Ubuntu 7.04 -- it's not all bad

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Ashton Mills30 April 2007, 1:35 AM

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 driversRestricted 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 packagesTime 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 codecsTotem: 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 AutomatixAutomatix: 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 copiedPlugging 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 toggleDesktop effects: Explore a 3D desktop with a simple toggle

Desktop cube: Just a sample of the snazzy desktop effects in UbuntuDesktop 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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Stephen:

System -> Administration -> Restricted Drivers Manager

Click the checkbox next to "nVidia Accelerated Driver"

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymous3:

then flippin get on the ubuntu team....

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymous0987:

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

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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 (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Tea:

Dapper had issues w/ WiFi, they fixed them is Edgy. Sound, video cards, media, wifi, bluetooth, have all worked "out-of-the-box" on the 3 systems I've put Feisty on. Wide screen on a Dell laptop worked right away with no tweaking. The only issue I've had is in getting my TVTuner card to work. I'm no programmer, but I've been able to solve most riddles w/ this OS. Despite what most have posted here, Ubuntu IS ready for prime-time. Yes, there may be fixes required on some systems, but overall, it has been easy, friendly, and complete. Let's all be honest. This ISN'T windows and you DO need to learn how to use it. It's not all about calling up tech support, it's about being self sufficient. I'd much rather read a couple books and solve the problems myself than depend on Microsoft. But that's just me.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Ken:

Being from the greener side of open-source fence, I must say this hegemonist reviews and articles about Ubuntu are the reason why Linux is viewed in such a narrow and unfriendly light.

A simpler matter is to look up sites such as Distrowatch.com and try out various distros (now that you already have a partition allocated) to find the one that works just the way you want. Oh and there are plenty of Live-CD's that will allow you to test the waters as well before install but in many cases you won't realise the full potential of the distro until you've installed it. Take the top 5 distros listed on distrowatch.com and try them out.

Take for instance PCLinuxOS. Go to http://pclinuxos.com and download the 2007 TR4 release. Final is just around the corner. Its so much better at doing all the stuff mentioned in the article. I've been using it since its first release and haven't looked at another distro. Installs quickly and without fuss, gives you all the multimedia stuff out-of-the-box and hardware detection is first class. Its managed to convert my wife over to linux, which is really saying a lot!

Remember, Ubuntu is just one of the countless distros out there. Its not perfect and definitely not suitable for everyone. Once this difference between linux distros and Windows is clear, you will find it much easier to switch.

Cheers all.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

George Rice:

Here, here.

So many people believe Microsoft's "You'll take this Windows release as is because we say so, and you'll LIKE it, too!" attitude is a natural law, like gravity. As I write this, the "Most Discussed" headline to my right is "Windows XP to be phased out by year's end despite customer demand". And people *pay* for this kind of abuse???

Linux is about *choice*, and you can *choose* the distro that best suits your personality. I've used Red Hat, Suse, Madriva, Linspire, Puppy, and now Ubuntu over the years. Heck, half the *fun* of a new PC is auditioning distros to find the one I like best.

By all means, buy a coupla dozen CD-Rs, get a large cup of coffee, and feel the freedom. You'll never go back.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Wouter Moors:

I agree that Linux (that is, any distro...) is not ready yet for the majority of computer users. But look how fast it is evolving! I guess that in another 5 years it will really be at least on par with Windows if not better.
And after using it as my main OS for 2 years now, I must say that I can't imagine ever going back.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Ron H.:

Microsoft will likely be dropping significant features from its "not-yet-ready" next generation OS, while Ubuntu will have put out TEN new versions of its OS, each one improving on the last. I'm thinking Linux for the "masses" is not unrealistic at all, particularly since a person like me was able to install Feisty on both a desktop machine (fresh install) and on a Dell laptop (dual boot with WinXP already installed) without incident.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymous John Doe:

Lots of progress but still not ready for new users...
In my case, graphic/screen detection was flawless (maybe because I gave some feedback about it while beta testing). Xorg drivers now works with my X700 Mobility, so I can get desktop effects (since not using ATI's drivers).
Install is plain and simple; but it's too plain for me; especially the partitioning step. My disk is already partitioned. Ubuntu keeps asking to resize partitions; it did resize one (without me selecting a new size). Then, when puting it back to full size, it left 1 track not used. I had to run fdisk and do it myself...
The best one I tried was OpenSUSE's one. But there might be too many options for new users...
The migration assistant also crashed. That is indeed hard to miss this bug if you beta test (unless it's a last minute update).
Then, at first reboot, my newly just formated / partition was already "bad" and needed some fsck, weird.
The grub menu is realy raw and unpolished, compared to other distribs like OpenSUSE.


