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I’ve used Ubuntu for quite some time, often as my primary OS. Each new version offers some new things, but as it’s on a fixed release schedule - it isn’t often that one release is a major step forward…. but then there are releases like 9.04!

I knew Linux was going to find its way to my new desktop so I (dumbly) made a partition just for this when I installed Vista ultimate 64bit. However when I ran the Ubuntu setup I did not realize it lumped all of my NTFS partitions together. Linux resized my Vista partitions and made its own. This completely pissed off Vista which in turn did a whole scandisk procedure and nagged and yelled as you’d expect.

In any case the first thing that was most striking to me about Ubuntu 9.04 was the interface. Every surface seems updated and polished. I was never a fan of the orange/brown appearance but it really works this time around. I normally ditch the human theme in favor of something blue or silver, but this time around it’s nice, and I stuck with it. The dark themes are nice too, and the desktops are perfect for multiple-monitor setups. Visually my favorite interface is probably the login screen which is dark and glossy.

Performance-wise, it runs like a top for the most part. I was concerned about the 64-bit release but it’s been fine with a few exceptions. The add/remove app seems to crash a good deal, I had some crashing when I installed my nvidia drivers, and there is a intermittent issue where my keyboard stops working which I think might be related to the gdesklets or some additions that I put in. When it runs however, it runs fast.

Compatability is good. It reads my NTFS partitions with no problem. A new version of WINE is out which is a step closer. All of my hardware with the exception of my webcam worked immediately after installation. Even ACPI is perfect.

So you might be asking, asides from is fresh interface, what else is new? For me, the biggest thing is how well is handles my multiple-monitor set up. The display properties in conjunction with the nvidia control panels give you a lot of power and management tools to tweak the heck out of your setup. Also new is bassero and a cloud-computing utility which I haven’t really played with yet.

Overall it’s another step forward. The big win in 9.04 is the interface, but behind it is the solid and easy OS Ubuntu has always strived to be. More and more Ubuntu is becoming something that is ready for the mainstream world.

Here’s a brief top-10 of apps I can’t get by without on a Windows machine. Most are free, too! Just google any of these to find the website and download link. Ok here goes (not in any order)

AVG Antivirus

Not a bad idea to start here, keeps your machine virus clean.

Notepad++

I used to be a diehard TextPad fan, but I will say this editor is even better. Every good nerd needs their editor. On Windows, this is mine. (vim for linux, and TextWrangler for Mac, if you’re interested!)

IrfanView

Of course, photoshop is an essential as far as I’m concerned. Gimp is a great free alternative - but even more bare bones and essential is IrfanView.

IsoRecorder

This should be part of Windows, and it kind of is. In Windows 7 it will be. But this is a free and easy way to burn ISOs.

uTorrent

Sooner or later I find myself downloading a torrent. This is a great client for Mac and Windows.

PuTTY

A great SSH and terminal program

Pidgin

The mutli-client chat program for AIM, ICQ, and everything else. (For Mac, use Adium)

VLC

Plays pretty much everything. This is a must for every platform.

WinMerge

A handy tool for comparing files visually

FoxitReader

A lightweight and clean PDF reader

WinStatDir

Handy-dandy visualizer for disk space… oh wait, this last one makes 11..

Misc / Other obvious winners:

Office, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Visual Studio, Firefox (I suppose)

One of the first things I did with my new Windows PC from Best Buy was to torch the OS and install a clean copy of Vista Ultimate. The fact it came preloaded with the google toolbar, and various demo installations just freaked me out. If you have a retail copy of Windows, I’d say round up your drivers and do the same.

Anyways the whole reinstallation deal lead to an observation of mine - I had a 20 gig partition that the Windows installer could not get at, nor could the Computer Management control panel (Disk Management snap-in)

20 gigs on a 750gig hard drive isn’t really a whole lot - but it’s the principle!

So before you embark down this road I’ll give you my usual disclaimer of proceed at your own risk. Back your stuff up! Also, I have a legit copy of Vista Ultimate to fall back on if I really screw crap up. (Not to mention all the Linux utilities and bootloaders) Ok now that all that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.

1. Go to start, run, type “cmd” to get to the command line. (Do this as a system admin)

2. type diskpart, press enter

3. now you should be in the diskpart utility, you’ll see a special diskpart promp. At it, type rescan and press enter.

4. type list disk and press enter. You should be looking at a list of the drives installed in your machine.

5. now type “select disk x” where x is the number corresponding to the disk with the locked oem partition. e.g. “select disk 0″ press enter.

6. if you type “list partition” you can see the partitions on this drive. you should see in this list the locked oem partition

7. now we need to select that partition. type “select partition x” where x is the locked oem partition

8. this is it, once you’ve selected the disk and restore partition you can type “delete partition override” to blow it away.

9.now, exit out of the terminal window and go into the control panels (classic view), administrative tools

10. in administrative tools you should see computer management, inside that is disk management

11. in disk management you can easily right-click the newly freed up partition, format, and bring up as usable space in your system.

OTHER IDEAS

If you’re hurting for space and don’t want to do a reinstall, you could relocate your swap file to this partition if it’s big enough. This will free up space on your primary drive for more programs and whatnot. Alternatively you could use partition magic and try and merge the partitions together. Or, if you have a copy of Windows, you can drop both partitions within the Windows installer and install a clean copy of Windows on the one, big, partition.

Happy Hacking.