Frustrated as first-time Ubuntu user

[letscode]

One of my seniors at college recommended using Linux-based OSes for core development.

So I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS i386 in VirtualBox 4.2.16 on Windows 7 32-bit host with following configurations :
RAM = 1024 MB
Video memory = 128 MB
Acceleration = 3D (recommended as a solution for one of the problems stated below)
Hard-disk = 50 GB dynamically alloted
Network adapter = bridged adapter

I am unable to fix the following issues even after 3 hours of Googling

1) Cannot get syntax colors in vim-tiny. One solution was to delete vim-tiny and install vim. But I was unable to install any version if vim again.
2) Screen resolution.
    Measures taken : 
	   1) Tried installing VB guest additions. Didn't work.
	   2) VB Applicatin Menu -> View -> Auto-resize guest display. But the option is greyed out in my case.
3) VistualBox warning for 16 bit display mode in 32-bit display environment.
	Solution recommended was to go in Display Properties of the VM. But there is no option in my settings 

I don't know about the authenticity of the .iso file I got because it is only 987 MB in size.
I couldn't get a copy from the official site because of LAN's file size restrictions

Does it really take so much pain just to get a system going in Linux?

[naraku9333]

Try gvim or geany, both have syntax highlighting IIRC.

[TheIdeasMan]

If you can afford it, get another hard drive for your computer, install Linux on it along with a boot menu such as grub2 so you can choose which HD to boot.

Then you can be fully native, install an IDE like QtCreator, or Codeblocks, or KDevelop then you can do anything.

Linux tends toi come with a default video driver, which doesn't have that great a screen resolution or colours, but the is a procedure to fix that.

[ne555]

> Cannot get syntax colors in vi
I think that `vi' does not support syntax highlight, you may want vim

> But I was unable to install any version if vim again
¿unable how? what tool did you use, how did you try to install, what error messages does it give you.
you need to provide more information.

> Tried installing VB guest additions. Didn't work.
same as above.

> But the option is greyed out in my case.
iirc it gets enabled with VB guest additions.

[letscode]

IDK how the system was unable to install vim or any other variant. The internet is all working fine.
Installed the OS from scratch and installed guest additions again. Still the option is greyed and no options for higher screen resolutions. There are no errors during the installation. Everything goes fine as shown in some videos. Yet there is no outcome.

I am also not able to compile any .cpp files.
When I try to
sudo apt-get install g++
It prints a long list saying everything is latest version (0 upgraded, 0 new installed, 0 not upgraded)

[3hM2Nwbp]

A few years ago I was in your boat. Linux just seemed like the OS from hell in terms of intuitive interface and support. I still feel that Linux lags far behind the proprietary alternatives in these two departments, but it has slightly improved. If you're used to Windows as your OS, then I'd recommend trying out Linux Mint as a slightly more Windows-like distribution, clang as your primary C++ compiler, and Netbeans as your IDE of choice.

Keep in mind these are just my opinions and personal experiences coming from a Windows background.

Linux Mint (with Cinnamon) seems to be the most intuitive setup to me. Hey, you get a desktop that you don't have to spend weeks configuring! That's more than I can say for a lot of distributions.

I believe clang is far superior to the GCC in terms of performance, reliability, usability, and licensing. Plus, it's a little more intuitive to install than g++ (which if I recall was packaged under something like "build-essentials_x.y.z") sudo apt-get install clang will install clang. Simple and intuitive. Instead of typing g++ to compile your code, simply type clang++.

I don't really have any strong reasons as to why I prefer Netbeans other than it simply worked as I expected an IDE to. I had a bad experience or ten with code::blocks and their "support" that has forever turned me away from that crowd.

Sorry I couldn't offer any help with your specific problems. If Google has failed you, then it's probably a Linux issue that will get fixed whenever the developer feels like it -- or has received enough complaints to make their donation basket fill slower.

Good luck!

* Oh, and I've found that 'notepadqq' -- a clone of notepad++ -- feels a lot better than 'vim'. Again, sudo apt-get install notepadqq. I've never had a problem with notepadqq, which is something I can't say about vim.

[Cody0023]

ubuntu was a huge headache when I had it. It was also terrible interacting with my network adapter. Linux mint is definitely a better choice.

[Cheraphy]

Pff, friggin plebes using pre-made distros. I compile my kernel by hand and roll my own.


_{^{ok not really}}

Anyways, Ubuntu used to be the newbie linux users distribution of choice. However, as mentioned above, in recent years Linux Mint seems to have overtaken it. At first, one of Ubuntu's design principles was simplicity. It still is, but I feel like they ignore it for the most part in favor of what they see is innovation. I'd recommend downloading the Linux Mint iso with mate rather than cinnamon because, if i remember correctly, it's less resource intensive and you mentioned you were running it in a VM.