[Photo: My Current Linux Desktop]
I have been and will always be a staunch advocate of the open source philosophy. For those who don’t know what the open source philosophy is, essentially it’s the belief that the users of a piece of software have the right to edit, expand and redistribute it as long as they also provide the same rights to the users they distribute it to. Take WordPress, for example. Anyone can go to WordPress.org right now and download all the source code, not only free of charge but also free of restrictions. You can create your own themes for it or your own plugins for it. If you wanted, you could branch it off and use it as the basis for an entirely new blogging platform. You could even rename it “Super Awesome Blogging Software” and sell it for $20 a download. The only thing you can’t do is limit other people’s right to do the same.
I think this is a pretty healthy philosophy because it means we get to benefit from the best everyone has to offer. We get from the community and also give to the community. Instead of Microsoft or Apple deciding what we need and what we don’t, we can decide for ourselves while saving hundreds of dollars in licensing and upgrade fees.
For this reason, in the past week or two I’ve used Linux almost exclusively. Linux is a free and open source operating system for your computer and, as it turns out, a pretty slick, powerful and productive beast! I’ve set up my computer to be a minimalist’s and a productivity guru’s dream. This series will show how you can do the same!
Choosing a Version
What’s surprising for people new to Linux is that there isn’t some product simply called “Linux”. Because Linux is free and open source you’ll find many variations and distributions tweaked and optimized for different uses. If you have an Android phone, you’re already using Linux. If you have a Tivo, you’re already using Linux. If you have a website, you’re probably already using Linux.
What we need, though, is a Linux distribution that provides a sweet desktop user experience. There are a handful of distributions that are good at this. There’s Fedora Linux and OpenSUSE, but my hands down favorite (and the most popular) distribution is Ubuntu Linux.
Ubuntu’s latest release (9.10) is the most polished and easiest to use version of Linux I’ve ever played around with. It also works pretty much out of the box with almost any computer system, although it’s probably better if you are an above average computer user. If you are smart enough to connect your computer directly to the ethernet cable when your wireless isn’t working, you most likely won’t have any problems with setting up Ubuntu.
Installing Ubuntu
First we need to get Ubuntu. If you are on a Windows machine, the Ubuntu Windows Installer will probably make the installation significantly easier and prevent you from overwriting your files, so you should download that.
For those on a Mac (as I am) I’d recommend you virtualize Ubuntu using Parallels, VMware Fusion or VirtualBox (you can download VirtualBox for free). To do this, you’ll need to download the Ubuntu .iso file. Your virtualization program (either Parallels, Fusion or VirtualBox) will treat the .iso file as if it was a CD, so you’ll be able to install it without burning anything.
After you’ve downloaded Ubuntu, you should either launch the Windows installer or load the .iso file into your virtualization app (check it’s documentation if you’re not sure how). You’ll find that Ubuntu is very simple to install. You simply answer a series of questions like your username and password, timezone, etc. and voila! You’re a Linux user!
If you would like to install Ubuntu yourself without the help of the Windows installer, using an alternative disk (such as a 64-bit version) or as a separate partition on your Mac (that is, not virtualized), you can find more detailed information in the official Ubuntu documentation (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation) or get help in the official Ubuntu forums (http://ubuntuforums.org), which you’ll probably want to check out anyway. The forums are a good way to connect, find answers and get help.
That’s it for now. Dive into Ubuntu! Don’t be afraid to break stuff! Next week, stay tuned for Part 2 – Customizing the Linux Desktop.
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Hey, I'm JD. Last year, I started Wage Slave Rebel as a resource for those who are dying to escape from conformity and design the lifestyles they dream of! I write about online entrepreneurship, productivity, and lifestyle design.
Is there still a lot of special commands one needs like there used to be?
I like the idea of using Ubuntu and will definitely consider upgrading to it when I move back to New Zealand and buy a new computer.
Gordie´s last blog ..Lifestyle Design Begins at Home.
