Ubuntu 7.04 -- it's not all bad

Ashton Mills
30 April 2007, 1:35 AM

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In Part 2 of this hands-on look at the new Ubuntu 7.04 we take a look at some of the new features, the merits and the pitfalls, of this latest distribution the Ubuntu line has to offer. Is finally ready for prime time as the ultimate Linux desktop?

In the previous installment I wasn't too happy about the lack of proper display support, but once the desktop was running in the proper resolution and I sat down to play, did it get any better?

Well, yes and no. One of the most important noticeable changes I think in this release is user-friendly approach to missing components -- selecting to enable Desktop Effects for example correctly informed that the Nvidia drivers were required and, if I wanted to, it would install them for me through the new Restricted Drivers manager -- great! This is exactly the type of polish that's needed (and much preferred over wasting time searching forums for solutions).

Restricted drivers: A new dialog helps users install non-free drivers

And thankfully, this approach is used elsewhere as well: in the Time and Date settings it's possible to set the clock via NTP servers -- and if you select this option Ubuntu will prompt you to install the necessary client programs in order to enable this. Nice.

Time and Date: Setting time via NTP, and being prompted for the appropriate packages

Same goes when it came to setting up networks shares -- Ubuntu prompted to install NFS and/or SMB support. Gold!

But the crown -- with Totem after inserting a DVD, Ubuntu recognised it didn't have the CODECs needed to support the media, and prompted to install the necessary CODECs -- fantastic! Ubuntu 6.10 would have just shrugged its shoulders and turned its back on the user. Top marks here.

Well, mostly -- while the installed CODECs handle all manner of media playback, including the ability to read DVDs, it doesn't include DeCSS support to actually play encrypted DVDs -- i.e. 99.99% of the ones you're likely to use.

Totem: Not recognising the DVD, even after installing the suggested codecs

Why? Same old problem as before: the decryption code and its distribution is illegal under US (retarded**) law, and thus can't be distributed with Ubuntu. That's fair enough, the Ubuntu team is doing the right thing -- however it doesn't tell you this anywhere. Instead, after codec installation, Totem just reports it can't understand the media stream of the DVD.

Again, as in Part 1, what would a Windows user new to Linux do? Go search the forums? Why should they have to? Most will just re-boot to Windows. It would very easy for a simple message to pop up explaining that DVD support needs to be installed separately and pertinent to your local laws, and then to go here [with helpful link inserted] to explain the steps to do this.

At least this way the onus is on the user, but Ubuntu doesn't leave them hanging without a clue. In this day and age, it’s a bit a ridiculous for Linux to have this problem, don’t you think? And don’t get me started on MP3 support, which suffers a similar fate in Ubuntu.

As usual, Automatix2 comes to the rescue (and provides the clear legal warning required on the libdvdcss libraries) to get DVD playback working (and hint: go with Mplayer, but don't forget to set your video preferences).

Automatix: It may not be fair to say it, but Ubuntu owes some of its success to Automatix

Next, the camera test -- Ubuntu 6.10 ran the image transfer program with the wrong permissions, preventing images to actually be transferred. How does 7.04 go? Thankfully this has been fixed, glad someone is testing out the applications before bundling a release. Yes I'm a harsh bastard, simple things like this don’t take long to test and are essential for a professional release.

Plugging in a camera:: Ubuntu recognises the camera, and this time allows images to be copied

So is there anything else I like aside from the required programs prompts? Yes indeed -- as in Part 1, 7.04 seems quicker and more responsive, Open Office is great as usual and loads quickly, the revamp to add/remove programs is good, the new art and icons are welcome, the new updates in Gnome 2.18 are great, and even small things like adding Tomboy Notes are a nice touch. All in all it feels like a polished Ubuntu 6.10 so far, and that’s just a week of use so far.

And then there's Desktop Effects -- this has to be easiest introduction to Compiz yet. It toggles on and off seamlessly, and the Ubuntu team was right not to make it the default -- a few things are still fiddly, but aside from these it looks impressive and gives the desktop a more vibrant feel. It's part of the lesson that Microsoft (or perhaps I should arguably be saying Apple here) taught the computing world: aesthetics matters.

And there’s no reason why Linux can’t lead here, as well.

