Closing Windows

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After some faffing about with new hard drives and broken CDs, I finally got Ubuntu working on my laptop this week. I wanted to find out two things. One: could I replace my existing set-up (Windows, Office, Photoshop, etc.) with an entirely free equivalent, without compromising functionality? Two: would it be simple enough for my mum and dad to use it?

The answer to both questions turns out to be "yes", but with quite important caveats.

Installation was an absolute breeze: in less than an hour, I'd swapped over the hard drives, installed the new operating system, copied my old files across and was ripping CDs. The interface is close enough to Windows that the learning-curve is virtually non-existent, and any noticeable differences were often very positive changes. Finding files and changing settings is a far simpler process – not that many things need to be changed, thanks to the simple but comprehensive installer program.

I very rarely use Office documents like spreadsheets and Word documents, so OpenOffice will probably be one of the least-used set of applications. That said, they are a very impressive replacement for the Microsoft equivalent, and had no problems opening and converting the few documents I do have. I could even open, view and edit a PowerPoint presentation that XP and PowerPoint Viewer rejected because it was created with an "old" version. OpenOffice costs nothing; Microsoft Office currently sells for £360. Unbelievable.

The latest version of Photoshop Elements retails for around £70, and benefits from the funding generated by it's big sister, Photoshop 'proper' (which costs considerably more). With this in mind, I was expecting "Gimp" (the free equivalent), to be a bit lame. In fact, it's a more than adequate replacement. It had no problem opening my Photoshop files, and while it took a little bit of time to work out how to use it, the same could be said for any advanced image editor. I'm not too keen on the floatly, detached interface, but I'm sure it's just a case of getting used to it.

So far, so good. But for it to be of any use, I need to have my laptop connected to the internet. This is where Ubuntu came unstuck, but not through any fault of its own. Our set-up at home is notoriously complicated. At present, my laptop is connected to an Orange mobile broadband dongle; the internet connection is shared with the other computers in the house via a point-to-point wireless network. Even when everyone was using Windows XP, this was a nightmare to set up. Correct operation relies on a delicate balance of IP addresses, MTU values, gateways, and patience.

Because hardly anyone considers Linux when making software, this set-up wouldn't work with my laptop running Ubuntu: the Orange modem just wouldn't be recognised. So, I tried reversing the network set-up, by turning another laptop into the "master" for mine to connect to. Unfortunately, despite many a web search, IP address change and "Arrrgh!" of frustration, I couldn't get online. The best I could do was access Google websites and nothing more. Clearly, this wouldn't be sufficient.

The solution would be to connect to a "regular" WiFi connection – a proper one with a router and everything – but there's a surprising and woeful absence of free WiFi hotspots in Sheffield city centre. A few cafes and bars offer it, but they're either too expensive for me to have a drink in (let alone a meal) or were rammed full of screaming kids and their parents (it must be the summer holidays). There isn't even one at the Library.

Which means that, sadly, I'm back using Windows again. At least until I can get to somewhere with proper (and hopefully, unlimited) internet access. Ubuntu is great, but it needs the internet before it can access the internet. Which could be a problem.

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