I have been wanting to install Ubuntu on my (old) Dell Inspiron 630m for some time now, so when I saw that Hardy Heron was released last month I downloaded it straight away. I love the idea behind Ubuntu as free and open software. I don’t like Macs because I don’t like to be forced to use certain hardware to run an operating system (OSX).
I burnt the live CD and rebooted my machine and it launched the Ubuntu installer straight away.
The whole process was quick and painless and it gave me plently of options to partition or overwrite Windows completely (which I did).
I am extremely impressed with the compatibility of Ubuntu with my Dell: it’s better than Windows. Without installing any additional drivers everything just worked including:
- Wireless Networking;
- Bluetooth, including the little blue light ;
- Widescreen Resolution (1280 * 800);
- SD card reader;
- USB 2.0 ports;
- Battery management including time left; and
- Sound and volume controls.
The only thing that didn’t work perfectly was sleep/resume when closing and opening the lid. I was very stoked tonight when I downloaded the latest updates because now it works perfectly.
I found it interesting that Firefox 3 Beta 5 was included with Hardy Heron, even though Hardy Heron is a non-beta release. I have been using Firefox 3 under Ubuntu for about a month now and I really like the subtle improvements Mozilla have made.
I love the look and feel of Ubuntu too. It’s not as pretentious as Mac OSX, but more elegant and simple than Windows.
I’m going to try to get Watir or an equivalent running in the next few weeks under Ubuntu. I can either use Wine, or I noticed Celerity which looks promising, otherwise there is FireWatir which might do the trick.