Desktop effects: Explore a 3D desktop with a simple toggle

Desktop cube: Just a sample of the snazzy desktop effects in Ubuntu

All up, I like what I’ve seen and played with so far, bar a few serious oversights. But I still wouldn’t recommend Ubuntu for as a Windows replacement for non-Linux users. I’ve said it before and I’m not the only one: the Linux desktop still isn’t there quite yet. Ubuntu is the closest so far to a seamless, consistent, reliable desktop enivronment – read those keywords again, because these are the tenets of success here – but it’s not there yet.

We’ll wait and see what Gutsy Gibbon –- aka Ubuntu 7.10 -- holds for us.

** The DeCSS code is classed as an illegal circumvention under the US DMCA. Depsite this many PVR and similar DVD-capable media center devices on the market run on Linux and use this code, and these products are freely available worldwide.

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Snuff:

I agree with the above statements. I decided to give the new ubuntu a go, did a fresh install, and with a few minor hiccups installed ok.
Like the article said, it didnt recognise my widescreen so i downloaded the driver from nvidia and "expected" to double click the icon and the install to take place....was i wrong!
I had to open a shell and type "sh c:/........" I did this and then it mentioned something about "X install" or something. I searched the forums for 2 hours trying to find out how to do it.
I finally gave up! It takes 5-6 mouse clicks with Vista (even with UAC), and my driver was installed.
Until Linux can fix these problems, and others like this I feel that it wont be a widespread OS for the Masses.
I am not saying that Vista hasnt got problems, i went back to XP after there were lackluster drivers for my creative and Nvidia products. But once the drivers came out, i am enjoying the ease of this new operating system.

And to the comment that linux is free, and windows vista cost money. Sorry I prefer to pay for a user friendly OS that i can use with minimal fuss, rather than have to go to a command shell just to install a driver.

Dwayne

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Jnex:

Quote from Snuff

I agree with the above statements. I decided to give the new ubuntu a go, did a fresh install, and with a few minor hiccups installed ok.
Like the article said, it didnt recognise my widescreen so i downloaded the driver from nvidia and "expected" to double click the icon and the install to take place....was i wrong!
I had to open a shell and type "sh c:/........" I did this and then it mentioned something about "X install" or something. I searched the forums for 2 hours trying to find out how to do it.

So when you installed ubuntu what release did you install, becuase the synaptic package manager works for the nvidia driver, or you could apt-get the package.

If you had looked on the forums you owuld have come across this command.

sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx

which would download and install the nvidia drivers all in one go.

also the comment "sh c:/........" makes me think you just were not ready for linux, as there is no "C:\" in linux as there is only one file system so there is no C, D, or E Drive.

I do think the articles comments were correct tho, feisty is a improvement upon edgy however it's not there yet. the one thing I would say if you thinking of moving over to linux and you consider yourself a expert in windows, don't expect that knowledge to translate into linux, they are different and as such should be treated so so when you install linux start as you did when you first experinced windows, also if your like me and can't help but fiddle with your O/S try linux it's so much more flexible than windows for fiddlers.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Fuchur:

Main problem main stream user have with Linux at present stage is that "simple" things are done in a different way then they have been used to for years while using windows. That's the reason people have a hard time switching.

But if you read a little (the Ubuntu help function would be a good start...) you will see you get to know the system quite fast for day to day stuff that you do on your Windows system as well.

For me that is...

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Gah:

Very true, Fuchur. That does seem to be the crux of the problem. People expect to do things the same (retarded) way as they are done in Windows, and that's why they have a hard time converting to Linux (or MacOS or any other system for that matter).

Personally I did not start out computing on Windows (there was no such thing back then). I find most other operating systems do things in better and more user friendly ways than Windows does.

The one thing that makes me balk away from a Linux distro is when they try to do things in a similar way to windows (like PCLinuxOS).

The people that have the most problems converting are the ones who know a little bit about computing (Windows) but not much. People who have no computing experience whatsoever (like my girlfriend) couldn't care less what desktop they're on. And experts can usually adapt to anything.

My father still moans the loss of his precious MS-DOS, where he could just type what he wanted the computer to do instead of clicking around all over the place.

29 February 2008, 8:46 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Francisco:

Sorry but you did not get the point. Ubuntu does the job of installing the binary driver by itself. You cannot just get the driver and execute it. If you want to install a device driver by yourself, you have to know what you are doing. There is no magic of executing a program and all is done.
Once you do not know how to do, let Ubuntu do it for you!

Best regards,
Francisco.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

soutsanity:

you don't double click anything in linux
there is no c:
lol
try again with the idea that it is not windows
use synaptic to install nvidea drivers, it works

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Stephen:

System -> Administration -> Restricted Drivers Manager

Click the checkbox next to "nVidia Accelerated Driver"

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Larry:

I agree completely. I really wanted to like Ubuntu more than I did, but it gave me too many problems. Can you imagine not being able to watch most movies, format a floppy, or backup to a tape drive? These are all to easy with Windows!

