Soliciting Input For a Linux Review
by Ryan Smith on February 6, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Ryan's Ramblings
One of the things we have been wanting to do for some time now is to do a proper review of Linux as an end-user operating system. We have done articles on Linux in the past relating to performance, but never a complete OS review.
A Month With a Mac, our article on the Mac experience was very well received and we would like to do this again for a Linux review. I, a Linux novice, will use Ubuntu Linux for a month as my primary OS in order to capture an idea of how the Linux experience stacks up, and how it compares to the Mac and Windows platforms.
Now the reason that we're soliciting advice first is due to a matter of timing. Ubuntu is on a six-month release schedule with the next version due in April. If we were to start our month-long experiment next week, our review would not be ready until the middle of March, only a month or so before the next Ubuntu release. On the other hand if we wait for the next version of Ubuntu, a review would not be done until at least the late-May/early-June time frame.
So we would like to hear back from our readers and Linux users. Would you rather see this kind of a review done sooner, or wait another 2-3 months for a review done with a newer version of Ubuntu? This isn't a straight-up vote, but we'd like to take your opinions under serious consideration, especially since we aren't intimately familiar with Ubuntu and what the next version may bring.
Please add your comments to this blog post, we'll get back to you next week to let you guys know if we're going ahead with our experiment or not.
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R3MF - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
opensuse is a very popular distro with quality desktops for both KDE and Gnome, and it has a pretty recent release out and about.it is commercially backed
it has long-term update support
it has a commercially supported version Suse Enterprise Desktop
it is ace
SanLouBlues - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
I'd like to see you guys try out a few hdtv tuner cards (or see if you can get an hdhomerun from silicondust). Beyond that, try out beryl/compiz and compare it to the fancy stuff that Vista does.najames - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
I'd look at Mint Daryna 4.0 32bit and Ubuntu Hardy Heron Alpha 64bit, since Hardy is a long term release.Mint Daryna is based on Ubuntu Gutsy 32bit, but with very nice desktop and themes, but also other subtile differences. Their menu is "different", but I like it now after getting used to it. Mint is our everyday OS now. Samba took about 3 clicks to set up in Mint, very nice. This is as close to Windows as I've seen. The only hard Mint problem I had was setting up 2 HP w2207 monitors in 1680x1050 with dual Big Desktop working on a TA690G board using onboard graphics, requires the latest ATI drivers, not from Ubuntu repos or Envy. I did use Envy to remove drivers though.
I have run Ubuntu 64bit since Warty I think. It seems like Hardy 8.04(?) would be the way to go. It is on Alpha 4 and I'd bet it is fairly stable by now. If you get stuff to work, don't update it during testing. I'll be testing it soon, after I find out why my old soft RAID has went spastic in 64bit Dapper 6.06. Comparing the 64bit and 32bit versions would be good. I know there are a few 64bit issues to hurdle (Java), but it should not be too bad to do if you use the Ubuntu Guides.
JinxterX - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
[QUOTE]One of the things we have been wanting to do for some time now is to do a proper review of Linux as an end-user operating system. We have done articles on Linux in the past relating to performance, but never a complete OS review.[/QUOTE]Good idea, but can you at least point out the fact that "Linux" is NOT an Operating System, it is merely a kernel and that it's useless without the GNU userland. It would be technically correct to stress that important distinction in any article, in my opinion.
No I'm not a FSF fanboy but it is pretty annoying constantly seeing the word "Linux" being used in the wrong context.
nukedathlonman - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
I think any artical at this point on Linux, regardless of distro is needed. The very last artical on Linux on Anandtech dates back to only July 1/2005, and I'd be interested in any artical published.TheRealFink - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
Compare Linux Distros (3 or 4) for:o Desktop
o Server
o Multimedia/HTPC use
I personally would like to see more tech related Software reviews. For example, NAS comparisons:
o FreeNAS
o Openfiler
o NASLite
KazenoKoe - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
I've been using Ubuntu Linux exclusively for about a year now. For the first few months I wanted to return to Windows, not because of any merits Windows might have, but simply because of familiarity. Now I can't imagine returning to Windows.The biggest problems Linux has are due to hardware and software vendors who simply don't support the OS. When reviewing Ubuntu, keep this in mind and imagine trying to use a piece of hardware on Windows if they didn't provide drivers, or using software on Windows if they didn't provide Windows binaries.
MadBoris - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
Would you wait to review Vista until it's service pack?It's not like the distro came out 6 months ago and this is the first patch. The thing has been floating around for years, review what the climate of linux is today, not 3 months from now, not 6 months from now.
I'll bet you a bag of chips Linux 6 months from now will still show all the same major problems it has shown for the last 5 years in preventing it from being easily adopted as a primary desktop OS by normal computer users. Waiting makes no sense.
MadBoris - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
Another thing, people are using it today, it's available today. If I want to start using it in March I need a review now.The very need for a question like this already seems to indicate the unnecessary over complexity, and lack of simplicity, of the Linux OS. ;)
FelixO - Monday, February 11, 2008 - link
The point is that since the review is not going to be published for 6-8 weeks (if Ryan starts soon) then when people are actually reading it a new version of Ubuntu will be about 3 weeks away.
The "need for a question like this" comes from the extremely rapid rate of development and improvement of the Linux desktop.