29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

shoult:


My comment is really about the general state of Linux, including Fiesty Fawn.

I'm the sole IT guy at a small company (50-60 users, 80 managed computers, about 20 unmanaged appliances) so my perspective is a little different then Ashton's.

I really enjoyed Ashton's work on finding the good and bad from this distro. What I find unacceptable is the lack of support for Microsoft Active Directory out of the box. If I want to join any Linux box to my companies Active Directory based network it is a chore. Even when I put in the work, the functionality is not complete.

For me this ONE thing is a complete show stopper. Yeah, I've seen that there are third party additions that provide some extra level of auotmating joining a Linux box to AD. They are expensive and still have limited functionality. Xandros 3.10 Business edition was about the best integration I've seen although that was years ago.

Linux (all distros) need to learn to incorporate themselves into an Active Directory Forest so that Network Admins won't have to work hard at switching.

Remember that many computer users only experience with computers is what they have at work. The person they ask for advice when purchasing a computer may be their Network Admin or IT support staff. If all they work with is Windows that's probably going to be what they recommend.

If you want to take over the world you have to make it EXTREMELY easy for the corporate world to replace Windows boxes with Linux boxes.

One last note on replacing Windows in the corporate world. The divergence of the various distros is not a good thing in the corporate world. Admins want to see standardization. They want to know that whatever distro they settle on (yes, they really want to use JUST one) the software they get will run on it. The last thing you want to see after settling on SUSE is that the software you NEED is suppoerted on Red Hat and Ubuntu, without mention of SUSE.



29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Derick Eisenhardt:

@shoult:

I've never attempted to join a Linux box to an Active Directory server, so I don't know your pain personally. However, I do know that it's much much easier to trick Windows machines into using OpenLDAP instead of Active Directory, which works great with Linux and Macs too.

I'm willing to bet that's not really an option in your mind though, so a quick google found these links that might be helpful for you:

www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1563

www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/netos/article.php/3502441

www.google.com/search?q=active+directory+linux&btnG=Search

Good Luck! :)

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

nobodie:

Dear Friends,
This is a wonderful article because it is honest about difficulty. But there are some conclusions that most of us fail to take into account.

First: "most" people don't have wide screen monitors. They don't want to pay for the little bit extra that geeks will gladly pay for that extra touch. Many students use laptops, moms and pops are still using CRTs because they still work and they just need a new box.

Linux, and FF especially, can work for these folks because it "just works" with that hardware. The problem is, these folks don't do reviews, they just use the product dauily for their simple communication and media needs.

Second: In a business or large commercial/education environment, the sysadmin could easily have the entire system locked down securely and provide services as needed, the users wouldn't have to be fiddling with all the bells and whistles the way you want to do and don't want to have to do (capeche amigo, I love to fiddle but get frustrated if i have to). Since Ubuntu is possible for a large network (it is unix duh) having a linux server and linux workstations without fussing with windows compliance really sounds good to any sysadmin with half a brain.

conclusions: for us geeks who love to get under the hood and play with the top end stuff we must fuss about failure in seamless integration, but bear in mind that most people will have a flawless experience and giving them the willies is not a service to most.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Derick Eisenhardt:

I whole heartedly agree the state of monitor and video setup in the Linux world is unacceptable. However, I find it a little harsh to try and completely blame it on Ubuntu when it's really Xorg's fault. Now luckily for us all is that the next release, Xorg 7.3 will come with an all new hotplug system to make these issues as easy, if not easier than Windows to handle. Sadly, sometimes we just have to be patient when it comes to open source software ;)

Also, on the issue of DVD I agree once again that the user needs to be informed why there's no package available in the Ubuntu repositories to enable it, but as you already stated the real problem is with inane laws in the US and a few other countries. Now, a couple distros like Linspire have taken it upon themselves to just pay a license fee so that they can legally include some DVD software by default, but I suppose this goes against the grain with many of my fellow open source enthusiasts.

In a similar note, the company Fluendo paid to be allowed to freely distribute Mp3 and Mpeg 1/2 codecs about a year ago, and while they're available from Ubuntu's repositories, for some reason they're still not included by default, which as much as I love and prefer Ogg Vorbis just makes no sense not to include with Ubuntu's target audience of fresh Windows converts.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

raindog:

A pretty balanced call Ashton I'd love to call Ubuntu as the universal replacement for MS Windows but clearly it's not quite there yet.
Still without a $751 per use price tag Linux builds can afford more than a few flaws and still be in the running.

