If you are new to Linux, you may be confused as to why Ubuntu doesn't include support for Flash, DVD playback, MP3, Sun Java, etc. by default. Well, the reason is because while Linux is open source, free software without copyright restrictions, many of the multimedia plugins are proprietary - that is, not open source. However, Ubuntu 9.04 allows you to easily add several of the most common proprietary multimedia plugins in one stroke. Just go to Applications > Add/Remove and type "Ubuntu Restricted Extras" into the search box. Check the box and click the Apply Changes button. Now you are good to go!

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Before I made the decision to ditch Windows Vista in favor of Ubuntu Linux, I asked myself what I would really be giving up. The only answer I could come up with was the marvelous Evernote client, which is not distributed in a Linux version. While the Web interface retains allmost all of the functionality of the client, it of course by definition lacks the convenience of a local copy of your Evernote database. With a little research, however, I am happy to announce that I am now running the latest Evernote 3.1.0.1225 in Ubuntu 9.04 using Wine. Wine is a Linux program that allows you to install and run many Windows programs in Linux. You can see that a couple of graphical components are a little wonky (the black boxes around the toolbar icons), but overall the functionality is intact. In fact, I took the above screen shot with Evernote. My database, over 1GB, synchronized without a hitch. And the automatic update feature even works properly as well. All in all, I'm extremely pleased.

Installing Wine in Ubuntu is very simple. Go to Applications > Add/Remove and type "wine" in the search box. Click the check box, click "Apply," and the program will install. To install Evernote, just download the installer file and double-click it. A launcher icon should appear on the desktop, and Evernote will also appear in Applications > Wine > Programs.

I found that at first, the text in the Evernote List View was not displaying. This was remedied with the simple registry fix below:

I may even try running some other Windows programs in Wine at some point. Maybe. But there are so many excellent native Linux apps, I may not need to.

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I installed Dropbox in Ubuntu 9.04 so I could access my files in the cloud. The process was kind of a hassle, because of a few details which were not well-documented. There are a couple of approaches you can take. You can download the .deb package and then double-click it to install. This works, but you won't get automatic updates through Synaptic. I decided to add the 3rd-party Software Source and Key, so that I can get automatic updates. The procedure goes like so: open System > Administration > Software Sources, go to the Third-Party Software tab, click Add, then paste in:

deb http://linux.getdropbox.com/ubuntu jaunty main

then do the same thing with

deb-src http://linux.getdropbox.com/ubuntu jaunty main

Exit the window. Don't worry about the warning message. Then go to Terminal and paste

gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 3565780E
 then hit Enter. This will import the keys to authenticate the PPA. Then type 
apt-get update 
and hit Enter, this will refresh the package list. Next, type 
sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox
 and hit Enter. This will actually install the application. After it's installed, type
dropbox start -i

to start Dropbox. You may have to logout then back in first. I have found that the Dropbox app does not automatically start on startup, so instead of opening the Terminal every time, I created app launcher by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting "Create Launcher." Enter the command above and you are good to go.

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I liked some things about Fedora 11, but ultimately I ditched it. The blue color theme did not appeal to me, and I was having no luck enabling dual-monitor support. So I decided to have another go with Ubuntu 9.04 using Unetbootin. In a previous post, I said that the Live CD on a USB flash drive option didn't work. Well, turns out I was wrong. I just didn't follow the correct procedure. What you need to do is run Unetbootin, select Ubuntu 9.04 > Live CD and make sure you have your flash drive specified as the target. Then go do something else for awhile as Unetbootin downloads the ISO, unpacks it and writes it to your flash drive. You'll need at least a 1GB flash drive for this to work. Then when Unetbootin asks if you want to reboot, say yes if you are already on the machine you wish to install Ubuntu on, otherwise exit. Plug your drive into the target machine, boot up and select boot options from the BIOS menu. Make sure USB is at the top of the list.

Installing Ubuntu from the Live CD is a smooth, simple process; much easier than installing Windows. I picked the entire disk option, chose a login name and password, and let the installer do its thing. Booting into Ubuntu went smoothly, but initially graphics support was limited to just the screen of the U810 and not the external monitor. I followed this procedure to enable dual-monitor support. This time, I did a little more research on the Import Key step. Turns out that I did this wrong before. I saved the HTML page as a file, but really you should only save the key text as a file. No file extension is required and any name will do. I left a comment about it on the tutorial page.

So now I have dual-monitor support with the full monitor resolution. Sweet! I have set up my printer drivers as well. My printer is a Dell 3110cn which I purchased specifically because it supports Linux. Some printers, especially budget ones, don't support Linux. So make sure it supports Windows, Mac, and/or Linux before you buy a printer, then you will avoid disappointment.

I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself at the moment!

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Well, I futzed up my brand new Ubuntu 9.04 install. It was my fault for being careless. See, I had just applied a fix to enable dual-monitor support, and things were going well. I even was able to rotate the screen of the U810 in order to fold it down flat. The only quibble was that I wasn't getting the full 1680x1050 resolution on my 22" monitor. So, I opened Synaptic, and started looking to see if I could find a better display driver. I found one that I thought might work better, but it actually didn't work as well.

Two things are now apparent to me. First, I should have left well enough alone for the time being, until I had the opportunity to fully research the issue. Second, I should not have impulsively uninstalled the less-functional driver that I just installed, because that left me with no display at all. Ooops! I wasn't expecting that! I thought it would revert to the last driver. Silly me.

Luckily, I was able to use my old Inspiron 600m laptop. With Unetbootin, I was able to install the Fedora 11 Live CD to a USB flash drive. Why Fedora? Because I didn't have any luck with the PCLOS or Ubuntu Live CD flash drive options [EDIT: I subsequently have succeeded with Ubuntu Live CD flash drive]. Unetbootin is still a work in progress.

Then I booted the U810 off the flash drive, and installed Fedora 11. Since I installed to the entire hard disk with no re-partitioning, it was an extremely simple process. And, I might add, GNOME was installed as expected!

On the first bootup, Fedora asks you if you want to send information about your hardware profile. This is an excellent idea. It gives the developers a better idea about what kind of hardware Fedora users have, thus enabling a more focused effort on driver development. I think other distros should take a cue from Fedora and do this too.

Since Fedora defaults to GNOME, the interface is almost exactly like Ubuntu in most respects. The wallpaper artwork isn't as pretty though. Easily remedied.

Now I'm off to figure out how to enable dual-monitor support. Again! This time I will be more cautious.

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