I’ve used Linux off and on for years. I started off with Red Hat, tried Debian, ran Slackware, and eventually settled on Ubuntu or Kubuntu depending on whether or not I was in the mood for a KDE or Gnome environment.
But I always went back to Windows.
I’m not a Windows fanboy, but I do love Windows. People can fawn all over their Macs as much as they like and I do admit that Apple hardware is fairly freakin’ awesome. I just can’t afford it. I can afford a decent laptop running Windows 7 and it runs really smoothly. Normally I’d not even give Linux a second glance, but there’s this project I’ve been wanting to try and I wanted to run Linux to do it.
I’ve preferred Ubuntu for years. I’ve gone back to it every time I’ve needed a Linux install – whether it’s to recover a hard drive, fix a network problem, or breathe life into a old computer. Ubuntu is a rock solid, easy to use and maintain Linux distribution. I decided I wanted to try installing and running the Koha Integrated Library System (ILS) on my own computer. It’s certainly possible to do so and I’ve gotten various open source ILS packages running before, but never Koha. Supposedly, Koha is the best open source ILS there is, but I wouldn’t know because I’ve never played with it.
Now, you can get Koha running on Windows, but the instructions for doing so read like you’re basically working around everything to get a crutched version of Koha going. Koha is meant to run on Linux, so on Linux I shall make my attempt. Naturally, I went and got Ubuntu, but in a slightly different way than before. See, Ubuntu can come packaged in a thing called Wubi, the Windows-based UBuntu Installer. Basically this thing installs Ubuntu just like a programme. Double click, select your distro, and go. It handles setting up dual boot and Grub and all that. It’s spiffy as hell.
So I got it installed, rebooted, and logged into Ubuntu 11.10. Things had most assuredly changed since the last time I used Linux. Ubuntu’s Unity set-up was in full effect. The layout was different. And yet I couldn’t help but be impressed with how slick everything looked. I started poking around a bit. I knew I’d need stuff before I could even begin playing with Koha. I’d need a decent music player, Chrome, and all that stuff. I opened up the Ubuntu Software Centre aka the Ubuntu App Store, and started grabbing stuff. It was easy. Soon I was reading a couple of blogs like OMG Ubuntu for recommendations and ideas on new stuff.
For giggles, I fired up Chrome and started doing some online stuff, just to take the thing through it’s paces. By now it’d recognized my laptop’s wireless capabilities and connected up to my wireless network. So I’m fiddling around in Gmail, Google Reader, hitting up Reddit. Basically doing all the stuff that I do in Windows and then it dawned on me, Randall Munroe was 100% correct about something:
Thing is, you could add a third guy there bearing the name Linux and the joke remains the same. After a few minutes, it didn’t matter I was using Linux. I was listening to music, surfing, and having just as good a time as I do on Windows. I started downloading wallpaper and setting myself up a proper Linux desktop. After all, the Koha project would take some time. I may as well make things cozy.
It’s been a good month now. Still haven’t installed Koha. Hell, I’ve not even installed A M P part of a LAMP set up. (LAMP is Linux, Apache Web Server, MySQL database, and Perl/PHP. They’re used to make web services go.) I’m too busy having fun. Got mah Banshee music player. Got mah SMPlayer media player. Got mah Radio Tray installed and listening to Internet radio. I’ve installed OneShot Video Editor because I want to see how it does with some video I’m going to shoot.
Hell, I’m typing this blog post up on Chrome installed on my Ubuntu set up.
I’m not abandoning Windows. There are apps there that I need and love and don’t want to give up. That’s the great thing about Wubi, I don’t have to. I can have both and it’s very easy to do so. Yet, more and more often, when that black screen appears at boot up and wants to know which OS I want to boot into-
I wind up choosing Linux.
Really cool Dan, I always knew there was a true penguin in you. My New Year’s resolution this year is to give up the one app I always lean on, MSMoney. I run it on Windows in Virtual Box. But I have traditionally always hated even upgrading and definitely hated changing my finance software. Something always goes wrong. But this year I am archiving at December’s statement and making the jump.