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View Full Version : What are YOU doing with Ubuntu?



jumpgroup
February 15th, 2011, 10:54 PM
Ubuntu has inspired me to do little computer 'projects' that I never considered with other OS's. So, to get additional inspiration, I'd like to find out what other folks are doing with their distros.

My most recent favorite was setting up a LAMP server with Ampache so I can stream my videos and music to my phone or another 'puter anywhere I go.

What are you doing with yours?

pi.boy.travis
February 22nd, 2011, 11:07 PM
I started with Ubuntu 7.10 and minimal computer skills. Now I have 10.10 running on two desktops, one with four displays, five servers, two laptops, a netbook, and the Natty daily build on an eight year old HP Pavillion desktop. I also do web programming and know Python, C, C++, and PHP. Where will you be in four years? ;)

dalekirkwood
February 23rd, 2011, 12:20 AM
I'm Currently making my very own Linux Distro. See http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/. I'm hoping to actually make a business from the build. Maybe something you would be interested in testing for me when done.

burnedbylinux
February 23rd, 2011, 12:31 AM
Actually, I'm not doing anything with it, since as usual Linux won't work due to a missing driver, which cannot be found on the software server. Apparently some idiot moved it and forgot to redirect requests to where it is stored. Nice going, geeks.

dalekirkwood
February 23rd, 2011, 12:47 AM
lol sounds like linux. I seem to be reinstalling my system every week. 64 bit doesnt seem the way forward. is that happened since an update?

Old *ix Geek
February 23rd, 2011, 12:50 AM
I do everything with Kubuntu, since it's the only OS I've installed on the five computers in my house. Even my 80+ year old mother uses it, and loves it. She's amazed at how easy it is to use and how it NEVER has to be rebooted--unlike when she used to use *******.

So, what DO I do with it? Well, I do all the programming for my web sites (KWrite), all the design creation for the products in my online shops (the GIMP), photo processing and editing for pics taken with my Nikon D40 camera (digiKam and the GIMP), play Roller Coaster Tycoon (via wine), various office-related tasks (OpenOffice), and lots more.

Old *ix Geek
February 23rd, 2011, 12:52 AM
lol sounds like linux. I seem to be reinstalling my system every week.Are you sure you're not using *******? :confused: I've had Linux installations run for several YEARS without ever having to reinstall, so I don't know what you're doing wrong, but it makes me wonder!

dalekirkwood
February 23rd, 2011, 01:01 AM
Well I started on a 32 bit 10.10 which worked fine until I updated Nautilus then is wouldn't mount external drives. So I reinstalled to a 64 bit 10.04 lts. everything seemed ok so i upgraded that to 10.10. Then my Atheros AR9285 wireless adapter wouldnt work after another set of updates a few weeks later so I reinstalled, It worked for 15 minutes so now i'm back to a 32 bit 10.10 where nothing seems to work. Oh well ill put the 64bit LTS back on tommz unless you think thats a bad idea.

pi.boy.travis
February 23rd, 2011, 01:07 AM
Well I started on a 32 bit 10.10 which worked fine until I updated Nautilus then is wouldn't mount external drives. So I reinstalled to a 64 bit 10.04 lts. everything seemed ok so i upgraded that to 10.10. Then my Atheros AR9285 wireless adapter wouldnt work after another set of updates a few weeks later so I reinstalled, It worked for 15 minutes so now i'm back to a 32 bit 10.10 where nothing seems to work. Oh well ill put the 64bit LTS back on tommz unless you think thats a bad idea.

If you have a 64-bit CPU, than I would install the 64-bit version of Ubuntu. I would install 10.10, then we can help you fix any problems you may be having, just please ask in the support-oriented forums. This forum is for community discussions only.

Hur Dur
February 23rd, 2011, 01:09 AM
With Ubuntu? Nothing at all. I have been working on a DIY Linux for older computers, though. Right now I am compiling ALSA and a package manager.

whatthefunk
February 23rd, 2011, 01:17 AM
Well I started on a 32 bit 10.10 which worked fine until I updated Nautilus then is wouldn't mount external drives. So I reinstalled to a 64 bit 10.04 lts. everything seemed ok so i upgraded that to 10.10. Then my Atheros AR9285 wireless adapter wouldnt work after another set of updates a few weeks later so I reinstalled, It worked for 15 minutes so now i'm back to a 32 bit 10.10 where nothing seems to work. Oh well ill put the 64bit LTS back on tommz unless you think thats a bad idea.

Check this out:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1244686

Ive only been using Linux for a few months, but love it. One thing I really like about it is that I can actualy find a fix for just about every problem I have with it. With Windows, when theres a problem, you download some strange .exe program, do system scans, and get lost in an abyss of useless Windows help sites and yet the problem persists and you just learn to live with it. In Linux, you isolate the problem, do internet searches and ask around on forums and you can almost always find someway of getting your problem fixed. I love that.

