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Ubuntu: The Switch (5 of 6) - Application Migration

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Application Migration

Now that Ubuntu is up and running and configured the way I like, its time to get the applications installed. Following is a list of all the applications that I replaced from my Windows environment with notes on how to get them installed and configured properly. I have put command line commands into quotes.

• First I setup a root password by using “sudo passwd”
• VMware
  • There are some applications that just wont run in Ubuntu and I do not want to mess around with Wine at this point. Eventually I would like to get to a stage where all my needs can be served by Ubuntu + Wine, but for now I will use the free VMware virtual machine to emulate Windows XP.
  • I used this tutorial to get it working.
  • I gave it 80GB of hard drive space and 1024MB of RAM and installed Windows XP Professional (Vista is still experimental with VMware and XP can do all I that need Windows to do for me).
  • One thing I have not figured out yet is how to get full screen working with two monitors. Currently when I do this the monitor is only cloned.
• IE6
  • I tried to first install Muliple IE in my virtualized Windows machine, but IE6 kept crashing.
  • I then decided to install IE6 in Ubuntu using this tutorial. That did not work correctly either; some of the images would not show up.
  • So then I created another partition in VMware that will be strictly used for IE6 testing. I gave it 8GB with 256 RAM with 1 processor.
• NTFS
  • I found out that I could not write to my external drives because they were ntfs file systems. I used this thread to get started.
  • So then I “sudo apt-get install ntfs-config”
  • “ntfs-config”
    • I checked Enable write support for external device
• PHP Eclipse
  • I used the tutorial here.
• Skype
  • I installed the Linux version from the website with the Debain 7.04 download package installer.
• Outlook 2003
  • For now I installed Outlook 2003 on my VM (the one with 80GB). I use this to synchronize with my 1and1.com exchange account which I use mainly because of the great synchronization with my Pocket PC.
  • I have Evolution already installed by Ubuntu which I will attempt to get it to work with Exchange and my Pocket PC at a later date.
• MS Office
  • I will be using Open Office which is already included in the Ubuntu installation. I do have Office 2003 installed on VMware as well.
• QuickBooks Premier 2007
  • I will install this in the VM.
• Adobe Photoshop CS2
  • I will install this in the VM.
  • I also have the Gimp bundled with Ubuntu, but I think for a time I will still use Photoshop since I am experienced and skilled with it.
• Notepad
  • I will be using the awesome VI!
• RoboForm / RoboForm Portable / Goodsync (To syncronize the desktop version of roboform with my thumb drive)
  • I’m not sure how to replace this yet. For now I’m using Firefox’s built in password manager. Has anyone found a Linux equivalent solution?
• Adobe Acrobat / Distiller
  • The document viewer that comes with Ubuntu seems to work just fine for viewing PDF’s and it loads very fast.
  • For printing PDF’s, I used the tutorial here. PDF printing is already supported in Open Office.
• WS FTP
  • “sudo apt-get install gftp”
• UltraMon
  • See the post on Unbuntu configuration on how I was able to get my two monitor setup to work. The new version of Ubuntu will have a better GUI support for dual monitor configuration.
• GoToMeeting
  • I will play with webhuddle and see if it will be a suitable replacement. If it works well, I’ll just need to find another conference calling solution.
  • I’ll have to run GoToMeeting in VMware for now.
• FreeMind
  • I will stick to using MindMeister.com as it is working very well for me.
• Audacity
  • “sudo apt-get install audacity”
• Camtasia Studio 4
  • There is a good tutorial here.
  • I installed xvidcap by downloading the .deb package from sourceforge and using the package installer.
• XAMPP
  • I will use XAMPP to maintain consistency with my Windows development environment.
  • I downloaded and followed the instructions on the XAMPP website. Make sure to use sudo.
  • I also ran “sudo /opt/lampp/lampp security” to add better security.
• ActiveSync
  • I found what I needed here. Luckily my xv6700 device is supported. I’ll play around with this more when I start migrating from Outlook to Evolution.
• Google Desktop
  • grep and find!
  • sed and awk!
• Tortoise SVN
  • “sudo apt-get install subversion”
  • I will just use the command line version and I will look into integrating svn with eclipse.
• Macromedia Flash
  • I downloaded the player from Adobe’s website.
  • I installed Macromedia Flash in VMware.
• iTunes
  • I installed Amarok, but I will using my iPod with the HP media center because of the awesome sounds…
  • “sudo apt-get install amarok”
• Windows Media Player
  • I installed VLC Player with these instructions.
• Remote Desktop
  • I installed a ssh server instead using this guide.
  • I already have a dynamic IP account. I just need to forward port 22 to the Ubuntu machine on my router settings.
• Timer / Alarm
  • I think I will use Evolution for the alarms. Does anyone have a suggest for an alarm clock that allows for multiple alarms and multiple timers?

My next post on “the switch” will be the last. I will offer final conclusions and append all the articles into one post.

Previous Entries

Ubuntu: The Switch (1 of ?)
Ubuntu: The Switch (2 of ?) - First Steps
Ubuntu: The Switch (3 of ?) - Installation
Ubuntu: The Switch (4 of 6) - Configuration