You have received a copy of Ubuntu. This is a version of Linux that fits onto a single CD-ROM, and boots the computer and runs without installation. It is not "normal" or "standard" that Linux would run from a CD. Normally it should be installed like Windows, on a hard-disk.
To boot successfully, you need to insert the CD before starting the computer. That's a bit tricky. You probably need to let the computer boot u p normally, then insert the CD, and then reboot.
Now Ubuntu will start, and you will see a boot menu. Select the top item and press [Enter].
The teacher will explain a few other things. Then you should try to answer all the following questions. Take notes!
(1) UI (User Interface) - Find one similarity and one significant difference between Windows and Linux.
(2) Find out where you can change the screen resolution. Is this done in a similar way to Windows, or differently? Can you change the background picture?
(3) What do you need to do to get a connection to the Internet? Why? Why is this not necessary in Windows?
(4) Find out how to change screen saver.
(5) What useful applications are available? Are these part of the operating system, or are they extra applications?
(6) How can you access the D: drive?
(7) Can you open a Microsoft word document? Edit an HTML file? Can you save the results?
(8) Do Windows applications run under Linux? For example, try running WebBuilder.
(9) Can you download pictures from the Internet?
(10) Find out how to download another game or other Linux software.
(11) Find out which Ubuntu game is the best.
That was enough experimentation for one day. For homework, read the following.
FREE = Good
Linux is free? Yes, it is. It began as a student project by Linus
Torwald. He wrote the kernel - the most basic part that runs
in an infinite loop, processing commands (it's a bit more complicated
than that). To become a "full-fledged" OS (operating
system) it needed more stuff - drivers, utilities, etc.
So he released his work to the Open Source software
community - that's lots of programmers who share their work between
themselves and with other people. Then lots of programmers started
expanding it by adding modules, and pretty quickly (say 5
years) it was a usable operating system. Since nobody "owns"
the software, and nobody paid for the development, it is now FREE.
You can download Ubuntu free from the web-site –
http://www.ubuntu.com
But it
is a REAL BIG DOWNLOAD – 700 MegaBytes.
Some Linux distributions can be purchased for 50-100 dollars. The companies producing these "distros" are not charging for the software – that would be illegal. Rather they charge for the work they do collecting applications, packaging the whole mess, and then providing support. If you purchase one of these commercial distributions, you may install it on any number of computers and have it used by any number of users with no further licensing costs. That makes it attractive for large organizations with hundreds or thousands of users. If you don't want to spend any money at all, just download a free copy – but then you won't get any support.
Read an interview with Richard Stallman – founder of the GNU Open Source (free) Software Foundation : http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19981009S0019
USABLE? = Bad?
Linux made a big hit as a Server Operating System. For example, Apache Web Server runs the majority of web-servers, and it runs under Linux. It was only many years later that Linux received a nice GUI (Graphical User Interface) on top of the basic OS – that made it possible to use it easily “on the desktop” (your PC). Over the past few years developers have worked hard to refine the GUI to make it very similar to Windows. They didn't copy Windows because it is "good" - no, they copied it because that's what desktop users WANT! They know Windows, they know when to right click or double-click. If Linux wants to have a chance as a desktop OS, it needs to be USABLE. That means the users can get their work done efficiently and easily, without needing to learn too many new things. So the developers copied Windows' look and feel.
Was that enough? Well, it helps a lot. But some basic things are still difficult. Installing software in Linux is still unpredictable - there are several different "standards" for installation, and they are generally more complex and require more decisions than Windows. Another persistent problem is drivers for peripheral devices. These are little service programs that make the devices work correctly. These are often supplied by the hardware manufacturer. Unless there is a big demand, they are not going to spend money to write a new driver for a new OS. They will always supply a Windows driver, as Windows has 90% of the desktop market share. They might supply Macintosh. But Linux only has a small market share, so the demand isn't really sufficient.
Compatible = Maybe ! ? *
Compatible means you can do the same thing as another system. Can you look at the same web-pages? Can you edit the same documents? Can you play the same games?
Windows software (.exe files) do NOT run under Linux. There are some emulators that will run some programs, but certainly not all, and for the most part not big applications like MS Office. In the case of MS Office, there is a good substitute in the form of Open Office. It does quite a good job opening MS Word documents and allowing them to be edited. Sometimes the formatting is a bit off, but usually it is good enough.
Some applications are available in both Windows and Linux versions. An example is Mozilla Firefox - a web-browser. This requires two different executable versions to be produced for the two operating systems, but in this case they both do pretty much the same thing. This is called a cross-platform application.
As long as you stick to standard file formats (.html, .jpeg, .mp3, etc), you can probably use a Linux application instead of a Windows application. GIMP is a graphics editor that can do similar things to Photoshop. Both of them can edit lots of standard graphics formats, so you can edit your digital photos in Linux just as well as doing it in Windows.
But will your digital camera deliver it's photos to a Linux program? Probably, as long as it connects through a standard interface - e.g. a USB port.
Can a Linux PC log-in to a Windows network and use the servers? Sometimes.
As interfaces and file formats and communication protocols become more and more standardized, there are fewer and fewer problems using Linux instead of Windows. But it still has not become a big success on the desktop. Estimates vary from 2% to 5% of desktop PCs running Linux. It has a long way to go before Microsoft has problems – but you can read more here http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2217087,00.asp or here http://desktoplinux.com/news/NS4756599078.html to see that things are changing.
COMPARING WINDOWS AND LINUX
Here are a few web-sites that explain the significant differences and similarities between Windows and Linux.
http://www.propeller.com/viewstory/2007/12/02/ubuntu-linux-vs-windows-vista-the-desktop-battle - installing and using Ubuntu vs Windows
http://www.linuxnetmag.com/en/issue9/m9winlincomp1.html - an opinion
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/APIWar.html - a Blog
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199201179 - lots of facts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Windows_and_Linux - way too much information (don't read the whole thing)