Gizmos Grabowski

Sometimes Linux Works, Sometimes Not -- Part II

Not Working

Hardy Heron -- I upgraded my dad's old Compaq Presario 3000 from Ubuntu v7.1 to v8.x. The upgrade was largely automatic, but took more than five hours -- probably from the first-day rush of "everyone" else doing the same. Upon rebooting, 'Hardy Heron' did not recognize the wireless networking card. After spending an hour trying different things, I finally gave up and did what Canonical said I wouldn't: "You Won't Go Back."

After reinstalling v7.1, I began to check out what Ubuntu would -- and wouldn't -- work with:

Multi-button Mouse -- the basic mouse driver works, but I haven't found support for my extra needs: assigning double-click to the middle button (roller wheel) and horizontal scrolling for my Logitech wireless mouse, whose roller wheel also moves side to side. (This is like Vista, where I found it really tough to get double-click assigned to the middle button.)

MP3 Music -- Ubuntu comes with an impressive music application that readily found song files on networked computers, including Windows computers. It also plays back Internet radio stations, although you have to copy and paste the actual URL to do that -- a bit clunky. The negative is that Ubuntu does not include MP3 decoders, not even the freeware (I think) one called LAME. I spent several fruitless hours trying to get the MP3 codecs installed, but suffered from a lack of dependencies.

Working

Digital Cameras -- in an earlier post, I noted that Picasa downloads effortlessly, and that it immediately recognized my Canon S1is camera. I plan to try my Samsung cameras later.

Palm TX -- once the "wizard" got things configured correctly, Ubuntu recognized my Palm TX and was able to synch with it. Sync'ed data is stored in the Evolution Email software, such as contacts, schedule, memos, and so on.

Maxtor Portable Drive -- this USB-connected and USB-powered portable hard drive was immediately recognized by Ubuntu. This was handy, for I had backed up all of my dad's documents and photographs from this Compaq before wiping out Windows XP with Ubuntu. In ten minutes, the gigabytes of his files were back on "his" computer. This is more impressive than Windows 2000, where the mouse stops working when I plug in this drive.

Sony Walkman -- I checked out my dad's new Sony Walkman MP3 player, and it worked just as well as the Maxtor drive. For in fact it presents itself to the computer as an external drive -- whether on Windows or Linux. The USB port also recharged it, as well as the Palm TX's battery.

Installing Software with Linux

In all the years I've been experimenting with Linux, I've never been able to install software or drivers or browser plug-ins. If I was going to be going on the road withe HP's Mini-Note running Linux, I'd first have to learn how to do that.

Once I got Ubuntu Linux running on my dad's old Compaq 3000 notebook computer, I began to test the software I would need on the road.

Word Processor

Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice, so a word processor is "built-in." I tried running Google Docs in FireFox, and it worked just fine -- the documents and spreadsheets I'd created in the Windows version of FireFox looked identical. So, that was good.

I also checked GMail, and that worked for my email. Praise be OS-independent software.

Browser Plug-ins

However, Google Docs warned that I need to installed Flash 9 for collaboration activities. I don't collaborate, but I thought it would force to me learn to install software under Linux. After some frustrations, it finally worked: the Flash 9 plug-in worked with FireFox. I'd like to tell you how, but I tried so many things and finally something worked.

The part that puzzled me was that Ubuntu didn't want to work with RPM files. (This is a file format in which Linux programs are distributed, kind of like Windows MSI install file.) FireFox and Ubuntu recognized the downloaded RPM file and opened the appropriate software for installing it, but then the software refused to install it. After a bunch of clicking and right-clicking, it got installed. I just don't know how.

Adobe Reader

A piece of software I'd need on the road is Adobe Reader, in case someone sends a PDF file. I found that Adobe has three versions of install files for Linux users to install:

-- .gz, which is the Linux equivalent of a Windows ZIP file.
-- .rpm, which the aforementioned install file.
-- .deb, an install file specific to Debian Linux, upon which Ubuntu is based.

I found that choosing the DEB download for Reader is painless. FireFox downloads the file, and Ubuntu automatically installs. All I had to do was agree to the license (no choice there) and give permission to Linux to install it.