Linux has gotten a lot more user friendly since Ubuntu popped up and I get amazed at the polish that put on every release. I’d say that for most people, there probably won’t be any need to learn terminal commands. In fact, the only time I use commands is when I install things because typing “sudo apt-get install blah” is faster than searching through the graphical program, but installing apps is just as easy in the Ubuntu Software Center or Synaptic Package Manager. If I were you I’d burn a live disk (one that runs Linux without installing it) and give it a go.
What are the main advantages you’ve found using Linux? Any compelling arguments for me, a Windows user, with an already minimalist desktop?
Alan´s last blog ..Experiments in Lifestyle Design: All the Jobs You’ve Ever Had
If you already have a Windows desktop that’s minimal and it works for you, maybe it’s not worth switching except for philosophical reasons. I like knowing that the software I use is free and will always be free (cost-wise and rights-wise). I like knowing that in general, it’s users are the ones who decided what features are most needed and that the development roadmap is public knowledge.
More practically speaking, the Ubuntu Software Center kicks ass. It’s like an app store, except all the apps are free. Almost any app you’d want can be downloaded and installed with one click from one location. The last Windows OS I used was XP so going from XP to Ubuntu was like upgrading to MacOS X for free. It’s got the same sort of polish and elegance (more so now than when I started using it).
It’s also got plenty of sweet apps. Lately I’ve been playing around with Basket, which is a bit like Bento on Mac or Microsoft’s OneNote. Really cool for planning and clipping things from the web. I also got PyRoom, which is a clone of the WriteRoom app for Mac.
To me it’s like this. If I have the choice between two computers, both having the software that gets the job done and the sort of user experience that makes me more productive, but one of them is free to use and free to change, I’m going with the free one.
Awesome post, love seeing this technical side get up on the blog. I’ve played with plenty of Linux builds but come back to Ubuntu because I waste less time messing with it and more time using it.
Some advantages over windows for Alan might be that it adds new life to an aging laptop or desktop you might have. The “app store” you mentioned above really is an awesome platform…I think all software should work like it does…and I think Apple is looking to move in that direction.
That being said commercial apps are skimpy on a linux system and technical issues mean you need a super technical linux support guy, I’d recommend going Apple next time for the quality match of hardware and software, it’s what I use personally for easy or advanced.
Awesome post JD, I love the tech stuff! I’m ripping this idea and going to do a few lifestyle design tech posts soon too.
Robert´s last blog ..Freedom Business | Making Ideas Real (Keyword Truths)
In all honesty, I could never find myself liking the GNOME feel. My linux usage went from GNOME (with Ubuntu 7.04) to Openbox (Arch) to KDE (Gentoo) to dwm (Funtoo). Now, if you want minimalism, a tiled WM is the way to go. I was able to focus much more on my work when I switched to dwm.
I use FreeBSD now, though. But, yeah. I’m just saying that dwm is one of the most minimalistic approaches to a window manager while still providing a massive amount of productivity.
Brandon´s last blog ..Oh, This Backwards Life
For this post I had to strike a balance between minimalism and ease-of-use. Installing and using Ubuntu is pretty straightforward and GNOME is close enough to windows or Mac that it doesn’t require much of a shift in thinking.
The most minimalist gui I used was Blackbox. I’ve tried to install it over the years but was never able to find it again. I first used it with Mandrake Linux in 2000 or 2001.
Anyway, I have a special love for FreeBSD even though I don’t have much experience with it. Always wanted to give it a try though.
How have you found using Linux for design work? I’ve switched numerous times but always found the software for creative endeavours lacking and ended up returning to familiarity. Are you using GimpShop and sucking up the learning curve? I do some audio recording and video editing as well and, though I admittedly haven’t tried Ubuntu Studio lately, always found the software options lacking or just impossible to get working properly.
This isn’t a criticism of FOSS developers – simply a problem I can’t solve myself that no one else has managed either. I suspect there are a lot of folks in a similar boat who otherwise would be entirely supportive of the movement.
Shaun´s last blog ..How To Setup the Ideal LAMP Development Server using Ubuntu