Unfortunately, most application available on Ubuntu's Applications/Add-Remove menu, closely resemble the freeware you can get on Window machines. Because they are limited and not very user friendly, you just don't use them. The only set of programs which are worthy, or are Open Office programs. If you need Photoshop, or Dreamweaver, then you are out of luck.

If you want a free OS, and the Internet and email are all you really need, then you'll probably be happy with it. If you do more, then you should keep what you've got and wait for (at least), the next release.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

vermin:

pure and simple fight for an open source direct X equivalent and watch linux overload the servers with downloads.

change the way it overwrites the bootblock when you install it on a multiOS partitioned harddrive.
How many times Ive lost years of data due to trying out linux distros for no reason(running fine then bang no HD), then trying to get help on forums from self important fanboys argg!! drives me insane!

I like open source software, use lots of it.Have donated to some I really like, but will not never ever again trash my HD due to the way linux distros install

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

totedati:

quote:
"And to the comment that linux is free, and windows vista cost money. Sorry I prefer to pay for a user friendly OS that i can use with minimal fuss, rather than have to go to a command shell just to install a driver.

Dwayne"

and this is the most important thing all linux heads needs to know ... money is here, right under you nose! get rid of all this little annoying stupid problems, make a distro where all command line wick craft can be skipped for good and you will got a hoards of disappointed vista, past xp users!!!
and all of it is ready to pay to get it!!!
TO PAY FOR IT!!!
with real money, not virtual thank you ...
;-p
but to do this all desktop linux distro will need to get rid of all this stupid little annoying problems that get you back to command line. This is a no go for many. The first distro that understand this, that all command line hopla is powerful but a lot of normal people simply can not get it, and can do all basic things without recurse to command line will win the desktop battle .. and will be the first linux distro ready for desktop.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Gavin OS:

Yes, a rather critical review, with some flaws exposed.
But the big question is, "have you managed to find the Wastebasket ?".

As a fairly new linux user (Ubuntu since Oct '06), I was a bit surprised to read in a recent edition of APC that this writer could not find the wastebasket in Ubuntu, and claimed this was a fault in Ubuntu's design.

The wastebasket has appeared in the bottom panel, extreme right hand side, on all Ubuntu versions I've used or seen.

Makes me wonder about all these other 'problems' that have been 'exposed'.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Ashton Mills:

I knew that would come up :) There's a correction in the next issue -- my fault: I had re-arranged my toolbars. However you failed to mention the rest of the point about how Ubuntu handles Trash -- and which still stands:

Ubuntu happily reported it couldn't copy a file because it ran out of disk space, but completely ignored the fact I had hundreds of megs in the Trash waiting to be emptied. So what does it do? It just bombs out. It would be exceedingly simple to code a little pop-up saying 'You have space waiting to be freed in the Trash, empty it now?'.

Even Windows does this -- when disk space is low you are prompted to run disk clean up, which includes emptying the Trash.

You can disagree with my opinion, that's fine, that's why we have them. Mine is that Ubuntu can't make a run for the Desktop crown until simple things like this are considerd and implemented. As I said in Part 1 of this piece -- Ubuntu lacks polish like this all over, and as the very first comment here attests, it's these small things that matter the most and which people will just reboot to Windows if they can't find.

If I was on the Ubuntu team, I'd be making a list of these things to fix.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Anonymous3:

then flippin get on the ubuntu team....

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Anonymous0987:

There is a list of things to fix ... It's called Launchpad

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

baskus:

humm, I guess for a complete computer newbie that would be a good thing to have. it's also one of the real reasons windows are truly annoying, all those fscking popups that tell me to reboot, clean up, go there, blabla.
And the by FAR worst of them all is one I saw once that had a bar going down when it would reboot in 20s or something if I didnt cancle it, wtf is that? :P
Anyway, about the nvidia drivers, if u know what to do u do it faster in linux than in windows, if u dont I guess your screwed sometimes. :P
If they do add those libnotify popup thingys to stuff like that (which I think they should afterall) I'm quite sure they will do it right and not like m$. xD
Also, about the resolution probs, I think that will be fixed in the near future when X wont have a config at all anymore...
Only thing I see that windows are better at is.. well.. nothing really. What makes windows good is all the apps that don't run on linux. :P

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

MasterGH:

I actually sent an email regarding the mistake in the magazine to the author, didn't get a reply but he probably recieved too many to reply to each one.