Ubuntu is at the head of a groundswell of more windows user friendly builds, there isn't a nix out there that you could universally recommend for every user but for all the found flaws every release is getting easier for those brought up on Windows to play with.

Let Dell push a distro of choice and let the public react to the Vista price difference on the same machine. Let apple offer an alternative a different badge and a similar corporate monopoly model. With all this happening the market is primed for an alternative. Even if the Dell Linux choice choice isn't your favorite you don't have to lose a hefty software fee if you try something new or different.

Ubuntu isn't ready for mainstream but each new release brings it closer. geeks first the public wont be far behind. Given the current size of the Ubunto user base,

Ubuntu is doing a great job of supporting a diverse and very windows centric range of PC hardware. The more the software gets accepted the better the support will be. And you dont have Ubuntu deliberately trying to make any hardware redundant.

My only concern is in the quest for friendliness to windowphiles can have some Linux builds adopting some of Widows weaknesses and annoyances. I dont need my OS to tell me I have just plugged my camera in, it was me pushing in the USB plug those few milliseconds before, I dont need 2/3 screen pop-ups telling me I've been tardy with the trash. The Nix UI should be striving to add some subtle indicators such as a flashing trash icon or an added camera link in a taskbar not emulating the windows trend of annoying and interventionist pop-ups.
All I can do is hope to hell that too much the gaudiness and annoyances of Windows do not get adopted into Linux UI's in an attempt to attract the disgruntled windows users. Differentiating the things Linux does better and fixing or improving the things Linux does not do so well is the answer.

Given where it currently stands Ubuntu has done a hell of a great job with this latest release and I am sure there is better to come.




29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Wes:

You are right, with every release of Ubuntu there are some good and positive improvements and although it will take some time to become real mainstream at least there are good positive changes. I also would like to see a development that does not try to mimic Windows but one that just improves usability.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

BobSongs:

Yo, Lorenzo:

I've been using Ubuntu Linux since Breezy Badger (5.10, October 2005). And I'm of two opinions about these comparison articles.

On the one hand I understand set up woes in Linux. I often find solutions with an IRC group or that particular distribution's forum or with Google. (And if you're truly a 'Linux whore', you've been there.)

I never expect a perfect set up with Linux or Windows. And international hardware companies often fail to supply Linux users with necessary drivers (Windows users enjoy these on their setup CDs). That's the way it goes when Redmond focuses its wrath on an OS. This is not always the case, thankfully. Linux users enjoy the benefits of corporations who roll their eyes at Redmond's threats (such as nVidia and Brother).

On the other hand I understand the Linux community's desire to prove Linux is "as good as" Windows. But it grows tiring. That's because it just ain't true.

Linux is more like a HAM radio that arrives disassembled with a vague instruction sheet. The parts are manufactured by thousands of companies all over the world. The kids sit wide eyed as dad dumps the parts on the table. They ask: "When can we listen to the radio?" Dad smiles and says: "I'll have to put it together first." The kids ask: "But how come radios from the store work right away?" Dad thinks about how those radios are thrown away if a part fails while his can be repaired. He thinks of how the reception on store-bought radios is limited while the HAM is unlimited...with two-way communication. He can't imagine how he'll make them understand. They have neither the patience to hear a detailed answer: nor the vocabulary. "It's just... doesn't," he offers. But they're not satisifed. "Can't they make one that's already put together?" they whine.

Entrenched Windows Users aren't going to give up Windows for Linux because screen resolutions are worked out. That's a pipe dream. Who can count the many reasons why Windows Users will dump Linux? Desktop backgrounds. No "Start" button. No "WordPad". For example: tell them "setup.exe" doesn't exist or that there is no C: drive and they'll run back screaming to Windows. Then what happens? They post threads about how they gave Linux an honest try (10 minutes) and moan about the evils of an OS that isn't an exact clone of Windows and therefore "not ready for the desktop". (If I had a dollar for every time I read that line!!)

Linux is supposed to be ... well, simply put: Linux. Not a "better tuned" Windows. Not a "free" Windows. Not a Windows replacement at all.

Naturally I like an easy Linux. But I grow tired of having Linux compared to Windows. They were birthed differently and raised differently; they are structurally different, have different forces that oppose them (Windows: public opinion; Linux: Microsoft), different philosophies (Linux: OSS; Windows: World Domination), etc.

