Path: number1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.co
!nntp.giganews.com!newshub.sdsu.edu!nx01.iad01.newshosting.com!n
wshosting.com!post01.iad01!roadrunner.com!not-for-mail
From: dgk 
Newsgroups: alt.os.linux.ubuntu
Subject: Problems after installing Ubuntu (fairly long)
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2007 15:28:33 -0500
Message-ID: 
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.92/32.572
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Lines: 86
Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com
X-Complaints-To: abuse@rr.com
Xref: number1.nntp.dca.giganews.com alt.os.linux.ubuntu:10995

I've been reading some of the crossposts in the Linux/XP newsgroups
and decided to try installing Ubuntu to see how it works. The install
(on a fairly old PC) went ok. I had to reboot once when the system
froze with nice vertical lines on the screen, but it installed ok
after I restarted. It found the network very nicely.

So now I have a few comments and problems. Just about everything I
tried didn't work very well. I'm not bashing Linux or Ubuntu. Notice
that I am not crossposting this to any other group. I simply want to
air some comments and get some comments.

I've been a programmer for 25 years, starting with the 360/370
mainframes and DEC PDP-11. I'm currently working with VB.Net using MS
SQL Server and and also a linux friendly DB called Cache (a version of
MUMPS). I have six computers running XP and server 2003 in my house
and I build them myself. So, I do know something about the beasties
but I don't know much about Linux.

The first thing I did was use the add/remove application to install
Gambas. That worked fine. I created a simple Hello World application
that worked fine in the designer, and then compiled it and tried to
run it from Gnome. I got an error: Cannot open ... No application
suitable for automatic installation is available...  First question,
why won't the app run?

I have a comment about the add/remove application. The gauge showing
the percent download has (by default anyway) a color scheme that makes
the text invisible as it progressess to the right. Also, as I hit
backspace to change the thing that I'm searching for, Add/Remove is
apparently searching the list with every keypress so nothing appears
to be happening as I hit backspace. The rule I follow while writing
this sort of list search is to search when the person stops typing for
a half-second or so, not every keypress. It requires a bit more coding
effort but the user experience is much better.

So what sort of computer did I install Ubuntu on? A fairly old one
that I got from a friend to use as a test machine. I figure that I'll
check the specs. I go to Device Manager. No information is available
for the processor. Not whether it is Intel or AMD, nor the speed. How
much RAM? No idea, I can't find it anywhere. Maybe I just missed it.

Well, I figure that I'll design a database using OpenOffice since I
have a need for one. So I manage to create a table with no problem,
and I add a few columns and one is an integer autoincrement type to
use as a primary key. As I try to save the database, I get a error
message that no primary key is defined, do I want to add one. Ok, I
thought that I had one but go and add one. Now I get an error that I'm
trying to add a second primary key.

I delete the one that I had put in, it complains that I have no
primary key, I let it add one, and it is ok now. Oh, the messagebox
that gave me the errors had the OK button over some of the text in the
message and I couldn't click on OK. Instead I had to use the X to
close the box.

I figure that I'll see how I can acess the newsgroups. I don't see
anything likely under the Internet group so I check add/remove and
search for newsgroup. Two things show up. One is a binary leacher so I
ignore that because I'm looking for text, although it did mention in a
snotty way that anyone installing it might have to read the manual.
Apparantly they couldn't write a newsgroup binary grabber that is user
friendly.

But here is something called Bowser. I install it. I run it. I get an
error that "sr_bd mysql connect fail". Oh. Maybe MySQL isn't
installed? I look at add/remove, the only things mentioned for MySQL
is an administrative tool and a visual query designer. Fine, I add
both, Bowser still won't run.

The Bowser description says something about pimppa, maybe Bowser is
just a gui frontend for pimppa. So I search add/remove for pimppa,
nope, no mention of that. I give up on Bowser.

I look at evolution, I try to set up an email account (I use hotmail)
but I have no idea how to set it up to use hotmail. But it looks like
evolution is also a newsreader. Great, but I made a mistake entering
my newsgroup provider and it can't load anything. Ok, I hunt around
and find where to change it. But now I can't find any way to get the
listing of newsgroups. I don't see anything in evolution that has
anything to do with newsgroups. So, I'm posting this on my old copy of
Agent on an XP machine.

That's about it for now. I have some programming that really does have
to get done and I'm about out of time for Ubuntu for the weekend. I
would greatly appreciate any clues as to what I can do to resolve any
of these problems. Thanks.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Omicron Theta BBS (1:261/20)