Setting 3D di Ubuntu 7.10 English

I’ll cut to the chase and say from the start that Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) Desktop Edition is simply the best desktop operating system that I have ever used. From installation, to setup, to regular everyday use Gutsy is just a thing of beauty. I have been keeping up with the release since its initial rocky Alpha period, to the polished final Release Candidate released on October 15, 2007 and then apt-get upgrading to the final release. The end result is that the Ubuntu team has put together everything that you could possibly want in a desktop operating system and more.

Although there are flashier Live Installer CD’s – Mandriva 2008’s Compiz Fusion works brilliantly on their live cd – Gutsy gets the job done quickly and efficiently. All it took was 7 simple clicks from start to completion. I did have to opt for the safe graphics mode installation on both of my test compters : “Big Bertha” (AMD 64 3000, 2 GB RAM, Nvidia 6600 AGP) and “Mount Doona” (AMD X2 4400, 2 GB RAM, Nvidia 6600 PCI-X). I’m not sure if it was the monitors or the Nvidia card, but if I used the standard installation option, the screen would never get past the GDM login. But with the safe graphics mode, Gutsy’s installer worked smoothly. Ubuntu’s included migration utility was my favorite feature on the installer, but I would have liked to seen more application compatiability – primarily Thunderbird. Once the quick and easy installation finished the fun really began.

On reboot I was treated to a new and improved Gutsy desktop. The chocolate brown color scheme isn’t my first choice for desktop colors but the manner in which Ubuntu has polished the default layout made everything look slick and modern.



The first thing I wanted to do after logging in to the desktop was to active the proprietary Nvidia drivers. In prior Ubuntu releases there were various “unofficial” methods to install Nvidia drivers but Ubuntu has done a great job to make a standard way to install the drivers and it’s completely hassle free. All I had to do was click the green “Restricted Drivers” icon on the top Gnome panel and then check the box for “Nvidia”. This installed the latest Nvidia 100.14.19 drivers which is huge deal for me. In the past I always had to turn off Beryl/Compiz/Compiz-Fusion because of a nasty black window with prior Nvidia drivers. In the new version this bug is completely squashed and now I can open as many windows as I want without the black window bug!





Speaking of Compiz-Fusion, Gutsy now comes with Compiz-Fusion enabled by default. I did first have to enable the Nvidia restricted drivers for Compiz-Fusion to work. With that stated, Compiz-Fusion has come a long way and its now much more than eye candy. Once Compiz-Fusion was enabled the clarity of the desktop sharpened noticeably and the window management that’s enabled through Compiz-Fusion worked great. There’s no way I can go back to a standard 2D desktop.

By default the basic settings for Compiz-Fusion are found in “System / Preferences / Appearance”. In the Appearance applet, the fifth tab “Visual Effects” gives three choices : “None” “Normal” and “Extra”. Beyond those three basic choices, you can’t fine tune Compiz-Fusion. As an example Compiz-Fusion uses “Desktop Plane” rather than “Desktop Cube” as Ubuntu’s default choice. Fortunately, to adjust those settings all that is required is to install “compizconfig-settings-manager” via Ubuntu’s application installer Synaptic.



Once that was installed then I launched the more advanced compiz control panel by clicking “System –> Preferences –> Advanced Desktop Effect Settings”. Adjustments I made were to check the boxes for “Desktop Cube”, “Rotate Cube”, “Cube Reflection”, “Reflection”, “Shift Switcher”, “Widget Layer” and “Windows Preview”. After that, I couldn’t help smiling from ear to ear as I used Ubuntu 7.10.



Beyond the stunning visuals, Ubuntu Gutsy has also refined their operating system in an incredibly user friendly manner. As an example the first time Firefox opened up a flash enabled website, an “Install Missing Plugin” button appears. Once I clicked that button, a pop-up window appeared asking me whether I want to install Adobe’s proprietary Flash application or install an open source alternative. After I selected the Flash version I wanted, Ubuntu installed Flash automatically and Firefox now rendered Flash enabled webpages.



