A Different Animal

This is Part 6 of a ten-part review of Ubuntu Linux.  The series is designed to give you a rough idea what it's like to try Linux.  It's not a how-to, and it's not a blow-by-blow recount of my experience.  For your convenience, links for each part of this series are located at the end of the article.

When I first started writing this review, I mentioned that Microsoft and I go way back. My very first computer was a 286. I really started playing with computers in 1994, and I got my first IT job in 1997. Virtually all of my PC/server experience though, is Microsoft-based. With that said, I am not a Microsoft fanboy who believes that Redmond can do no wrong. In fact, I'm more than willing to concede areas where Microsoft could improve. My primary reason for saying all of this is to let everyone know that I know Microsoft, and I'm comfortable with Microsoft, so I will use Windows as a frame of reference. This should also help most of you reading this. After all, Microsoft rules the roost, so statistically speaking, you're reading this from a Windows computer. And if you're reading this with the idea of trying Linux out, then you too are probably familiar with Windows, so it's reasonable to use Windows as a frame of reference. Don't, however, consider this as a head to head comparison between the two platforms. That wouldn't be fair, because...

Windows and Linux are different animals. To give you an idea how different, when I wanted to find out my IP information, I opened a command console (called Terminal in Linux) and typed IPCONFIG... only to learn that the Unix-based Linux command is IFCONFIG, which doesn't tell me the default gateway... for that I had to type ROUTE. Another way that Linux differs significantly from Windows is how the OS thinks of disk drives. Windows thinks of each partition on each disk as a drive letter. Linux refers to them as volumes. This means that you won't have a D drive every time you launch Linux. It also means that you're not stuck using D for the same drive each time you start the computer. An optimist would think of the Windows method as “consistent.” The same optimist would see the additional flexibility that Linux offers.

Realistically speaking, someone trying Linux will at one point or another want (or need) to access files located on a Windows machine, across the network. In order to make this happen on Vista or Windows 7 machines, you will need to enable the Computer Browser service on the Windows machine, or Linux won't be able to mount the share volume.

By now, you should see that that Linux and Windows are different creatures. You need to be prepared to spend significantly longer finding the answer to something you could solve in seconds if you're a proficient Windows user. It can be frustrating at times, but if you like to tinker, it's kind of rewarding too. Don't let the differences stop you.

Part I, The Grand Experiment

Part II, So Many Flavors

Part III, I'm Kind of Slow to Commit

Part IV,  ASmall, Short-Term Commitment

Part V, Diving Below the Surface

Part VI, A Different Animal

Part VII, Okay, It's Pretty, but What Can it Do?

Part VIII, Okay, I'm Committed, But It's Not all Puppies and Rainbows

Part IX, Unity

Part X, Parting Words