Switched to Ubuntu – 1 Week on
Last week I made a massive decision to ditch Windows 10 for Ubuntu. If you haven’t read the first article in the series, I highly recommend checking it out by clicking here. I’ve been thinking about moving to Linux for some time now, mainly due to University work and the beautiful interface many distro’s have to offer. Yes, I know the true beauty of Ubuntu is in the code but it has to be said, the interface of some of these distro’s is amazing! I was initially thinking of swapping to Elementary OS and I have been using it virtually for a few weeks, but then I decided to try out the latest version of Ubuntu and I guess I liked it more.
Want to keep updated with my experience of migrating to Ubuntu? Sign up for my Ubuntu Migration Project Newsletter! and receive exclusive content!
I’ve been using Ubuntu as my main operating system for around a week now, here are my experiences…
Ubuntu in Lectures
For those of you who don’t know, I’m currently studying towards a Master’s in Computer Science and a lot of the work and tutorials I do are using some form of Linux. I’ve been using Ubuntu 20.4 LTS virtually using VMware and although the experience was good, I wanted to run it locally, this was just one of the reasons I decided to switch. My lectures are currently run online using Microsoft Teams and Blackboard which is an online virtual learning environment, a bit like Moodle or VLE. I had no issues running either and was very surprised to see that Microsoft Teams offer a Linux version!
In terms of note taking, I currently use Evernote, and I have used many other alternatives such as OneNote and Notion but for making lecture notes and organising my work EverNote seems to work better for me because it’s simple, pleasant to work on and everything is just as I like it. I understand that there are clients available to download for EverNote, but I just use it in the browser without any issues.
As for practical work, semester 1 finished at the end of last week, so I didn’t get a chance to try it properly for coding but It’s something that will be happening in the coming weeks.
In terms of office work such as writing documents, creating presentations and spreadsheets, I’m remaining with Google Docs as it’s something I like and have been using before I made the switch to Windows. However, having a look at Libre Office, which is the default office software included with the Ubuntu installation. It looks to be a solid piece of software. For testing purposes, I started writing an assignment in the IEEE format without any issues. But best of all, even my referencing software Mendeley, worked well within Libre Office.
Ubuntu in Video Editing
For those of you who don’t know, I also run the Tech With Dom YouTube channel where I do tech reviews, tutorials and anything tech-related. In terms of software, I used many video editing software over the years, starting off with the classic Windows Movie Maker, Vagas Movie Studio, Adobe Premiere Pro and Filmora. However, this time I’m trying out Davinci Resolve which is available free from their website. Now I know what you’re thinking and no it’s not going to lower the quality of the videos I make.
Ubuntu in every day life
In terms of everyday use, I think it’s too early to say what I think, especially since over this last week I haven’t had a chance to use my computer outside of lectures due to work commitments. But here goes a short summary. I tend to check emails using browser-based clients but I am thinking of configuring Thunderbird for Uni email. As it stands, I don’t want this to sound horrible, but I currently only tend to check my email twice a day, in the morning before I start working and in the evening. I set a 25 minute Pomodoro timer for 1 session. I do this to eliminate distractions during the day as I’m currently living a very busy lifestyle.
Next Week…
Here are my plans for Ubuntu next week, stay tuned for the next article…
- Try video editing in Davinci Resolve
- Try gaming on Steam