Hehe, teh phunny.
I've used Ubuntu a while ago. Then went Mac OS for a while but ever since W7 came out I realized I don't need Mac OS. So W7 it is. Although I do miss the command line on occasion.
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Ubuntu - Your experiences?
- Thread starter mrsir2009
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Hehe, teh phunny.
I've used Ubuntu a while ago. Then went Mac OS for a while but ever since W7 came out I realized I don't need Mac OS. So W7 it is. Although I do miss the command line on occasion.
As a purest, I'm not a fan of Gnome (the default window manager), so I use evilwm Gnome definitely looks tacky and a not-well-thought-out copy of Mac OS X. I'm not quite sure what ``normal computing'' as that term for me means writing code with vim and compiling it from the terminal as well as doing word processing in vim and compiling it in LaTeX. Vim <3
Gnome definitely looks tacky and a not-well-thought-out copy of Mac OS X. I'm not quite sure what ``normal computing'' as that term for me means writing code with vim and compiling it from the terminal as well as doing word processing in vim and compiling it in LaTeX. Vim <3
I haven't used Fedora since using Fedora Core 3 (after being a Red Hat 9 user). The one thing I really disliked was the rpm package management. I've always found emerge (gentoo) and apt-get (debain and ubuntu) to be far preferable. There were always issue with dependancies, particularly circular dependancies and having to hunt down the rpms yourself. Has this improved over time?
You don't see it as much with Ubuntu as they have chosen to pick GTK+ applications, but the number of different widget sets (GTK+, QT etc.) always drives me mad. You can make them look pretty much however you like though.
Gentoo is an excellent choice if you have some spare time. The install takes forever (do they have a proper installer now?) but once up and running I think the emerge package manager is brilliant.
Certainly beats emacs
My opinion on Ubuntu is mixed. I use it now just because it's easy. However, I have found that something usually breaks after an upgrade (when I moved to 10.10 it was my wireless card) and it's a bit like owning a new car. All of the driver aids stop you from fixing problems and fiddling about under the hood. It took me a long time to get the desktop resolution I wanted because "something" (I still don't know what) was getting in and reseting my changes. I run into these things a lot.
However, you might have better luck because I'm just too used to my old ways. I don't even like the GUI starting automatically, I prefer typing "startx" from the console every time I log in!
I like ubuntu, though I prefer the fedora distro. I think yum is a better way of dealing with ubuntu's aging apt-get. There are other aspects of fedora that I prefer over ubuntu. I think however ubuntu has a lot going for it for the common user, and its more polished then fedora.
I found fedora to be more bleeding edge meaning that it may not work too well on hardware without some tweaks but ubuntu based on debian is quite solid.
I found fedora to be more bleeding edge meaning that it may not work too well on hardware without some tweaks but ubuntu based on debian is quite solid.
Ubuntu is great.
To make it useful for day to day computing, make sure to install the following:
- ubuntu-restricted-extras
- libdvdcss -> install via terminal using "sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh"
Everything else you will need is available in the Ubuntu Software Centre.
If you want a dock like OS X, remove the bottom panel and install Docky.
Two Ubuntu related websites you might find useful: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/ & http://askubuntu.com/
Also, check out Elementary OS when it is released.
To make it useful for day to day computing, make sure to install the following:
- ubuntu-restricted-extras
- libdvdcss -> install via terminal using "sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh"
Everything else you will need is available in the Ubuntu Software Centre.
If you want a dock like OS X, remove the bottom panel and install Docky.
Two Ubuntu related websites you might find useful: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/ & http://askubuntu.com/
Also, check out Elementary OS when it is released.
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I'm running it with VMWare fusion, I also have a Windows XP VM, which I use for work related stuff.
Anyway, it seems pretty cool, it's a shame I can't use all the graphical bells and whistles of the Ubuntu UI, but it seems ok. I know I can't break anything with a VM.
I don't think I could use it full time. It seems limited as far as apps.
Anyway, it seems pretty cool, it's a shame I can't use all the graphical bells and whistles of the Ubuntu UI, but it seems ok. I know I can't break anything with a VM.
I don't think I could use it full time. It seems limited as far as apps.
This is my experience with Ubuntu.
Positives:
- Ubuntu is free.
- Ubuntu has a large catalogue of apps, many of which are free.
- You don't have to worry about malware.
- Ubuntu is getting better and better as time goes on.
