Using Ubuntu in College?

[CoffeeCoder]

Hey guys,

so this seems like an incredibly silly question, but I need to ask it.

I want to purchase a NetBook (or small laptop) for college this coming fall, and I want to put Ubuntu on it. I'm just wondering if some of the network stuff in colleges won't like that? My older friends in college told me that it shouldn't be a problem unless I need to save in .docx for certain systems (D2l, WPS, etc). Is there any free word processing application for Ubuntu that saves/loads that format (I know OO can read but not write it)? Or will I just have to stick with MS Office on Windows (please God, no!)?

Any and all advice is appreciated!

-CoffeeCoder

[SeijiSensei]

My daughter's campus uses a proprietary wifi system that has zero support for Linux. She can only connect from Windows. I'm not too surprised that the campus IT people aren't any help, but there's not even a hint at how to connect with Linux on the website of the network provider they use, either.

[unknownPoster]

It really depends on your college. Some colleges have no clue about Linux whereas some actively support it.

At my college, Linux is a recommended operating system and in some circumstances you are required to have it.

[kevin11951]

I imagine it would depend on the college, I would bet MIT has some good support for Linux, and my local university (University of Texas) appears to be pretty good with the whole Linux thing... In other words IT universitys probably have good Linux support, but community colleges, and universities that promote other fields may not be so good...

In my opinion, run Windows in a VM for those just-in-case moments, or dual-boot if you don't have enough ram...

[CoffeeCoder]

Thanks guys. It sounds like I should just stick with Windows for now just to be safe.

[kevin11951]

Thanks guys. It sounds like I should just stick with Windows for now just to be safe.

I would recommend that...

Also, there's a lot of (open source) software that will make Windows function more like Linux.

[Copper Bezel]

Well, it's two (or three, really) separate problems - the WiFi is one thing, while required document formats or internet browser compatibilities are another entirely.

My university had no problems in any of these areas (although I couldn't connect to the WiFi, it was only because of a WPA problem with Ubuntu on my hardware, nothing to do with Windows) and I've had no problems at all at the community college I'm working at now whether in document formats, WiFi, my school Outlook account and internal faculty portal, or anything else.

OOo can save into .docx, although formatting is occasionally upset a bit and comments and markup aren't retained. Of course, no one actually needs .docx, because Word opens .doc and .odt just as well, but they can demand it. Of course, if you find yourself in that situation, it's usually fairly easy to find a Windows machine around to resave it in .docx.

At most, just keep a Windows boot just in case. There's certainly no risk in doing a dual boot, and you probably won't need Windows for anything, but it could be good to have around.

[CoffeeCoder]

I'll probably dual-boot, because I am a fan of both Windows and Ubuntu. I just would prefer to run Ubuntu full-time for security reasons, and I find it to be a much lighter OS and it doesn't consume battery as fast as Windows 7 does. :P

How hard is it to set up a dual-boot on a NetBook? I know I'd have to use a flash drive for the Ubuntu "LiveCD", right?

[CoffeeCoder]

EDIT: Duplicate message. For some reason the forums posted my above message twice. :\

[Welly Wu]

I am a graduate student at New Jersey Institute of Technology here in Newark, New Jersey. I am pursuing a Masters of Science in IT Administration and Security degree program.

NJIT is a big supporter behind Microsoft Windows 7 and Intel hardware. Dell is their official computer vendor.

I received a free licensed copy of Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 32 bit which I installed in Sun/Oracle Virtualbox and I also received a free copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 32 bit which I also installed as well. Everything is up to date including Service Pack 1 and Windows Internet Explorer 9.

I can connect to the NJIT Wi-Fi network using Ubuntu 10.10 64 bit without any problems. My current course is Principles of Operating Systems and the lecturer did not specify that we need to use Microsoft Windows 7 because he is a UNIX guy himself and he uses Solaris 10 at his workplace which is Prudential.

Where are you planning to attend college?

I would recommend that you contact the college directly and ask them which operating system and computer hardware that they support. This will ensure maximum compatibility so that you can pursue your education until graduation.

I have seen a lot of people with Apple MacBook Pros that attend classes or work on campus here at NJIT as well. Some of the professors own them too. They use Boot Camp mode and they install Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 bit along with the other software applications that are provided for free by NJIT to teach their courses.

Besides myself, I only know of one other person in my current course that uses Ubuntu GNU/Linux as his primary operating system. He and I are able to download our weekly Microsoft PowerPoint and Word documents and convert them through OpenOffice without any problems. I do need Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 32 bit to run Cafescribe's MyScribe software application though. It is a program that is designed to download, read, highlight, and share notes for digital textbooks that are used for various courses at NJIT. MyScribe is not supported well using WINE or PlayOnLinux either. Forteen40 is the software vendor and they plan to release a beta version that supports GNU/Linux in the near future. I have no idea when they will release it though.

[Sub101]

At my uni there is no official Linux support, but in general no real problems.

One thing I have to do, and I would recommend anyone to, is to open your submissions in Microsoft Office before submitting. Otherwise the formatting can go off, and in plenty of cases you get marks for formatting.

That being said I know many UK Universities explicitly use Linux in their Computer Science courses.

[mamamia88]

10.10 was a mess with wireless for me. if you do install ubuntu i would suggest 10.04. I couldn't connect to even my home network on 10.04. i did manage to get connected to my college network but the driver doesn't seem to have the range as when in windows. i eventually went back to windows on my netbook for this reason. i would just try a dualboot if i was you

[SeijiSensei]

How hard is it to set up a dual-boot on a NetBook? I know I'd have to use a flash drive for the Ubuntu "LiveCD", right?

