How-To Guide: 3 Ways To Boot Ubuntu Linux From a USB Flash Drive

Option 1: Boot Ubuntu as a Live CD from a USB Flash Drive
Use this option to install Ubuntu as a Live Install, which allows you to boot from the USB flash drive in Ubuntu, experience the Linux environment but will not retain any changes or settings after you shut down. This is a great way to get a feel for the OS, test some of its capabilities as well as typical hardware compatibility.
Programs you may need to download:
Ubuntu 10.04 Live CD ISO available at ubuntu.com
Universal USB Installer available at pendrivelinux.com
What you will need:
Running Windows XP/Vista/7
Fat32 Formatted USB 2.0 Flash Drive, at least 1GB
PC with a Bios that can boot from USB
Now with all of the necessary components in place, we can begin to setup our Ubuntu Live USB Drive.
1. Run the Universal USB Installer by Pendrivelinux.com that you downloaded earlier.
2. Choose Ubuntu 9.10/10.04.1 Desktop i386
3. Select the Ubuntu Live CD that you downloaded earlier
4. Choose your Flash Drive
5. In this instance, we are going leave the persistence option unchecked.
This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the speed of your system. At one point the progress bar will freeze until it is done, and this is the lengthiest wait of the process.
Once complete, you can reboot your computer with the USB flash drive in the USB port, press F12 for the Boot Menu and choose the removable media to boot from and you are in.
As this is a Live USB, any changes you make to the Ubuntu environment will not persist through a reboot. This is because running in this mode, Ubuntu uses available RAM in place of Swap and Hard Disk space. This option also contains the install files needed to install Ubuntu directly to your desktop if you should so desire.
Option 2: Boot Ubuntu as a Live CD with Persistence from a USB Flash Drive
This option will install Ubuntu Linux onto your flash drive with an area for persistent storage. You will be able to restart the computer, boot back into the Linux environment and all settings or changes made previously will persist.
NOTE: This option is particularly hard on Flash Memory, as there can be quite a bit of reading and writing to the Flash Memory.
What you will need:
Running Windows XP/Vista/7
Fat32 Formatted USB 2.0 Flash Drive, at least 2GB
PC with a Bios that can boot from USB
Now with all of the necessary components in place, we can begin to setup our Ubuntu Live USB Drive.
1. Run the Universal USB Installer by Pendrivelinux.com that you downloaded earlier.
2. Choose Ubuntu 9.10/10.04.1 Desktop i386
3. Select the Ubuntu Live CD that you downloaded earlier
4. Choose your Flash Drive
5. Select the Persistence Option of 1GB Casper-RW
This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the speed of your system. At one point the progress bar will freeze until it is done, and this is the lengthiest wait of the process.
Once complete, you can reboot your computer with the USB flash drive in the USB port, press F12 for the Boot Menu and choose the removable media to boot from and you are in.
As this is a Live USB with Persistence, any changes you make to the Ubuntu environment will keep through a reboot. This option also contains the install files needed to install Ubuntu directly to your desktop if you should so desire.
Option 3: Install Ubuntu directly to a USB flash Drive
This option works through installing Ubuntu to the flash drive as a complete installation. It does not retain the installation files to install on another system. This will allow you to use Ubuntu exactly as if it were installed alone on the hard disk. You can boot from it with any computer that can boot from a USB flash drive.
Note: This method requires that you disable your hard drive in BIOS to prevent overwriting your current operating system and force the install onto the USB drive.
What you will need:
USB 2.0 Flash Drive, at least 4GB
PC with a BIOS that can boot from USB
Blank CD
A Computer with the ability to Burn CD/DVD
Now with all of the necessary components in place, we can begin the process.
1. First, you will need to burn your Ubuntu ISO to CD using a program like ImgBurn available at ImgBurn.com
Boot your computer and press F2 to enter the system BIOS. Within here you will want to disable your Hard Drive. If this is not an option in your BIOS, I would suggest shutting down your computer and unplugging the power and data cables from your hard drive before proceeding. NOTE: If you choose not to disable your hard drive, you run the risk of installing Ubuntu on top of your current OS and can lose valuable information.
3. After you have disabled your hard drive, place the Ubuntu Live CD into your computer and boot from this.
4. At the initial boot screen, choose to try Ubuntu, not install.
5. Once Ubuntu loads, plug in the desired flash drive into the computer.
6. Now, double click on the Install Ubuntu icon that appears on the desktop.
7. The first 3 screens are language, time zone, and keyboard layout.
8. Now Ubuntu will notify you that there is a disk mounted, and asks to unmount it. This is your flash drive. Give it permission to unmount.
9. This is the prepare disk space screen. I chose to leave mine at default and let the installer handle the partitions needed by Linux.
10. Now you will see the login and user information screen.
11. Now you are ready to install, click install.
12. At one point during the installation, you may notice a skip button appear on the bottom left. This is to skip the auto update, and finally the language packs. I chose to skip language packs update.
13. This may take a while, mine took about 35 minutes to complete. When it is done, eject the disk and shut down the computer. Plug your hard drive back in if necessary, or boot your computer into bios and re-enable it. Reboot your computer and press F12 to enter the boot menu, choose the flash drive and boot into Ubuntu.

