Migrating from WinXP Pro to Ubuntu 10.10

[Alan Pope]

On 15 October 2010 17:48, Richard Owlett <rowlett at pcnetinc.com> wrote:
> I have Ubuntu 10.10 up and running in test mode from a USB drive.
>

Hurrah! Welcome.

> Can I have a pruned configuration be my typical boot?
>

You can do an installation and then add and remove the packages you
feel you do/don't want. This will become your 'pruned' desktop
configuration. You can also personalise other aspects of your setup
such as the look and feel and defaut applications which startup when
you logon. Hope I have understood the question correctly. If not,
please say.

> Can I modify anything on the test configuration?

Yes and no. It depends how you created the test configuration.

For example, if you boot from an Ubuntu CD (or indeed USB key created
using unetbootin) you could then insert a blank USB key (or a second
one if you're booted off of one USB key) and run the installer,
installing _onto_ the second key. Doing this will give you a fully
installed Ubuntu environment on that target key. You can then
add/remove packages and personalise as if it were installed on a
typical hard disk.

> Can I install to the USB drive *WITHOUT* writing ANYTHING to the
> hard-drive?

Yup. That's what I did to get a portable USB stick I carry around with
me that I can boot up on any computer.

> While browsing files available thru the default desktop, one
> seemed to say that internet access via an external RS-232 dial up
> modem was not available with standard drivers. BUT when browsing
> the descriptions of installed software it appeared that pppcfg
> (IIRC) handled that. I'm confused. My modem is a U.S. Robotics
> 5686 model 0701 {V.90 56k - yes is old}
>

We do have graphical PPP diallers available and easy to install, but
I'm not sure if we ship one by default, others may know.

> I didn't spot any reference to firewalls or ant-virus tools. Is
> that accomplished in a different manner in the Linux world?
>

Ubuntu comes with a built in firewall at the kernel level called
"iptables" which can be enabled via terminal commands. There are also
graphical tools such as "firestarter" and "gufw" which make it easier
to setup/administer. Ubuntu ships with no services started by default,
so there should be nothing listening for inbound connections, however
you may want to configure a firewall to limit outgoing connections, up
to you.

We don't ship an AV product by default, but there is one in the
repository which you can install. Personally I've been running Ubuntu
for 5 years and have never installed an antivirus product other than
to see what they look like and check out the features. I never run an
AV scan on my Ubuntu computers.

> GENERAL:
> Tcl/Tk      - have appropriate executables on CD?

Not sure it's in the default installation, but it's certainly
available online to add via Software Center.

> Scilab/SciosLab - will have to download

Scilab is also available via Software Center.

> SeaMonkey   - have strong preference for the suite approach
>

Also available via Software Center.

Hope that helps. I'd also take a look at the Ubuntu Manual if you
haven't already. It's good bedtime reading.

http://ubuntu-manual.org/

Cheers,
Al.