my ubuntu experience

[kster]

hello all - im fairly new to this community.

i've been a long time windows user, and basically looking to jump ship to Apple. "it just works" im holding out for new macbook / macbook pros before i take the dive.

Ubuntu is free as we all know, so i decided to give it a shot (7.10 Gutsy Gibbon), i tried ubuntu with the mindset ''ok, lets see how user friendly this is".

1. i cant boot off the livecd (amd64 version) just a black screen
2. ubuntuforums.org suggest i try some odd command just to fix it
3. i dont think it supports my audio card, a thread suggested to downgrade my card!?


bleh.... no thanks linux, its like playing catch - up just to get things going. im also very afraid of it's compatibility with other devices such as digi cam's etc...

Im very excited for Leopards upcoming release - for those of u who have tried ubuntu, windows and OSX may i have ur comments please?

 

[Luigi239]

I absolutely love Ubuntu, and OS X. Ubuntu is extremely user friendly, and usually works like a charm.

What I would suggest doing is burning a standard i386cd, and just using the 32bit version. Honestly, unless you are running a bunch of complex applications or a server, 64 bit really doesn't matter right now. The black screen could also just be a defect of the cd, so try burning another one.

 

[kster]

i burned 2 of them, from 2 different servers

what does Ubuntu have over OSX in ur opinion?

 

[Luigi239]

i burned 2 of them, from 2 different servers

what does Ubuntu have over OSX in ur opinion?

Did you try out the 32bit version?

And Ubuntu does have alot to offer over OS X, mainly in the ability to customize the system, frequent major updates (every 6 months), and its completely free. However, I still prefer OS X due to its great user interface, speed, stability, and the great 3d party following. I own a Macbook for my main use, and plan on building an Ubuntu box later this year for desktop use.

 

[kster]

yea 32 bit version works just fine. my greed comes out and i want 64 bit

 

[Lyle]

I haven't used Ubuntu too much (I've recently installed it into a Parallels VM) but the installation process went about as smoothly as any Linux installation has, for me. And it looks like they've done a nice job with the default desktop setup (i.e. to make it "friendly" for folks new to the Linux experience).

Having said that, Linux continues to be more appropriate for hackers than mainstream users -- and I don't mean that as an insult, I am one of those hackers. But there's no way I'd try to set up, say, my parents with a Linux box right now.

 

[yg17]

I installed Ubuntu 7.10 from the amd64 live CD on my iMac no problems, works great. I use it off and on, I'm going to try to use it more often though.

 

[WildPalms]

I haven't used Ubuntu too much (I've recently installed it into a Parallels VM) but the installation process went about as smoothly as any Linux installation has, for me. And it looks like they've done a nice job with the default desktop setup (i.e. to make it "friendly" for folks new to the Linux experience).

Having said that, Linux continues to be more appropriate for hackers than mainstream users -- and I don't mean that as an insult, I am one of those hackers. But there's no way I'd try to set up, say, my parents with a Linux box right now.

Of course not, OS X is perfect for that and any task Why build the go cart when you can buy the Saab.

 

[Slip]

I've used it a few times on and off underVM and I haven't been blown away...
It doesn't really offer me anything that I can't get already from Windows or OS X and it seems that its use is either as a hacker or if you're very anti-big-corporation-ist (that work?)
Fair play to em but isn't gunna make me jump ship all that soon

 

[Solesk]

i spent the last week playing with ubuntu for the first time. it's got some cool features, but in it's current state is unusuable for me.

first off, i tried installing it mostly to see how usefull these cool compiz effects were. it took me several days, but i finally got ubuntu installed right, compiz installed, and most everythign working. and windows going up in flames is definetly very cool. except no matter how hard i tried, or how many forums i read, i could never get the compiz extras working. which seemed to have some of the coolest features of the package.

but the final straw, and the reason i stopped using it completely is, as one of my final tries to get the extra's working, i followed a guide (that looked up to date) on how to update my video card driver. i followed the steps. it seemed to work. but then compiz completely stopped working altogether. i gave up after that.

but i made the decision to not even try again, because even if i got compiz working i could still never use the os on a regular basis because support for extra mouse buttons beyond the standard 3 is pretty much non existant. i tried their complicated programming solutions. but they didnt work for me. and without a user interface allowing me to program buttons, or even a way that worked, i could never switch. so hopefully they will fix that.

but ubuntu does seem to understand this mentality. and they've made strides from the old mentality i think. they can never be main stream until installing devices and updating drivers is seamless and effortless. i'll probably try them again in six months.

 

[mkrishnan]

Ubuntu's not bad.

To me, the strong points for Ubuntu are...
- Many free software packages like OOo, GIMP, Inkscape, fit in much more naturally with the Linux environment than with OS X.
- Can run well on relatively low-end systems
- You're more likely to get WINE working on Linux without having to pay for Crossover

The disadvantages to me are...
- Visually, compiz does some very fancy things, although much like Vista, I find it lacking in the tradeoff of usability vs glam.
- Support for bluetooth is completely inadequate
- Support for ancillary mobile devices (particularly smartphones) is wanting

I don't see it as worthwhile running on a gen purpose personal computer instead of OS X; instead of Windows, maybe.

OTOH, if I get lucky and bag an OLPC, I'll probably at least *try* installing the version of Ubuntu that's sure to follow onto it.

 

[r1ch4rd]

It's fun to play with if you are into that sort of thing (and I was for a while) but I just can't be bothered with it any more. It takes too much effort to get things working to be successful in the home market. For a server in the commercial market I wouldn't really recommend it either. We always use AIX for our *nix servers (and it's all we support for clients) at work.