Conclusion: I'm not ashamed of Linux. It is what it is at this stage of development. I'm not promoting Linux as a Windows alterntive, but simply Linux. When Windows users are fed up of spyware, malware, viruses, trojans, incompatibility, crackers, slowness, etc. maybe they'll consider a complete change. Until then they will remain happy as pigs in...

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Jaro Cooke:

I have had no problems with installing etc...

The only thing that is totally ridiculous, is that wide screen monitor problem. I had to manually add the v-refresh and h-refresh rates to the xorg.conf file by hand, along with my preferred screen resolution. Luckily I bought the computer with Ubuntu preinstalled and when I decided to do a fresh install of 7.04 I had the good sense to take a copy of the existing xorg.conf first. I have had monitor troubles before with Ubuntu! The thing that I don't get is in the past openSUSE has always been able to set up my monitor properly from the get go, why can't Ubuntu do the same?

I suppose this is a good example of why it is always best to buy a computer with your operating system of choice preinstalled. Even if you do change the version of Linux almost straight away, at least you know everything can work properly. Hopefully I will be buying a new Linux preinstalled Dell laptop soon as well!!! It really is the only way to have a trouble free life getting Linux.

BTW a few months back I installed Windows XP / Ubuntu 6.10 dual boot on a friends laptop and after 45 mins everything was working fine in Ubuntu (including the wireless), after four hours work on XP there was no sound or wireless!!! Granted I didn't have the driver cds to hand, but the point is that it isn't necessarily going to be easy to install any operating system on a PC, because of the huge array of hardware that is available.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Rob:

"but the point is that it isn't necessarily going to be easy to install any operating system on a PC, because of the huge array of hardware that is available." Jaro Cooke (9 hours ago)

This statement is the most accurate I've read so far.
Got a call from a mate the other day who tried installing XP SP2 on an older machine the other day (still a reasonably spec'd machine) - kept getting a cryptic error message on installation. He solved it after 3 days. Installing anything from scratch can be painful. For me I've never had problems with Windows but the last 3 distros (from dapper to feisty) have not properly installed on my machine. I'm still a linux newbie but in each case go the problems resolved within a few days. The killer was getting my analog joystick to work. It's plugged into my sound cards gameport, but why the hell do I have to enable the gameport by adding the correct option in an ALSA config file :-(

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

UbuntuConvert:

I agree on all points, I too love Linux and Ubuntu, but still cannot see myself convincing win users to go with it. auto config display res settings is a must, at least it's got to look good (looking at things from windows user point of veiw). Play movies a must. (and any other media)
edit home movies and boot camp gui for grub a plus.

But I'm getting ahead of myself now. The ubuntu team has been improving things in leaps and bounds, I'm happy - but display resolutions, guys, come on now. I so wish I knew how to help.

One thing windows will never have is search a database, tick a box, it downloads and installs, no serial no. DONE

I show someone, I don't want them saying "yes but can it do this...?". I want them to be so wowed they kick me off my own box, drooling. While beryl does this, the configurations, forums, etc. is a big put off for most. I end up getting a "let me know when it works".

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Padre:

Time it takes to install

- Windows XP productive system: 8-10 hours
- Ubuntu productive system: 3-4 hours

That's from my experience. I use Ubuntu since a year now and just installed Feisty Fawn on both my computers without any serious problems. I use it full time to handle all my office needs. The only times I am forced to go back to WinXP is for some stupid propriety format stuff I receive via Email or for serious Video editing.
Not only I don't miss Windows but I prefer Ubuntu. No more viruses, disk defragmentation, serial codes, malware, useless tweaking tools, searching for software, having to manually update every single app,...

All it takes at the beginning is to be open minded towards the new OS and be willing to learn new ways to work and not to expect to find a Windows clone. There are other (and better) but different ways to do things than the "Windows way".

Of course there are also unpleasant problems with hardware and codecs. But they are becoming less and please use the forums and wikis to find help. There is a truly fantastic community out there of people willing to help. And don't put the blame on Linux for it, it is much more down to the guys in Redmond.

