If I were to take a wild guess, I would say that most of the people reading this post are using Microsoft Windows. Some of you might be using Apples OS X to run your computer. These are all called operating systems.
You may have heard of Linux but don’t really know what it is. Basically Linux is a FREE open source operating system. The overwhelming majority of web servers actually run Linux based systems because is it credited with being much faster and more secure than windows.
Linux has always had the reputation for being for techie geeks only, but recently Linux distributions have been coming out with the aim of making Linux more user-friendly to use for those raised on Windows and Apple computers. The most popular of these distributions is Ubuntu.However, upon searching the web I discovered a Ubuntu Muslim Edition. Here is what the author has to say:
What is Ubuntu Muslim Edition?
Ubuntu Muslim Edition is a set of packages that customizes the Ubuntu distro [distribution] by installing islamic software (prayer times, Quran study tool, web content filtering tool etc.) and by changing its design.
Why a “Muslim Edition”?
Ubuntu is a great distro, easy to use for a novice user, with the most-used Office, Internet, Graphics and Video applications already installed but we think that for Muslim users it would be great to have “out of the box” Islamic software and tools installed as well.
One of these days I intend to switch to ubuntu myself. It has come highly recommended to me by a few Muslims before so it seems like something I ought to explore. If you are interested, there are setups where you can run Ubuntu and Windows on the same machine and choose which you want to use when you boot up the computer. This is done through a partitioned hard drive and can give you the best of both worlds.
If you want to try Ubuntu without having to do anything complicated or installing a new operating system you can check out Wubi. This is Wubi in their own words:
Wubi is Simple
No need to burn a CD. Just run the installer, enter a password for the new account, and click “Install”, go grab a coffee, and when you are back, Ubuntu will be ready for you.
Wubi is Safe
You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application. Wubi is spyware and malware free, and being open source, anyone can verify that.
Wubi is Discrete
Wubi keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.
Wubi is Free
Wubi and Ubuntu cost absolutely nothing (free as in beer), but yet provide a state of the art, fully functional, operating system that does not require any activation and does not impose any restriction on its use (free as in freedom).
Is anyone using or tried Ubuntu or Ubuntu Muslim Edition? Please share your experience here.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
that’s awesome!!! This could be a real help to those masjids who want computer labs for the young muslims out there -
I hope this is a very low resource version of Ubuntu - essentially thats what I think a good Muslim OS would be- but alhamdulillah - finally we got our own OS!!!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I’ve looked at Ubuntu Muslim before, it’s nicely done, with a better default theme than the standard Ubuntu, and a lot of useful applications (though anyone can install those applications to a regular version of Ubuntu). It is just as resource intensive, though - a lighter version could be made by basing it on Xubuntu instead.
Still, it’s a good start, and definitely something I might want to install on a computer for my young nephews and nieces.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Sounds like an interesting project. You should upload screenshots too.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Interesting concept, good write up, but that ‘free as in free beer’ reference in the last paragraph should probably be changed to mention cakes or cookies or something else that isn’t incredibly offensive to the target demographic.
I know it’s standard, and on almost every explanation of linux on the web, but for muslims beer is bad, and if someone is devout enough to want to install an operating system based around their religion, then they’re devout enough to not install something that talks about deadly vices.
Otherwise the whole article is solid.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:23 am
Faraz, do you mean the Ubuntu itself is resource intensive or Ubuntu ME?
sandswipe, I’m sorry about the ‘beer’ reference but that is from the wubi quote and I don’t normally like to tamper with them.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
It is not excessively resource-intensive, but I was addressing the earlier comment that hoped that it was a very low resource version of Ubuntu - which it isn’t. Not to say that it’s inefficient - it’s just no more efficient than the regular Ubuntu, which is still pretty good.
I use a very old computer at home, but it runs the Xubuntu variant quite well since it is based on XFCE, which is designed to require less memory and processor power than the standard Gnome or KDE versions.