Ubuntu for dummies:

Definitely related to doing a new 'buntu install: medibuntu! Copied from the front page:
Medibuntu (Multimedia, Entertainment & Distractions In Ubuntu) is a repository of packages that cannot be included into the Ubuntu distribution for legal reasons (copyright, license, patent, etc).

Medibuntu is a packaging project dedicated to distributing software that cannot be included in Ubuntu for various reasons, related to geographical variations in legislation regarding intellectual property, security and other issues:

patentability of software, algorithms, formats and other abstract creation
legal restrictions on freedom of speech or communication
restrictions on the use of certain types of technical solution, such as cryptography legal restrictions on imports of software technology, requiring for example specific permissions etc. A lot of excellent free software and non-free software is affected by such restriction somewhere in the world, thus preventing its inclusion into Ubuntu that, for economy and simplicity, are generally identical for all countries.

We refuse to resign ourselves to abandoning software that may be legally useful somewhere, and we have chosen to provide it with professional quality packaging, easily usable within the context of Ubuntu. This repository provides packages for Ubuntu distribution.

It is your legal responsibility to make sure that the software you are installing can be legally used in your country and for your intended purpose.
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I know you didn't specifically mention it but you are, sooner or later, going to want to do more than email and docs! :p
 
mmmmm.... so while 8.x downloads i'm installing the v7 one i have (practice) ... the install seems to be hanging with a line on screen that looks like this:
[ 483.508000] [<c02eeb4c>] error_code+0x7c/)x90 ....
 
Waaib said:
mmmmm.... so while 8.x downloads i'm installing the v7 one i have (practice) ... the install seems to be hanging with a line on screen that looks like this:
[ 483.508000] [<c02eeb4c>] error_code+0x7c/)x90 ....
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Weird... you should run memtest (if it's on the boot cd) just before you install maybe you have faulty ram?
 
maybe the ram is what caused XP to crap out after more than two years of running without a single issue. ... running memtest now.
 
8.04 installing now ... it's says it partitioning the drive .. i guess that means all my data is lost from the XP system ... would have been nice if it asked first.
 
Once installed. Is there anyway to check / test if it is a stable or complete install?
 
d0b33 said:
Trust me that's a bad idea, get the latest 8.04.1 CD, the updates will only be around a few megabytes after that.
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The updates are about 170mb. Did a full upgrade yesterday for a clean install. This is with Kubuntu though.

Waaib said:
8.04 installing now ... it's says it partitioning the drive .. i guess that means all my data is lost from the XP system ... would have been nice if it asked first.
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I'm not that familiar with Ubuntu, but I know with Kubuntu there are 3 different options for partitioning your drive, I always select the manual option so I can choose to install on my Kubuntu partition and leave the others in tact and untouched.
 
So it's installed and email is up and running.....

Having issues with getting the graphics driver to work nicely. Initial impressions are that Ubuntu is nice but you need to know lots of technical commands etc...
 
Waaib said:
So it's installed and email is up and running.....

Having issues with getting the graphics driver to work nicely. Initial impressions are that Ubuntu is nice but you need to know lots of technical commands etc...
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I hope that isnt altogether true - I am downloading it now. I don't understand why if they want to take on the MS OS's they don't just make it more intuitive. Having to know the technical commands would just piss me off and result in an uninstall and a return to MS...:(
 
Waaib said:
8.04 installing now ... it's says it partitioning the drive .. i guess that means all my data is lost from the XP system ... would have been nice if it asked first.
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from what i remember of the ubuntu install process (and for that matter all of the linux distros i have installed), it doesn't delete existing partitions unless you specifically tell the installer to do that.

post the output of sudo fdisk -l here.
 
DJK said:
I hope that isnt altogether true - I am downloading it now. I don't understand why if they want to take on the MS OS's they don't just make it more intuitive. Having to know the technical commands would just piss me off and result in an uninstall and a return to MS...:(
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You don't need to know technical commands as long as you install Linux on Linux friendly hardware(works out the box) after that just install/remove software using the repo manager and you will never need to load terminal.

That's why for n00bs it's best to buy a linux box at first if you are not technically inclined.
 
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ATI 7500 Radeon. Apparently it's old and unsupported. After battling for a few hours I reckon I'm probably just going to change back to Windows tomorrow. Too many commands etc. I need time to play with the thing and it looks good but I don't have time for learning at the moment. It's a business machine and I need the email etc up and running.
 
:(:(

Pity; it's really worth making the jump imo, but I understand the frustration.
 
What about envy? It downloads the appropriate driver for you automatically and installs it. I have never tried it personally though. I know on ubuntuforums.org there are How To´s for ATi Cards.
 
Swift-wp said:
What about envy? It downloads the appropriate driver for you automatically and installs it. I have never tried it personally though. I know on ubuntuforums.org there are How To´s for ATi Cards.
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I tried it a while back on my pc. Didn't solve my problems then. Ended up doing it manually.
 
OK so then we should rule that one out. My one buddy got the driver for his 9550 radeon to work and he also started using Ubuntu that same week. I think he followed a How To from ubuntuforums.org.
 
Slootvreter said:
If Windows keeps crashing on it then there's something wrong with the laptop.
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I was storing 5000 emails in Windows Live Mail. That seemed to cause it. Every time I opened mail the PC blue-screened. I couldn't fix it because it crashed every time I tried to. I need the email history 'cos I run stats on it.

Fortunately all the mail is in gmail so I could just re-install and decided to try Ubuntu.

I tried EnvyNG yesterday and it didn't work. I got help on chat and managed to edit my xorg.conf (screen setup file I think) and it works now. It's not crisp and clear but is ok. The online help chat, help, community is really great. I'm going to try to get my sound working later today.

[Edit] - I have another PC at home that's much newer and faster etc. I'm keen to try a dual boot install (it's a work PC so I can't remove XP) and see the Compiz Fusion desktop. It looks awesome.
 
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I have over 10'000 (10040 to be exact) emails on my Ubuntu machine. Never had a problem. It runs smooth doesn't matter what.
 
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