Btw.: I hope the auther noticed once he got his monitor up and running that the font rendering in Feisty is superb :-)

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Ian65:

I agreed with pretty much all of the article, and the idea of commenting on the bad to get it improved.
One other downside to Ubuntu is it is now taken by some to mean Linux. My response - I tried many distros and now use Sabayon which didn't give me any problems on 4 different PCs, 3 of which were laptops with wireless cards. It fascinates me that a 'small' distro can achieve things that Ubuntu can't get right. I liked it and it can be found here www.sabayonlinux.org

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

NotTheMessiah:

Maybe this is not the right place to ask this question but here it goes. Is the Nvidia Driver already on the (install)disk or when you enable the driver it gets downloaded from repositories? I just can't enable the Driver for some reason(can't select/tick) and also can't find beryl.I'm still learning gnome this is the second time I've tried to migrate to Linux(installed SuSe 10.1 KDE and configured it with all the hacks etc - only my DV card didn't work and my softModem). I've got a CRT so i can not align the desktop properly as well in Ubuntu 7.04(don't want to do it through the monitor). Oh, and i have an external dial-up modem(i know, i know... still in the dark ages) how do i get it configured?- i used Control Center in SuSE but that is in KDE right?? Again i apologize if my questions don't belong in here, I'm just desperately trying to get this distro working - if i have to scan for something ever again(in XP) i'll die!It's sucking the life out of my clawhammer.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Eddie:

I am a windows user new to linux and have installed both ubuntu and then fedora on computer. Neither of them can surf the internet properly although the ADSL connection works fine with all the other windows computers on it. I have tried DHCP and static IP addresses, with the fire wall on and off. I still only seem to be able to access certain sites such as google search and its results butI cannot get to any other web pages. I'm not sure if this is a common problem with Linux but I have never had a problem with any Windows machines. Couldn't really recommend Linux for windows users if it doesn't work "out of the box". Eddie

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

NotTheMessiah:

Solved my problems. I was so surprised from the sheer extent of material available out there considering that this is a new distro(It shows how little i know:).But i guess for the Linux community that is just another day non-event. Fantastic stuff!!

Loving feisty fawn... so responsive compared to my XP (with all patches,defraged,without junkware at startup,fast PC) and still slow.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Halfhand:

I Broadly agree with the points made in the above critique, however I think there are a few points which need to be addressed which I think are forgotten by reviewers.
I am a computer consultant ( for want of a better title ) and have been in the industry since 1983, I work for large corporates right down to home users, and if there is one thing they all share it is a complete lack of understanding about whatever OS they use Windows or Linux. All operating systems used by my clients,and the vast majority of users, arrive preloaded on to their new PC or laptop or the take it to someone like me to be upgraded. Windows requires many additional programs added to it before it is safe or practical to use. Whilst I agree that it is a shame Ubuntu does not have many codecs loaded out of the box so to speak, but it is a small matter for me to install them before passing the system onto my customers, Many of whom I have successfully converted to Ubuntu, and who, it has to be said, notice little difference between the competing os's, (although the most common comment is joy at the lack of virus's and spyware in Ubuntu).

Anyway great review keep up the good work

Halfhand

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Alister:

I have just spent the last hour reading the comments above and the last one is the best yet. Users (in offices) I meet every day know how to turn on their computer, click on the program icon and use their program of choice, be it Explorer, Outlook or whatever. 99% of them couldn't care less about the OS. All they care about is that it works and if their PC had Linux on it they wouldn't even know it. If the Linux Distros want to promote their products to the maximum they should aim their products and IT managers who lets face it are already spoonfeeding their people.

29 February 2008, 8:41 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

paradigmsick:

I use ubuntu alot, and its true that the average user wont know how to learn bash let alone realise what is a CLI. The only reason I use ubuntu is because its a friendly environment for purposes I commonly use in my field. And that brings me to the next point, its hard for GNU linux to hit mainstream users becuase it was built from the ground up to accomidate engineering applications. If you guys dont believe me, look how vim is so powerful but its got a crap/no gui and u need to know proper shortcut use. (wildcards, commands etcc.)

Looking at it from a layman perspective, the major challenge with linux is games, If I buy a 8800 ultra I would want to use it to its max and im sorry to say, cedega is a joke and 1/2! Even now i run ms office through crossover office, because Open office is another joke.
The only good games running on linux are the natively supported ones, and unfortunately gaming companies with crappy programmers cant use openGL properly and das why most games cant be natively run on linux.

29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

ITFactotum:

I don't do much scanning - every couple of weeks I suppose, but when I do it's important. All the scanner stuff was running nicely in Edgy - Kooka, X-sane, gscan2pdf, gimp & so on.

But it's not now ! It's all broken under Feisty, both on my system and many, many others. See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/sane-backends/+bug/85488 for a long thread on this.

Ashton might like to give this a mention in his finale to the "Living in a Linux-only..." series.