Joshua Bulman is a full time web designer and IT support technician for a company that provides custom USB drives via the web marketplace. He enjoys reading fiction, writing just about anything, and discovering new technologies.

Linux Commands Training Course - Learn How to Use Linux Commands in ALL Linux Versions (Distros)

There is a Linux web site that "tracks" the progress of Linux distributions called Distrowatch.
And although the statistics shown at Distrowatch may be "questionable" (as even the webmaster of the web site has said), it's worth having a look at the popularity of the "major" distributions over the last several years.
Linux Commands Training Tips: Understanding the changing "world" of distributions will help you to realize that it's much better to focus on leaning the Linux commands that are common to ALL distributions is much better than learning anything that is specific to just a single version - such as learn the GUI utility programs that work in just a single version.
Distrowatch Statistics for Some of the Major Linux Distributions the Last Several Years:
According to Distrowatch, Mandriva Linux (formerly Mandrake) was #1 for 2002, 2003 and 2004. And Ubuntu was # 1 for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008!
In addition to this, Mandrake Linux (recently renamed to "Mandriva"), was # 1 for 2002, 2003, 2004 and #2 (as Mandriva) in 2005, but hasn't been in the top three since!
Notice how easily and quickly Linux distributions - even extremely popular distributions - fall out of popularity!
Red Hat Linux was # 2 for 2002 and 2003, but hasn't appeared in the top three since 2003!
Again, it's important to note that even one of the most popular Linux distros, Red Hat Linux, has gone down dramatically in popularity!
And Gentoo was # 3 in 2002, but hasn't appeared in the top three since.
Here are the other Linux distribution names that have been # 2 or # 3 since 2002: Gentoo, Knoppix, Fedora, SUSE and openSUSE.
So, as you can see - Linux distributions come - and many soon go!
Linux Commands Training Tips: Mandrake (a minor Linux distribution) was quite popular for a while and was derived from Red Hat Linux (a major distribution) and is extremely similar to Red Hat.
Knoppix Linux (a minor Linux distribution) is a "live" distribution that was derived from Debian (a major distribution) and is similar to this version.
Ubuntu Linux is free (in all senses of the word) and has become extremely popular as both a desktop system and server system.

And now I would like to offer you free access to my Linux Commands Training Mini-Course, a 7 Lesson, Daily Mini-Course, including the free Linux Commands ebook and Linux audio podcasts - showing you how to get started learning how to use Linux commands.
You can get your instant access at: http://www.LinuxCommandsTrainingCourse.com
From Clyde Boom - The Easy Linux Training Guy - Easy, self-paced Linux training - In Plain English!

