Re: [tlug] Need purchasing advice for a linux compatible desktop

[Dave M G <martin@example.com>]

Joseph,

Hello. I recently bought a computer, just a couple of weeks ago, and
installed Ubuntu on it, so I went through some of the same
considerations as you. I'm also basically just a user who aspires to use
Ubuntu for a combination of web design and general home purposes like
playing music and watching DVDs and so on. So maybe my perspective is
something similar to yours.

Hopefully my advice can help. Note that my comments are almost entirely
about using Ubuntu. I'm sure you can sort out the Windows stuff.
> Here's what I need to do with it:
> 1. Run Ubuntu and Debian on it.
> 2. Be able to use almost all the hardware
There is no doubt Ubuntu and Debian will install on any computer. But
saying "use all the hardware" has more depth to the issue. A lot of
hardware is supported, but actually getting it to work is a different
matter. For example, you could say that Wacom tablets are supported. In
fact, they're supposed to be natively supported and "just work" in
Ubuntu Dapper. But in my case, it took months of struggle before the
drivers finally worked out. I guess I would advise caution in that being
supported and working right away without any struggle are different things.
> 3. Be able to play DVDs (In either GNU/Linux or Windows)
> 4. Be able to burn CDs
These should be no problem. There are literally dozens of applications
for these tasks, and hardware support in this area is very good.

> 5. Be able to use an iPod with it
As others have commented, an iPod will show up as a storage device when
plugged in. Whether or not applications will transfer tunes, and
maintain playlists and things like that is really up to individual
applications. I use Amarok, which comes with a plugin for iPod support.
It probably gives most of the features you get with your iTunes
software. But you should be prepared for one or two features you might
like not being available until the next revision.
> 6. Have working speakers, but minimally adequate speakers (=sound
> comes out of them) would be fine
> 7. Have a large screen, roughly 17 to 19 inches wide
These should be no trouble. On the Ubuntu mailing list, I have seen a
lot of talk suggesting that sound support may be flakey, and some people
have troubles. I use a USB Kenwood stereo, and it works fine, which kind
of surprised me because I thought it was an obscure and most likely
unsupported piece of hardware.

Overall, you shouldn't have trouble getting speakers and monitors to
work. But you should be prepared for some funkiness with small sound
details. For example, it seems to be a common issue that Flash files
played within FireFox don't produce any sound. It can be fixed, but it's
the kind of problem you might encounter. Or another trouble people
report often is that if you have two different sound devices, like one
sound card and one external device, Ubuntu/Linux seems to have trouble
picking which one to use at any one time.

> Here are some other things I'd like to be able to do (my wish list)
> 1. Use my printer with it (Canon Pixux iP4100). I'm guessing that has
> little to do with the computer and only to do with the OS, but I'll
> put this here anyway since printing can be done with my wife's Windows
> laptop.
I have a Canon Pixus iP3100, which worked beautifully on my old
computer. Installed without a hassle. Then I upgraded, and now I can't
get it to print with my new computer. Both running Ubuntu. In any case,
you should see this web site:
http://www.techbuilder.org/recipes/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=167600449&printableArticle=true
> 2. Be able to burn DVDs
Burning data DVDs is no problem. A program like K3B will do it without
blinking. But burning video DVDs that you can play in a standalone DVD
player requires a little experimentation, dealing with formats and
encodings, and the like. But, this is one thing that I can say is no
worse than Windows. I tried a long time to burn DVDs in Windows using
various programs, but never settled on a system that reliably worked
every time.

> 3. Have a dual boot setup with GNU/Linux on one partition and Windows
> (any version from Windows 2000 or later) on another
Definitely possible, and I do it. One piece of advice I got consistently
is that it's easier in the long run to install Windows first and Linux
second. The reason being that Windows, if installed second, will
generally consider itself the only OS and very likely over write and
multiple boot options that Linux had set. By installing Linux second, it
generally plays nice and puts in GRUB, the thing that gives you the
option of which OS to boot up when you start your computer.

> 4. Do some simple photo editing, nothing fancy; and instant response
> is not necessary
I use GIMP for this. I'm a professional PhotoShop user, and I find GIMP
just fine for simple photo editing tasks. It's actually quite robust.
But, when it comes to printing, GIMP does not have CMYK support, so if
you want to create print quality images, you may find it limiting. If
you just want to edit pics for sharing or viewing on the computer or
web, GIMP is well more than you need.

> 5. A keyboard that is easy on fingers that do a lot of typing
I went to User's Side, who have locations in Ebisu and Akihabara, to get
an ergonomic English keyboard. The kind where the keys are separated in
the middle and angled to match your hand positions. Very nice. Keyboard
compatibility is not even an issue with Ubuntu/Linux, unless the
keyboard comes with all sorts of weird non-standard things like volume
control and stuff. Then it's hit and miss. My keyboard comes with a
power button on the keyboard, and Ubuntu responds to it. But I think I
just got lucky on that one.

Despite the amount of Japanese typing I do, I got an English keyboard
because I hate the tiny little space bars you get on Japanese keyboards.
I'm always accidentally hitting the input switcher keys. But if you
don't mind a Japanese keyboard, the new, huge, Yodobashi Camera in
Akihabara has a long wall full of various keyboards, of all shape and
dimension.


As for where and how to buy your box, I did a lot of looking around and
decided that primepc.jp was very price competitive, and although they
don't ship computers pre-installed with Linux (so far as I know), they
do ship computers without Windows installed, which can save some money.
I think they are cheaper than dell, and offer more variety.

I found that walking around and looking at most computer set ups inside
computer stores was dizzying and headache inducing. Not only that, but
the option sets are much less flexible when selecting from a set offered
in a store. I much preferred a web interface to play with specifications
and see how price was affected.

But... here's the thing that was a real winning move in my book. Primepc
is actually just the English arm of the Japanese company Dospara. What I
did, by accidental discovery, was get a basic set up that I was happy
with on the web, then took the specifications down to the Dospara shop
in Akihabara, and then did a little extra configuring with the help of
the clerk. There are more options you can work with that they don't make
clear on the web.

Also, down at the shop they have ready to go computers on special, that
they are actually willing to configure a little for you. So I found a
computer that was almost exactly like what I had configured on the web,
with the added bonus of being a "silent" model, and had a couple other
neat points. And the price was a couple thousand yen better than what I
was looking at on the web. The one thing that needed upgrading was the
amount of RAM, which they did for me. Then I bought a video card
separately, because it seemed cheaper than the prices I saw on the web.
I highly recommend going about it this way.

I hope some of this information helps.

--
Dave M G