...is that I think I've accepted it as my default OS now days but it'd causing me problems that I don't want to have, and they are mainly work ones.
I've been using Ubuntu at home now for several months and am very happy with it. The only exception is that I can't watch Arsenal highlights on http://tv.arsenal.com, damm content protection + WMV crap! That means my 'media' machine is Windows; it's the computer with my video and music which is also hooked into my living room TV (sweet!).
However work is another problem. My work machine is a HP Compaq NW9440, a monster of a laptop, and these are the issues I'm facing:
1) Graphics card seems unsupported - this results in the computer freezing from time to time, resulting in the need for a restart (feels like Windows 95 again sometimes). This isn't a problem on my personal Ubuntu based laptop.
2) Microsoft Exchange, mail server - this is used at work, and let's be honest, Outlook is the best companion for Exchange, and the webmail through Firefox sucks. It requires a mixture of Evolution mail client, web mail and Outlook in a virtual. All compromises. No GMail for work unfortunately.
3) No Linux VPN client - means I have to use a virtual to VPN into my work network, again sucks.
4) When I plug a projector/monitor into the laptop, the whole thing barfs, needing a restart. I need to give a presentation next week and I can't do it using this machine - will I need to partition and install Windows just to do a presentation?
5) Livemeeting and Windows Conferencing - both heavily used amongst peers, neither work on Linux.
I want Ubuntu to work for me at work, but I'm struggling at the moment.
7 comments:
I realise this probably heresy, but you can use Outlook via wine.
You mention that you can't get LiveMeeting and WebEx to work on Ubuntu. You might give our simple screen sharing service Glance.net a try. You can view Glance sessions from nearly any Linux machine that has Java (as well as PCs and Macs).
While unsupported, some of our customers even host Glance sessions from Ubuntu, by using WINE.
I have the same laptop -- make sure restricted drivers are enabled for the nVidia card which resolved hang-ups for me. (System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager)
Plugging in a projector "trick" -- plug it in, hit Fn+F4, then close and re-open your laptop lid.
Ekiga can do SOME NetMeeting stuff, but doesn't appear to help with desktop sharing. VNC in this case.
thanks everyone, I'll certainly check out wine, and Dustin, David D suggested the same thing as well which made the fix.
Rich, thanks for your recomendation, I'll check it out, although most people here use Livemeeting, so it may be difficult to change minds.
You can make Evolution use Exchange's Outlook Web Access API (not sure about the details - @9600 set that up for me). That works like a charm.
@FND yeah, I've been using Evolution, it works ok, better then web mail by a long way =)
1) Find the graphic card model (use lspci from the terminal) and search on teh web for solutions.
2) There is a Microsoft connector for exchange that should be installed on Ubuntu by default. It works pretty well. See if your IT department supports LDAP mode, Evolution will have no problem with that.
3) Linux does have many VPN clients out there depending on what your company uses. Most people use Cisco and yes, there is a Cisco VPN client for Linux.
4) Looks to be related to your graphics problem, see step 1. You may need to get drivers from ATI or Nvidia for it.
5) Webex works well for Ubuntu, Microsoft Net Meeting does with Ekiga.
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