I recommend buying an external CD/DVD drive and using that. The one from ASUS (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U02JZ8) that "matched" my daughter's EeePC 1201N (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZLOR56) cost about $50. Someday you may want to rip or burn a CD or watch a DVD, and you'll be happy to have that device around.


10.10 was a mess with wireless for me. if you do install ubuntu i would suggest 10.04.

It depends entirely on the network adapter you're using. My experience with my Linksys WUSB54G wifi adapter was entirely the reverse of yours. Wireless was flaky in 10.04; I upgraded to 10.10 to gain access to a newer kernel, and my problems were solved.

[CoffeeCoder]

At this point, I'm just gonna stick with Windows. Once I get to the college (it's a 2-year program located in my town), I'll ask them if they support Linux, and if they do I'll dual-boot. For now though, I'm just gonna set my mind on using Windows and maybe just use Ubuntu on my main computer. Now I just have to shop for a laptop. :P

Thanks guys!

[mamamia88]

setting up a dualboot on a netbook is really no different then setting up a dualboot on a regular computer just a different install medium. you will already have windows installed so all you need is a flash drive, ubuntu iso, and unetbootin. just make sure you partition correctly and you should be fine. but seriously i would skip 10.10.

[saltado]

Open Office V 3.2 that installs with Ubuntu 10.10 allows you to save word processing documents in the docx format

[dh04000]

At this point, I'm just gonna stick with Windows. Once I get to the college (it's a 2-year program located in my town), I'll ask them if they support Linux, and if they do I'll dual-boot. For now though, I'm just gonna set my mind on using Windows and maybe just use Ubuntu on my main computer. Now I just have to shop for a laptop. :P

Thanks guys!



I'm glad that this forum is filled with reasonable people, instead of linux zealots. A linux zealot would have told you to not even consider windows and possibly have issues in college due to proprietary wifi network log-in's and other requirements(my undergraduate school for example). Our little forum's members told ya exactly how it is, and provided you with a educated opinion and information. They lead you down the right path for sure! :)

Great job guys! Go Ubuntu Forums!



PS: I actually suggest Lubuntu for a netbook(That's what I use). All of the goodness of ubuntu, but a lighter package that still is gtk+ compatible(all your favorite gtk+ apps will still work). And if you don't like it, use the software center to revert to normal ubuntu, so nothing to loss by trying it. :)

[earthpigg]

I've been doing fine since I started, having only Ubuntu computers in my home.

google docs as alternative to power point.
a combination of .doc, .pdf and e-mails containing raw text for documents.

i don't bother informing professors or asking permission to use.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

At this point, I'm just gonna stick with Windows. Once I get to the college (it's a 2-year program located in my town), I'll ask them if they support Linux, and if they do I'll dual-boot. For now though, I'm just gonna set my mind on using Windows and maybe just use Ubuntu on my main computer. Now I just have to shop for a laptop. :P

Thanks guys!

That is a reasonable approach.

Does the college say what version of Windows they support? Windows will come pre-installed on the Netbook/Notebook/Laptop; however, most of the new ones have Windows 7 installed. If you need to purchase and install an older version of Windows that doesn't come with the computer, that is an additional cost.

Does the college have a license agreement with Microsoft for student versions of Microsoft Office? That can save a lot of money.

[juancarlospaco]

I used Linux all my life, results...
now im Admin of the University.

[earthpigg]

also, you would walk into the computer stations available for student use on campus.

if they are mostly XP and/or Macs and/or a hodgepodge, then you will almost certainly be fine with ubuntu.

if it's something approaching 100% of them being Windows 7 with Office 2010, then maybe not.

[user1397]

Hey guys,

so this seems like an incredibly silly question, but I need to ask it.

I want to purchase a NetBook (or small laptop) for college this coming fall, and I want to put Ubuntu on it. I'm just wondering if some of the network stuff in colleges won't like that? My older friends in college told me that it shouldn't be a problem unless I need to save in .docx for certain systems (D2l, WPS, etc). Is there any free word processing application for Ubuntu that saves/loads that format (I know OO can read but not write it)? Or will I just have to stick with MS Office on Windows (please God, no!)?

Any and all advice is appreciated!

-CoffeeCoder
Others have said this before in this thread, but here is my opinion anyway.

The 3 things that are the most important to watch out for in regards to linux compatibility on college campuses are:


internet connectivity issues
university online coursework website compatibility
special programs (windows-only)
As far as my experience, I go to the University of Florida, and I have a dell mini netbook running the latest ubuntu which I take regularly to campus.

I have 0 problems with #1 and #2, and I haven't yet run into any problems with regards to #3.

Even though MS office 2007 and 2010 formats (.docx etc) can sometimes be quirky with openoffice/libreoffice, I haven't had any issues mostly due to the fact that I haven't had to open a single document with extremely complicated formatting.

I'm a geography major, and I use a windows only program for my GIS (geographic information systems) class called ArcGIS, but they provide it in the computer lab and they do not even ask to have it installed on your computer anyway, so I don't have an issue with that either.

[Johnsie]

I would do a wubi install. That's what I do on all my netbooks. It's better to have the best of both worlds than to restrict yourself just to one OS.

[3Miro]

I have tried Ubuntu on three campuses in different states, there was no trouble. Ubuntu can open simple docx files, fancy ones can cause some trouble, this depends on exactly what you are doing, my program used LaTeX primarily, which is cross platform. You may run into trouble with special software, however, this is department/program dependent.

[SeijiSensei]

I would do a wubi install. That's what I do on all my netbooks. It's better to have the best of both worlds than to restrict yourself just to one OS.

You're much better off running one OS natively and the other in a VirtualBox VM. Which you choose as the host OS depends on which you're likely to be using the most, and which poses the fewest problems.