Picasa

Another crucial piece of software for me is Google's Picassa. It's available for Linux, but I was a bit worried: (1) it runs under WINE, the WINdows Emulator -- how hard was that to install? (2) Would it recognize my Canon S1iS camera?

But I didn't need to worry. Google as a DEB version of Picassa for Linux, which made for hassle free installation. Ubuntu recognized my digital camera, and Picassa downloaded its photos. Because this is the Windows version of Picassa running in the emmulator, all of Picassa's functions are available.

Media

Where things got rough was in media. My wife and I like watching Deutsche Welle tv over the Internet; DW uses the Octoshape P2P software to transmit its broadcast at 600kpbs -- 4x faster than what my DSL line is normally capable of. Octoshape has a plug-in for Linux but it is a nightmare to install. I haven't got that done yet.

The other thing I tried was to watch a DVD on Linux. One of the great scandals of our time is that DVD anti-theft system (CSS) is not freely available for Linux as it is for Windows. Installing the CSS decoder is even more complex than Octoshape, and after an hour of trying I gave up -- even though I was following instructions on Ubuntu's help site.

Well, HP's Mini-Note doesn't have a CD or DVD player, so this last item is meaningless.

I still have other things to test: how well it works with my Palm TX, my MP3 player, etc.

Sometimes Linux Works, Sometimes Not

HP's Mini-Note computer runs SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell. If I eventually buy such a computer, it would be good for me to check that I can live with Linux -- ahead of laying down $550+tax.

My dad gave me one of his older notebook computers. How old? So old that this Compaq 3000-series doesn't have built-in wireless networking. So old that it runs an actual Pentium 4 CPU at 2.4GHz. Since Windows XP had gotten itself screwed up, he gave the hardware to me.

Since I had a copy of it laying around, I ran the Live CD version of Unbuntu Linux v9.1, and it worked just fine. That Compaq's 2.4GHz CPU runs Linux quickly, even though the code is running off a CD. Then I got a brainwave: I should run SuSE Linux on it and check whether the Mini-Note would work for me -- especially on the road, where one is far away from the support structure found at home.

First roadblock: I found that SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is not a free operating system, and you won't find out from Novell's Web site how much it costs. (You need to contact a local representative who'll quote you a price.) Thus, I was unable to download it to try it out (well, I could have: they have a sixty-day trial version).

After a Google search I found that the free version is called openSUSE 10.3 from en.opensuse.org. I downloaded the Live CD version, which lets me boot Linux from the CD drive without replacing the existing operating system.

Second roadblock: OpenSuSE doesn't work on the Compaq 3000. After it starts to boot, the screen goes black. That's too bad, so I went back to Ubuntu, and installed it on the hard drive -- wiping out Windows XP (so much for the possessive stickers that Microsoft demands be affixed to the bottoms of notebook computers).

From my experience, all variants of Linux are pretty much the same -- kind of like running Windows v3.1 or 95 or 98 or Me or 2000 or XP or Vista: they all look somewhat different, but Vista operates pretty much the same as v3.1 (both Vista and v3.1 make it really hard for you to access files on networked computers).

My primary concerns about getting the Mini-Note with Linux were: (1) being able to install software; and (2) being able to install software that I need. More about that in my next installment.

Installing Ubuntu, Part 4

Earlier I tried installing the latest release of Ubuntu (Gusty Gibbon) on the old Toshiba notebook computer, but the graphics didn't work right.

I'm now booting the earlier release of Ubuntu v7.04 on my new HP notebook. (The earlier release, because it is the 64-bit version.)

It locked up during the boot, so I tried again. But it locked up again at the same point: "Configuring Network Interfaces."

No go. Now I'll try Ubuntu v7.10, the gutsy one. It got through loading all the drivers and other text-based messages. But upon switching to graphics mode, it stopped stone cold. No cursor, no CD drive activity, just a black screen.

That's too bad.

Installing Fedora 8, Part 5

Since the Fedora 8 Live CD ran too slowly on my old Toshiba notebook computer, I thought I'd try it on my new HP notebook. It has 2GB RAM, plenty of room for Fedora Live to store its cache.

Whereas F2 allow me to change boot order on the Toshiba, I needed to press Esc on the HP. But, it turns out, I didn't need to do that, because the HP first attempts to boot from the CD drive.