I think this epitomises the whole Linux situation. I love the idea - lot's of great "products" & fine, helpful people but any day it can just break & then you'd better break out your geek hat if you want to fix it. Meanwhile, those with "real" jobs to do might need to stick with that other dreadful stuff


29 February 2008, 8:30 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Jade Barton:

Ashton and Dwayne are starting to miss the whole point of Linux. It's different! And it should stay that way. No, it won't be the same as Windows (thank god). Dwayne, I can install nVidia drivers using "yum" in 4 command lines (in less than a minute). It would take me longer on a Windows computer because I don't use them much. I wouldn't know where to start updating things on a Mac! You need to stop and remember how confusing Windows was to use when you first started.

I am starting to get annoyed with Linux (and Firefox for that matter) being expected to copy Microsoft and, what's worse, in some cases they are. It's an alternative. If you recognise that Linux may serve you purposes better, as some of us have, and you make the commitment to move across you will quickly find you get used to the different ways that Linux works and it will start to work better for you.

If you are not prepared to make the commitment and invest a small amount of time to learn a new piece of software as complex as an operating system, then Linux doesn't want you. go back to Windows. I like Linux the way it is and I think it's already copied MS too much (dynamic libraries, networking, etc.) so if you want Windows use Windows, if you want "pretty" use a Mac (now built on Linux) and if you want useful, and are prepared to change, use Linux.

Ashton, Linux is not a corporation with bottom lines and shareholders, it does not NEED the support of selfish consumers like Dwayne to survive. It only needs open minded people willing to give. You can't kill something given for free and born out of necessity.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Epsileth:

nice little package called envy for those who have ati or nvidia cards. can do all the work for you with a bit of typing to install it :P

http://www.albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html

works with ubuntu and variants, as well as debian

also restricted software can easily be enabled with a bit of copy-paste into the terminal.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats

make sure you know our local laws before enabling :)

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Adolfo:

Trouble:
I am a very newbie and after a 7.04 fast install (in the machine I bought to finally migrate Athlon XP 64 3500 duo, 1 G of Ram.) Feisty started to choke on the screen saver dinamic graphics. looking around I found the restricted Device Window you show above,
That is as far as I got.
It seems that mi GPU is a weird one. I read somewhere about getting a GLX and I typed a command in the console to enable glx, I got a response tu be sure to enable a wider search (I forgot the term, universe sonmething). Thus I went to the Add/Remove, Preferences to uncheck the CD.

So here I am still with no graphics acceelerator and no sound,
Any Suggestions will be much Appreciated,



Adolfo


29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

bergers:

I think Linux in general an distro's like Ubuntu, PCLinux etc are ready for the public in general.

Yes the install may have gotcha's if you don't know what you're doing but then the average end user I see has no business installing ANY Operating system Linux, Windows or other.

I'd be far happier setting up and configuring an Ubuntu (Or other linux distro) for my Parents, aunt, grandparents, or anyone else who needs informal tech support from me than I would be for any version of Windows.

Here's why.

It's faster to set up Linux than windows.
The OS install process is comparable but the post install setup of windows is a pain with downloading utilities, installing from source disks, patching and rebooting. On ubuntu apt-get, (Or aptitude for GUI users) takes care of all this in a much faster, more consistant and simpler fashon. This is not to mention that many apps are ready to go out of the box such as Open Office. When was Microsoft Office ever installed with the OS?

Once an Ubuntu system is installed and configured with the needed applications, modules (Read drivers you windows types), and CODECS then the maintenance drops to almost nothing. If grandma needs a new application, I can SSH in to her box remotely and install the new application with "sudo apt-get install appname". Or I can talk her through the process very simply as you just dictate the command line to type to accomplish the task, get it read back and say press 'enter'. Much simpler than talking someone through the steps in a GUI I've found. Thats as simple as life gets for the family/friends tech support guy.

The Linux system is nearly impervious to virus / spyware / addware infestations and doesn't require de-cluttering anywhere near as frequently as windows.

If the user stays out of sudo then it's very hard to trash the system. (Of course they can still trash their data if careless, but thats another story...)

I'd even be saving the end user the cash spent on an office suit, anti virus, photo editing, firewall etc. This can be as much or more than the PC itself in many instances.

My wife knows nothing about Linux but now boots into Ubuntu in preferance to Vista on our dual boot machine. She accomplishes exactly the same tasks as she does under Windows, and prefers the Gnome GUI over Vista. The upside is less maintenance for me.

Don't mistake me for a fanboy. I still use windows and see a place for all operatng systems but Linux is actualy a better choice for many less experienced users if it's set up for them by someone who knows what their doing.

