Linux is for…

…geeks, developers, networking, everyone, nerds, losers and bitches, according to Google. Seems about right.

Taking a break from the commercial world and returning to academia means that out goes “Solitaire for Grandmas” and in comes Linux in the shape of Ubuntu.

First off: the hardware in my Thinkpad X60 was all detected correctly, which was nice; the SD card reader worked, as did wireless. I don’t know about Bluetooth or IR as I don’t use either.The default fonts and rendering was, as expected, awful. This was improved by installing the Microsoft core fonts (along with Tahoma) and following these instructions, which improved sub-pixel rendering. Result: Tahoma renders very well and looks great.

I installed software based on recommendations online, particularly Mark Pilgrim’s post and subsequent discussion. Of note:

• Thunderbird - Outlook email was migrated to Thunderbird on Windows and the directories then copied over to Linux. Use Ubuntuzilla to get the latest version.
• Firefox, jEdit, VLC Player have all come over from Windows.
• GNOME Deskbar - a replacement (sort-of) for AppRocket.
• Beagle - still looking for a replacement for Copernic Desktop Search.
• wicd - uninstalled NetworkManager and used wicd instead. Configuring a wireless network to use a static IP with WPA was simplicity itself.
• GNOME Commander - not perfect. Still looking for a decent file manager.
• SuperSwitcher - a replacement/alternative to Alt+Tab for task and workspace switching. Brilliant.
• Realplayer for Linux - Helix couldn’t stream Radio4.

I modded the Ubuntu Human theme a little to taste, added some sensor panels, marinated overnight and voila! My bottom panel has become a sort of conky-esque status bar as I tend to use Deskbar and SuperSwitcher for task-switching.

There was stuff I needed to compile, unfortunately - mostly packages that were very out-of-date in the Ubuntu repos. (And some off-the-wall stuff like xmame/gxmame so the X-Arcade joystick doesn’t gather dust.)

One outstanding task is backup. I fell in love with Acronis True Image on Windows. They have a Linux version for servers, whatever that means. So far, I haven’t found any hard drive imaging software that works on a mounted volume. Suggestions are welcome.

More:

• ThinkWiki - guide to installing Linux on Thinkpads with lots of help on getting suspend/hibernate/ACPI working.
• X-Men vs. Street Fighter - let’s wipe away the tears together.