In it I agreed with him regarding the running out of space issue. I've only ever once run out of space with Windows (back in the 98 days) but at least it had some tips to get back your space. It'd be such a tiny thing for the Ubuntu team to do that it just doesn't make sense not having it.

I've been using Ubuntu for quite a while now, and with all the problems I've had I'm sure a PC nooby couldn't cope. But it is easily usable for those with a bit of tech knowledge, and I've nearly completely switched from windows to it. Haven't used Windows for more than 30 minutes in weeks, except a case where I was helping get it set up.

The bottom line for me is that Linux is still something that takes time and effort to learn and appreciate. No-matter how many times people try to dumb it down for novices, its still different enough from Windows and runs into enough complications to turn so many people back. And no-matter how many great things there are about it, the constant "but why not just use windows" question will pop up. My first experience with it was pretty horrible too (Red Hat 9, couldn't get sound to work at all...). Finding help is so much different in Linux , but I think that once you've learned to get help the Linux way (i.e. searching the huge forums where 90% of the time you can find an answer, instead of just making a post saying "waaaa I can't get sound to work, someone help me :((((") can help you a great deal.

Just my opinion...

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Steven:

I'm a long time Windows user - I have to be, it's all we use at work. But I love to tinker and I'd love to give Linux a try.

I've tried numerous times over the years to install Linux on one of my machines at home and sadly I've never been completely successful.

Now I'm no idiot :) yet despite reading a couple of Linux for Dummies type books from cover to cover there's always SOMETHING that goes wrong that I don't know how to fix.

For example the last version of Ubuntu from the APC cover DVD. It managed to get 99% through the install and then failed.

No reason given, it just went into some crazy endless loop.

Previous installs have failed to recognise my sound card or, like this article, not had a screen resolution to suit. Probably all easily fixed by a command line Guru. Which I ain't.

I would LOVE to be able to ditch Windoze from at least one of my machines but until someone comes up with a TOTALLY foolproof install....

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

George F. Rice:

Steven wrote: "I would LOVE to be able to ditch Windoze from at least one of my machines but until someone comes up with a TOTALLY foolproof install...."

Ah, so you're still using DOS? Not one Windows version thus far has had a TOTALLY foolproof install, my friend.

Your best bet with Linux is to buy a machine with Linux PRE-installed - you know. like you do with Windows. Google (for example) "Linux laptop", and pick a vendor (for example, Emperor Linux).

I bought two $99 Linux boxes from Fry's. Didn't have one bit of trouble with installation on THOSE boxes... ;-)

And in all seriousness, best of luck on your journey to freedom!

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Matt:

I've been in this industry for over 20 years and I must say that between the Windows and Linux users there has always been an argument as to which is better. Windows in the past has had a reputation for being foolish and un-tested letting their user base do the testing for them and fixing the problems after a release has been done but I must admit that with Windows Vista I was impressed for the first time and had no problems at all. I have a eMachines laptop that is a couple of years old and Vista installed with no errors and no problems. Everything worked from the start to my suprise... I cannot say the same about some of the new Linux distros that we have been using for the last few months. I'm not partial to any operating system and work with all of them to one extent. I agree that for Linux to take a lead in the industry for a users desktop they are going to have to work just a little more on makeing the software more user friendly for the non-computer person. I'm not sure that it will ever get the gammer to completly move over. I have to say that 90% of the people out there bad mouthing Linux or Windows have never used the product that they are bad mouthing. I see this all of the time and I must say that it doesn't help your argument one bit if you cannot stat fact over fiction. I have used most of the operating systems that have come about and I would have to say that Linux is still more for the real computer savy and for the person that likes to dig under the covers then for the average Joe. I would like to see Linux move ahead but I think it will still take some time before we see Linux actually perferred over Windows for main stream use.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

George F. Rice:

Very thoughtfully put.

I've used Windows extensively since version 1.0 (yes, I was one of the three! ;-), right up through XP (which I still use daily on a laptop). I haven't used Vista yet, though I believe I'll have that (ahem) opportunity soon.

I can believe you've had no problems on your Windows installations, just as I hope you can believe I've had no problems with many, many Linux installs. My *point*, however, is that the best way to avoid installation hassles is to get the OS pre-installed - the way most people buy Windows today.

