Update: A Month With Ubuntu To Commence

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• drago - Saturday, February 16, 2008 - link

  I'm pretty sure that Ubuntu means "search" in some language. It's all you do with Ubuntu. Forums. Websites. Google search. Yahoo search. People look everywhere for answers. That's part of the problem, Ubuntu doesn't give you them. Heck, you have to go out of your way to install pretty much everything. Watching a YouTube video tkaes a big effort. Getting your mouse "back" button to work takes a big effort.
  
  Let's face it, Ubuntu is for hobbiests. Some people just want an OS to work without spending a lot of time dicking around with it to get things to work.
  
  Mac OS X is based on Unix and senile old ladies in Iowa have no problem using it. Not so with Ubuntu.
  
  You get what you pay for.
  
  Sudo this Ubuntu.
  
  

• drago - Saturday, February 16, 2008 - link

  Ubuntu will make you fall to your knees and kiss Bill Gates feet and ingrown toenails for creating Windows.
  
  Oh.
  My.
  God.
  The horror, the horror of Gutsy Gibbon.
  
  Trying to install drivers -- especially video drivers -- makes waterboarding seem like a day on an empty sun filled beach in the Bahamas with a super model lying next to you.
  
  Double clicking to install a driver. Heard of it? Apparently Ubuntu has not. They make you suffer. Relentlessly. For hours. Days even. Send help. Please. I'm drowning.
  
  And don't get me started with that godforsaken Grub that Ubuntu goos all over every single hard drive you've ever had. Yech.
  
  Friends don't let friends drive Ubuntu.

• anachreon - Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - link

  ?????
  
  I'm not sure you've even used Gutsy if you actually posted this.

• stmok - Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - link

  To install Nvidia or ATI drivers, simply move your mouse cursor to "System" => "Administration" => "Restricted Drivers Manager".
  
  Then enter your user password. (This is required as you are making system changes).
  
  Click on the check mark to Enable. Click OK, then let the application download and install the driver for you. Restart the system. Done.
  
  This process has worked for me regardless of ATI or Nvidia card.
  
  I'm not sure what problem you have with GRUB as you chose not to offer little detail about your problem.
  
  Your comment, while amusing, is a bit over the top.

• jobejufranz - Saturday, February 16, 2008 - link

  I'd love to learn more on this things. In fact i almost switch my workstation OS to Ubuntu, the only thing that stops me is my .Net Developing Tools. Any other things i'm fine with it.

• sht - Saturday, February 16, 2008 - link

  You should look at MonoDevelop [1], I even think it is included in the VMware image provided at [2].
  
  [1] http://www.monodevelop.com/">http://www.monodevelop.com/
  [2] http://www.go-mono.com/mono-downloads/download.htm...">http://www.go-mono.com/mono-downloads/download.htm...

• Etern205 - Friday, February 15, 2008 - link

  If I remember in your last blog, you have mentiond that you haven't step into the linux world and that this will be your very first. What I like about that this review may give a the true insite as to how well linux is really suited for the consumer because if you already know linux and did a review on it, then it may not be fair as to you already know the ins and outs of the system. For a new user it's a whole new experience. And I can't just wait for it.
  
  But in the review also focus as to if linux is truly ready to be as a Windows alternative for the mass market.
  
  

• NoToRiOuS1 - Friday, February 15, 2008 - link

  I hate to be a sore loser but I really really wished you had decided to review the new Ubuntu when it came out...or heck...even reviewed both the current version and the upcoming version. Don't take it the wrong way, I still very much look forward to this review but I think a review of the new one would've been a lot better. When I first saw that you guys are doing the test on the current version I asked myself 'why are they doing it on this one...are they short on articles or something at AT?'
  
  But in any case, I hope that you guys still end up doing a review on the new Ubuntu when it comes out. And until then, I'll just await this review because despite what I said, I'm still looking forward to any article written by you guys :)

• androticus - Friday, February 15, 2008 - link

  I recently built some new computers, using the 8800GT video card from nVidia -- this card is hugely popular, but fairly new. I can't recall the last time I couldn't install an operating system and at least get basic graphical mode to work. But Kubuntu 7.10 totally chokes on this card, and installs its default nv driver which won't work with this card. Trying to use the apt package manager for a newer driver won't work -- nothing seems to properly support this card. Installing the nVidia official driver (which process completely conflicts with the built-in pkg driver system) provides a one-use driver that will startx at that point, but not when you reboot. On a 32-bit system at least you (often) get bounced back into a console; on 64, you always end up at an empty screen.
  
  To actually get the damn thing to work requires manually editing an obscure driver conf file to force a couple of stock drivers not to load, then deleting several driver folders, THEN installing the nVidia driver using nVidia's installer.
  
  Oh... and pray to God you don't forgot the Kubuntu install disk in your CD ROM drive when rebooting, because it unilaterally wipes out your xorg.conf file (at least being nice enough to make a copy) and replaces it with the stupid braindead version that doesn't work. So you are then left scratching your head why the video doesn't work anymore.
  
  Got Kubuntu installed, and now maybe want to test the microphone? Good luck finding anything installed by default to do that.
  
  Why the hell does this lame-ass "Dolphin" app now exist, when Konqueror file browser is already great???
  
  I could probably relate so many more things. The bottom line is that there are some things to like about using Linux and Kubuntu, but overall, there are a seemingly never-ending supply of HUGE annoyances and hassles that end up sucking up your time, your energy, and your life, and that always necessitate an incredibly detailed level of technical knowledge to ultimately resolve.
  
  At the very least, Linux would NEVER be appropriate for a casual computer user to attempt to install and manage for themselves. They will certainly (over time), whether during installation, or eventually, hit major issues that require tremendous expertise to deal with. You typically don't get that in Windows or especially Mac.

• efc321 - Friday, February 15, 2008 - link

  Now I know why I do not use Ubuntu. That is way to hard of a way to have to change a video card. In PClinuxOS I just used Synmantic to uninstall the video drivers and then restart X. Shut down the system. Install new video card and then start computer. After booting use Synmantic to download and install proper drivers. Restart X and its done. If I mess it up just type XFdrake at comand line to reset the drivers. I recently used the EVGA step up program so went from a 8800GTS 320 to a 7600GT to a 8800GTS 512 with out a problem changing drivers. If I am not mistaken the proper way to install new video drivers in Windows is almost the same. You should uninstall the old drivers before installing the new driver in Windows also.
  
  Yes Linux takes a little getting used to. You need to spend some time reading the bbs for your choice of distro and be willing to ask questions. Linux dose not come with a manual. It comes with mostly freindly users willing to help you out and a search button on the BBS. Yes I do tend to mess up my linux system to a point that it needs an expert to fix it. But I have done the same to my Windows install. The solution is the same for both Linux and Windows. Reinstall the operating system. Linux is more picky in what hardware works. Web cams are the largest group of hardware not working at this time.