Windows to Ubuntu Transition Guide

by Jason Faulkner on Mar 29, 2006 | 46 comments

Preface

Alright, so you have successfully installed Ubuntu Linux, but now what do you do with it? You are in the right place. I am going to get you started with a guide on how to use your new Ubuntu system. This transition guide is targeted at existing Windows users and will show you how to do program installations, a little system configuration, but primarily highlight some Windows “replacement” programs for common applications you can’t live without. This guide’s intent is to introduce you to equivalent programs to what you are accustomed to and, hopefully, to cover a good amount of what you might want in a new install. I am basing the content on what I have personally experienced, email feedback from my installation article, questions from the PC Mech Forums, and common topics from the Ubuntu Forums. Hopefully this will answer a lot of questions you may have before you ever have them.

There is no prior Linux experience needed to follow anything I will go over, however I am going to make the assumption you have at least played around in Ubuntu for a bit. I am not going to be covering the basics on how to use the interface, as it is quite similar to Windows. Here is a quick breakdown of the topics I will be covering:

Configuring and using Synaptic Package Manager to install applications

Installing common packages with Automatix

Essential desktop, office, and Internet applications

Playing movies and music

Games

Digital cameras, printing, and burning

Installing a PHP and MySQL enabled Apache web server

Development tools

Installing and configuring a firewall

Setting up remote desktop connection

Setting up a streaming music server

Since this article’s intent is to be a beginner’s guide to Ubuntu Linux, I am going to be using the graphical interface for pretty much everything. As experienced Linux users may know, and you will soon find out, everything we are going to be doing can be done much quicker through the command line. Of course, this is not very user friendly, and a very un-Windows way to do things, so again, we will be sticking to the Ubuntu GUI (Graphical User Interface).

As you are reading, please bear in mind that Linux is not Windows. At a high level they appear to operate basically the same, but they are fundamentally different. Just keep an open mind and I promise learning Ubuntu Linux will be well worth your time.

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Until the Linux community can come up with a CAD program that is as mature as AutoCAD for Architecture 2009 (etc) and the new ‘better’ kid on the block Revit for Architecture, then Linux will be nothing more than a novelty. A novelty that is very serious on networking and file sharing, but not too serious on other business applications including Architecture.

BCC
CC, you are 1000000% right!
BCooK
there ARE two different CAD programs within Ubuntu Linux that work just as well as AutoCAD. Further more a program called WINE will act as a windows install and run up to AutoCAD 2005. Another program called Crossover from, code weavers, will run up to AutoCAD 2009, but it cost about $30 for the standard version. Ubuntu Linux took me two days to integrate everything from windows I needed… I’LL NEVER GO BACK TO WINDOWS!!!