I firmly believe based on extensive use that Linux is ready for prime time on the desktop. Certainly not everybody will switch en masse - I'll be delighted if Ubuntu follows the Firefox adoption curve (currently around 15% after a couple of years) for desktop adoption, while recognizing that much faster release cycles help Linux improve more rapidly than its main competitor.

My personal vision is not "Linux everywhere" - it's "NOT Windows everywhere" - that is, a healthy competition between Windows, Mac, various Linux and BSD distos, and a bit of Solaris, ReactOS and Haiku thrown in for flavor. This is becoming practical precisely because open source applications - augmented by technologies such as AJAX, .NET/Mono, JRE/gcj, etc. - have made platform-agnostic applications a reality today. I believe and hope that trend will continue.

Cheers to the coming technology freedom (I hope)!

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Reza Muhammad:

I think this is what the community needs. There have been so many reviews on Ubuntu Feisty from the goodside points of view. It's good to see the downside of it so that soon-to-be migrated users know what they will be dealing with.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Pieter:

I do appreciate the tone and the approach of the review. Rather than just swooning over Ubuntu's latest offering, it does address fairly fundamental issues for Windows users wishing to make the migration, and it does not get more basic than screen resolution.

What I do like about the Ubuntu distribution is the general willingness to accept and consider critism, and a less defensive approach by the development team and community.

If they keep at it, it will improve, and reviews such as this will help it do so.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Wes:

I also like the fact that the review brings some work arounds wherever possible and its good to know both the good and the bad to have a complete picture.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Jason R Briggs:

I've experienced similar annoyances in Kubuntu 7.04, except that my display failure resulted in an unuseable X conf -- and required the command line to recover.

It's difficult to justify recommending K/Ubuntu to a non-technical user, considering long-standing issues like these... much as I would like to.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Debian Dev:

I also had problems with screen resolutions , it has happened through every version that i have installed from the Ubuntu branch. Luckily i have been using Debian Linux for quite a few years and know how to fix the small but show stopping BUGS that keep appearing when trying to install.I would suggest anyone that is having trouble give Debian Etch a run and then you will see a true OS in action less the bloody bugs.

The Debian install at least lets you select which resolution you would like.Ubuntu need to take a leaf out of the Debian devs books ,why they have to release a version every 6 months is beyond me and this is where i believe the problem lies , whats wrong with a 12 month release cycle i ask.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Aubrey.conversely:

A fair review, Ashton.

I had the same setup problems with a fresh install on my desktop running a BenQ widescreen monitor.

Mind you, the online dist-upgrades I did on my two edgy laptops went flawlessly.

In fairness (as you know) 95% of Windows users have never had to install an OS and would face many problems doing so. IMHO, given a competant full install (including codecs and drivers), Ubuntu easily beats XP hands down. I wouldn't know about Vista as I decided six months ago I will never put it on a machine I own.

Oh, I assume you simply forgot to mention the most important new feature - Suduko! After six months grudgingly using "this Umberto thing" my wife is now completely sold on Ubuntu thanks to Sudoko.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Gerry Tool:

"Oh, I assume you simply forgot to mention the most important new feature - Suduko! After six months grudgingly using "this Umberto thing" my wife is now completely sold on Ubuntu thanks to Sudoko."

If you haven't tried Ksudoku yet, you will find it a great treat. It is much easier to use than Gnome sudoku.

(No, I am not a KDE user, I am a Gnome user.)

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Jonathan:

Holy Crap! I spent THREE DAYS trying to figure out how to get "sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg" and get xorg.conf correctly written and be able to set the resolutions and refresh rates correctly on a 21 inch wide screen LCD... damn!!! And compile the Nvidia driver. HUGE pain in the ASS! The desktop effects and Beryl are very unstable. This experience felt like the early days of the "Windows 98" nightmare.... wake me up when it's ready I'm going back to sleep (Windows XP). I hope Gusty is better, I'll never use Vista or a proprietary Mac.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

mac:

once you use a mac you will never go back.
mac is clearly the best unix based os available today.but i still like tinkering with linux opensuse and ubuntu

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

raindog:

But once you preach "Mac you'll never come back" you be branded fanboy d**khead of the thread.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Roger Oot:

I started using Macs back when they were all in black and white and would go "eep eep boing" all day. And when I made programming errors, a black bomb would pop up on the screen, and the computer would need to be rebooted. And you know what? I always felt very relieved to stop using a Mac, and start using a serious Unix machine, like those old Ultrix beasts, or even one of those strange VMS machines with the square brackets all over the place.

