vulcanchef
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2008
- Messages
- 66
anyone here use it ? if you do what do you think of it, I'm thinking of giving windoze the flick
Ubuntu
- Thread starter vulcanchef
- Start date
Help Support :
not my favorite
I've tried any number of Linux distros, Ubuntu is OK, but to me not too intuitive. After searching for years I came across a version I really like PC Linux. It feels "right' to me. Things are where I can find them and the doing tings is pretty straight forward. It may be it's because it has a definite Windows feel.
I've played with perhaps 7 or 8 versions of Linux over the years this one I feel comfortable with, try it.
I've tried any number of Linux distros, Ubuntu is OK, but to me not too intuitive. After searching for years I came across a version I really like PC Linux. It feels "right' to me. Things are where I can find them and the doing tings is pretty straight forward. It may be it's because it has a definite Windows feel.
I've played with perhaps 7 or 8 versions of Linux over the years this one I feel comfortable with, try it.
Ubuntu
There are several distributions available under the "Ubuntu" marque. Depending on your needs and comfort level with Linux, you can usually find one which is right for you.
Based upon my father's experiences, I have always stayed one whole number back of the current distribution for several weeks. I only just updated to the 8.04 (LTS 2011) a week ago.
For someone who is unfamiliar with Unix/Linux, Ubuntu has several enormous advantages and one serious disadvantage, in my opinion.
First, the disadvantage -
Unfortunately, the folks responsible for internet based communications have tended to jump the gun in their application of rfc technologies. If your provider was as up-to-date as tomorrow, no problem. If they weren't, you had to do some serious command line work to be able to access the internet. Not a problem at the moment and maybe the last mess caused the community to re-think things, but it sure left a bad taste in my mouth back in 2006.
OK, that was the only bad thing I have to say about it.
Now for the good things.
The UI is extremely clean. I really really hated the Telly-Tubies on Acid look of XP and Vista makes me feel like the liquid is about to run out of my LCD. You can gussy it up just as much as you like - but the decision is yours. No knowledge required to fancy it up, by the way - easier than XP themes were by far.
The distro. works "out of the box" and has for some time. You can try it out from CD first without changing anything on your computer. If everything suits you, great. If not, well - nothing lost. I run 8.04 off a 2Gb flash drive in a bay and have left XP Professional on the hard drive on my laptop. Switching back and forth is no problem - I use the F12 one time boot command instead of a boot manager. Back when I still hoped Vista would prove less-worse than everybody said it was, I tried it...still there on the disk, but after giving several months of everyday effort (including SP1) I am fixing to just wipe that partition and transfer Ubuntu to it. What on earth was Microsoft thinking?
The user community is, and this is a major departure from most Linux projects - welcoming to people who have not the slightest idea. They have very detailed FAQs, the forums are friendly and more than willing to help you using terms and concept you know from Windows. I can not emphasize the importance of this enough. Knoppix may have some advantages, but the community there has 0 patience with people who weren't born bashing.
Yet another advantage - if the extensive documentation, FAQs, forums and the simple fact that everything usually works out of the box isn't enough, you can buy support at a reasonable price.
Another advantage: Guaranteed support until 2011 for this distro. No reason to worry that just as you get used to it they are going to pull the rug out from under your feet. For technical reasons, Windows has to redo things constantly - bad design overlayed with bandaged solutions thumb-tacked in place just don't make up for some serious design flaws. Macintosh could be stable, but Apple writes the rules and the Mac fans do whatever Steve tells them to do.
But Linux just keeps getting better and better without making you buy new equipment or unlearn everything. Makes sense - it is the oldest operating system in common use when you think about it. The bugs were worked out decades ago.
Get a live CD or download it. Try it out. You will soon know whether you want to migrate gradually or jump in. If you decide you don't like it, try one of the other Linux distro's.
If I had to switch from Windows to something else in one hour, had to keep my business running and had neither the knowledge nor the time to relearn, I'd go with MacOS 10.4. MacOS is a Unix derivative - so that might be a realistic solution to look at. Personally, I find the Macverse a little over the top in their attitude towards those who do not worship at the altar of Steve, but hey - if it were only Vista or Mac, I'd just paint it beige and through in a blue screen of death screensaver so nobody'd twig.
PClinux and the other distros which resemble Windows have a much lower learning curve than most, which is a major advantage. But all Linux distros I've seen in the last two years or so were really pretty cool.
What I would not believe for one nano-second is the nonsense that there are no viruses and no safety concerns. Compared to Windows, yes Linux is very safe. But that doesn't mean you can let your guard down.
There are several distributions available under the "Ubuntu" marque. Depending on your needs and comfort level with Linux, you can usually find one which is right for you.
