So a couple of days ago I decided to check out Ubuntu 10.04, the new release. I’d messed with Ubuntu 8.10 a while back, and had liked it but never really settled on it. Along with my companion in geekyness @SamBlease we both tried it. Sam downloaded the .iso, burned it and then we decided to give it ago. Me being the guy scared of partitions, I went for the Wubi installer - which installs Ubuntu as an application into Windows. It still acts normally, although it is slightly slower (supposedly) and also the Hibernate does not work. No problems for me. Installing with Wubi could not be easier:
- Load Up Windows
- Insert the Disc with the Ubuntu .iso on
- It will ask you to run Wubi.
- Fill out the very simple form that Wubi presents.
- And go! Wubi will do some stuff in Windows, and then reboot your computer before presenting the Ubuntu installation, where it will ask you to select your keyboard layout, timezone, etc.
It’s very clever - it adds Ubuntu to the boot menu, and it all runs normally. Yet if you want to get rid, just go along to the Control Panel in Windows, and uninstall it. No partition messing, no risk of deleting stuff, easy. Alternatively, if you want to install it properly, you’ll need to create a partition, and boot from disc. Probably just as easy if you know what you’re doing but be careful, if you give Ubuntu the wrong partition when you install, it will wipe it, which could mean bye bye to Windows if you’re not careful.
Once installed, it’s really nice. I immediately set about customising the panels, my screen is only 15.4 inch so I didn’t want to have a panel at the top and bottom. I removed the bottom one and then customised the top one so it looks something like this:
I then set about finding a dock. Being a bit of a Mac guy at heart, I wanted one! And I found the perfect one - GNOME-Do. But I’m going to save that for another blog post !