Open Source Vs Closed Source Software - The Great Debate

1) Open Source Software
Open source software can be defined as software distributed under a licensing agreement which allows the source code (computer code) to be shared, viewed and modified by other users and organisations.
Cost
Open source software is free. This is a huge draw card, and if your in-house capabilities are such that you are able to implement, train and support at little cost to your organization it may be an attractive option. Having said that, open source software requires a certain level of technical expertise in order to manage content. It is therefore important to take into consideration the costs incurred once the software is obtained may be substantial unless the resources are already in place to manage it. Long term costs include the cost of implementation, innovation, the opportunity cost incurred battling with service/support issues, and the costs associated with investment in infrastructure due to a general inability to scale (assuming the organisation will grow and develop and will therefore have evolving requirements). Notably, open source software providers are increasingly charging for add- ons, additional services and integration. The total cost of ownership for open source software may roughly equal some closed source options as a result.
Service and Support
Service is one of the key issues regarding open source software. Open source software relies on its online community network to deliver support via forums and blogs. While there are massive, loyal and engaged online communities that users can turn to, time-poor consumers of today are familiar with the immediate service and support that enables issues to be resolved in a timely manner, and these communities cannot guarantee the high level of responsive service and support proprietary software can offer.
Innovation
Open source software enables innovation by providing users with the freedom and flexibility to adapt the software to suit, without restriction. However, innovation may or may not be passed on to all users of the software. It is a user's prerogative whether they wish to share their innovation with any online communities, and users must be actively participating in these communities to become aware of such innovations. It has been debated whether customized changes to the original source code limit the future support and growth of the software, as these can potentially result in a limited ability to apply future updates, fixes or modules aimed at improving the software, leaving the user with a version that may have irresolvable issues. It is relevant to note that open source software providers generally struggle to attract large scale R&D.
Usability
Open source software has been highly criticized for its lack of usability, as generally, the technology is not reviewed by usability experts and does not cater to the vast majority of computer users. Open source software is generally developer-centric, and without system administration experience or the knowledge required to manipulate programming language, use of the software and ability to fix errors as they arise is often limited to those with technical expertise. Furthermore, open source software does not legally require documentation such as user manuals or guides, hindering the creation of such tools. When documentation is provided, it is often general, containing implicit jargon, inhibiting learning. Without adequate documentation users must rely on alternative means such as online communities, assuming they are capable of finding them and the problem is one others have encountered or are willing to help resolve.
Security
Open source software is often viewed as having security issues. New data from Forrester Research has shown that 58% of IT Executives and technology decision makers in large companies are concerned about the security of open source software. Open source software is not necessarily developed in a controlled environment. While big players often have a concentrated development team, oftentimes the software is being developed by individuals all over the world who may not work on the software for the duration of its developing lifetime.
This lack of continuity and common direction can lead to barriers to effective communication surrounding the software. Furthermore, open source software is not always peer reviewed or validated for use. While users are free to examine and verify source code, the level of expertise required means that it is entirely possible for a programmer to embed back door Trojans to capture private and confidential information without the user ever knowing. Adopting a reputable brand with a concentrated development team supported by a strong online community will reduce the potential risk.
2) Closed Source Software
Closed source software can be defined as proprietary software distributed under a licensing agreement to authorized users with private modification, copying and republishing restrictions.
Cost
The cost of proprietary software will vary from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of the system required. This cost is made up of a base fee for software, integration and services and annual licensing/support fees. This cost may be prohibitive for some; however what the user is paying for is a more customized product from a trusted brand that includes higher levels of security and functionality, continuous innovation, a greater ability to scale, ongoing training and support and a lower requirement for technical skills. In order to support these elements and maintain high availability websites, a mechanism must be in place to recoup the costs. As mentioned previously, increasingly open source software providers are also charging for add-ons, additional services, and integration, reducing the gap in cost between the two options.
Service and Support
If the internet is an important channel for an organisation, software is often a secondary concern, with service level and support structure requirements taking precedent in favour of maximising uptime and minimising downtime. Service is probably the greatest advantage of using proprietary software. Proprietary software providers offer ongoing support to users, a key selling point for users without technical expertise. If the user manual or guide is not enough, or if a user experiences a problem with the software, there is an immediate point of call to turn to for assistance. There is a certain reduction in the risk undertaken with proprietary software because users are working with companies that are viable, and people with intimate knowledge of the products and services being used should any questions arise. Because service is one of the main reasons users choose proprietary over open source software, many proprietary software providers compete on service, increasing the bargaining power of buyers and thereby increasing customer service levels among providers.
Innovation
Proprietary software providers do not allow users to view or alter the source code. While this may be viewed as a disadvantage to some, it ensures the security and reliability of the software. Furthermore, many proprietary software providers customize software for specific users to provide more flexibility while investing in R&D in order to regularly offer new products and upgrades. Moreover, proprietary software providers have online user communities that create value by sharing ideas, strategies and best practices through feedback mechanisms such as forums and surveys, which also foster innovation and allow the product to adapt with changing needs. This innovation comes fully tested, and is available to all users of the software.
It does not require investment in R&D or the technical understanding of source code, and assistance with implementation is generally part of the package. Because vendors must ensure their software does not become redundant, users also benefit from the type of targeted innovation undertaken- continuous investment in R&D rather than "innovation for innovation's sake", business focused rather than technology focused.
Usability
Proprietary software generally employs expert usability testing, and as the software is normally aimed at a more targeted audience, and therefore more tailored, usability is generally ranked quite high. In addition, detailed user manuals and guides are provided. This enables faster training and provides an immediate reference, allowing users to move along the learning curve more quickly. Supporting services include seminars, targeted training courses and extensive support to help maximise use of the software. It is also important to note that while many people see proprietary software as "closed", today's proprietary software offers a vast array of mechanisms for enhancement by third party systems and developers.
Security
Proprietary software is viewed as more secure because it is developed in a controlled environment by a concentrated team with a common direction. Moreover, the source code may be viewed and edited by this team alone, and is heavily audited, eliminating the risk of back door Trojans and reducing the risk of any bugs or issues with the software.

