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I’ve dual booted Linux and Windows in the past. Each install had its own set of issues, yet with each experience I learned a smidgen more about the OS. That, and I learned to appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of both operating systems.

In the past, I’ve been reluctant to make the switch completely because I was still playing PC games. However, after moving on from the CS and Half-Life past, I’ve now moved back to the console. So, my computer is mostly used for communication-based needs. So then, why don’t I make the switch to Linux? Well, for the most part, I don’t mind the Vista experience. In the past, installing and setting up a Linux distribution has been a pain in the butt for me. I don’t mind tweaking some settings and changing some things here and there, but it was just plain annoying for me to have to scour forums and help guides for the answer to my problem.

As in all development cycles, things generally progress and in turn become more stable, user-friendly, and generally easier to use. Some might argue that this has been the case with Linux and seems to be fairly evident in my own experience. This past install went flawlessly. In fact, I downloaded the .iso and burnt it to DVD rather fast, popped the disc in and started to install. In a matter of minutes, I was up and running on a fresh install of Kubuntu (I’m more of a fan of KDE). Next on the list I had to download updates, make sure I had all the development tools and libraries I needed (in this case, glut library for OpenGL). After toying around with some settings and figuring out the Nvidia drivers, I finally set to writing some OpenGL code.

So, all in all, I’m pretty pleased with how its going. Granted, its only been two days since the dual-boot, but hey, nothing has gone wrong yet. Oh, and if you’re wondering what my default OS is, it’s Vista.

Being a computer science major, you’d think that I would have been already running an alternative operating system. Well, sorry to say, but nope. I actually enjoy my Windows XP system. It does what I need and want. Plays games, surfs the web, easily plays music and movies, and allows for easy configuring of my website and various other projects.

But, now that I’m in a programming languages course this semester, I figured I should just bite the bullet and dive into the realm of Linux once more. I’ve actually been trying to install Ubuntu on and off for about a month or longer now. I finally got it to work last night by unplugging one of my Hard Drives. I guess Ubuntu doesn’t like how my computer was built—one SATA drive and an older ATA100 drive. So I finished installing linux and updated as much as I could, installed some extra things and had to play around with some files to get it the way I wanted.

All in all, I’ve had easier installations before. My previous experience with SuSE was nice, except for the fact that my mouse didn’t work the way I had wanted it. That is something I still have to address with Ubuntu, but for right now, I can manage. I was worried that Ubuntu wasn’t going to be able to display in 1680×1050 widescreen resolution, but it did after some editing. Anyways, I’m pleased with the install. I am some what feeling so-so about having to unplug a drive in order to install, but I might be able to get over that.

So, what am I going to be doing with this new operating system? Well, I’ll be programming of course! During the winter months, its hard to motivate myself to get up, walk across campus and climb three flights of stairs to get to Calvin’s Unix lab. With Ubuntu now in my dorm room, I can program here and get some extra work out of the way. I will now also be able to start reading my Programming Ruby book and do some of the examples in it.

So thats my initial experience.  I’m sure there will be more quirks and problems to come.  I’m actually expecting that although not really looking forward to that.  Theres much work to be done!