After failing to get Ubuntu to install this week, I downloaded the Kubuntu DVD image and used it to boot my notebook. It looked very similar to Ubuntu during the startup process, and left me at KDE desktop instead of a Gnome desktop (hence the K in the name). I’ve come to prefer KDE over the past couple of years because it’s easier to switch between Windows and KDE - the metaphors are similar. I haven’t bothered to take the time to get my head around what Gnome is doing. For me, KDE just works.

The install process was also very similar, but this time an option to format the partitions as they were created was available. It made a difference - I was able to create, format, and then install to a partition created in the unallocated 20gigs on my disk.

The rest of the install process was a breeze. The only change to the system I felt necessary after initially installing was to enable the root account. I appreciate that working in a non-root account and using sudo is a safer way of administering the machine, but I prefer to su into root as necessary and do a bunch of tasks at once.

I haven’t worked on the notebook under Kubuntu as of yet, but I’m pleased the install was smooth.

I think Claude Lewis missed the point of the science in Stop ‘medicalizing’ bad behavior (Philadelphia Inquirer - 2006-06-07). The commentary was written in response news “intermittent explosive disorder” (IED), a condition doctors suggesting may cause road rage, or other anger that is out of proportion to the situation. Lewis is concerned that research provides excuses:

The risk is this: The more things we label disease, the less we label as transgression. If you think of your problem as a “disease,” to be treated like a disease, that lets you off the obligation to change that behavior.

Of course, one only needs to look at the examples of drug addiction and alcholism Lewis uses to see this isn’t true. While alcholism is now understood better by the medical community, the effects of it are still not excused by society. Increased understanding does not “lend legitimacy” , but improves our ability to deal with the conditions. It helps those surrounding someone with the condition to understand why the solution isn’t always as simple as it would appear it should be. “Stop taking drugs” is easy for the us to say, but known to be incredibly hard for the addict to do.

I’m a proponent of individual responsiblity. It bothers me that society allows lawsuits against tobacco companies to include anyone under 35 (they knew it was addictive), or that any of the endless “it’s not my fault I was an idiot” suits can actually waste the court’s time. People need to responsible for their own actions, and must account for their own circumstances. If you’re prone outbursts, then it is your responsiblity to recognize the signs, and take steps to keep yourself on the safe side of the anger threshold. Similarly, if you’re an alcholic, you shouldn’t find yourself in a bar.

The viagra example is a good one. Fixing the medical condition doesn’t necessarily fix the underlying factors that caused the condition. If the problems are internal to a relationship, viagra fixes nothing, but if factors external to the relationship are the source of the problems, perhaps the little blue pill helps keep the relationship strong so that the external issues can be faced. The individual is responsible for looking at his circumstances and knowing if he’s dealing with the right problems.

Lewis ends off with his alternative to the scientific approach to understanding a problem - it’s not his problem:

One cure for road rage, our new “disease,” is quite simple: Suspend the errant driver’s license for two, five or 10 years.

Thankfully, the medical community isn’t content to just lay blame, and beat the offender with the biggest stick around. They don’t excuse the behaviour, but work to find the underlying causes to of the behaviour so that those engaging in it can understand themselves better. If you know what the problem is, finding the solution is much easier.

So why do the research? It’s part of the illness called the scientific mind: it causes those afflicted to seek to know why simply for the sake of knowing why.

Rather than just loading Fedora and continuing as usual, I’ve decided to take a look at some of the other distros, starting with Ubuntu.

I started out by downloading and ISO of ubuntu-6.06-desktop-i386, and burned it to CD. I then restarted the notebook and let the machine boot from CD. After several minutes I was sitting at a sleek looking Gnome desktop with an “Install” icon on it. I started the install, and was taken through the usual keyboard, language, and time settings, and then prompted me create the first user on the system.

The next step was to allocate disk space to Linux. The default was to erase my entire disk and let the install create and allocate partitions for me. Since I have Windows XP installed, I selected “Manually edit the partition table” and hit next. After a minute of scanning the disk I was taken to a screen that showed my partition table.

When I did the first XP install I left 22 gigs of space free for installing Linux, which I selected in the partitioning tool and split into a 1 gig swap partition (”New Partition #1″) and a 21 gig root partition (”New Partition #2″). I clicked next and told the install to go ahead and write the changes to the disk.

After a minute or so, I was taken to the next screen where I was to select the partition I wanted to allocate to “/”. The drop down list didn’t show my newly created partitions though. Figuring I must of done something wrong, I went pack to the previous screen. My partitions were there, but they were not tagged as having the filesystem types I thought I had assigned. I removed and recreated the partitions, taking extra care to assign the proper filesystems.

I clicked next again, said okay to the changes and was taken to the partition assignment screen after a minute or so. Again, the drop down list didn’t show the partitions.

I tried a couple of more times before giving up and searching the Ubuntu forums for an answer. It turns the partition tool in the installer is known to be buggy - you can’t manually edit partitions.

At this point my first attempt at installing Ubuntu ended in failure.

Next up: Kubuntu from DVD.

Not playing WoW on a regular basis means I can go back to running Linux on my primary desktop at home again. I had been running Fedora up until I started playing WoW last fall, and still have it running on a variety of machines. I am also interested to see what Ubuntu is like - it’s been getting a lot of buzz.

I cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription this week. I’ve been playing since October of last year, but have become bored with it over the last couple of months. Lately I’ve reduced my playing to flipping auctions in the AH - something I started in February, and have made about 15,000g doing it. Having reached 60, and become “rich” in the game, it’s time to move on - I want the time back. There’s too much to do in a day already, without committing countless hours each week to a game.