Macs have changed now, but they're still crippled. The best Unix machine wouldn't have a one-button mouse, it'd have at least three buttons, preferably five. If you'd used Unix a lot, you'd know why.

Then there's the strange stuff Apple glued on top of Unix to get their OS working. It's just not right to stick a bunch of directories in there starting with uppercase letters. And how does it help? Why is /Users/bart better than /home/bart? Why change something that isn't broken?

That's like when Bill Gates ripped off Unix when he made DOS, and changed the slashes to backslashes in directory names. What was the point of that, Bill? It caused heaps of grief and strange bugs, but hey, at least it was slightly different than the standard!

Another problem with a Mac is the "It's a sealed box and only Authorised Apple Repair Centres can look inside" attitude. If people want to treat their computers like that, they can of course. But personally, I prefer to be allowed to do minor stuff like changing memory and hard drives on my computers, without being told that it "voids the warranty".

I don't want to buy any more computers that are put together like some fiendish plastic puzzle, which take hours to disassemble and reassemble to change the hard drive. And I certainly don't want to be told I'm not allowed inside my own computer. Instructions I've found say that you need a large steel spatula to crack open a MacMini. I don't want to use a spatula to open a computer. I want to use a screwdriver. Preferably a Phillips head, of a standard size. And I'd like to use the same screwdriver to remove the screws and take the hard disk out. Is that too much to ask?

I still use Macs, because some people in my family have them, and they don't really understand how to do some of the more complex things and they need help. But I quite gladly do "go back" to using Linux after using a Mac. Macs are clearly good for some tasks, but they are no way the best machine for every task. And as a Unix machine, they are missing vital components like a C compiler.

So in summary, I don't agree with your statement that "once you use a mac you will never go back". An Apple Macintosh is not the ultimate computer. If somebody said I could have any Mac available, even that one with the big screen, or a Sun E25K, I'd take the Sun. And I doubt if I'd ever voluntarily stop using the Sun to use a Mac. Check it out, Sun E25K, somebody buy me one please.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

anon:

I'm curious if the widescreen monitor was a Dell 2405FPW. I had the same issue (both not being picked up during the install as a 1920x1200 monitor as well as an error with the nvidia generated xorg.conf).

It's a known bug with the Dell.

Regarding missing codecs, I agree with the problems listed above. All that's really required is a link to the Ubuntu wiki which provides clear instructions for installing both the DeCSS library and MP3 support, among others. You can find the article at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Ashton Mills:

Actually it's a 24" Samsung 244T. And concur that even a link to the Wiki, while not ideal, is better than nothing for the proprietary formats.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

anon2:

I was wondering the same... I've got one of those screens as well, and the open 'nv' drivers have often failed to work out the correct resolution for it. The binary drivers work fine...

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

sls:

Interestingly, SUSE got my Dell 2405FPW right out of the box. So i am not sure that it is a DELL issue.

Traditionally, I have had Ubuntu use the incorrect resolution in several situations, and there is no obvious way to fix it. It is very frustrating -- I have added the correct resolutions to the Xorg config file and they have summarily been ignored by X. I suppose I would have to add the mode lines to the config file too, but they seem completely and utterly unintelligible. I refuse to do this... It would be unsupportable in a large environment.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

AdamW:

"And thankfully, this approach is used elsewhere as well: in the Time and Date settings it's possible to set the clock via NTP servers -- and if you select this option Ubuntu will prompt you to install the necessary client programs in order to enable this. Nice."

"Same goes when it came to setting up networks shares -- Ubuntu prompted to install NFS and/or SMB support. Gold!"

Other distros have been doing this since the last century.

"And then there's Desktop Effects -- this has to be easiest introduction to Compiz yet. It toggles on and off seamlessly..."

We introduced drak3d, with support for compiz via Xgl and AIGLX, in Mandriva Linux 2007 six months ago. In Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring, released a few days before Ubuntu 7.04, we have support for compiz, beryl and Metisse via Xgl, AIGLX and running direct on NVIDIA drivers. Same feature, same ease of use, more functionality, introduced earlier.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Ashton Mills:

Adam,

As a matter of fact I was hoping to do a first look at Mandriva Spring before Ubuntu, but neither Spring One or Spring Free would actually boot up into X on my system. Nothing strange here -- 7900GTX card and the aforementioned monitor, and yet where Ubuntu had no problem at least giving me a display, Mandriva couldn't get that far, it just blackscreened at loading X. Obviously this doesn't happen with all systems, and I wasn't going to review something I couldn't even -see-. But had it worked, I might have been able to praise it.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

AdamW:

Ow, that's a shame. If you do want to try it out I'm sure we could fix the problem, mail me the obvious stuff (lspci, xorg.conf , Xorg.0.log) and I'll take a look. I understand this is obviously not the experience a newbie needs, but just so you can take a look at it on your system. And yes, you're right, it doesn't happen on all systems, I've tested Spring on several NVIDIA and ATI systems myself and it's been OK.

