Software > Open Source

Ubuntu – A Trial – And Some Tribulations...

By Lasa Information Systems Team

As the hot technology debate moves to cloud vs non-cloud from that old chestnut proprietary vs open source (after we'd all got bored with PC s Mac...) Lasa's Ian Runeckles thought it would be a useful exercise to check out the operating system (OS) that finally put Linux on the map and see if it could be used in a remote working environment.

After years of being offered a myriad of Linux OSs, Ubuntu finally emerged as the OS of choice in the non profit arena. Of course, in the time honoured tradition of open source fractionalisation there is also Kubuntu and Edubuntu but we won't go there.

Installing Ubuntu

So, armed with my trusty but aging Sony Vaio laptop which was grinding to a halt under the weight of Windows XP updates, I downloaded the Ubuntu 10.04 ISO and burnt it to a CD. Restarting fired up the Ubuntu disc and I decided to install as a dual boot alongside XP. A short while later we were up and running. The wireless connection popped up and after entering my BT router WAP security key, I was online. So far, so good.

Working from home

Terminal sessions

I work from home for Lasa, having moved out of London a couple of years ago. Most of my day is spent using Lasa's terminal server (running Windows Server 2003) using Internet Explorer on a Windows laptop. Would I be able to do this on Ubuntu? Opening Firefox, I browsed to the secure log on page for Lasa's remote office, entered my password and logged in. Excellent.

Clicking on the terminal server link to use Java (rather than Active-X) a window popped up saying that Java wasn't installed with a link to download. OK, off I go and download the Java package. Now what? In Windows I'd have clicked on the file and it would have installed. Try that in Ubuntu and it just sits there. Hmmm. Many years ago I did a (then) FOSS OS flavour-of-the-month Suse Linux course for a confusing week. I knew all about opening terminals and typing ridiculously long commands – but it was too long ago now...

After much Googling and helpful and not-so advice I eventually found that I needed to install a package using the Synaptics Package Manager. I searched for it in Synaptics. It wasn't there. Back to the internet, I discovered that I needed to enable something called Canonical Supported open source software. I did this, it updated itself and lo and behold the Java package I was after was there. I marked it for installation, said yes, I did want to install it and applied. It installed, I went back to Firefox and tried to log on to my terminal server again. It worked! Bingo.

Question – I didn't know exactly what Canonical Supported OS software is, and I didn't really want to know (in case you do, Canonical is the UK company sponsoring Ubuntu owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth), but why isn't it enabled by default? Surely Java is so prevalent on the internet that you need it so why make it so difficult to do?

Sound and vision

So, with my access to the Lasa network operational I could start work. Another application I use a lot is Skype, to keep in touch with the team in the office. Skype was available to install from the Ubuntu Software Center – it downloaded and installed without any problem. It's still in beta but seems to work fine. Another question though – why have two different applications (Ubuntu Software Centre and Synaptics Package Manager) to install software?

Next up was connecting to Lasa's new VOIP phone system. I installed Kphone but although it said it was registered with Gradwell, Lasa's VOIP provider, I couldn't get it to work. SFLphone was also available so I tried that – it appears to register but again failed to work too. Checking out Gradwell, it suggest using a browser-based system Softphone but we couldn’t find any more information and checking back with the support document it vanished. Eventually we found out that Gradwell only offer softphones if you are using an upgraded product. Not so good.

Using Ubuntu for fun!

When I'm not working I like to watch DVDs on the computer, so thought I'd give it a go. Easier said than done... I started up Movie Player which recognised that there was a disc but when I tried to play it, it flashed briefly then nothing. I'd used VLC before on a Windows machine so thought  I would install that from the Synaptics Package Manager. Still nothing. Back to Google. Eventually I turn up a useful resource which tells me that to watch “commercial” DVDs I'll need to install Medibuntu (I think, my memory is starting to get a bit hazy). Sigh, back to Synaptics and hey presto, after installing the DVD plays.

So, is Ubuntu only happy if I play non-commercial DVDs? What world are these people living in? I appreciate that Ubuntu is a non-commercial product and applaud Canonical for making a free alternative available to the ubiquitous Windows (and Mac) OSs. But why make it so hard to do something as straightforward as attempting to watch a DVD?

I'm pretty familiar with troubleshooting – and up to a point quite enjoy a challenge - but if you want to drag people kicking and screaming away from the Windows/Mac duopoly then it’s really got to be easier than this. Windows got an (undeserved in my view) reputation for not being “user friendly” but Ubuntu takes the digestive.

Upgrading to Natty

Our Computanews open source correspondent Paula Graham of Fossbox wrote in issue 160 that a new version of Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal)  has been released which has a nifty new interface, Unity.  Booting up the laptop, the auto- updater helpfully informs me that 11.04 is now available. I decide to upgrade and after nearly three hours the machine restarted to say that I didn't have the hardware requirements to run the Unity interface... According to Paula I'm not missing much but it's disappointing all the same. One of the much-vaunted “selling points”, so to speak, of Linux OSs is that they'll run on pretty well anything. My laptop is admittedly pretty ancient – 5 years, pre-historic by technology standards - but it has 1Gb of RAM and a Centrino chipset so I’m disappointed that Unity won’t run.

No matter. Back to work – I fire up Firefox, log into the remote secure office and attempt to fire up the terminal connection. Not much happens – I get a window that says “Testing for Java compatibility” and that’s it. I give up.

Was it worth it?

So, my experiment has mixed results. Yes, I could at one point do most things that I can do on  Windows but making it happen was hard work and seems to have involved a lot more effort than I'd thought necessary.

On the plus side, I like the Gnome interface, Ubuntu is fast to load, shuts down quickly and I'm more than happy to use Libre Office (which I also have on my Windows laptop and was used for writing this article). Updating is easy and the range of applications is impressive (although the categories are a little baffling when browsing apps).

On the downside, I still don't think it's ready for prime time – it's far too complicated to get relatively simple things to work properly. Report card verdict - must try harder – 6 out of 10.