and it became unusable. After months of searching forums for an answer there finally came an update that appears to have solved the issue. I still get some problems here and there with a service hanging, but I am not deterred.
Now, I’m not going to lie and say I never use my Windows 7 machine anymore. I still use it for things I need to do quickly and haven’t had a chance to test on Ubuntu. Also, I can’t sync my tablet without Samsung Kies, which isn’t supported on Linux. Despite the minor setbacks and temporary frustrations, I’m still absolutely convinced that Linux is a perfectly viable replacement for Windows for the home user.
If you like Ubuntu, you should try OpenSUSE 12.1!
ReplyDeleteHow does it play with ATI drivers? Ubuntu doesn't seem to like them so much. Perhaps it's just an issue with Unity. I haven't tried any of the other GUI's so that's simply conjecture.
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