 

[lofight]

i tried ubuntu, but couldn't find out how to burn it right, i burned it via finder and put it in my computer restarted and nothing happen tried pressing C also nothing, what should i do?

 

[zap2]

Ubuntu is great, works on lots of hardware...OS X is better, but you need to buy Apple hardware to run(legally)..Ubuntu is the best OS to replace Windows IMO, Mac can't replace Windows for the whole market because Apple makes you buy hardware and software together(makes for a better computer IMO)

 

[Queso]

I love the repositories concept, where you can check if every bit of software on your computer needs an update just with one mouse click. I've just stuck 7.10 into a VMWare session (after previously using PowerPC 7.04 on my PowerBook). So far all I've done is get Java, Flash )), some codecs and Wine working, but even with that I can see some of the refinements since the previous major build. It's really shaping up into something good.

 

[Mechcozmo]

Ubuntu is nice, but OS X is nicer. I've got a friend switched to Ubuntu and he's now considering OS X. Ubuntu is great software but it's also difficult to push to its limits-- inevitably, you'll be required to open up a Terminal session and do some file editing or something that just makes you scream for a GUI.

 

[r1ch4rd]

I love the repositories concept, where you can check if every bit of software on your computer needs an update just with one mouse click. I've just stuck 7.10 into a VMWare session (after previously using PowerPC 7.04 on my PowerBook). So far all I've done is get Java, Flash )), some codecs and Wine working, but even with that I can see some of the refinements since the previous major build. It's really shaping up into something good.

The package manager is really the only thing that separates Linux distributions. If you have the time for it I think that the Gentoo package manager is the best. Running Gentoo is not easy though.

 

[dogtanian]

I installed Ubuntu once...kinda looked at the desktop for a few minutes, got bored, reinstalled XP.

I agree though it has real potential and the 'Year of Linux uptake' is nearing slowly but surely with every Ubuntu update.

It doesn't compare to OS X but to be fair, they arn't meant to. I feel Mac OS X supports everything virtually where as Ubuntu, you have to really make an effort to get things to work, no slight on it as I think its great but its in a difficult position in its current position.

 

[danny_w]

I have tried varirous flvors of linux since its early days, and have always found it quite lacking for the general user until recently. Since I am now doing development and sustaining work for my company's linux products, currently in a Windows XP environment, I have been wanting to switch to either linux or Mac as my work environment too; it should make for a much smoother situation by removing all of the Windows - linux - Windows file conversion hassles. Since I'm not due for a new work computer until next year (I'll try to convince them to get a MBP) I am looking into linux distro's, and ubuntu is next on my list. I have been trying Centos (my company builds customized servers based on Centos3.8, soon to be Centos 5, and rhes3u4) and Fedora6, but don't really like them that much for desktop use. Since a co-worker uses ubuntu I figured to give it a try. Still, I will continue to use Mac at home, and will probably still need the occasional Windows crutch at work.

BTW, does anybody here know of a good editor with cvs integration? Until we change to subversion I am going to be stuck with cvs. I am trying out eclipse right now but having a really hard time of it. I am using WinCVS for a front-end right now.

 

[psychofreak]

I wish there was ONE thing to download easily (no complicated terminal stuff) to install all the common restricted codecs. Unfortunately it doesn't really have a great audio app...Songbird looked promising, but the development doesn't seem to be going anywhere...

In fact, I was hoping Songbird was going to be a good iTunes competitor, but its still on v. 0.2.5

 

[Luigi239]

I wish there was ONE thing to download easily (no complicated terminal stuff) to install all the common restricted codecs. Unfortunately it doesn't really have a great audio app...Songbird looked promising, but the development doesn't seem to be going anywhere...

In fact, I was hoping Songbird was going to be a good iTunes competitor, but its still on v. 0.2.5

For restricted Codecs, I would suggest going into Add/Remove Programs and installing the Ubuntu Restricted Extras package. This will enable file formats, notably Mp3's and DVD's.

For a good music app, I would recommend Banshee Music Player. It's the one I am using now, and it is pretty good.

 

[DerChef]

My only interest in Linux is to have something to put on my old Dell P4 as I wont be doing anymore urgrading with this machine and it will be worth nothing when if sell it.

I found Ubuntu really bad with recognising things like modems OpenSuse was better. Then the grub bootloader got corrupted some way and it brought the whole house down.

I have Ubuntu running with parallels on my Macbook and its Ok no real advantages over OSX in any area and I had to do alot of editing of Xorg to get a decent screen resolution and Fstab to try to get it to see external hard drives.

Ubuntu has taken linux a long way but it aint there yet

 

[Evangelion]

what does Ubuntu have over OSX in ur opinion?

Well, it's free in every sense of the word, it runs on just about all computer out there whereas OS X runs on just Macs, it's very customizable (if you don't like GNOME, you can use XFCE or KDE or any other GUI you wish) whereas OS X is less so, it runs on very low-end hardware if needed...

Is it for everyone? No, of course it's not. Neither is OS X or Windows for that matter. But it is a good alternative, and choice is always good . Without Ubuntu (or Linux in general) world would be just a bit crappier place to be in.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

I like Ubuntu and I found it very easy to use. In fact, I'm going to be replacing a problem OS X install on my parents' old computer with it on Friday.

 

[clevin]

Of course not, OS X is perfect for that and any task

my task recently is to convert rm video to avi, sorry, OSX can't do it. at least not for free. so I have to do it on ubuntu....

see, the point is, OSX is only perfect for "some task", not "any task".