Ubuntu GNU/Linux has become one of my favorite Open Source operating systems. It is free, easy to install, secure and at the time of this writing has over 29,000 free software packages available which can be easily installed and removed using its GUI software package manager.

If you have some other type of laptop you are advised to check at linux-laptop.net for reports of successful installations of GNU/Linux on it. I would further advise that you should install the distribution of GNU/Linux on your laptop that has the best reports of successful install posted at linux-laptop.net. Another good resource for checking Ubuntu hardware comparability is UbuntuHCL.org. Or the Ubuntu Laptop Testing Team. If one can successfully install older versions of Ubuntu onto a particular laptop then they should see good results installing Ubuntu 10.04.

Step 1: Download the Ubuntu 10.04 installation CD from the Ubuntu 10.04 download page. Visit that page and click “Begin Download”. This will begin the download of a .iso file.

Once the download is complete check the size of the .iso file. If the size of the .iso file is not around 699MB in size it will not work and you will need to use a BitTorrent transfer client to download the file instead.

The latest version of .torrent seed files can be found here. Once the .iso.torrent seed file has downloaded add it to your BitTorrent transmission client and download the .iso with the BitTorrent client. If you don’t already have a BitTorrent client you can get one here. BitTorrent offers more reliable downloads of large files, is sometimes faster and I recommend its use.

Step 2: Once you have obtained a good .iso file you must “burn” the .iso image onto a CD. Simply copying the file to a CD is not sufficient. Instructions on how to burn the .iso image can be found…

• Here if you are using Windows XP/Vista.
• Here if you are using Mac OS.

Step 3: Connect the network port on the computer to your router. Insert the CD created from Step 2 into the CD drive of the computer you wish to install Ubuntu 10.04 onto then restart the machine.

When the machine boots to the install CD one will be presented with a language chooser that allows them to select the language of choice for the install. Choose “English” and press “Enter” on the keyboard. Next the Ubuntu installer will present five options for one to choose from. One may select any option they desire here, however, we will choose the first option “Install Ubuntu” and press “Enter”.

Next one will be presented with another language chooser we will again choose “English” and press the “Enter” key. Next one will be asked to select their location. Select your location and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked if you want to check your key-board layout. Accept the recommendation (ours was “No”) and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked the origin of your keyboard. Here we select “United States” and press “Enter”. Next you are asked to identify the keyboard layout. We will select “USA” and press “Enter”.

After some software loads from the CD you will be asked to select the primary network interface. Select eth0 and press “Enter”. When the network is successfully configured you will be asked to provide a “Hostname”. Choose a hostname for the computer or simply accept the default “ubuntu” and press “Enter”. Next a time zone chooser will appear. Select your time zone and press “Enter”.

Next you will be presented with partition options for the install. We will choose “Guided – use entire disk”, however, one can choose any they wish. Next you will be asked to choose the disk to partition we will choose “SCSIx …” and press “Enter”. You will be asked if the new partition scheme is okay. Select “Yes” and press “Enter”. Now the base system will be installed.

Next one will be asked to enter their full name. Enter your name and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked for a user name that will be your login name. You may accept the recommendation or choose your own but it must be all lower-case. Next you will be asked to choose a password and then reenter the password to confirm it. Do that and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked if you want to have your home directory encrypted. Accept the recommendation and press “Enter”.

Next one will be asked if a network proxy is required. We will leave this blank because I do not use a proxy at my location and press “Enter”.

Next the installer will continue and install the required software. This can take some time.

When the software has been installed one will be asked if this is the only operating system on the computer and if they want to install the GRUB boot loader to the master boot record. If you followed these instructions then it is and you should accept the recommendation of “Yes” and press “Enter”. Next one will be asked if the system clock is set to UTC. Select “Yes” and press “Enter”. After this the installation is complete. One will be asked to remove the CD from the tray and reboot the machine. Do this when asked to. Select “Continue” and press “Enter”.

When the machine reboots to the new Ubuntu installation login to your new account.

After one has joined a WiFi network one can now disconnect the network cable from the computer and the router.

At this point one should follow the instructions here to activate all of the multi-media functions.

Now all the Ubuntu 10.04 software is installed and ready for use and the multi-media functions are enabled.

Ubuntu Studio is the Ubuntu multi-media producer version of Linux. I have found that it works well for audio production. The directions here will install a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) an assortment of software synthesizers and drum machines all of which are open source free software.

If you have some other brand of laptop you are advised to check at linux-laptop.net for reports of successful installations of Linux on it. I would further advise that you should install the distribution of Linux on your laptop that has the best reports of successful install posted at linux-laptop.net. However Ubuntu has an easy, intuitive dual boot option built into its installer. Another good resource for checking Ubuntu hardware comparability is UbuntuHCL.org. Or the Ubuntu Laptop Testing Team. If one can successfully install regular Ubuntu onto a particular laptop then they should see good results installing Ubuntu Studio.