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Linux and Its Software

Linux is more and more popular. Hundred of thousands of people do use it as an every day operating software. There are also overa hundred different Linux distributions. The easiest ones are:

• Mandriva
• Ubuntu

Complicated are:

• Slackware
• FreeBsd
• Gentoo

I know that some people would say something different, but I had beginners in mind. Linux will be perfect for a normal duties like:

• text and spreadsheet editing
• OpenOffice
• email and browsing
• Mozilla Firefox
• Easy bitmap editions
• Gimp
• Easy 3D modeling
• Blender
• Easy animation like flash
• flash4linux

OK, these are easy things you can perfectly use Linux for. There are also other things like:

• hosting and server services (Apache server for example)

What I found confusing is that despite I could use stated software some formatting couldn't be retrieved on Windows OS. You can see that when you will be working in open office for example. You make formatting like colors, bulleting and others. Some of these won't be visible on widows office text editor.
In my opinion, if you work on the things which must be transferred to the windows later one, don't use linux. At first everything might be OK, but there will be one time, where you can get lost very easy and there will be no way back.
What I am missing on Linux:

• Adobe Suite

I completely agree with people who say that Linux is so cool. I know that. There is more and more drivers for the Linux. Linux is widely used in the internet technology. There are hosting professional solutions based on Linux. If you don't do on anything fancy I would definitely advice you to switch to Linux.
Some people might be scared seeing screen shots of the command line. Well, don't be. Distributions like Ubuntu or Mandriva allows you to use graphical user interface (GUI). The you will just click on every single setting you want. And in the time, once you will get used to the Linux you will learn commands and that's it.

Like I said before, more and more people are using Linux. Ask your friends and family. Quite often there are people already using Linux in your neighborhood. They can help you. And it's free.

How To Install Ubuntu Via a USB Flash Drive

If you want to install Ubuntu to another computer, at times that computer might not have a working CD-rom drive to install via a CD. This happens in older computers as well as netbooks that don't come with optical drives. One option is to connect the computer to an external CD-rom via a USB, but there is a feature in Ubuntu that will let you install via a USB.
Normally you have to burn a CD using a second computer. In this case you are "burning" Ubuntu onto a USB drive. There is a tool in Ubuntu that does this for you making the process extremely easy.
Go to System > Administration > USB Startup Disk Creator. Put in a USB stick making sure that it's at least 4 gigabytes and follow the directions. Make sure you don't have anything on it that you want to keep because it can erase all the data. Once the program is done you have Ubuntu on your USB that you will be able to use on any computer that can boot from the USB drive.
Plug this into the other computer that you want to install Ubuntu to and turn the computer on. Boot from the USB. You have two options here. First is that you can just run Ubuntu off the USB stick entirely. Some do this with netbooks not touching the default operating system when wanting an alternative operating system.
The other option is to click on the install icon on the desktop to take what's on the USB and install it to that computers hard drive. This is the exact same process that would be there if you were using the Live CD.
Once done, keep the USB stick on hand because you can boot to Ubuntu from any computer that way and reinstall Ubuntu on other computers when you need to.

