Jagannath

Ubuntu is an operating system consisting of free and open source software. Today I received the ubuntu 6.06 LTS CDs package (8 PC, 1 Mac, 1 64-bit PC copies) through courier. After registering in the http://shipit.ubuntu.com website around the month of June of this year, I almost forgot about the CDs. Ordering is free. Even shipping charges are also not collected.

As my HDD partitions are NTFS and there was not much space in my 10 GB HDD, I tried the Live CD Option. Installation was just a breeze and within minutes ubuntu gnome desktop was in my screen. I didn’t know using Linux would become this easier. I last used the Mandrake Linux distribution some 3 years back and discarded it as my obsession for Windows XP became more.

But I also experienced some problems with installing my serial mouse which has become a ‘legacy device’ according to the community. Some how I managed to find among the ubuntu community forums as to how to install my serial mouse which has been overlooked by the auto-detect of ubuntu installation.

If you are also bugged by this same problem just do the following stuff and you’ll get your serial mouse up and running in ubuntu:

1) While you are in the gnome desktop, press ctrl+alt+F1 key combination to bring the console.
2) The $ prompt will come. If you had installed ubuntu in your HDD you have to logon with administrator rights. Type the foll.
$ sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf
Scroll till you find ‘Section “Configured Mouse”
and find these two lines:
Option “Device” “/dev/input/mice”
Option “Protocol” “Explorer PS/2″
and change them to the foll:
Option “Device” “/dev/ttyS0″
Option “Protocol” “Microsoft”

and don’t forget to save (ctrl+O)

3) press ctrl+alt+backspace key combination to restart the X-Windows UI gnome desktop.
4) and voila!! the mouse works.

and speaking about ubuntu…. the interface is gr8 and you have most of the applications that you’ll be needing and the good news is all of them are free+open source like Firefox, Thunderbird, GIMP, Nautilus…..etc.,

But still Windows is more intuitive to use and nothing can beat its Universal compatibility. Who knows Linux might takeover and pigs might fly in the sky….. he he.