Many have heard the name Linux. Some even know that this is a family of completely free operating systems for PCs and laptops. A prominent member of the family is the Ubuntu distribution, and in particular the Ubuntu 10.10 system. What kind of animal is it, we will analyze a little lower.
What is Ubuntu?
The Ubuntu system is the most popular free OS in the world. It is being developed by the guys at Canonical. It should be noted that in Ubuntu absolutely everything is free: the system itself, and updates, and programs. Each release of Ubuntu is identified by a code name. This is Canonical's tradition. Most likely, the 10.10 system owes its popularity to the Gnome 3 working environment. It is this graphical shell that is famous for its high reliability and flexible configuration. In all of the following Ubuntu distributions, the default Unity desktop environment began to be used, which many Linux users did not like. The interface "slowed down", frequent crashes of the working shell were observed. Not surprisingly, after Unity, the Ubuntu system began to lose popularity dramatically.
The Ubuntu interface can at first shock a person who is used to dealing with Windows. There is absolutely nothing in common between them. However, there is one big plus: the system can be configured "for yourself". Here you can change almost everything to make it as convenient as possible.
Install Ubuntu 10.10
Installing Maverick Meerkat (Ubuntu 10.10) is fundamentally different from installing previous versions of the OS. System 10.10 received a fully graphical installation wizard. Now you do not need to strain your eyes in the black and white version of the installer in DOS.
The installation wizard welcomes us with the language selection window. Choose Russian and follow the instructions below. After clicking the “Next” button we will be offered to connect to the Internet. Of course, we agree, because during the installation process you will need to download and install language packs. After that, Linux Ubuntu offers options for installing the system on a disk - automatic and manual. We assume that we do not have the necessary files on the hard drive, and we select the automatic method.
After successfully partitioning the hard disk, the installer suggests choosing a username and password, which is required in Ubuntu. Finally, click the "Install" button. After about 20 minutes, the system will prompt you to restart the computer. Everything, the OS is ready to use.
Manual partitioning
Sometimes you have to partition the disk manually. If it contains some important files, then with an automatic installation, all of them will be lost. Therefore, it is important to understand how to manually partition the disk.
System 10.10 is installed only on a partition formatted in the ext3 file system. With the new ext4, it is still weakly friends. So, create a partition of about 10 GB in the ext3 file system and specify the mount point “/”. Next, create the swap file section . If you have installed, for example, 4 GB of RAM, then the paging file should be equal to 8 GB. And at the final stage, again, we create a partition in ext3 from the remaining free space with the mount point “/ home”. It's like “My Documents” on Windows. All. The disk is successfully broken. You can begin to install the system.
Setup after installation
Operating system 10.10 , like any other, needs basic configuration. The first thing to do is update the system components. To do this, go to the settings section, enter the password and click "Update." Then the system will do everything by itself. After installing the updates, you need to restart the computer for them to take effect.
The next step is to install drivers for the devices. One of the advantages of Ubuntu is the support of almost all devices out of the box. Search for drivers on the Web do not have to. All that remains is to go into the driver manager and mark their installation for new versions.
Fresh distributions
Since the release of Ubuntu 10.10, many distributions have been released. The last one is Ubuntu 14.10 LTS. The abbreviation LTS (Long Term Support) means that the system will be supported for a long period of time (usually a couple of years). There is also a test distribution of Linux Ubuntu 15.10. But it is still damp and suitable only for testing. You can’t install it as the main system, because its stability is still lame.
Of course, compared to 10.10, there are a lot of changes in the release of 14.10. They mainly affected the work environment, program manager and driver manager. The system has become even more stable. In addition, there is support for many new devices.
Conclusion
Today we met with the Ubuntu system. A review of the basic functions of the system showed that it can be used as a replacement for Windows. Unlike a Microsoft product, Ubuntu is completely free. Another big plus is that she is not afraid of viruses written for Windows. Of course, there will be some problems with running Windows applications, but in emulation mode this is not a problem. Ubuntu is a system for those who value freedom and security.
Nevertheless, due to the lack of marketing, advertising and a strong visual difference from the brainchild of Microsoft, the Linux OS is still unpopular among ordinary people.
However, nothing will completely replace them from the computer market: various enterprises and institutions simply cannot afford to spend hundreds of thousands on paid software.