- Compared to other distros, Ubuntu has a lot of online support.
Downers:
- Many "professional" apps are not available/native for Ubuntu: Final Cut, Photoshop, GarageBand, iMovie.
- It's equivalents like Kino (movie editing) and Gimp (photo editing) aren't bad. But they might not have as many features or might require a steep learning curve.
- Not as solid or polished as OS X. Upgrading sometimes makes previously working programs crash. Ubuntu's icons look ugly. Ubuntu has been getting more polished over the years though.
- A lot of hardware is not supported, i.e. wireless cards. So if you have special hardware to use, you might want to look online and see if it's compatible with Ubuntu.
So if you're doing basic stuff, Ubuntu rocks! If you have a lot of Windows programs or Mac apps that you need, might want to check out Ubuntu equivalents or Wine for running Windows programs. And before installing Ubuntu, check around online forums like ubuntuforums.org to see how well Ubuntu runs on your computer/hardware.
I used it from April '09 to December '09, which is when I got my Mac. I loved it, but don't get me wrong, I did have my share of problems.
Pros:
-It's not Windows
-It's free
-No viruses
-It's light weight, and doesn't have a CPU of 50% when sitting idle
-It's fast
-It has a nice interface
-I noticed my computer didn't get nearly as hot when I switched
And now for the cons:
-It locked me out three times, meaning it wouldn't boot up and I had to reinstall it after each time.
-There aren't a lot of known apps available for the OS.
-A lot of hardware isn't supported - I had problems hooking up a Lexmark printer.
-There were sound problems for a few months, my speakers would make crackling noises when listening to music or other sound. It mysteriously went away though
-When using youtube, or any videos for that matter, flash was slow and laggy
When you look at it though, no computer is optimized for that OS, which is probably why there are problems with it.
I'm not gonna lie though, I loved using it. It was a great experience after I had used Windows for so long, and I think if you can't get a Mac, it's a pretty close experience.
Pros:
-It's not Windows
-It's free
-No viruses
-It's light weight, and doesn't have a CPU of 50% when sitting idle
-It's fast
-It has a nice interface
-I noticed my computer didn't get nearly as hot when I switched
And now for the cons:
-It locked me out three times, meaning it wouldn't boot up and I had to reinstall it after each time.
-There aren't a lot of known apps available for the OS.
-A lot of hardware isn't supported - I had problems hooking up a Lexmark printer.
-There were sound problems for a few months, my speakers would make crackling noises when listening to music or other sound. It mysteriously went away though
-When using youtube, or any videos for that matter, flash was slow and laggy
When you look at it though, no computer is optimized for that OS, which is probably why there are problems with it.
I'm not gonna lie though, I loved using it. It was a great experience after I had used Windows for so long, and I think if you can't get a Mac, it's a pretty close experience.
I took a University Course for Beginner's Linux last year and I was really impressed. So much nicer than Windows. For our final assignment we had to customise Ubuntu so I made the buttons red, yellow and green. Installed Gnome Do for launching applications, Docky to have a dock, my own splash and login screens. It was super. Control is great.
If Apple ever stops making desktops I shall head over to Ubuntu.
If Apple ever stops making desktops I shall head over to Ubuntu.
I use Ubuntu on a VM to do C++, C and Python programming for my CS classes using Geany. I really like how simple it is. I dont do a lot of customizing with it because I dont really use it beyond writing and running code. If I were to run it as my primary OS I probably would do more exploring.
If I had to choose between Ubuntu and Windows I would certainly choose Ubuntu if I didnt need any particular software. I do prefer Microsoft Office over Open Office except when Im doing math formulas where Open Office is way better.
For the Ubuntu software developers, which IDE do you guys use? I really like Geany, but I wish it had a debugger built in. The convenience of an IDE over gedit and command line is ruined when you have to hop out to run gdb.
If I had to choose between Ubuntu and Windows I would certainly choose Ubuntu if I didnt need any particular software. I do prefer Microsoft Office over Open Office except when Im doing math formulas where Open Office is way better.
For the Ubuntu software developers, which IDE do you guys use? I really like Geany, but I wish it had a debugger built in. The convenience of an IDE over gedit and command line is ruined when you have to hop out to run gdb.