But wasn't expecting praise, just pointing some things out for accuracy's sake =) When I said 'other distros' plural I really meant it, I know other distros besides MDV have been doing NTP and share configuration for donkeys' years.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

888:

holy crap, you guys praising ubuntu for ability to update system time from nntp :D
Even windozes had it for umm... 10+ years at least ;)

As much as I try to like Ubuntu, and all the "User-Friendly Distros", IMHo theyre all still crappy.
Face it:
Average windoze user have no clue about such simple things like sudo, apt, get etc. And why should they? If youre making an OS for the Masses, you shouldn't try to force the users to learn how to use your OS. Get a clue from MAC OSes... user interface is *everything*. If user have to learn "command lines" to operate user-friendly Ubuntu, why not go for Slack instead?

I've been saying it for ages and this next Ubuntu distro only proves me right again: linux is still in geek's hell. And I doubt if it will ever surface to "mainstream".
The only friendly thing that happens to linux distros in general is... Microsoft :)
Thanks to M$oft's stupidity (like cutting support for their own products prematurely) and thanks to M$oft's bad reputation more and more people are at least trying to use something else than wintel duo... unfortunately linux powers that be are so selfcentered that I'm affraid thy have already missed this golden opportunity to replace windoze monopoly: all machines are cheaper and more powerful as always, but its one of the very first moments in PC's history when top system requirements for an OS are still way below capabilities of average machine sold on the market. Thus Vista and Vista-alike future behemoth OSes with gigabytes of GUI will still dominate :(

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

chr0naut:

Not quite.

I believe the first Windows OS that updated from NTP sources was Windows 2000. Previous versions (NT mainly) only updated time using the proprietary NET TIME protocol that originally came out with MS LANMAN.

You needed 3rd party apps to get the time from an NTP server. Once you had the correct time, either NET TIME or NTLOGON set the client PC's time from the server or DC.

Before Win2K even TCPIP on Windows was NOT the default and a bit patchy.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

yahub:

I am extensively using/testing GNU/Linux in many of it's flavours for about 8 or 9 years now. I have to agree that Ubuntu is not the way to go for the average user for now and will not be for some time. But at least you'll be able to use Linux (not only Ubuntu) if you use your brain. In my opinion there are far too many people not willing to just learn how things work.

Most of our customers don't even know how to use Windows productively and these people are using their machines nearly full time. They have no clue how to manage things with their machines beside the usual click on the blue "e" to "get into my internet" etc. Got the point? You can believe me that all the nice details in Windows are nearly negligible. The truth is... PEBKAC!

It's okay to show what can be made better to make computers idiot-proof but should be computers idiot-proof in this way? Why shouldn't people be forced to use their brains. The whole life is about to use your brain. Sadly you cannot make that much money with brain using people. ;-)

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

DarkTrancer:

I agree with you on the issue of average computer users have no idea how to maintain/work all of any OS.
However is Ubuntu not in fact aimed at bringing people from shall we say "other" operating systems to linux and moreover Ubuntu.
The people that do use their brain are free to roam around any and every os if they choose,but for the major slice of other people it has to be at least up to the standards of other systems to compete.Eg
xp/vista/mac osx

Can you say it has achieved this?

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

yahub:

The people that do use their brain are free to roam around any and every os if they choose,but for the major slice of other people it has to be at least up to the standards of other systems to compete.Eg
xp/vista/mac osx

Can you say it has achieved this?

As far as I'm concerned Ubuntu has and has not but XP, Vista and OSX are not better or worse in principle.

That's not because Ubuntu (or Linux in general) would be technically inferior or superior but the average user is accustomed to the look and feel of Windows, OSX, Word, iTunes, IE, Safari etc. Many customers I met even don't know about hot keys, context menus and so on (So they do not use the right mouse key in Windows!). Some are glad to learn something new but most of them are simply not interested. They don't want to hear anything related. Oftentimes they say things like: "I just want to double-click this Icon and everything has to work fine." They never have heard anything about Linux at all.

