Try before you fly!

I want to try Linux, but all of my stuff is for Windows.
Windows is fast enough for me.
I don’t want to install a new OS, I’ll lose all the stuff on my computer!
Nah, Linux is for programmers and computer geeks.

Any of these sound familiar? 

Seems to me the main reason people don’t want to try Linux, is the same reason kids don’t want to try the broccoli mom put on their plate.  They hate it because it’s new and/or different.

Why do we care if our kids eat broccoli?  Because it’s good for them, and you’d feel pretty dumb trying to explain why your child has the scurvy.  That’s a pretty extreme example, of course, but it’s funny to say “scurvy”.

As we get older, our minds adapt to the things we like and dislike, making us less and less likely to be open to new things.  Examples of these people are…

• Those who don’t use the channel guide on their cable box, they’d rather flip through 300 different channels one at a time.  They use terms like “new-fangled”, “high-tech”, and “computer-illiterate”.
• Unwilling to try something new because they assume is going to be bad.  i.e.  ”Transformers?!?!  That movie is going to be stupid!  A movie about dumb robots!  That’s for kids.”
• Excuses abound in the form of… “I don’t have time for that.”  ”I don’t want it all messed up.”  ”Nah, I like it the way it is.”

Well, if the everyone thought that way, we’d still be throwing spears at mammoths, and there would be NO productivity.

What you will find with people who are “set in their ways” is that they are more comfortable doing things the way they’ve always done them.  I think all people are slightly set in their ways… we all have favortie things that we are attached to.  Food, games, clothes, people, etc.

Anyway, back to the broccoli.  The funny part about all of this, is that parents do everything they can to get thier child to try new things.  Food, games, clothes, people, etc.  So then, why is it when the child grows to an adult, he becomes set in his ways, and unwilling to change?

Because the process doesn’t change!
The child learned

Simple Solution:

• Food:  Don’t Eat Broccoli!
• Games:  Don’t Play Games!
• Clothes:  Don’t wear sweaters!
• People:  Don’t talk to Judy!

But what if there were a better way…  Think about the problem…

• Food:  Broccoli tastes pretty good with ranch on it.
• Games:  Play different games.
• Clothes:  Pullover sweaters are uncomfortable, but zip-up ones work great.
• People:  I get along with Judy just fine, if we don’t talk about politics.

Now… how does this all figure into the whole Linux experience I mentioned in the beginning?  I found a way to put some ranch on it!

Ubuntu 9.04 has two different ways to give it a try without modifying your system.  In other words, you can run Ubuntu on your current computer, as well as Windows.  Enter LiveCD.

After you download the Ubunut 9.04 CD Image, (www.ubuntu.com) and burn a CD, boot from that CD.  You will see this…

Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer?  How’s that possible?  Well, it runs kinda slow because it keeps reading off of the boot CD.  But it allows you to see how Ubuntu works.  Play around a bit, and if you like it, you can move to the next step.

I like it, but I’m still not sure… and what the heck is GRUB anyway?

Enter Wubi!  http://wubi-installer.org/ 

Wubi Icon

Download Wubi to your desktop.  Set your preferences, and Wubi will download and install Ubuntu for you inside of Windows.

That’s right…  Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu INSIDE Windows XP (or Vista) by making a Ubuntu folder on your Windows HD Partition.  Ubuntu then makes a file inside that folder that is the same size as the install size you choose.  Then you uss the Windows Boot-Loader to choose between a boot into Windows or Ubuntu.  If you decide that you don’t like Ubuntu, you can erase it inside Windows by using “Add-Remove Programs.”

There is a slight performance hit when you install Ubuntu this way.  And I do mean VERY slight.

Finally, if you do like Ubuntu.  Drop the CD in the drive again, and run the full install.   When you get to the partitioner, choose to install them side, choosing between them each startup.

Drag the slider to the left to increase the amount of space for Ubuntu.   A good Ubuntu install is around 20-30GB.

So, there you have it.  Pretty simple to accomplish.  I do however suggest that you try Wubi, or LiveCD install first!  If you decide to do a full Ubuntu install, it will install side by side with Windows right from the get-go.  However, doing it this way installs the GRUB Bootloader.  This is a Linux based bootloader which allows you to choose between booting into different Linux kernels, as well as Windows.  It works great!  The drawback is that if you decide you don’t like Ubuntu at this point, you’re going to have a difficult time getting rid of GRUB.  Best place I’ve found to look so far is here… http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=426708

Enjoy Ubuntu.