I upgraded my old CRT monitor with new LCD monitor. Ubuntu identified my monitor and I did not have to configure anything. My old monitor had a generic driver for monitor and Nvidia driver for my video card. After usage for some time, a message appeared that recommended change of driver for my video card suitable for my new monitor. I pressed "yes". When I re-booted, only wallpaper appeared and all others vanished including menus. I could not operate my PC. I thought of booting through recovery mode and correct through command line operation.
I must admit that I felt lazy to do that. Instead I adopted the route of fresh install of Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04). When I upgraded last to Lucid Lynx, I had some unwanted apps also residing in my PC. A fresh install has made my PC a lot clean. Loading all my apps could be done mostly through "Ubuntu Software Center" or "Synaptic Package Manager". A few, that could not be installed through these two, could be installed through Debian package Installer. It is like MSI installer in Windows.
My Ubuntu is back in full productive mood!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Lucid Lynx upgrade
As per schedule, Ubuntu released its latest version of Ubuntu this April end. I promptly upgraded my Karmic Koala (Ubuntu 9.10) to Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04). This time, I did not do a clean install. I did it last time to convert my OS file system to ext4 from ext3. It is usually painful to install all apps from scratch and configure them. I chose to update. The update went smooth without any hitch, though it took a lot of time due to my internet speed.
I had a warning that third party software have been disabled. This worried me, since I had few third party apps installed in my PC. Further, I was uneasy about functioning of some drivers after upgrade. The drivers for display card, webcam and wireless card were manually loaded in Karmic Koala. My fears were found to be misplaced. All drivers worked fine. I did not have to tweak any driver files. All thirty party apps worked fine expect VWWare Player. I had to reinstall it. I do not know whether it has anything to do with new version of Ubuntu. However, this also works fine now.
As regards performance improvement of Lucid Lynx, I do not find any visible difference between speeds of Karmic and Lucid. One great performance improvement, I noticed, was in network manager. My previous version had difficulties in connecting to my wireless router. Normally, the signal used to be weak due to location of my PC and vintage PCI wireless card installed in my PC. Now, my PC connects effortlessly even though the signal is still weak. This is a great improvement.
Another improvement I noticed is Ubuntu Software Center. This is slowly replacing the role of Synaptic Package Manager. More and more apps are found in Ubuntu Software Center. It has a lot of collection of apps. I like it.
As usual, Ubuntu is becoming more and more stable. Of course, it has added advantage of no viral attack as of now. This may change in due course. My Ubuntu is stable, safe and speedy compared to my Windows.
I had a warning that third party software have been disabled. This worried me, since I had few third party apps installed in my PC. Further, I was uneasy about functioning of some drivers after upgrade. The drivers for display card, webcam and wireless card were manually loaded in Karmic Koala. My fears were found to be misplaced. All drivers worked fine. I did not have to tweak any driver files. All thirty party apps worked fine expect VWWare Player. I had to reinstall it. I do not know whether it has anything to do with new version of Ubuntu. However, this also works fine now.
As regards performance improvement of Lucid Lynx, I do not find any visible difference between speeds of Karmic and Lucid. One great performance improvement, I noticed, was in network manager. My previous version had difficulties in connecting to my wireless router. Normally, the signal used to be weak due to location of my PC and vintage PCI wireless card installed in my PC. Now, my PC connects effortlessly even though the signal is still weak. This is a great improvement.
As usual, Ubuntu is becoming more and more stable. Of course, it has added advantage of no viral attack as of now. This may change in due course. My Ubuntu is stable, safe and speedy compared to my Windows.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Is Ubuntu better than Windows?
I read an interesting article titled “7 things are easier to do in Ubuntu than in Windows”. It was interesting and I agree to all his views. i wish to add few of my comments to this article.
- Auto update is definitely better than Windows. Windows updates applications that are created by itself. Ubuntu updates all apps (including third party ones) that have been installed in the system through Synaptic Manager or Ubuntu Software Center. If someone has manually installed any application, then he/she needs to update manually. It is but natural. Only problem in Ubuntu update is the time lag between the availability of update from the vendor and availability in Ubuntu repository. It takes some times more than a month. Ubuntu needs to reduce this time lag.
- Locating drivers and installing them properly is still not as easy as with Windows. Generic drivers do not work properly some time. Getting proper driver is painful in some cases. Hardware vendors need to focus on developing drivers for Linux too. Some good Samaritans in the role of freelance developer help develop suitable drivers for hardware. They do not cover all drivers. In some cases, there are work-arounds, but they are not as good as a original driver. Hardware vendors have to come forward to provide drivers for linux too to match Windows at least for the current models.
- As far as themes are concerned, Ubuntu still lacks the varieties available for Windows.
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