Never one to be satisfied with a boring working OS, I decided that since 32-bit Ubuntu “just worked” I would attempt to install 64-bit Ubuntu. Installation and hardware recognition went just as smoothly as with 32-bit Ubuntu. And my first impression of 64-bit Ubuntu is that is appears to be a little “snappier” than 32-bit but both blow away XP. After installation of the OS and application of updates everything seemed just as smooth as before with the 32-bit version including the restricted ATI driver. I then proceeded to again follow:
http://linuxondesktop.blogspot.com/2008/04/things-to-do-on-your-new-ubuntu-804.html
Things that seems to be a little different:
– Sun will not create a 64-bit Java browser plugin until Java 7 (sometime in 2008) so you will need to use the GCJ plugin (Iced Tea) for java applets, although there may be compatibility issues with some sites. Alternatively you can install 32-bit Firefox and all the 32-bit plugins you want. There will also be a subsequent Java 6 plugin to follow sometime in early 2009(See bug fix)
– If you are one to install w32codecs, they are not available by that name, you need to use: non-free-codecs
– There doesn’t appear to be a 64-bit Shockwave plugin although Adobe flash seems to work without issue.
– Again although Acrobat does install, the acrobat plug-in does not seems to be available for 64-bit Firefox. Of course, this is not earth shattering by any stretch of the imagination.
– (Is anyone else detecting a pattern concerning 64-bit Closed Source plugins for linux?)
Well, that’s it for now. I will attempt the wine & Oblivion install in 64-bit and let you know what happens.