29 February 2008, 8:45 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

prod:

yup, the windows machine i set up in the loungeroom for the other people in the house was stuttering and using 100% processor to play dvds for some idiot reason. i cleaned it up and fixed everything i could see. i gave it up as a bad job and installed ubuntu when it pi$$ed me off one night. the owners of the machine had hassles but they were all down to being stuck in a windows paradigm, and its just so easy to set everything up to work even better than windows that the last windows partition in the house has recently been wiped. read around a bit and everything can be tweaked to work as you (or your computer illiterate lounge consumers) would like. love it.

29 February 2008, 8:46 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

oskar:

How can anyone say linux is not "ready for the desktop". I know lots of people who use linux, of which only very few know much about computers. When you install windows, you don't even get a usable text editor! Or a graphic editing program, or a 3d vector program, much less an Office suit! Like most people I switched because windows just didn't work for me, and I realized there are alternatives.

You will call linux "not ready for the desktop" as long as there is one little point that doesn't work perfectly, assuming people will run back to windows. This is ridiculous. The reason they installed it in the first place, is that they want to get rid of Windows. It's a horrible, horrible OS, and you should know better. It can't pipe, it can't mount iso's, it doesn't have good user permissions, it's multi user functionality is flaky at best, explorer dies at every given oportunity... the list is endless.
So you are expecting so much of any linux distribution, that they simply can't live up to.
Please try to do the same critical evaluation with a Microsoft system, and tell me honestly if it's ready yet. Screen resolution pfff! If you're lucky you get more than 640x480 until you find the driver somewhere on the net.

29 February 2008, 8:46 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Fred:

I suppose everyone's experiences can be different. I installed Kubuntu Feisty Fawn on my new HP dv9000 laptop. The installation was fast, simple and flawless; the widescreen LCD was set up perfectly (though I had to install the specific Nvidia drivers, which was simplicity itself using the inbuilt package manager); the HP digital TV tuner was detected and worked first go. I've got an incredibly user-friendly, stable, and secure system with more software than I could ever want.

Of course the laptop came with Vista, which was horrible beyond belief. Though I kept it as a dual boot, just in case, I haven't booted it once since I installed Kubuntu.

One of the many things that demonstrated the difference between Kubuntu and Vista was viewing digital TV. Kaffeine (included in Kubuntu) is a delight to use for watching and recording digital TV, and has vastly more functionality than the utility included with Vista, which detected only a tiny proportion of the available services, whereas Kaffeine detected them all.

I'm an amateur photography buff, and DigiKam, included with Kubuntu, is simply the best photography app I've ever used. It detected my camera flawlessly and downloaded my photos into a superb album format with excellent built-in editing facilities. I have two favourite windows-based photography programs (Irfanview and Autostitch), and both installed simply and ran perfectly using Wine.

I'm not denying the truth of your bad experiences, but I do suggest that people shouldn't take one person's experience as definitive - even mine ;-).

Try it yourself and see how it works for you.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Michael:

Fred,

I have been having terrible troubles to get my HP tuner working in Linux and I was wondering if you have the same model I do? I have many versions of Linux burned to CD's / DVD. The LinuxMCE DVD totally didn't install and I'm trying the Kubuntu addon CD's, now. I'm about to give up on the tuner, do have have the same one? thanks ...

http://michaelusa.org/tuner/

29 February 2008, 8:47 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Daniel Harvison:

I completely agree with the author of this article about resolution issues, but there's something that has troubled me for far longer than a couple of editions of Ubuntu ago. Prior to NVIDIA allowing you to fiddle with refresh rates and such, I was stuck with a maximum refresh rate of about 70 hertz. Kinda bad for my already slightly poor eyes. I was very pleased to see that the new NVIDIA control panel allowed that kind of thing.

Also, the author made mention of the NVIDIA version of xorg.conf mucking things up. Here's a hint, don't under any circumstances allow NVIDIA to create it's own xorg.conf. If you fiddle with refresh rates, it will add metamode or whatever lines to xorg, but not much else, and all will be fine.

(Forgive the long post) I also agree about the issues about codecs for dvd's and mp3, etc. There should be a notification about why these issues occur, and perhaps even a link to the automatix website (best linux program in awhile). Not good enough to get stymied by those kinds of problems these days. And yes, Ubuntu should really pull their socks up when it comes to unusual monitor resolutions and such. And would it hurt Canonical, redhat, Novell, etc, to get behind a few commercial linux games? That above all would be great.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Daniel Harvison:

Oh yes, speaking of neat effects on the desktop, forget the default compiz, try out beryl. You can do it easily enough via synaptic (the reason I switced from Mandriva) plus I think automatix handles it too. And we shouldn't have to suffer for the U.S's frankly retarded ideas about copyright regarding codecs and such.

