Ubuntu Karmic – now better than Mac OS X

Ok. The subject of the post is deliberately provocative and the chances of me changing the allegiance of die-hard fans of Apple’s “beauty-in-a-box” are remote to say the least. But I think it right to encourage everyone (whether Windows, Mac or Linux desktop users) to look again at Ubuntu Linux following it’s most recent release, the Karmic Koala.

It was once the case that things just worked on a Mac (and even Windows) but were an unreasonable struggle with Ubuntu.  Wireless networking.  Display settings (especially dual-head display settings.)  VPN connections.  But having followed Ubuntu on the desktop for three years, I think it’s finally got there.  It is a real contender for running your desktop PC.

With the “compiz” window manager, beautiful display effects and functionality (similar to Mac’s Exposé) are possible with almost no setup required.  That coupled with the “Docky” theme for the gnome-do application, give you a user interface that is – well, not original, no – but a firm challenge to that provided by Apple (and latterly Microsoft.)

But, as a geek, it is not just the eye-candy which swings things in Ubuntu’s favour.  Mac OS X is of course just BSD Linux underneath.  To put things crudely though, it is like having a version of Linux which has a strange directory layout and a restrictive software package manager.  Couple that with the fact that the Ubuntu community is stronger for developers, and you have a more compelling proposition from the free option.

And if you really want it, you can get Apple’s keyboard, mouse and screen to complete your look!

Installation of Koala is quick and easy – and boot-up times are way ahead of anything that Windows offers.  I urge you to try it out.

What doesn’t it do?  Well, you won’t get Photoshop running effectively in Koala.  Poeple will talk about virtual machines or about using open-source alternatives such as Gimp – but these are not viable options for serious users.  Likewise Premiere Pro for your video editing is not an option.  The most frustrating omission which perhaps affects the greatest numbers of potential defectors is the lack of iTunes.  A great open-source alternative, Songbird, has it all… except for viable support for iPod and iPhone devices.  If you can live with these omissions, I believe you’ve got a new (free) friend.  Well, operating system of choice.

I’m a developer and the following is a guide to some of the setup I perform after the base installation: to get a desktop system up and running to my liking.  Excuse the apt-get syntax; it doesn’t matter how many different GUI package managers they throw at me… I’ll still find it easier to install software via the command line – but the GUIs are, (I’m told!) good if this looks alien to you:

# essential to get video working (e.g. YouTube)
apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras

# to connect to my work VPN
apt-get install network-manager-pptp

# to allow SSH connections to my machine from others
apt-get install openssh-server

# to help customise the GRUB boot loader
apt-get install startup-manager

# to enable outbound mail via a smarthost and command line mailing
apt-get install mailx nullmailer

# to enable a multiple-account mail notification icon in the panel
apt-get install mail-notification

# gives you an OS X-style dock
apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager gnome-do

# controversial, perhaps, but pidgin beats empathy for (non audio/video) instant messaging
apt-get install pidgin pidgin-otr

# controversial again, but until Evolution sorts out its HTML rendering, Thunderbird wins
apt-get install thunderbird

For development purposes (I am primarily a LAMP developer), I recommend:

apt-get install apache2 php5 mysql-server subversion
# And a bunch of php5 extensions - too many to list here

# to support the installation of Netbeans, SQuirreL and DBWrench
apt-get install sun-java6-jre

# to support integration with MySQL and SQL Server
apt-get install libjtds-java libmysql-java

# I'm a geek; this beats any other editor I know
apt-get install vim

For Nvidia graphics card users who want dual screen capabilities, I found that a simple install of the following gave me a GUI tool on the menus in order to set this up in seconds:

apt-get install nvidia-xconfig nvidia-settings

Enjoy.