Except that it stalled partway through the boot process, giving me a blank screen with just a blinking underline cursor. I tried it a second time, and this time it worked. The resolution was full.

But there was a serious problem: the input device didn't seem to work -- neither the built-in trackpad, a three-button wired mouse, or the Bluetooth mouse. (The Bluetooth mouse would need to be configured, which I could not do without a mouse -- catch 22.) There was no cursor.

Curiously, the right-mouse button worked. I pressed Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to restart the GUI. This time, I could see icons dimming as the invisible mouse pointer passed over them. This allowed me to perform some navigation. That let me check out the Bluetooth configuration: Fedora had detected the Bluetooth mouse.

Still lots of CD access. But Red Hat software has an alternative to solve that problem: I can copy the Live CD onto a USB drive using an arcane-looking command line prompt. If I can figure it out, then Fedora Live would run faster.

USB Boot Drive

I made a sidetrip through the HP's BIOS settings, and found that dual-boot possibility: the HP apparently can be made to boot from a USB drive.

If this works, then I could install Linux on the 120GB external drive, and then plug in the drive anytime I want the HP notebook computer to boot up with Linux -- leaving the main hard drive unaffected and unpartitioned. I have had sufficient problems with partitioning that I don't ever want to do it again.

I'll have to investigate this further at a later time.

Gusty-ier?

I wondered if Gusty Gibbon would work better on this computer.

Installing Fedora 8, Part 4

The CD of Fedora 8 Live was burned; the install worked; graphical user interface displayed. (When the Live version starts up, you have to enter "Fedora" as the only login name.)

It worked! (Unlike Gusty Gibbon.) And all the hardware worked without me needing to hunt down device drivers. (Unlike Windows 2000.) But not quite.

Following the first boot, the Gnome user interface showed just the desktop with four icons -- My Fedora, My Computer, and such. No access to apps; no task bar. I could view files, but that was it.

That was disappointing. The other item that failed to work was network access via a D-Link wireless network card plugged into the PC Card slot. I shut down the 7-year-old notebook computer.

Some hours later, I booted it again. Curiously, this time the Gnome user interface displayed correctly. I could access the built-in apps -- remarkable how much software can be made available on a single CD. I found I prefer the simpler Gnome over KDE.

But another problem arose: Live runs off a CD, so as not to interfere with the existing operating system on the hard drive. So, disc access is pretty slow, no surprise there.

Live also depends on a good chuck of RAM being available. Red Hat Software says it can run with as little as 256KB; my notebook has 320KB. But, Red Hat says, it works best with 1GB RAM or more, because then it can cache software from the CD, resulting in faster access.

Screen resolution is limited to a maximum of 800x600, again, I assume, because Live needs to run in a limited memory environment.

After a half-hour playing around, I shut down Fedora 8. The CD access and limited RAM meant it was taking 5-10 minutes for applications to launch. But at this point I am not ready to convert my notebook computer to Linux, because it acts as a backup when one of my university-age kids needs a spare.

Installing Fedora 8, Part 3

The Fedora 8 ISO file I downloaded was supposed to contain a Live "spin." Spin is Red Hat Software's term for install variations of its Linux software. For insance, there is a spin for Linux developers, another for those who design electronics, and so on.

I couldn't get the DVD to boot in Live mode, so I read the release notes. Not useful. They note that the download icludes a Live ISO image, but not how to access it. I took another look at the 3.3GB worth of data I downloaded from the Fedora Web site:

Fedora-8-i386-DVD.iso -- 3.3GB
Fedora-8-i386-rescuecd.iso -- 105MB
SHA1SUM -- 1KB

The ...DVD-.iso file is the one I burned onto a DVD. The ...rescuded.iso file, I assumed, is a rescue disc that boots from a CD disc. And the ...SUM file is a check sum that ensures the files were downloaded without errors.

Where be the LIVE CD image?

I went back to the Fedora Web site to see if there might be a better explanation than in the release notes. As I scrolled down the downloads page, I discovered that the ISO file for the Live CD was "below the fold."

I had downloaded the wrong file. I needed to do another download, and to burn another CD.