These people are definitely no candidates for an Ubuntu installation AND these people are also definately not able to install Windows XP on their own. Installing Ubuntu can be a pain in the ass even for the advanced. Installing XP can be a horrible pain in the ass too. Using a Windows box after using Linux or OS X for a time can be really annoying as using Gnome can be for a KDE user or using Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfce, OSX or whatever can be for a Windows user. To cut a long story short: It's all about habituation and studiousness. In some aspects Ubuntu (Linux) is better than Windows XP oder Mac OS X (e.g. package management) but Windows has a more friendly help system and last but not least: people are familiar with Windows and its quirks. Ubuntu would have to mimic Windows. That is at least not what I want.

To some extent you can say that no OS is idiot-proof. To most people it doesn't make any difference which OS they are using as long as they don't get off the beaten track to their applications and back. They can get in trouble with Windows, OSX or with Linux. And at this point they have to make the decision if they want to learn new things or if they do not want to learn something about the whole caboodle - no matter what the underlying operating system is named.

Linux is not Windows. If someone wants to tinker but does not want to learn how Linux works he should keep his hands off Linux. If someone simply wants to get things done he should consider how things can be done. And if he doesn't want to run into any trouble he should engage someone else to do the tricky jobs.

I do not recommend Linux (including Ubuntu) or OSX to anybody who is not explicitely willing to learn something new. But if people would be accustomed to Ubuntu as they are to Windows now I would not recommend Windows.

As stated above I have been using Linux since 1999. My hardware is fully Linux-compatible like a MacBook is fully OSX-compatible. For me Ubuntu is at least as good as Windows or OSX - if not better. I am familiar with more then just Linux, Windows and OSX but my _personal_ choice is Ubuntu (was SuSE, Mandrake, Debian, Arch).

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

FerD:

It's okay to show what can be made better to make computers idiot-proof but should be computers idiot-proof in this way? Why shouldn't people be forced to use their brains. The whole life is about to use your brain. Sadly you cannot make that much money with brain using people. ;-)

I agree with that. This is almost exactly what I am trying to explain to my friends again and again. It's the way computers are mostly sold/used/perceived: as another type of appliance or "something similar to a TV set, but can do a bit more". Maybe there's nothing too bad in that except people are easily loosing many options and making themselves vulnerable and very easy to influence (one could almost say manipulate). And similar attitudes go far beyond the use of computers. You don't need freedom if you don't care about anything.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

mourrat:

...but Linux is a powerful, stable and fast operating system. Enhanced power and features require that the user learn more about the system in order to effectively operate it. It's the same as if you were going from flying a glider (Windows) to piloting a fighter jet (Linux), it has more power and features, so naturally you have to learn more about it.

Linux requires that the user have an open mind and be willing to learn new ways of doing things. If the user is not willing to do that, they should stay on Windows.. Windows was made for (and by) closed minded idiots.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Lorenzo:

I have better and more satisfying ways to use my time than to fiddle with Linux and hardware specific configurations.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

raindog:

That's good Lorenzo but as much as you may value the time you spend, Train-Spotting is unlikely to ever become an Olympic event.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Janker:

There's nothing wrong with Linux.. the user just needs to learn how to properly use it since it's a different operating syste,.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Booger1:

Linux Fanboys are funny. First they say, "Windows has a poor interface, is too expensive, and Linux is just as good if not better. So you should get rid of Windows, and get Linux". Then the average guy/gal downloads Linux, installs it, has issues, and asks these questions and says "Geeze, I don't think it's as easy as Windows" Then the fanboys yell at them, and say "Well it's not Windows, you need to know what Linux is and how to use it". What the F*%k!!!????

This is why Linux will not displace Windows off the desktop. Until you pop in a CD, and it take care of 99% of the setup, and runs the correct resolution out of the box, and sound works, and WiFi, etc. it will continue to be a hobbyist OS.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

booger2:

If you can't install GNU/Linux and get it working, do what almost all Microsoft Windows users do, get a computer with the OS pre-installed. End of installation problems.

When the main OEMs start pre-installing GNU/Linux and OSS, there will be a massive realization that GNU/Linux is very usable as a standard desktop OS.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (4 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

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Ubuntu 7.04 -- it's not all bad

In Part 2 of this hands-on look at the new Ubuntu 7.04 we take a look at some of the new features, the merits and the pitfalls, of this latest distribution the Ubuntu line has to offer. Is finally ready for prime time as the ultimate Linux desktop?

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