VMware Fusion + MacBook + Ubuntu = easy

One of the things I’d like to do with this blog is to try to help less technical librarians and library staff become more confident with their technical skills, and, hopefully, help them feel empowered enough to tackle those things that they thought would be impossible. Now, I’m no technical guru by a long shot; I’ve just had lots of different opportunities to make my way through the technological minefield — especially as it relates to operating systems, system maintenance, and web server maintenance. In keeping with that theme, today’s lessson is on how to install the Ubuntu operating system on Mac OS X using VMware Fusion.

Why would you want to install Ubuntu? The smarty-pants answer is “because you can”, but the more reasoned response would be because it’s free, easy to use and install, and in this age of library budget cuts and shortfalls, it’s a good idea to investigate alternative operating systems, especially if it can save you money in the long run.
I’ll spare you the details about Ubuntu’s philosophy, but reading it may help you understand it’s goals and may help you decide whether switching to Ubuntu in your library (or for personal use) is the right move for you.

Get Ubuntu

This tutorial assumes you’re running an Intel-based Apple computer with the latest version of the OS X operating system (Jaguar, as of this writing). If you’re using Windows XP or Windows Vista, these tutorials and screencasts will assist you with installing Ubuntu on those operating systems.
If you don’t have VMware Fusion installed on your Mac, you should consider it, especially if you’re a Mac user who has to work in an all-Windows enivironment. But enough about that…
The first thing you’ll need to do is download the most recent version of Ubuntu. As an alternate, you can also send away for a copy of the Ubuntu CD if you don’t have a high speed internet connection, or simply don’t want to wait for the 700mb file to download.

Create a Virtual Machine in VMware Fusion

Launch VMware Fusion. Click “New” to create a new Virtual Machine.

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Choose “Continue without disk”, because we want to use the Ubuntu disk image (.iso file) we downloaded.

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On the next screen, choose the second option, “Use operating system installation disk image file”, and point your computer at the disk image. Click ‘continue’ to proceed.
Next you’ll need to Choose an Operating System. Select “Linux” from the first menu, and “Ubuntu” from the second menu. Click “Continue”.

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NB: If you’re on an Intel Mac using Jaguar, you technically have a 64-bit system. I tried installing this, but for whatever reason the installation wouldn’t complete. As soon as I find out why, I’ll post an update, but I selected “Ubuntu” from the second menu, and my installation is running just fine.
The last screen of the wizard will ask you to customize your settings if you’d like to. I didn’t; I just clicked the “Finish” button.
The installation will begin. Choose “Install Ubuntu” from the black Ubuntu screen.

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All told, it took me about five to ten minutes, not including the almost 20 minutes it took to download Ubuntu. There’s not much to do during the installation, and the installation process is similar enough to a Mac OS X installation (or a Windows installation) that if you’ve installed either one of those operating systems, you will be fully comfortable with Ubuntu’s installation process. In fact, it is Ubuntu’s ease of installation and usabilty that makes it a viable option.
Once Ubuntu loads, you’ll be asked to set your location and time zone. Next you’ll create a user name and password, and name for your computer. The computer name is used to identify your computer on a network.
Once these settings are configured, your computer will restart, and you’ll see Ubuntu’s login screen. Enter the user name and password you created during the installation.
When Ubuntu launches, you’ll see a clean desktop free of icons. If you’re used to OS X’s dock, your eyes will instantly go to the bottom of your screen (unless you’ve moved your Dock to another part of the screen). Ubuntu’s start bar is at the top of the screen, and includes menus for Applications, Places (shortcuts to frequently accessed folders on your computer), and System settings. Ubuntu comes with Firefox pre-installed, and you’ll see an icon for it in the launch bar. You’ll also see an icon for Evolution, an open source mail and calendar application that is very similar to Microsoft Outlook. In addition to these applications, Ubuntu also installs the full Open Office suite, so you’ll be able to create word processing documents, spreadsheets, or presentations immediately. And if that’s not enough, Ubuntu also includes Pidgin internet messenger, an IM client that allows you to connect to several different IM services from one application. If you’ve used Adium on OS X, Pidgin will feel very familiar.

First Impressions and Addenda

I’ve only been using Ubuntu for the last couple of hours, but already I’ve noticed that it feels fast, light, and stable. When I run OS X, my MacBook’s fan frequently switches on, especially when I have more than three tabs open in Firefox, or if I try to watch a YouTube video. My fan hasn’t switched on once in two hours of constant use.
If you’re using Ubuntu with the VMware Fusion 2 beta, you’ll notice that you may not be able to scroll with your mouse’s scroll wheel, or that your trackpad won’t respond to touch. Fixing this problem means you’ll need to become comfortable with UNIX command line tools and a terminal very quickly, but fear not. Read through the instructions first, and copy and paste the commands directly from the screen and all should be well.
Although Ubuntu runs very well without VMware Fusion’s VMware Tools, you’ll find that graphics acceleration and performance will greatly improve if you install the tools. However, the release of Ubuntu 8.04 introduced a few issues with VMware fusion, and fixing the problem is a bit more complicated than the mouse/scroll wheel fix. Once again, read through the instructions, follow them to the letter, and copy and paste command line instructions into the Terminal to reduce the chance of errors. Accept the default settings at each prompt by hitting your Enter key, and reboot your system. I’d recommend using Ubuntu for a few hours or a day just to see if the performance issues are a barrier, or if the system becomes unstable. If so, try this fix.
I hope you found this tutorial useful; it’s the first time I’ve written something like this, and I don’t know if I included too much or too little information. Let me know what you think in the comments; your feedback will help me make the next tutorial even better.