Greg Grego
Hmmm. Keep an open mind about using Linux as a desktop replacement for windows? I tried and really made an effort because I’ve read the propaganda about Ubuntu, their various flavors and other related projects. I purchased what I thought would be a simple laptop to to convert to Linux (ASUS eeepc 1000hd) and was very disappointed. It came preinstalled with windows XP and I wanted to take advantage of all those Linux performance enhancements.
The fact was that no “distro” of linux I installed, even the ones supposedly designed for the eeepc, worked with the hardware. The installations were noticeably slower and far more convoluted than installing XP. I could never get the wi-fi working no matter what I did and I tried many many suggestions by on-line experts without success. All the hardware worked fine (and faster) running XP. If you want to get any real work done and need to run real software packages, don’t believe any of the nonsense about Linux being better than any version of windows with the exception of maybe 3.1.
marcg
Learning ubuntu coming from windows? Worth it? Very much so. For those of us not able to afford Windows (and believe it or not there are many millions in the US that fit that description) Ubuntu is a fit. I have built many computers and installed Ubuntu on them for people who can’t afford Windows and can’t afford the many applications others would then purchase and install in Windows. They need free stuff that works. Ubuntu Linux provides that. And for many folks low income folks that are new to computers, The transition is that much easier as they haven’t accumulated years and years of Windows habits.
This is a good guide. Thanks for helpin out.
http://www.cybercolloids.net Kevin Philp
What a bunch of negative comments! OK – AutoCad don’t do a Linux version, complain to AutoCad not Ubuntu. Linux is an operating system and a damned good one, its no less of a system because AutoCad doesn’t run on it. maybe it doesn’t suit your needs – fine, use something else. It is used by a lot of people and is growing, I run a small company and it uses Linux – there are businesses out there that don’t need Autocad.
http://none RC
for someone just trying out Ubuntu, this was extremely useful. thanks!
Nickolas
For those of you who still need windows specific applications, there is always Wine.
Alex C.
Nice guide, except for automatix. As for the ACAD comments, AutoDesk is the problem. As for the XP faster then a Linux distro on an eeepc, wrong. I will bet my zx14 motorcycle that Linux runs better than XP on a eeepc. If you love Windows, then stay with it. If you ar frustrated by Windows but are lazy, get a Mac. If you are curious and don’t mind making adjustments, try Ubuntu.
Jupp C
nice. im soon finished downloading ubuntu, and im looking forward to try linux out for the first time ever.
i use my pc mostly for music making, photo and video editing. and thats why ive been stucked with windows so far, but now ill give it a try.
im looking foreward to try all the open source softwares in those categories.. and if they are to limited for my use, ill try ‘wine’..
zak26
I’m so so sorry to read those lines that complains about Ubuntu, as I see it Ubuntu is a great OS, the problem as some say (And I agree) is that AutoDesk doesn’t make a version for Linux, the problem may not be just how much it cost to have a OS like Windows, because I have bought it and I’m very dissapointed at it, there are so many reasons and also I consider myself a some experienced AutoCAD user ’cause I have created some small programs that some people and I use very frecuently, and also created some programs not AutoCAD related but useful for some of us, but I got tired of having problems with the traditional OS (for so many people around the world Winbugs, sorry Windows) and I started to search for something that may fill my needs and found Ubuntu, I’m not so experienced in it ’cause I have used it just 4 months, but it really works for me, I haven’t moved totally to Ubuntu ’cause I use a very specific version of AutoCAD (Civil3D), but I’m still trying to find out something that replaces it in Ubuntu.
And my experience is that my computers run far better in Ubuntu than in Winbugs, but in my country is not so open the comunity, so we still have to use the traditional OS for some operations with the goberment for say, but I hope that changes.
So to say at the end, thanks for posting aids for us that are not so used to know the system, thanks to people like you, the Ubuntu comunity is growing and we become better.
http://Website(optional) anonymoose
There are a large number of technical, scientific, engineering, and medical programs for Linux that can be used instead of Windows alternatives.
Ubuntuguide.org (http://ubuntuguide.org)
and
Kubuntuguide.org (http://kubuntuguide.org)
list a large selection of these, as well as instructions for those new to Linux and how to proceed.
Both guides have been around for several years and are constantly updated.
JC
Thank you Jason for this very good transition tutorial… just what I need for the OJT job that I’m doing now…thanks again…keep it up!
JC
I Hope You will do also how different it is between ubuntu and windows in networking and DNS configuration…
Chumpeter
- STAND UP -
Write a mail msg asking 4 autocad 4
linux
Now!!
Ross
Hey
Ok, so I am considering the switch from windows vista to ubuntu.
What happens to all my files when i switch? are they deleted?
Can I go back to vista If I don’t like ubuntu? is it hard?
Thanks for your help.
http://computertlc.net Computer Cleanup and Virus Removal, Lake Geneva, WI
The only qualm I have with the current release of Ubuntu (10.04) is dual-booting with older (Windows 2000 and Windows XP) versions of the Windows operating system.
Up until 10.04 I had never had a problem with a dual-boot configuration. Then. Then I had two fail, back to back.
Now, I’ve been working with Linux, in some variation or another, since RedHat 5. So I’m comfortable with it. Very.
But this wigged me out. I was able to recover one machine (the XP box) but not the Windows 2000 machine.
So I’m a little gun shy.
Peace,
Karl A. Krogmann
Clarry
OK, i'm about to give up already, installed Ubuntu 10.04 OK and nice, I then tried to follow this guide the link to Automatix does not work, found Ultamatix downloaded it then did the dreaded command line thing and it says I need Python2.5 which I could not find. Is this guide out of date ?, is there a more up to date version ?