Quick Guide to Switching to Ubuntu
I was one of the first engineers at work to switch from DOS to a Mac, way back in 1984. I also began using Windows 1.0 just over a year later, though I didn't fully transition until Windows 3.0. So it's a little embarrassing that I didn't begin using Linux until 2000, a good 9 years after its initial release.
What took me so long? Well, Linux represented a strange new world, where technology wasn't owned and marketed by a *company* but rather created and distributed for free by a loose confederation of geeks. Thus, it was a little, well, unpolished. Over my 9 years of using various Linux products, however, that polished feel has crept into Linux bit by bit until, in my opinion, it now compares very favorably with Windows and Mac OS/X.
I recently read a blog entry by Jackson Chung titled “A Windows User's Quick Switching to Mac Guide”, and realized just how far Linux, and in particular the Ubuntu product that is based on Linux, has come in terms of usability. Let's consider the categories that Mr. Chung (who has no apparent interest in Linux) chose to highlight for transitioning Windows users, as they compare to Ubuntu. (Note: I mention Windows 7 a bit, but stick mostly to Windows XP, as that appears to be Mr. Chung's Windows of choice.)
Installing Apps
Installing a new application in Windows usually means buying a DVD from a store or searching the web for a download file. Running setup.exe from the DVD or download by double-clicking it typically leads you through a “wizard”, answering several screens of questions, until an Install button appears. Click it, wait a bit, and you're done.
Installing a new application on a Mac involves acquiring a DMG file from a store or an Internet search. Double-clicking the DMG file “mounts” it, displaying its contents. Dragging the app's icon to the Applications folder completes the install. Unmount the DMG by dragging it to the Trash, and you're done.
In Ubuntu, click Applications → Ubuntu Software Center, click the application of interest, select Install, and you're done.
My Opinion: I find the Ubuntu approach to be more intuitive and modern than Windows or Mac, in fact very similar to using Apple's App Store for the iPhone. I especially appreciate the program descriptions and screenshots for many of the Center's available applications. Ubuntu also uses the same consistent mechanism for providing critical updates, where applications on Windows and Mac must implement their own update strategies (and many don't).
Uninstalling Apps
In Windows, go to Control Panel → Add or Remove Programs, find the application in the list, and select Uninstall.
On a Mac, simply drag the app's icon from the Applications folder to the Trash.
In Ubuntu, open the Ubuntu Software Center again, select the application (most conveniently by selecting from the Installed Software list), and select Remove.
My Opinion: The Mac and Ubuntu both win here in my book, because they are consistent with how the application was installed in the first place.
Tweak Settings
In Windows, open Control Panel for the applets to change any setting you like.
On a Mac, select the Apple menu (upper right of the desktop) and select System Preferences.
In Ubuntu, select System → Preferences.
My Opinion: I honestly see little difference between these approaches, nor do I see a way to make them much easier.
Exploring for Files
In Windows, you normally browse the file system by double-clicking My Documents (or My Computer) on the desktop.
On a Mac, click the smiley face on the Dock to open Finder.
On Ubuntu, the Places menu directly lists everything that Windows Explorer and Mac Finder keep in the sidebar (which Nautilus, the file browser, also supports), but without opening a separate program.
My Opinion: Ubuntu is slightly more direct here, but you won't be challenged at finding files on any of the three operating systems.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows shortcuts consist of a combination of Control, Alt, Shift and a letter or function key. They are fairly consistent across most programs – for example, F1 gets you help, F5 refreshes the application's display, Control C or X or V copies, cuts and pastes whatever is selected, and so on.
The Mac replaces Control with the clover-themed Command button, again in combination with Shift and (in place of Alt) Option. Some of these are similar to Windows, but many are quite different and require some finger training to adopt.
Ubuntu generally uses the same shortcuts as Windows. In addition, the Super key (which sports an Ubuntu logo on pre-loaded computers and a Windows logo on most others) can be used for Compiz shortcuts (to paint fire on the screen, to dynamically zoom in and out using the mouse scroll wheel, to rotate the “cube” of desktops, and many other highly fun and sometimes useful actions).
My Opinion: Shortcuts are most useful when you know them. Switching between Ubuntu and Windows thus offers some advantage over switching between either and the Mac, but functionally they all work similarly.
Launching Applications
To launch an application in Windows, you can always click Start → All Programs → [vendor] → application name. More commonly, you place a copy of the icon on the quick launch bar and launch by clicking it. Adding the app to the quick launch bar in Windows XP is a bit unintuitive, though. Right-click All Programs and select Open, find the icon, and drag with the right mouse button to the task bar (using the left mouse button removes it from the Start menu). Then select Copy from the resulting menu. (Windows 7 drops the quick launch bar in favor of a more souped up Dock-like integrated task bar, which is very nice indeed.)
On a Mac, you can always open the Applications folder and double-click the application of interest. More commonly, you place a copy of the icon on the Dock by simply dragging it there from the Applications folder. The dock acts as an integrated quick launch bar / task bar, which is quite convenient. The bouncing icons when attention is required is amusing, too.
On Ubuntu, you can always click Applications → [Category] → application name. More commonly, you place a copy of the icon on the panel (sort of a super-quick launch bar) by right-clicking it in the menu and selecting “Add this launcher to panel”.
My Opinion: The Mac's Dock and Windows 7 task bar are certainly snazzier that the XP quick launch bar or Ubuntu panel, but functionally all four are equivalent for launching an app. Ubuntu and XP are a bit behind the times with separate launcher and task manager panels, though.
Dealing with Unresponsive Apps
In Windows, the ubiquitous hourglass cursor is the most obvious clue to an unresponsive app. The most direct path to killing it is to right-click the task bar entry and select Close, or click the Close button on the app's window. Oddly, Mr. Chung only mentions selecting Control-Alt-Delete to invoke the Task Manager, where apps are listed as “Running” or “Not Responding” with an associated “End Task” button.
On a Mac, right-clicking the app's icon on the Dock and selecting “Force Quit” in the resulting menu will kill the application.
In Ubuntu, unresponsive applications are immediately apparent, as the window visibly darkens. Simply click the close button and acknowledge the prompt to kill the app, or right-click the task bar entry and select Close. (Control-Alt-Delete brings up the Shut Down menu in Ubuntu, not a Task Manager.)
My Opinion: Ubuntu's darkened windows are the best way to highlight an unresponsive app, but all three operating systems approach killing apps in similar ways.
System Maintenance
Mr. Chung's blog spoke only of disk fragmentation here, which is a pretty small subset of system maintenance considerations. However, I'll stick to his definition.
In Windows, disk fragmentation is a significant issue that is dealt with using a separate program called Disk Defragmenter (from Start → All Programs → Accessories → System Tools → Disk Defragmenter).
Mac's have fewer problems with file systems, but still provides a Disk Utility when some work is required.
Ubuntu provides a marvelously comprehensive tool at System → Administration → Disk Utility (the formal name is Palimpsest, if you look in Help → About). Edit → Check File System is the rough equivalent to the Disk Defragmenter, but it's capabilities go far beyond basic disk repair. It's worth the price of admission.
My Opinion: Window's Disk Defragmenter is surprisingly well hidden. Disk Utility is much easier to find in Ubuntu or on a Mac, even though needed less often on those platforms. Ubuntu's Disk Utility is the most capable of the three.
I have nothing against Windows or Mac OS/X - they both work well for general purpose computing, as long as you are comfortable with the lack of freedom that comes with proprietary systems. I'm quite pleased, though, at the progress Linux products like Ubuntu have made toward providing a powerful and enjoyable platform for those of us who place liberty at the top of our requirements sheet.
