Diving Below the Surface

This is Part 5 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.
 
I had a couple of reasons for installing a full-blown copy of Linux to a USB drive. Though Linux Live was a great introduction, I wanted to learn more. But there wasn't much point in changing my wallpaper, installing printers, or trying out programs if I lost my changes every time I shut down. After installing a full-blown copy of Linux to USB2, I started playing with minor customizations that your typical user would do... new wallpaper, changing display resolution, downloading OS updates, installing peripherals, and downloading and installing software.

Changing wallpaper and display resolution was a breeze. This was easily changed in the System Settings applet, which is similar to the Control Panel in Windows. Downloading updates was also simple. Update Manager periodically calls home (for lack of a better term) and lets you know that updates are available. You, as the end user, can choose which updates to install, and when to do so. This is similar to Windows Update. I had to do a bit of hunting and pecking in order to customize default fonts (I think that the default Ubuntu font is a bit too blocky), but once I found the location, it was relatively easy to change. By the way, I'm not going to tell you how to make every little tweak that I made. This isn't a how-to, it's a discussion of my overall experience.

I'm also a fan of the Ubuntu Software Center. The Software Center is essentially a central repository and clearing house for Ubuntu applications. If you have an android phone, the Software Center is similar to the Android Play Store. The Software Center can tell you what's installed on your computer, or you can browse the store to find new and interesting software to download. You can search by name, or you can search by category. Each application has a five-star rating, so you can get an idea of its functionality, popularity, strengths and weaknesses, and so forth before you even download the software.

My absolute biggest complaint about the customization process was installing my printer. I have a Brother MFC-J415W, and I just could not get that printer to install properly. I spent WEEKS trying to get the printer to install, and it never worked properly. I searched the Internet for hints and tips, and downloaded countless drivers; I tried connecting over the network, and directly via USB, but it just wouldn't print. I did try two other printers, one was another Brother, and the other was an older HP printer... those printers installed and functioned flawlessly. Eventually, I was able to find a workaround... I shared my Brother printer from my Windows computer, and Linux was able to print to the shared printer. This was my first, and still is my biggest complaint about Ubuntu. If Linux Lovers want their beloved OS to truly go mainstream and eradicate Microsoft, then they will need widespread, virtually flawless support for just about every device out there. By the way, I've never seen a list of supported hardware. Being open-sourced, this kind of makes sense, but it would be good if the OS could give us some basic idea of hardware that can be reasonably expected to work with a given install.
 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