While the installed default applications are good, you certainly will want to install more applications. Whenever you do decided to do so, the procedure is so simple that its actually easier than anything available in Windows or OS X. Simply open up the graphical application “Synaptic” in “System –> Adminstration –> Synaptic” , then browse through the list of available applications and check off the apps you want installed. Some basic applications that you should consider installing :

vlc - open source video player that plays about every format under the sun.
gftp - ftp program (basic but does the job)
k3b - one of the best CD/DVD burning program on the planet
opera - alternative web browser (make sure you have the canoncial repository enabled)
mozilla-thunderbird - can’t live without this one.
amarok - very slick itunes like audio player
kubuntu-desktop - installs the KDE version of ubuntu
ardour - multitrack audio editor
azureus - bittorrent client
Kino - non linear video editor
Soundconverter - convert audio files between Ogg, MP3, FLAC, WAV

Skype
1.) Select “Synaptic –> Repositories –> Third Party Software –> + ADD”
2.) Paste this into the APT Line: “deb http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/debian/ stable non-free”
3.) Then search for “Skype”, check the corresponding box and then click “Install”

Google Earth / Desktop
1.) Download PGP Key : linux_signing_key.pub
2.) Select “Synaptic –> Repositories –> Authentication –> + IMPORT KEY FILE”
3.) Browse to the directory where you downloaded linux_signing_key.pub and select that
4.) Select “Synaptic –> Repositories –> Third Party Software –> + ADD”
5.) Paste into the APT Line: “deb http://dl.google.com/linux/deb/ stable non-free”
6.) Click “Reload”
7.) Then search for “Google” and install the Google applications of your choice

VMware Server (Run Windows and Windows applications in Ubuntu 7.10)
1.) Register for a VMware Server serial number here.
2.) from terminal “sudo apt-get install build-essential”
3.) download VMware Server for Linux - Binary (.tar.gz) here.
4.) from terminal cd dir to the downloaded file and type “tar zvxf VMware-server-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz”
5.) from terminal “cd vmware-server-distrib/”
6.) from terminal “sudo ./vmware-install.pl”
7.) hit the “enter” key for every question asked, if question doesn’t accept the “Enter” key then select “Yes”.
8.) Run VMware Server by selecting “Applicatoins –> System Tools –> VMware Server Console”




MythTV also has been greatly simplified. The program is still probably not suited for absolute beginners, but if you are familar with MythTV or patient enough to learn about the program, you can have it running in no time. I setup MythTV backend and frontend on “Big Bertha” in 20 minutes and installed a secondary frontend on “Mount Doona” in 5 minutes. You can use the excellant guide at help.ubuntu.com



Printing has been vastly improved in Gutsy and there is a neat print to PDF option available by default. Ubuntu also now includes “Tracker Search Tool” for desktop searches and that program is also integrated into the Nautilus file browser. For people that are unfamiliar with “Tracker Search Tool”, the program is a lightning quick and lighweight search program that indexes metadata to pull up relevant search results. The program searches not only through file names, but also the metadata residing inside of documents, mp3’s, jpg’s, pdf’s etc. Tracker worked great and I didn’t notice any kind of performance hit while the program was indexing my files. Gutsy also comes with the latest OpenOffice 2.3 Suite for Word Processing, Database, Spreadsheets and Presentation.

Additional improvements were many. One of my favorite new features in Gutsy would be “Screen and Graphics”. The application is found in “System –> Administration –> Screen and Graphics”. “Screen and Graphics” is a sweet graphical application that allows users to easily adjust monitor resolution, graphic card drivers, as well as setting up dual monitors. Another new feature likely to appeal to families and small businesses would be “Fast User Switching”, available for the first in a Ubuntu release.



Overall Ubuntu Gutsy is just a smashing success. A year or two ago, I didn’t care for Ubuntu’s continual movement to simplifying Linux, but now that all the individual pieces has had time to mature, the result is the best current consumer operating system available. From Gutsy’s easy as 1-2-3 installation, to its automated setup of drivers and codecs, to its brilliant integration of the latest Compiz-Fusion 3D desktop, to its second to none package management system Ubuntu Gutsy is just oh so impressive. The fact that Ubuntu 7.10 is available for free is just icing on the cake. Vista? Hunh? What?

Pro’s:
Installation is fast and easy.
Desktop looks beautiful and Compiz-Fusion makes it out of this world.
Layout is clean, uncluttered and all applications are easily accessible.
Restricted Drivers Manager works great.
Apt-Get remains the fastest package manager around.
Ubuntu Repositories has about every application you could ever want.

Con’s:
Had to use safe graphics mode for the live installer.
Firewall application is not included by default.