Anyway, to the original question...right now, Ive got Lubuntu on a small laptop that was trying very hard to run WinXP and failing at it. I've been writing bash scripts for just about everything and am going to start on python soon enough. Im getting ready to build my own Linux pc and then I dont know...more Linux I guess!

dalekirkwood
February 23rd, 2011, 01:23 AM
Thanks Guys, ill get reinstalling in the morning. I do agree that Ubuntu is great and Linux in general. Just wish that manufacturers would create drivers for Linux on an equal ground to Windows. I'm sure there is a law in the UK about support.

Richard_T
February 23rd, 2011, 01:45 AM
I'm doing everything I did with windows. Editing photos, surfing the web, listening to music, shoping. I thought I wouldn't like gnome but I installed cairo dock and I just love it. Really thrilled. Mind it doesn't take much. Rock on Ubuntu. oh Haven't had any down time, stable as a rock.

Khakilang
February 23rd, 2011, 10:53 AM
Web browsing, watching video, listening to music, document, spreadsheet, image editing, on line chatting and the thing I will definitely miss are scanning for virus, defrag my hard disk, clean my registries, virus updates, format hard disk and re install application. Thanks to Ubuntu, thanks to Linux.

andymorton
February 23rd, 2011, 11:33 AM
web browsing, watching video, listening to music, document, spreadsheet, image editing, on line chatting and the thing i will definitely miss are scanning for virus, defrag my hard disk, clean my registries, virus updates, format hard disk and re install application. Thanks to ubuntu, thanks to linux.

+1

mr_luksom
February 25th, 2011, 08:24 AM
There appears to be a bit bitterness about linux in here, well I'm personally loving the move.

After being comfortable with ubuntu/xubuntu/lubuntu, I then built a frontend/backend mythtv setup, which has now replaced live tv completely for me, and I've started volunteer computing through BOINC.

NightwishFan
February 25th, 2011, 09:01 AM
I have been using Debian. Ubuntu though is excellent as one of the first distros I tried (and the one that made me switch). Currently it is the distribution I most support in the community and recommend to beginners. :)

ZeroAdam
February 25th, 2011, 02:22 PM
Like most in here have said, I'm doing everything with Ubuntu. I made the complete switch back in October/November and installed Ubuntu on every computer in the house, I even switched at work!

jumpgroup
February 25th, 2011, 02:53 PM
I then built a frontend/backend mythtv setup, which has now replaced live tv completely for me, and I've started volunteer computing through BOINC.

Myth is my next project. My issue is being completely confounded by the fact that HD streaming seems only to be supported from a STB through a Hauppauge PVR. I still do not understand how TiVo pulls off being an HDCP device on a Linux platform, and we can't replicate the process. Right now, I'm using Ampache to stream music and video. But it's a sub-optimal solution for video. I'm sure other solutions will avail themselves in time.

Thanks for the additional inspiration. I now do 90% percent of personal computing on Ubuntu (The other 10% are games that Wine just doesn't process well on my laptop). I have to use a lousy ******* laptop for work. But I always look forward to relaxing with Ubuntu at the end of a long day!

dargaud
February 25th, 2011, 03:24 PM
What? I use it to compile other versions of Linux to run on your cell phone, the nuclear reactor near you, my 12 year old PC, your future car brakes, etc... [true]

ErikNJ
February 25th, 2011, 04:41 PM
I am running Ubuntu on my Fiance's laptop. She uses it to surf the net, read email, and basic openoffice work. Since switching her to Ubuntu, I haven't had to worry about removing malware from her machine. For her, Ubuntu was the best choice for ease of use.

As far as me, I've been using Fedora mostly but I occasionally use Ubuntu too. In my case, Fedora works best in "ease of use" for me.

pauljwells
February 25th, 2011, 07:54 PM
Trying to get SOME sort of low-level code integration with python working...

Dead loss in Windows, development in Ubuntu is so much more fun!!

pauljwells
February 25th, 2011, 08:07 PM
WHICH WORKS!!! f2py was a no-brainer on Ubuntu. I've spent a day of agony on W7 trying to do something that took less than 30 seconds on Ubuntu.

Feel the love!! :)

Copper Bezel
February 25th, 2011, 09:01 PM
web browsing, watching video, listening to music, document, spreadsheet, image editing, on line chatting and the thing i will definitely miss are scanning for virus, defrag my hard disk, clean my registries, virus updates, format hard disk and re install application. Thanks to ubuntu, thanks to linux.

