Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger

Have you ever wanted to get the taste of Linux …? Without actually sacrificing your windows?? Well, here’s a breezer of Linux that’ll sweep you away … Canonical has recently rolled out v5.10 (Breezy Badger) of its Linux called Ubuntu – “Linux for human beings”.

We all know that switching to a different OS is a big decision, well it is to some at least … because we are comfortable and used to our current one … I mean let’s face it, Windows simply dominates, not only because it was the first one with a GUI, but also because of it’s ease of use. People are used to the simple bold look of Windows; they know how to navigate through it. Therefore a change in the OS and you might have the user staring at the screen … wondering how to start …

So Live CD’s came to the rescue; you can have a test run of an OS without actually installing it, literally booting from the CD. Once you are used to its way of working and know your way around, you can make your bold decision quite easily…

Anyway, coming back to Ubuntu – here’s the good part – These guys are shipping free Installation CD’s across the world – yes! FREE CD’s shipped FREE of CHARGE !!! if you just wanna stop reading this article and order them righto go here:

https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

You will have to create an account to be able to order the CD’s. Now, these wierdos, for reasons best known to them, want to give you more than you bargained for, so the minimum no. of CD’s you can order is FIVE. You can order upto about 30 CD’s for your different workstations ….

The delivery time is about a month and a half. I got mine in an impressive package (see pic). I had ordered a 5 pack (LOL). Each of the 5 CD packs contained one Installation CD and one Live CD.

Read more at their website:
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Canonical is also gearing up for their next release - Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake), which also they’ll start shipping soon … So that’s another problem with Linux; being open source, you will only get support for aobut 6 months and then you gotta get an update …

Here is my take on the OS:

Not wanting a permanent change, I only checked out the Live CD version. To do that, you need to “Boot from the CD”. If you know how to boot from a CD, skip the following points:

• Start / Restart your system and enter the DOS setup (usually by pressing the DEL key)
• Enter Advanced CMOS Setup
• Change your boot device from HDD / Hard disk / IDE-0 to CD ROM
• Exit setup (Don’t forget to save settings)
• Insert your Live CD and watch it boot
• After you are finished testing the CD, you will need to go back to the CMOS setup and change your boot device to what it was earlier

So I booted from the CD, and within 5-6 minutes I had Ubuntu starting up, - well there’s no other word for it – it’s NEAT! Check out the attached picture. The layout is very simple. The menus and all nicely categorised – but that’s for you to explore!!!!!!

All in all, I think people who are beginners to the computing world should start with Ubuntu. Once they are used to the feel of this simple and neat OS, they can shift to something more advanced like windows … Honestly, I had been exploring 5 minutes and I was already feeling suffocated – longing to get back to my Windows!

So that sums this off, it’s a well designed OS – good for novices, and maybe limited to experts …. And so I rest my case

-Ramnique Singh