The catch was that I had to decide between two user interfaces. (Since the content of the Live CD has to fit onto a single CD, it comes with just one GUI; the 3.3GB download includes both, plus a ton of other material).

* GNOME Live Media
* KDE Live Media

You can read about the differences in KDE and GNOME Comparison. In summary:

Generally, KDE focuses on offering as many features as possible with as many graphical ways as possible for configuring those features. Fans of KDE highlight the functionality it has. Critics of KDE say the menus are too confusing.

Gnome, on the other hand, opts for simplicity and often hides certain configurations in order to achieve that simplicity. Fans of Gnome think the simplicity of Gnome offers a cleanliness that allows the user to get stuff done. Critics of Gnome think it just lacks certain functionality.

Since I earlier used KDE, I opted to Gnome this time. Now to start the 700MB download.

Installing Fedora 8, Part 2

Inserting the Fedora DVD into the Toshiba's CD/DVD drive, I rebooted the notebook computer, remembering to press F2 continuously until the Toshiba showed its boot menu. I pressed C to boot from the CD drive.

Fedora's installation started up. I selected the "L" option to boot from local drive, which I assumed meant the CD drive -- but I also wondered if it meant the hard drive.

I could hear the CD drive's head jerking back and forth, and then the same menu appeared. Hmm. I tried "L" again. Same thing.

I noticed "Press [Tab] for boot options." Perhaps that would let me specify the CD drive. I press Tab, and Fedora went into command-line mode. I suppose the hex code displayed specified the number of the boot drive, but I dunno. I pressed Enter, and the same head-searching activity took place.

Then I noticed a countdown timer. Fedora would automatically reboot in 40, 39, 38... seconds. I waited. At 0 seconds, it switched to the text screen, and I hopefully watched the usual gibberish-to-me text appearing that indicates Linux is booting.

I was given the opportunity to have Fedora "test the media," which I assumed meant testing the hard drive. I declined, not wanting to have to wait that long.

After a few seconds, the Fedora install screen appeared in graphics mode -- success? -- albeit in 800x600 resolution. But as I click the Next buttons, it quickly became apparent that Fedora was trying to install itself (and boot from) the hard drive -- rather than as a Live CD.

There was no indication during the setup in how to get Live mode -- unlike Ubantu, which gives me that option during setup. Time to read the release notes...

Installing Fedora 8, Part 1

I read on slash.dot that Fedora 8 is pretty good, and even more advanced that Ubantu Linux. I decided to give it a try.

The download was the biggest I've ever experienced: 3.3GB! I used Opera's built-in BitTorrent support to do the download. In typical BitTorrent fashion, it first reported an estimated download time of 19 days, but as other servers kicked in, I got my file in about six hours.

The result is an ISO file. This is a CD imaging file, kind of like a ZIP file in that a single file contains all files and folder. Your CD burning software should recognize it, and create a CD image.

There was a catch. This was a DVD ISO image file, and my HP DVD burner's software did not recognize it as such. It simply created a regular DVD with one, big, 3.3GB file with the .iso extension.

Hmmm. Now what?

Then I thought that my new HP notebook computer's DVD burning software might recognize the ISO file and burn the DVD correctly. It did.

Installing Gutsy Gibbon, Part 3

Part 3 of this series: I give up.

The latest release of Ubuntu did not install correctly on my older Toshiba notebook computer. The screen gets jumbled up.

Through Ubuntu's community support, someone suggested I press Ctrl+Alt+Backsapce to reboot the GUI. About half the screen cleared up: on the upper half, I could see what probably was the bottom half of Gutsy Gibbon; the lower half was still gibberish.

(As a point of reference, a couple of years I upgraded the notebook computer's operating system from Windows 98SE to Windows 2000 SP4. That process took a long time, because I had to hunt down device drivers. Fortunately, Toshiba does a good job of archiving all of its drivers, even for operating systems obsoleted by Microsoft.)

At that point, I left the project alone. Because I was only installed the "Live" CD, it had no negative effects on the existing operating system. (Installing a Live CD means that the computer boots from the CD, instead of the hard drive.)

Yesterday, however, I read some positive comments on Fedora 8, the competitor to Ubuntu. I wondered if it might work better.