NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Linux & Other OS's › My Ubuntu Experience
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

My Ubuntu Experience

post #1 of 22
2/3/09 at 10:15pm
Thread Starter 
I was recently given a Gateway 200ARC with some missing pieces. I got it together and installed 8.10

Much to my surprise, 45 min. later, I was checking my email. Everything works, including the Fn keys. I had to install a couple of packages to get some codecs, etc, but other than that, everything worked first time.

Sure beats hours of windows install and updates.

Next up are a i9300/ XPS Gen2 and a M1710. I will post back with those results.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 22
2/3/09 at 11:21pm
Always glad to hear of good experiences. Some laptops will work better than others of course, but feel free to post questions as you run across them.

Seablade
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 22
2/3/09 at 11:38pm
Thread Starter 
When I was having a hard time finding a service manual or any tech details with Google, I was expecting problems. What really makes me laugh is the install time. I can not think of another OS that installs that quickly and smoothly.
I have had the same results with a Lenovo R51, a Presario X1040 and an old IBM 390e(?). I will see how it goes on the newer hardware.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 22
2/4/09 at 1:44pm
Ubuntu works perfectly on the XPS Gen 2. Wifi and Bluetooth (if you have it) worked without a hitch as well. And that's saying something!

Glad to hear your install went good!
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 22
2/4/09 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 
Melodis, thanks for the info. Just waiting on a couple of parts for the Gen2. Looking forward to using it with Ubuntu.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 22
2/5/09 at 8:03am
i tried installing ubuntu on my playstation 3 once, was a nightmare.

when it finally worked...open source OS was a nightmare to me.

i was hoping i could just click on executables and run things, but nooooo. i have to type stuff? i hate learning new software
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 22
2/5/09 at 10:06pm
Ubuntu has been very good to me, as has Elive Linux. I have installed Ubuntu on a Gateway Pentium III laptop and it works wonderfully.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 22
2/5/09 at 10:40pm
Thread Starter 
Wyckd, installation on a console must be quite a bit different than on a pc. The only typing I had to do was username and password. And if it helps me move farther away from the window, I'm all for it.

mb67, Ubuntu, and most main Linux distos, have made huge advances in the last few years. If they keep going at the pace they are, the next release should be awesome. I am looking forward to it.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 22
2/5/09 at 10:47pm
I hear you there. I just saw where GeeXBox has a Linux Multimedia setup that looks fantastic...GeeXBox Linky
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 22
2/5/09 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
GeeXBox looks really interesting. If I can find the time, I will try it on an HP Media Center desktop. Thanks for the link.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 22
2/6/09 at 3:12am
No problem. I downloaded it and it is a pretty cool little program...
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 22
2/8/09 at 2:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mklym View Post
Next up are a i9300/ XPS Gen2 and a M1710. I will post back with those results.
debian and ubuntu work without a hitch on the 1710. Posting on mine from Debian lenny now.

Good luck, and post if you have any questions.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 22
2/9/09 at 6:23pm
Well, as cool as it sounds that the Ubuntu installation runs really smoothly (also my experience), it's the stuff that comes after that which matters.

The system has to fulfil your needs towards a computer and everything you did on a Windows box has to work the same way or even better. In this case, Linux has done some impressive improvements in the last years and I'm looking forward to even more features like better multimedia support and a nicer UI design.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 22
2/10/09 at 12:56am
Why should everything have to work the same? There are inherent differences in these operating systems that prevent this. (Nvm, I guess I see what you're saying).

The only hitch with the M1710 (7950 GTX in my case) I know of is desktop compositing. Compiz/Beryl frequently crashed on scroling earlier for me. This wasn't a big deal since I'm really not into fanciness so much as usability. Newer drivers seemed to fix this issue more and more, however, I can't tell you if the current drivers have eliminated this problem as I haven't used Compiz in awhile. The 6800 vanilla and 6800 ultra both work flawlessly compositing however.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 22
2/10/09 at 1:36am
Thread Starter 
visu, I agree with you. But the most noticeable difference, in moving from win to linux, is the install time. Going from hour to under an hour is significant, at least for me. And yes, they need to do more for multimedia out-of-the-box. I'm sure it will improve.

zzpulp, thanks for the info on the 7950GTX. I actually have two M1710's slated for Linux. One has the 7950GTX and the other has the 7900GS. Like you, I am not into the fancy desktop effect. I do a lot of photo editing, and so I usually run a simple medium grey desktop.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 22
2/15/09 at 9:52pm
Been running the latest Ubuntu on an old Gateway M505 and it runs quite well. It sure is amazing how fast it is to install.

Also have PCLinuxOS 2007 on a Dell 8600.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 22
2/16/09 at 4:43am
Getting ready to try out an Ubuntu Media Server...
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 22
2/16/09 at 11:49pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I found the time to do some work to the i9300/XPS Gen2. I put the proper palmrest on it, removed the pin mod and dropped in a 2.13GHz. I also installed an LCD that did not bleed backlight bad enough to use as a reading light, and installed the 17 missing screws. It is a lot more solid feeling and usable. I have some other parts coming for it, gpu fan, bluetooth module, bezel. I put a temp install of Ubuntu 8.10 on an old hdd and all went well. I have been too busy at work to get much more done. Hopefully, it will slack off a little, soon.

mb67, let me know how the Media Server is. Thanks.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 22
2/16/09 at 11:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mklym View Post
Well, I found the time to do some work to the i9300/XPS Gen2. I put the proper palmrest on it, removed the pin mod and dropped in a 2.13GHz. I also installed an LCD that did not bleed backlight bad enough to use as a reading light, and installed the 17 missing screws. It is a lot more solid feeling and usable. I have some other parts coming for it, gpu fan, bluetooth mogule, bezel. I put a temp install of Ubuntu 8.10 on an old hdd and all went well. I have been too busy at work to get much more done. Hopefully, it will slack off a little, soon.

mb67, let me know how the Media Server is. Thanks.
Will do. I am looking forward to setting it up.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 22
2/21/09 at 9:52pm
Thread Starter 
I have ran into the first problem with Ubuntu. Yesterday, I installed a bluetooth module into the i9300/XPS Gen2 with no problems. I fired up a Logitech bluetooth mouse and setup the module and the mouse, which was recognized correctly as a Logitech Bluetooth Travel Mouse. It worked good for about an hour, then stopped responding. I tried to set it up again, but at the end it says it failed. I thought it might be the batteries, so I charged them over night. The result with freshly charged batteries is unchanged. Any ideas?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Linux & Other OS's
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Linux & Other OS's › My Ubuntu Experience