Episode 6: Printers

The continuing adventures of one man's attempt to migrate his desktop PC from MS Windows to Ubuntu/Linux.

Setting up my Ubuntu machine to print was a step I was dreading. Over many years I have spent long hours dealing with the myriad of problems that printing spawns. And as my regular readers know, I don't normally approve of printing anyway (see Friends Don't Let Friends Print).

Notwithstanding my dread and hostility, no computer is complete without one or more printers installed and working. There are situations when even I need to print out something.

To date, I've installed 4 different printers on different Ubuntu Edgy machines. These were all network printers. One was an HP LaserJet wired directly to the network. Two were HP OfficeJets shared by Windows PCs, and one was a Samsung laser shared by a Windows PC. One network was a peer-to-peer network and the others were Microsoft Active Directory networks.

So, how hard is it to set printers up on Ubuntu? I am happy to report that it is not hard. In fact, it is so easy that I made it more difficult for myself than I had to because I said to myself, "It can't be that easy."

The information you need to install your specific printer is available on the Internet. Google it. Start with the simplest pathway you can find; resist the impulse to make it difficult.

If you have any trouble, stop. The problem is either a lack of drivers for your model printer (complain to the manufacturer and get another/different printer -- they are cheap) or with you (get another self(?)). The problem is not Ubuntu. So, don't waste time agonizing about the solution. There is an easy one available.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Episode 3: Sound Idiosyncrasies Abound

The continuing adventures of one man's attempt to migrate his desktop PC from MS Windows to Ubuntu/Linux.

On boot with the USB headset plugged in, there is a drum-tap sound that plays through the speakers when the "username" login screen appears. After logging in, the Ubuntu jingle plays through the headset. Strange...

Putting an audio CD in the CD-RW drive sets an "audio CD" icon on the desktop. Double clicking the icon launches a music player, but I hear the music through the speakers. Damn, the boss will know I'm hardly working, not working hard!

• Checking System/Preferences/Sound reveals that the sound card (SB Live!) is the default sound card. Selecting the USB Headset and rebooting, the CD music plays through the headset. Problem solved.
  
• However, rechecking the System/Preferences/Sound reveals that the sound card (SB Live!) is again the default sound card. I don't know why the music is coming from the headset now when it came from the speakers before.

Controlling the volume in the headset for the CD I am playing is problematic.

• A single click on the "Master" volume control on the Ubuntu panel displays a slider control that does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
  
• This behavior of this Master slider control holds true if I am playing the CD using either Rhythmbox or Sound Juicer.
• In the player window, there is a control that WORKS! It does allow you to increase or decrease the overall volume in the headset.
  
• This behavior of the player volume control holds true if I am playing the CD using either Rhythmbox or Sound Juicer.

But how do I control the balance and tone of the music played by Rhythmbox or Sound Juicer in the headset?

• Trial and error disclosed that a double-click on the Master volume control on the Ubuntu panel launches an "Alsa Mixer" volume control window for the USB headset. Here I can adjust the sound volume. I can also change the balance by "unlocking the channels."
• BTW, somewhere along the trial-and-error line I added the Alsa Mixer to the system using Add/Remove Applications.
  
• I haven't found how to change sound tone yet.

I continue to believe that the issues I am having with sound are related to the sound card driver. Sound Blaster sound cards used by Dell may not be the same as the versions used by other system builders. The card that Dell used in my machine may require a different driver, one that works better than the one that Ubuntu installed for this card!?

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Bye, Ma!

Episode 1

This is a story of leaving home. I am saying good-bye to Ma Microsoft on my desktop, installing Ubuntu on my PC instead of Windows.

What fate awaits me as I struggle to adjust to life without Ma? Will I be able to cope without Microsoft Office? Will I be able to see my Exchange emailbox? Will I be able to use file and print sharing services on the network? Or will I give up in frustration, turn away from Ubuntu and go back to Windows?

Over the years, I have installed different distros of Linux on different PCs. These PCs then went into service as a firewall/router, a database server, a file server, and a web server. These were all command-line or non-GUI (graphical user interface) instances of Linux.

Last year, I installed Debian with KDE and Gnome GUI interfaces on an old laptop. I use the laptop to make presentations. It is a great attention grabber to show a non-Windows desktop to business audiences accustomed to Windows and the occasional Mac desktops. Talk about tech cred!

Recently, the 86-year-old patriarch of my family, AKA Grandpa, complained that his computer was running slow. His computer was a 9-year-old, Windows 98 machine with a 366 Mhz processor and 64 megs of RAM. My brother donated a 3-year-old machine that was recently retired from service, and I loaded Ubuntu on it for Grandpa. He's made the transition to his new setup like a champ! So, I figure if he can do it, I can too.

Ubuntu has greatly simplified the installation of Linux. Gone are all the questions about the refresh rate of your monitor, the chipset of your graphics card, the size and number of your swap disk and other questions that left me scratching my head when I installed Linux in the past. It detected all my hardware, and it got and installed the right drivers. Amazing!

Tips & Tricks: When I moved my PC from the bench where I did the install to my desktop, I discovered that the Linksys USB WiFi adapter I planned to use did not work. There is no Linux driver for it. I didn't want to use the Window's driver with ndiswrapper -- too much work for a cheap piece of hardware, so I swapped the USB adapter for the Linksys "Wireless Gaming Adapter" my son uses with his XBOX. This Wireless Gaming Adapter is a bridge device that requires no drivers. Problem solved. FYI, the 802.11-b version of the Wireless Gaming Adapter sells for less than $20 on Ebay.

In future episodes I will let you know how the migration from Windows to Ubuntu is going. Will I be able to survive or will I come running home to Ma with my tail between my legs? Stay tuned.

Only free software was used in the creation, storage and delivery of this message.

Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.