I was at the launch of the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, v 7.04, at the St-Sulpice on St-Denis. Ubuntu Linux is an open-source and free operating system, a GNU/Linux distribution.
Fabià n Rodriguez from Canonical provided us with DVDs and CDs of Ubuntu Linux 7.04. Etienne was another colleague from Canonical I met and talked to. I asked him about the opportunities of working for Canonical.
I first tried a 32-bit version Live CD on my laptop and it worked first time. A Live CD does not need installation so you can give the OS a try before installing it. I have used Kubuntu before and I like KDE so I was expecting to be disappointed with the default Gnome desktop, but was I surprised. Gnome has really come a long way. It felt good. Fabià n said that on install I could still try Kubuntu – it’s all on the DVD. He also gave me a 64-bit version of Ubuntu and I’ve tried it and it’s really blazing fast on my AMD Turion 64 x2. There was no glitch whatsoever.
My favorite browser, Firefox is already available by default. OpenOffice 2.2 is there too. As for email, the default is Evolution Mail whereas I use Mozilla’s fantastically stable Thunderbird (try the latest one, it’s faster).
It was great to see Luis again whom I had met before at the MLUG, and we talked quite a lot about open source software like tinyERP and Ubuntu. Luis knows his way around Linux. He showed me the ruggedest laptop ever – isn’t it, Luis?
We had free wi-fi from the excellent île-sans-fil project. It worked really well. Luis’s connection seemed stronger. He explained that there was some kind on antenna on the side of his screen, which made me think of hacking my wireless card with some wire extension and do the same. We laughed a lot about how solid his laptop was – it’s like concrete – it’s got a metal screen shield, some super screen antenna, polymer gels for protecting the HDD from shocks and vibrations and probably some kind of nuclear power.
I couldn’t try the Desktop effects because I needed special drivers for my ATI video chipset, but Luis’s nuclear bunker of a laptop worked straight away. He was taunting me with it.
I probably told Luis “I’m so happy this works” about a thousand times because that’s how I felt seeing the Live CD Ubuntu Linux on my laptop. Last time I tried I think I had a badly burnt DVD image so I was stuck at the boot screen. This time…perfection.
So I’d like to extend my thanks to:
Fabià n Rodriguez – thanks a million Fabià n – you’re great. Etienne and other Canonical employees present today. FACiL and the Quebec Ubuntu Local Community team.
Michael Lenczner and all the île-sans-fil team and volunteers who are working hard and doing a tremendous job at bringing free high-quality wi-fi hotspots throughout Montreal.
All the other people present and who took some time to chat, Cyril, Franco, Hans, the three Vincents, etc…
Linus Torvalds, Eric Stallman, Eric Raymond, Bruce Perens, the Debian people and all other volunteers and contributors.
The whole of the Ubuntu community, as well as Canonical.
And last but not least:
A huge thank you to you, Mr. Mark Shuttleworth. You are a true genius and benefactor to ship Ubuntu freely around the world and give free support in the spirit of the African Ubuntu ideology.
Fantasties – Dankie!