Pretty much this. I mean, it's all stuff I could do with Windows, but I can trust it to work, and it's 70% of my work life and 90% of my entertainment. Plus, of course, there's all the tweaking and fine tuning that becomes kind of an end in itself, and I appreciate that Linux encourages a person to understand what's going on the background more than Windows does, because I like to know how things actually work.

cartisdm
February 25th, 2011, 09:58 PM
Right now Linux just sits on my netbook and the main laptop. It gets used daily but everyone but unfortunately, not to it's fullest extent. I am just too busy lately to really dive into the ubuntu/linux world like I used to. On the bright side, I love having computers with a zero maintenance OS so I never have to worry about them. Myself, my fiancee, and all my guests use my PCs without any problems. No one has ever asked me how to use them and nearly everyone comments on how great the operate

Dustin2128
February 25th, 2011, 10:42 PM
What don't I use ubuntu for? Everything computer related runs on either my linux machines of varying distros or my legacy FreeDOS system. Ye shall find no windows here.

Spykeware
February 25th, 2011, 10:56 PM
I'm using Ubuntu Server 9.10 Karmic Koala to give multiple services, such as Samba for file sharing, OpenVPN to give access to LAN over the Internet with RSA Key authentication, Database services with MySQL, PHP pages with Apache and I'll work to running a ParaVirtualization OS giving access over VNC. The last service is very interesting & exciting... All of those services are used by Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, Windows & MacOSX Computers and running great!
And a lot of more services that Ubuntu can give. Don't forget to increase the Security levels.
:popcorn:

jerenept
February 25th, 2011, 11:18 PM
There appears to be a bit bitterness about linux in here, well I'm personally loving the move.

After being comfortable with ubuntu/xubuntu/lubuntu, I then built a frontend/backend mythtv setup, which has now replaced live tv completely for me, and I've started volunteer computing through BOINC.

omgusefolding@home

cartisdm
February 28th, 2011, 06:23 PM
omgusefolding@home

:confused:

Copper Bezel
February 28th, 2011, 06:39 PM
Folding@Home is a popular volunteer computing project that works on modeling the actions of synthetic proteins for medical research.

cartisdm
February 28th, 2011, 07:07 PM
Folding@Home is a popular volunteer computing project that works on modeling the actions of synthetic proteins for medical research.

Hmmm....gotchya!

Habeouscorpus
February 28th, 2011, 10:53 PM
I just set up my dad with a dual boot! Wheee! I also found out he had a 64 bit processor, and was running 32 XP. My jaw was on the floor. He rebuilt his computer sort of, with a frankenstienian mix of Dell parts and purchased parts. Apparently he bought a very nice processor and an extra hard drive for luck. But his MSI motherboard has annoying BIOS on it. Yeeck.

I've been running straight Ubuntu on a Dell laptop and a Toshiba netbook, and it's been serving me well. Windows 7 starter, my derriere! Now, I've stopped fixing my computer, and started playing with it. And playing on it. (Warzone2100, I'm looking at you.)

I like the features. They seem intuitive and almost like I know the people behind it. But I don't. Also, there's the community. Speaking of that, I need to get my dad an Ubuntu Forums account... When he comes home :)

tl;dr: I've been rocking it, how about you?

Quadunit404
February 28th, 2011, 11:17 PM
Running Ubuntu within Ubuntu ('cuz I herd u like Ubuntu (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xzibit-yo-dawg)) via VirtualBox so I can try Marlin without risking screwing up my physical machine :D

Just gotta let it install 274 updates first and then I'll get to the "Install Marlin in virtualized Ubuntu" part.

slooksterpsv
February 28th, 2011, 11:43 PM
Alrighty here's what I use Ubuntu for (as it's my Primary and Only OS on my laptop):

1. Email, Chat, IM, Web Surfing - basics
2. Virtualization to try out other OSes and to run Windows XP in a VM so I can watch Netflix. - Runs better than on Windows (VirtualBox does).
3. Programming - I play around with Python, C++, and learning Java (slowly), and trying to learn Android too (slowly).
4. Comic Creation - I do a comic called Bubbles, and I make it with Ubuntu and OpenOffice.org Drawing
5. Music & Music Organization - I listen to music and use EasyTag to sort it (especially when iTunes has made a mess).
6. Light gaming and game making - I've started to dabble in Game Editor, and I play some games and what not.
7. Read books - I have some books that came with eBook versions, so I read them on Ubuntu.
8. Web Server - I test stuff in PHP, HTML, what not, and I use Apache2 on ubuntu to do that =D - (power to LAMP).

mr_luksom
March 1st, 2011, 03:11 AM
Running Ubuntu within Ubuntu ('cuz I herd u like Ubuntu (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xzibit-yo-dawg)) via VirtualBox so I can try Marlin without risking screwing up my physical machine :D

Just gotta let it install 274 updates first and then I'll get to the "Install Marlin in virtualized Ubuntu" part.

I can't resist:

Yo dawg, I herd you like linux so I put a Ubuntu in Ubuntu so you can update while you update.