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6 Things All Prospective Ubuntu Linux Users Must Know

Ubuntu Linux is the world's most popular and fastest growing Linux alternative to Windows. More people are seeking better, reliable and cost effective ways to keep in touch both at school, home and the office across all popular device platforms. That is where Ubuntu Linux comes into the picture. If you have heard about Ubuntu but are still doubting whether to migrate to it or not, then the following six basic points should help you decide.
Desktop
Ubuntu is a perfect desktop OS that has all the functions that you may be used to in Windows. It is powerful enough for home or office use and has all the productivity suite you may need in your enterprise setting as well. More and more OEMs are now beginning to offer a range of Ubuntu desktops. Notable among the OEMs is Dell, ZaReason and System76. It is also very customizable and free to use without any licensing hassles. It is also safe and reliable in terms of security and other threats that Windows is easily susceptible to.
Virtualization and servers
Ubuntu is also a perfect server client that has been certified to run on HP's Proliant Server ranges and on roughly 45 other server configurations from IBM, Lenovo, Dell among others. ISVs like Alresco and Openbravo also have enterprise class products built on Ubuntu server edition. There is also the Canonical-IBM Virtual Bridges partnerships that aims at virtualizing Ubuntu desktops on Linux servers. Indeed there is no shortage of Ubuntu server deployment options.
Cloud
Cloud computing is a new and evolving technology area that can transform how IT environments deliver services. Ubuntu has an Enterprise Cloud service which aims at helping corporate entities migrate their existing IT services into the cloud.
Mobile
There is a flavor of Ubuntu for Mobile Internet Devices. Dell, ZaReason and System76 all sell netbooks preloaded with UNR. HP also has a customized version of UNR for its Mini1000 netbook edition.
Training
There is training for Ubuntu by Canonical available for both individuals and corporate users. You get the requisite skills from the maker of the OS.
Support
There is a vast array of support available, be it for home or enterprise users. Notable amongst them is the Ubuntu Forums and the new commercial service from Canonical. You will never be alone in your usage of Ubuntu knowing there is always some form of support available to you.

The author is the owner of Ghabuntu, a popular Open Source blog from Africa. Please stop by to join the effort in making Open Source Software the preferred choice of computer users. You can also reach me here at sinaisix@gmail.com.

Linux Vs. Windows

This article will not attempt to advocate the use of Linux over Windows or vice versa. I will try to present the differences and similarities between Linux and Windows in a fair manner.




Overview:



Both Linux and Windows (2000, NT, XP, Vista) are operating systems. Linux was inspired from Unix, while Windows was inspired from VMS.



While no single company "owns" Linux, Windows is owned by Microsoft. Various distributions (often referred to as "distros") of Linux come from different companies (e.g. Red Hat, Novell SuSE, Mandrake etc.), while all Windows flavors (95, 98, 2000, XP, Vista) come from Microsoft.



Both Linux and Windows come in Desktop and Server editions.



Cost:



As far as cost is concerned, Linux is very cheap or free. I used the word "very cheap" for enterprise users. While anybody can download, install and use Linux, the distribution companies usually charge for technical support.

Windows is expensive. You first pay for the copy of the software and then again for the technical support if you ever want it.

There is another catch though; Windows enforces you to use a single copy on a single computer. This is not the case with Linux though, once you purchase Linux, you can run it on an unlimited number of computers.



GUI:



Both Windows and Linux are GUI based operating systems.

I'm afraid but, Windows has better GUI than Linux and it will get far better with the upcoming Windows Vista release. Linux has two GUIs: Gnome and KDE. Linux is fast catching up and is evolving from a server operating system to a desktop operating system.



