RedBrick Ubuntu

This is a wiki page for all things related to the RedBrick Ubuntu release. If you have used this then you're encouraged to contribute - you can edit and add to these pages just by logging in with your RedBrick username and password.

2009 version

This time, we are using a modified version of Kubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope).

KDE 4.3.1 with a shiny new colour scheme, so it resembles Windows.
All software is up to date (as of 4th October 2009).
Mozilla Firefox with Flash.
Usual media codecs (support for MP3, DVD playback etc.)
Desktop has been tweaked, including a new wallpaper and quick "Connect to RedBrick" icon.
Java is installed with Console.class, robotworld.jar and graphics.jar.
Comes with a short but handy user manual.

Couldn't get a copy of the CD

The DVD image will be available online once it has been released. The Windows Java installer is still available here: http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~receive/java/java-installer.exe

2008 version

Linux

The CD is a modified version of the Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) live CD. The main modifications are:

All the software has been updated to the most recent version (as of Friday Oct 3rd 2008)
Openoffice, media codecs and other software not normally on the disk has been included.
OpenJDK 6 is included on this disk, as well as all the libraries used in first year java. These will be added to the default classpath.

Windows

When ran in windows the disk contains the sun java 6 installer, with modifications for first year java, as has been distributed by RedBrick in previous years. For instructions about how to use this installer see www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~receive/java/ You can also download the windows installer on it's own from this page.

Couldn't get a copy of the CD

The disk is avaliable as a 1.1GB dvd image from www.redbrick.dcu.ie/downloads. For instructions about how to burn the image see Burning the RedBrick Ubuntu image.

If you have a slow internet connection, you'll probably want to download & burn the image in the labs.

You can also download the windows java installer without linux here. This is less than 100mb, and should download much faster.

How to use the CD

To use the Live Linux installation simply put the disk in your computer, and restart it. Most computers will automatically boot from the cd drive if a bootable disk is inserted, while others will require you to press a button such as F12 while the computer is turning on.

For more about how to use the live CD read Using the RedBrick Ubuntu Live CD

Warning: The live CD is designed to be used without making any changes to your computer's hard drive, however it also comes with an option to permanently install ubuntu to your hard drive. This installation will involve making extra room on your hard drive for the installation, and should not be attempted without backing up all your important files and porn to an external drive or cd beforehand.

Partitioning

This doesn't all apply to Apple Mac computers, as they use a newer, more advanced hard disk layout system and boot system.

A hard disk on a PC needs to be partitioned before any operating system can be run on it. This means that the OS must lay claim to an area of hard disk space before it can be used. On most laptops, windows has created partitions taking up the entire disk.

To work around this, the Ubuntu installer includes a tool to resize the existing Windows partitions to make space for it's own one. When asked about partitioning, select the "Manual" option. To use this, you need some unused space inside the Windows partition. There is also an element of risk with the resize operation (if the partition contains unforeseen errors, or if there's a power cut during install, data may be lost), so back up your Windows documents and files before letting the installer do this.

Additionally, if windows has created four or more partitions (as is the case with some Acer laptops, and possibly others), you may need to delete one to make it possible for Ubuntu to create it's own one. This limitation is due to the way PCs were designed way back in the 80s. If you want to delete a Windows partition, just make sure it's not the one containing the C: drive (you can usually tell by the size of each one), and copy files from it to another windows partition before proceeding.

On the off chance that you don't want Windows (or any of the documents or files created on windows) on your PC at all anymore, you can just delete all the existing partitions and let Ubuntu do it's own thing.

Partitioning is risky business, due mainly to the risk of data loss. If you have any questions, or you are not certain about any elements of it, please ask for help by asking in IRC, emailing helpdesk, or asking one of us in person at a tutorial.

But, I already have Linux installed

If you already have Linux installed then the live cd won't be of much use to you. To make the same changes to your linux installation read How to set up java on your own linux

How to get more help/information

The main reason we chose ubuntu to build our live cd is it's reputation for being friendly to new users. In particluar the ubuntu forums are very active and friendly towards new users. If you have a question about the java additions to the cd, you can also ask the Helpdesk