11th
Jul
Posted by Mad Francis in Geek
Today marks the fourth day that I’ve been using Ubuntu 8.04 as my primary operating system. Overall I’d say that things are going smoothly but there are a few issues that I’ve run into.
Conflict #1
Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to get Ubuntu to utilize my dual display configuration that I was using in Windows XP. I’m using a DVI+VGA setup. From what I’ve gathered in the Ubuntu Forums, Linux seems to favor DVI+DVI and VGA+VGA but doesn’t take kindly to mix and match systems. Although I was able to recognize and configure both monitors in ’sudo nvidia-settings’, they still refused to cooperate with each other in ‘twinview’.
Conflict #2
Battle.net! I don’t consider myself to be a hardcore computer gamer but I do enjoy playing StarCraft. Using Wine I was able to install StarCraft without a problem and everyhing seemed well. It wasn’t. When I went online to play with a buddy of mine I ran into a number of issues regarding menus overlapping each other to the point that my screen looked possessed. I consulted the ubuntu forums to find a cure but was left empty-handed. It appears that there’s a bug in wine that causes this problem. I couldn’t find any solutions in the forums to remedy this issue. SUCK! So now I can play StarCraft on my computer but not online. This is only a minor problem but it still proves to be an annoyance.
So far these are the only two conflicts that I’ve had in Ubuntu. Aside from actual conflicts, I have found myself missing the programs that I’ve grown to love. I miss DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink as well as others. I’m sure there are similar programs out there for linux but I’ve yet to find them.
So what’s my solution?….
When it comes to computers I like to think ahead before doing anything. When I installed Ubuntu I made sure to do so using a swappable hard drive bay. I’m going to order an additional 80GB Sata HDD along with an additional swappable drawer enclosure and fit it with a clean install of Windows XP. This way I’ll have the best of both worlds. My machine will be configured to either OS depending on which drawer is inserted.
I guess I could have installed windows in a dual boot fashion but I like the idea of keeping the different operating systems on separate drives. I might just break down and go to Best Buy so I can get everything up and running over the weekend. Who knows. Maybe a trip to Fry’s Electronics is in order?