Command Line:



Both Windows and Linux comes with command line interface. Windows calls it the "DOS prompt", while Linux refers to it as the "shell". Linux's shell is far more superior than Window's DOS prompt. It can do a whole lot of things that are not possible in Windows. Linux support various command line shells such as BASH, Bourne, Korn, C shell and many other.



Third Party Application Software Availability:

Both Windows and Linux run third-party applications. Windows, compared to Linux, has far greater number of third party applications available for use. A program written for Windows will not run under Linux (although it can be made to emulate, but it will be very annoying and hence not recommened).



Linux's application base is, however, increasing threefold. On a more close examination, the average computer user uses the following applications 90% of the time: Word Processor (Office suite), E-mail client, Web browser, Media software, and Instant Messenger. Linux has all these applications and in fact has many flavors for each.



Like Linux, all third party applications are very cheap or free. Whereas, Windows applications can cost a leg and a limb.



Security:



Simply put it this way, Windows is not secure. If you are using Windows and don't have Antivirus, Anti Spyware, and firewall (memory and resource eating applications), your computer can get affected by a virus in less than 10 minutes. I remember restoring a fresh copy of Windows XP on my Toshiba A40 notebook. I was browsing the Internet with Microsoft Internet Explorer and my machine got infected with loads of spyware in less than 15 minutes!



Microsoft came up with Firewall and Anti Spyware products, but these programs run in the background and eat up your computer's precious memory.



Linux, on the other hand, doesn't have these issues. I'm not aware of any spywares for Linux. One can safely run a Linux distro without ever worrying about installing Anitvirus or Anti-Spywares.



Windows also has more security flaws than Linux. By security flaw, I mean a hacker can compromise the Windows operating system and break into your machine and destroy your files. But, flaws on Windows are quickly fixed and patches are often made available almost instantly after the flaw is reported.



Supported Hardware:



Windows was originally designed for Intel based machines. Earlier version of Windows NT also ran on RISC and Alpha architectures, but not anymore.

Linux run on a wide variety of hardware. And can support some very old legacy hardware. I've seen a Linux distro running on a 486 based machine.



Diver Availability:



As one author once said, "Windows is a bag of drivers". I think that is quite true. Installing a new hardware device is a piece of cake in Windows, whereas it can be a nuisance on Linux especially for average Joe. I can't in my wildest dreams imagine my dad installing a sound card successfully in Linux.



Things however will not stay the same for long. Manufacturers are also offering Linux drivers for their hardware, which will simplify the process.



Network Support:



Linux beats Windows bad in this area. Windows was never designed for the Internet. Unix, on which Linux is based, was designed for Internet (or Network) and is far more efficient compared to Windows. A senior Network Administrator working for a Fortune-500 company, recently pointed to me that if we monitor the traffic between exchange Windows based Exchange Server and Client, we can see that hundreds of packets are going to and from even when both are idle. He said that such is not the case with Linux.



However, our average Joe will never see or feel any difference. Windows Internet is good enough for him.



File System:



Windows Vista will use a new file system called WinFS. Earlier version used FAT (FAT16 and FAT32) and NTFS file systems, with NTFS being the preferred choice. Linux supports ext2 and ext3 file systems.



FAT file systems were mediocre, but NTFS can be compared with the Linux file systems.



Both file systems allows us to create directories, sub directories and file. Linux file systems are case-sensitive whereas, NTFS is not.



Normally, Linux systems cannot access NTFS file systems, but with the help of add-on software, it can.



Help and Documentation:

Linux help and documentation is quite good, accurate and to the point compared.



I've been using Windows for well over 8 years now. Frankly speaking, I hardly ever checked the accompanying documentation or the help file because everything is so simple that nobody needs to venture in the help file.



What should I buy?



OK. Truth hurts, but let it be. If you are average Joe, that extra $300 on Windows are worth spending. If you are looking an OS for your server, never even think about Windows. Buy Linux.



About the Author:



Umer Mansoor is a software engineering student. He is a mild-mannered, soft spoken and non-violent kind of guy. He is inspired by God, Dad and Mom. He has written an open source scripting language, an open source SSH implementation and an open source security audit tool for cisco routers. His projects are hosted at: [http://www.pegsol.com/newdesign/development.htm]



He can be reached at: umer.mansoor-at-gmail.com