[AuckLUG] RE: Installing Linux

[Richard Innes]

I am sorry I have posted my progress.  I make this post in the hope that 
it might help some else with a similar problem.

My problem was that having installed Unbuntu 6.10 I discovered that it 
did not support dial up connections to the net. But my difficulties 
started earlier, with the install process.

There appears to be a glitch/fault with the partitioner. When installing 
there are three options offered for formatting your hard drive.. The 
first one is to use the entire hard drive and wipe off whatever OS  
exists. This was not an option with one  hard drive and wanting to dual 
boot. The next two options involves Ubuntu automatically creating a 
partition out of the free space on your hard drive (option 2) out of the 
current partition. The last option, option offers a slider to partition 
the hard drive to your specifications. This the option that brings 
trouble. What I believe happens is that in option two Ubuntu formats the 
second partition out the free space into two partitions (the usual 
approach with Linux), the smaller of the two being the swap partition.. 
If however you specify a partition size or already have a second 
partition formated (or just empty) them you have to  create the swap 
partition yourself a process not made clear during the installation. I 
found it easier when using option three to first let the installer 
(G'parter) format the second partition, halt the install, start again 
and on the second sweep create the swap partition out of the second 
partition I think it would better to use a proper hard drive manager 
such as Partition Magic, Acronis, or G' parter on a separate disc when 
using option three.

There are other parts of the installation process I found a awkward. I 
would have preferred to create both a super user/administrator and a 
user during the install not the use of sudo after the installation. I 
know there have been arguments on both side and I guess in time I'll 
come to accept the Ubuntu approach. I also would have preferred a 
customized option. I appreciate that Ubuntu is trying to make it easy 
for people to install the OS and the 'one fit for all' approach is the 
price paid. In addition, I feel there needs to be an option for 'probe 
of devs', where one could see what devices had been detected and whether 
correctly or not. This would give a starting point for configuration 
once the installation is complete. I guess the 'one fit for all' again 
applies.

Now to the solution to my problem. For whatever reason Ubuntu does not 
support dial up modems. I got as far as configuring the pppd but failed 
to discover how to connect,activate/ turn on the demon. Someone 
suggested adding it as an applet which I tried without success.  The on 
line help is useless in these kind of situation sand I agree with the 
recent comparison of Ubuntu with Vista that the help provided in Linux 
is written by geeks who have no concept of how non geeks view their 
programs. Fortunately I stumbled on a site, Ubuntu Geek through Google 
(I Googled 'dial up' in Ubuntu), where not only was there a concise, 
easy to follow directions on how to configure ppp (which I had already 
managed) but which went to the next step and told one how to 
connect/activate or this case turn ppp on and off. These simple commands 
- pon, poff - were followed with examples of how to add the provider 
command and thus get the thing working. Now why couldn't that be covered 
in the help file? Though the wording given wasn't quite compatible with 
my set up it took just a few minutes of experimenting and viola! I had a 
working internet connection. After declining the updates (over 83mb) I 
immediately set about down loading, installing, and configuring Gnome 
ppp, which, since Ubuntu is supposed to be a Gnome based distro, should 
have been included in the installation.

I know dial up is rapidly going the way of the old trusty floppy drive, 
but there still will be circumstances when such a connection maybe the 
only way into the internet.

Two things I like about Ubuntu is firstly the way Grub accommodated my 
XP and enabled easy dual booting into whichever OS I desired. I can 
remember in my previous LInux lives often having to floppy boot Linux so 
as not to wipe out my Windows OS. Secondly, I as say I download Gnome 
ppp and installed it. Again, I can remember such undertakings previously 
were fraught with hair-tearing dependency hell and broken links. This 
though was simple and uncomplicated and something to be marveled at. In 
this respect it maybe LInux has at last come close to matching Windows 
(not that Windows doesn't have its own downloading and installing hells).

I intend to explore Ubuntu further and its particular 'brand' (Debian) 
of Linux. I also hope to investigate other distros such as those based 
on Slackware and Gentoo. I don't want at this stage to enter the debate 
about the relative merits of each, no doubt I'll discover that for 
myself in due course.

Someone also suggested I go to the Install Fest about which there has 
been some controversy. I'm not entirely convinced such a approach is 
fruitful for Linux. The adage ' Give a man a fish and he can eat for a 
day, teach a man to fish and  he'll feed himself all year' is relevant. 
By offering install fests is not the Linux community implying that 
installations are for Linux Geeks and not mortal beings. It implies 
Linux is complicated and that you better not break it or you'll be left 
with a unusable computer? Would it not be better to show people how to 
install Linux? This would require the much more clearer, step by step, 
instructions that Linux seems to fear embracing. I think we ought to 
make it plain that Linux is no more difficult to install and maintain 
than Windows (indeed as many suspect it's easier). Give non-Linux people 
encouragement to explore and make their own mistakes knowing there is a 
body of people and material readily at hand to help them.

Finally I decided to embrace the world of broadband. Is there some 
brave/foolhardy soul out there who has successfully entered the 
broadband world through Woosh - the wireless version. Woosh is hopeless 
when it comes to technical support, they have simply taken on too much 
and haven't enough technical staff. I can't get a signal. I have a 
booster antenna, but I suspect I live in a black hole which all 
radiation avoids. I would be grateful for any tips.

Richard Innes