29 February 2008, 8:31 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

randywilharm:

I have Ubuntu 7.04 AND Vista "Ultimate" on my ACER E380 desktop, which came with a dual-core (great for gaming) AMD64 Athlon 2.6gb processor w/2gb of RAM. It also has a 320gb drive partitioned for C: and D: drives so installing Ubuntu was pretty easy
after I made my .iso disk.
I recently bought an Nvidia 8500GT 512mb card. Installing the drivers on Ubuntu was a little bit of a hassle but I had NOWHERE near the troubles that other people have had.
I've only been usuing Ubuntu for about a month but I now have Google Earth on it and the picture resolution IS FANTASTIC!!
It's just as good as Windows IF NOT BETTER. I recently read somewhere that the technology Nvidia (maybe SLI?) uses with their cards is easily enhanced with Linux and i'm seeing the results.
I agree totally with Ashton Mills in his assessment of Ubuntu, and his article about Automatix2 has opened doors for me because I have it on my Ubuntu and never realised it's potential.
This website is definitely going into my favorites.
Vista is good for stepping into the computer realm, getting on the web, printing papers, catching viruses and spyware,ect. With 3 or 4 clicks of the mouse you can get anywhere with Vista.
I,however, am not a "three-click Sammy".
I WANT to learn Linux(UNIX) and I find that with a little patience and endeavor
Ubuntu is an excellent medium to help me make the transition away from Microsoft (Windows,Vista-whatever). Hell, it's so bad even Bill Gates is getting away from it! I just read that he is leaving Microsoft next spring..
To sum this up I think it's important to say this:
When I am running Ubuntu on my system and i'm watching YouTube, Ubuntu only asks for 200mb (I have 2gb) of my processor.
Vista "ultimate" demands 800MB MINIMUM
and the hard drive NEVER STOPS RUNNING!!!
If I did'nt like the flight simulator (FSX) i'd throw Microsift out the window.
Well, i've said enough and i've got to go
but thanks again Ashton- that was one hell of a good article.

29 February 2008, 8:32 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

matty:

mmmm why is dell goin to use linux as an os dell is crap

29 February 2008, 8:32 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Wofo:

I'm very pleased with the overall trends here. We're ttalking about polishing away Linux glitches so that more Windows users can feel safe enough to ease in it. I'm pleased because in an open source world those changes and more can happen within my dog's lifetime. When I use XP I am still complaining about bugs and especially usability glitches that still remain from Windows 95. 12 years and counting. I have to install add-on utilities to make Windows tolerable, but many of them stop working every time Microsoft rejiggers the OS. There is no long-term stable customizability in Windows, and no gradual build towards something truly ideal which end-users can learn to modify for their tastes & needs.
Thanks to everyone helping Linux prepare to one day welcome the more computer-intelligent Microslaves. And thanks to all the Vista restrictions (and glitzy emptiness) for reminding them why long term freedom really matters.


29 February 2008, 8:32 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymouse:

I am not a big fan of Ubuntu. I find it a bit bloated myself, and so prefer Debian.

But I disagree that windows is so good. I think windows lacks polish. Sometimes I move large amounts of files to a centralised file server and come back 1/2 hour later expecting the job to be done. Sometimes it is only half way finished with an error message "Confirm file move". It annoys me that I have to answer this question 3 or 4 times under windows even when I answer "Yes to all"

You can't give windows to users with no computer training and expect them to use it properly. We all know the story about the woman storing her files in the recycling bin. Well, I went to one company which was spending thousands of dollars on extra hard drive space. It turned out that the end users were not emptying their recycling bins. They didn’t have a system administrator to tell them to do it, and didn't have the training to do it themselves. Some computer hard drives were over 50% deleted files.

I don't think it is fair to expect users with no training to use Ubuntu if they can't use windows with no training. I think windows is so popular because people are used to it. Not because it is good at all. I am looking forward to Linux becoming more popular on the desktop because some things are easier to fix. And after installing you can have a full system (word processing etc) not just an os like under windows.

Gimp is a good free alternative to Photoshop.


29 February 2008, 8:48 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Anonymousey:

I look forward to buying a new, affordable laptop and running Ubuntu. I have no interest in becoming a coder, even though I have no problem with learning to use a command line.

I've begun to intensely dislike Windows and as long as Linux is cheaper than Windows, I'm gonna give it a go.

I'm glad that some people here realise people like me would still pay for Linux.

29 February 2008, 8:48 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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