I use ubuntu on all of my non-mac computers. It's a lot better than windows but can't really equal OSX. But as someone said before unless you'r programming it's not a good os for pro users. The reason for that is the lack of commercial software. And what comes to stability ubuntu is more stable than windows. I'd say you should make your self a life cd and try it without destroying your current machine.
I doubt the rpm vs deb argument will ever end, but yes, I've not had dependency-hell issues with RPM since FC5 or so.
I like Linux (Arch user here!). I still prefer OS X though, mainly because of multitouch. I absolutely love two-finger inertial scrolling on my MBP and it doesn't work well under Linux. Using the trackpad generally has a "flimsy" feel to it on Linux. For example, under OS X if you try to select a big chunk of text and you run out of space with your finger at the bottom of the trackpad, you can lift your finger, quickly reposition it at the top of the trackpad and continue selecting the text. Under Linux, as soon as you lift your finger the system interprets this as "OK, done!" and selecting some text becomes a big bag of hurt.
Wtf? You're changing button colors in university?
Wtf? You're changing button colors in university?
Don't ever whine about free credits. That seems like a course I'd take so I could complete it in under an hour, get full credits and basically have the rest of the semester to concentrate on my real courses.
If I were still in college that is.
It has nothing to do with free credits, and everything to do with the integrity of a degree--honestly, would you like a polymer scientist to have gotten credit towards a degree for learning how to change the color of polyethylene terephthalate? Getting a degree should be the side effect of learning in school--not the other way around.
You fellows diss the course far too easily and it wasn't a 60 point course nor a 30 point course, but a short 10 point 10 week course as an introduction to Linux. It didn't form part of my BSc, but was a course I took out of interest after I did my degree. The End of Course assignment involved many tasks and I just outlined one of them which was customising your copy of Linux and it was rather more involved than you assume.
The course was composed of:
- install your own version of Linux
- update and manage the operating system
- learn the basics of the command line environment
- work with the file systems in Linux
- discover the structure of Linux and similar operating systems
- appreciate some of the history behind Linux and other operating systems
- set up a basic web server
- manage users and user groups
- manipulate Linux to suit your own personal preferences
- work with some of the lower level-functions of Linux
- appreciate the first principles of Linux systems security
- appreciate the purpose and quality of the open source community.
You can read more under the T155 course description:
I would rather have someone have a degree in the computing area with a basic knowledge of another Operating System other than Windows, because we all know how narrow minded some of those can be. The hardest part of the course was for the Windows guys getting their head round the fact that there were other ways of doing things then the Windows way.
After the course you could take the CompTIA Linux+ certification.
The Open University is one of our top Universities here in the UK.
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My college degree forced me to take "2 optional courses, not related to your field". As it stands, I had to do a class on psychology, which while interesting, was a lot of work and a class on geology which was just a bunch of rocks we tested and ranked on the hardness scale (diamonds being a 9 and graphite being like 1 or 2). So don't diss the free credits as being counter to the integrity of a degree, some schools forces this crap down our throats. I would have much rather waste my time sleeping in a course on Linux that didn't teach me anything new than rubbing a bunch of rocks together.
Heck, at least in the Linux course, I would have had a Linux box to play with.
Ok, so make that 1 hour and 5 minutes. Especially if you ran this course on anything other than Slackware. Heck even Arch Linux makes some of this stuff easy as pie. (Oh noes, update and manage the system! I am so confused, I need to run pacman -Sy and pacman -Su ?)
Seriously, that sounds like some brain-dead community college course for grand mothers. CompTIA Linux+ ain't much better if you ask me. I was doing this stuff on my own back in the 90s.
If your Windows guys had "trouble" figuring out this basic stuff in Linux, then they aren't made for IT, programming or computing. They probably took the course in the vain hopes of doing it in an hour and have 10 free credits.
Don't be silly. The install takes a better part of an hour.
Reading the course material and doing the tasks would take a couple of hours each week. I spent about an hour or two a week on the course and as I said the end of course assignment involved modifying Linux, adding new apps or utilities (and why you chose them) and doing such things as adding new users, a new group, new members, a new directory, new folders and changing permissions. Most of the course students were working in IT and just wanted to know more about Linux. It's easy to scoff at a beginner's course. I speak French, so I wouldn't want to take an introduction to French course, but that doesn't mean they are without merit.
Let's face it a lot of people don't know where to start in Linux and an introductory course can benefit them. I learned a few things that I didn't know and my employer paid for the course.