Based upon my father's experiences, I have always stayed one whole number back of the current distribution for several weeks. I only just updated to the 8.04 (LTS 2011) a week ago.
For someone who is unfamiliar with Unix/Linux, Ubuntu has several enormous advantages and one serious disadvantage, in my opinion.
First, the disadvantage -
Unfortunately, the folks responsible for internet based communications have tended to jump the gun in their application of rfc technologies. If your provider was as up-to-date as tomorrow, no problem. If they weren't, you had to do some serious command line work to be able to access the internet. Not a problem at the moment and maybe the last mess caused the community to re-think things, but it sure left a bad taste in my mouth back in 2006.
OK, that was the only bad thing I have to say about it.
Now for the good things.
The UI is extremely clean. I really really hated the Telly-Tubies on Acid look of XP and Vista makes me feel like the liquid is about to run out of my LCD. You can gussy it up just as much as you like - but the decision is yours. No knowledge required to fancy it up, by the way - easier than XP themes were by far.
The distro. works "out of the box" and has for some time. You can try it out from CD first without changing anything on your computer. If everything suits you, great. If not, well - nothing lost. I run 8.04 off a 2Gb flash drive in a bay and have left XP Professional on the hard drive on my laptop. Switching back and forth is no problem - I use the F12 one time boot command instead of a boot manager. Back when I still hoped Vista would prove less-worse than everybody said it was, I tried it...still there on the disk, but after giving several months of everyday effort (including SP1) I am fixing to just wipe that partition and transfer Ubuntu to it. What on earth was Microsoft thinking?
The user community is, and this is a major departure from most Linux projects - welcoming to people who have not the slightest idea. They have very detailed FAQs, the forums are friendly and more than willing to help you using terms and concept you know from Windows. I can not emphasize the importance of this enough. Knoppix may have some advantages, but the community there has 0 patience with people who weren't born bashing.
Yet another advantage - if the extensive documentation, FAQs, forums and the simple fact that everything usually works out of the box isn't enough, you can buy support at a reasonable price.
Another advantage: Guaranteed support until 2011 for this distro. No reason to worry that just as you get used to it they are going to pull the rug out from under your feet. For technical reasons, Windows has to redo things constantly - bad design overlayed with bandaged solutions thumb-tacked in place just don't make up for some serious design flaws. Macintosh could be stable, but Apple writes the rules and the Mac fans do whatever Steve tells them to do.
But Linux just keeps getting better and better without making you buy new equipment or unlearn everything. Makes sense - it is the oldest operating system in common use when you think about it. The bugs were worked out decades ago.
Get a live CD or download it. Try it out. You will soon know whether you want to migrate gradually or jump in. If you decide you don't like it, try one of the other Linux distro's.
If I had to switch from Windows to something else in one hour, had to keep my business running and had neither the knowledge nor the time to relearn, I'd go with MacOS 10.4. MacOS is a Unix derivative - so that might be a realistic solution to look at. Personally, I find the Macverse a little over the top in their attitude towards those who do not worship at the altar of Steve, but hey - if it were only Vista or Mac, I'd just paint it beige and through in a blue screen of death screensaver so nobody'd twig.
PClinux and the other distros which resemble Windows have a much lower learning curve than most, which is a major advantage. But all Linux distros I've seen in the last two years or so were really pretty cool.
What I would not believe for one nano-second is the nonsense that there are no viruses and no safety concerns. Compared to Windows, yes Linux is very safe. But that doesn't mean you can let your guard down.
may63
New member
I have 'edubuntu'. I don't know a lot about the Linux/ubuntu world since the whole machine was given to me (and maintained by) a computer geek friend, but I'm learning. (He insisted I replace my old Dell Windows ME machine.) I find it to be fairly intuitive to use and have had no problems. I also enjoy not giving McAfee money!
I've used Ubuntu. It's worth a try. I ran Ubuntu 6.06 for a long time, and found it more than acceptable. Things worked, and worked the way they were supposed to.
However, Ubuntu wasn't perfect:
1. It doesn't install and run perfectly out of the box on my computer. This is more a fault of the hardware I have (which is older).
2. Ubuntu isn't the fastest Linux distro I've used. Again, I have older hardware.
3. Linux, in general, is not a perfect choice for all needs. Graphics software, for example, is limited, although adequate for what most people do.
However, Ubuntu wasn't perfect:
1. It doesn't install and run perfectly out of the box on my computer. This is more a fault of the hardware I have (which is older).
2. Ubuntu isn't the fastest Linux distro I've used. Again, I have older hardware.
3. Linux, in general, is not a perfect choice for all needs. Graphics software, for example, is limited, although adequate for what most people do.
lasvegasrox
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2007
- Messages
- 88