Step 1: Download the Ubuntu Studio installation DVD from the Ubuntu Studio download page. Visit that page, select the appropriate version for your computer and click the “Download” link. This will begin the download of a .iso file.

Once the download is complete check the size of the .iso file. If the size of the .iso file is not around 1.4GB in size it will not work and you will need to use a BitTorrent transfer client to download the file instead.

The latest version of .torrent seed files can be found here. Once the .iso.torrent seed file has downloaded add it to your BitTorrent transmition client and download the .iso with the BitTorrent client. If you don’t already have a BitTorrent client you can get one here. BitTorrent offers more reliable downloads of large files and is sometimes faster.

Step 2: Once you have obtained a good .iso file you must “burn” the .iso image onto a DVD. Simply copying the file to a DVD is not sufficient. Instructions on how to burn the .iso image can be found…

• Here if you are using Windows XP/Vista.
• Here if you are using Mac OS.

Be sure that the machine you use to burn the DVD has DVD-RW capability. The IBM T60 does not.

Step 3: Connect the network port on the computer to your router. Ubuntu Studio 9.10 does not have the wireless stuff included by default. We will install that later. Insert the DVD created from Step 2 into the CD/DVD drive of the laptop you wish to install Ubuntu Studio onto then restart the machine.

When the machine boots to the install DVD one will be presented with a language chooser that allows them to select the language of choice for the install. Choose the language of your choice and press “Enter” on the keyboard. Next the Ubuntu Studio installer will present five options for one to choose from. One may select any option they desire here, however, we will choose the first option “Install Ubuntu Studio” and press “Enter”.

Next one will be presented with another language chooser we will choose “English” and press the “Enter” key. Next one will be asked to select their location. Select your location and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked if you want to check your key-board layout. Accept the recommendation (ours was “No”) and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked the origin of your keyboard. Here we select “United States” and press “Enter”. Next you are asked to identify the keyboard layout. We will select “USA” and press “Enter”.

After some software loads from the DVD you will be asked to select the primary network interface. Select eth0 and press “Enter”. When the network is successfully configured you will be asked to provide a “Hostname”. Choose a hostname for the computer or simply accept the default “ubuntu” and press “Enter”. Next a time zone chooser will appear. Select your time zone and press “Enter”.

Next you will be presented with partition options for the install. We will choose “Guided – use entire disk”, however, one can choose any they wish. Next you will be asked to choose the disk to partition we will choose “SCSI1 …” and press “Enter”. You will be asked if the new partition scheme is okay. Select “Yes” and press “Enter”. Now the base system will be installed.

Next one will be asked to enter their full name. Enter your name and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked for a user name that will be your login name. You may accept the recommendation or choose your own but it must be all lower-case. Next you will be asked to choose a password and then reenter the password to confirm it. Do that and press “Enter”. Next you will be asked if you want to have your home directory encrypted. Accept the recommendation and press “Enter”.

Next one will be asked if a network proxy is required. We will leave this blank because I do not use a proxy at my location and press “Enter”. Next one will be asked to select the software they want to install. We will use the space-bar to select all packages and press “Enter”.

Next the installer will continue and install the software required based on your selections in the last step. This can take some time.

When the software has been installed one will be asked if the clock is set to UTC. Accept the recommendation and press “Enter” after this the installation is complete. One will be asked to remove the DVD from the tray and reboot the machine. Do this now.

When the machine reboots to the new Ubuntu Studio install login to your new account. Click on the Ubuntu Studio icon in the upper left corner of the screen then select System>Administration>Synaptic Packgage Manager. Enter your password and press “Enter”. Click on “Search” and then type “network-manager” into the search input box and press “Enter”. Click on the check-box to the left of “network-manager” in the right-hand column and then select “mark for installation”. Click “Mark” for the additional required changes. Click the “Apply” under the green check mark on the application control panel then click “Apply” in the subsequent “Summary” dialog. When prompted restart the machine do so.

When one logs into their account now the Network Manager icon will appear in the applet panel on the top right of the screen. One can configure the WiFi network adapters after clicking on this icon.

After one has joined a WiFi network the network cable between the computer and the router can be removed.

At this point one should follow the instructions here to activate all of the multi-media functions.

Now all the Ubuntu Studio 9.10 software is installed and ready for use and the multi-media functions are enabled. Of course if one wants to use peripheral devices they will have to configure the relevant applications for them. One can find instructions on how to do this by searching on the web.

This author has been using a ZOOM G2.1u configured with the instructions here as the guitar interface.

Perhaps the most advanced open source guitar effects application is Rakarrack which can be downloaded here then compiled and installed by following the instructions here.