Ubuntu

[nicknack]

I've sort of given up with Ubuntu. It grieves me greatly to have to stick with Windoze but I really couldn't be arsed to learn a new bloody language every time I wanted to do something that wasn't web browsing or word processing. Practically everything I wanted to do ended up with command line stuff.

[inc]

Well Debian manage a new release about once very three years and Ubuntu for one every six months.. That might be why.

Two years is nearer the recent  Debian stable release cycle but there are other versions.  I have had the same Debian version, Sid in the form of sidux now aptosid for over four years and I update it daily, in fact it could be every six hours when the repros are updated.There have been three kernel updates in the last two weeks. Fixed release cycles are dated, why update every six months and probably cock it up with Ubuntu. It is a flawed system taking a snapshot of Sid every six months then fiddling with it to allegedly make it more stable while giving it another stupid name. Sid may have risks for mission critical work but for most other users it works better than other "stable" distros. Ubuntu has done wonders to popularise Linux but it is overrated, even Mint and Crunchbang are moving to Debian from Ubuntu , rolling release is part of the reason. Debian are also looking at releasing a supported rolling version based on testing.Can Debian offer a Constantly Usable Testing distribution? | apt-get install debian-wizard

[mr endon]

<tiptoes away>

[pcolbeck]

Well Debian manage a new release about once very three years and Ubuntu for one every six months.. That might be why.

Two years is nearer the recent  Debian stable release cycle

Yes but it was probably frozen at least six months before that so all the software is out of date at the end of the release cycle by two and a half years bar security updates.

[Katie]

I'm a Debian girl at heart but use the netbook edition of Ubuntu on my eeePC because the hardware can't really cope with anything else.  Despite loving Debian, I'll happily say that UNE is great, I know others who use and love the full desktop version, and my favourite London pub uses server edition for their tills.  It's improved a lot.

I would say stay away from Release Candidates if it's your main computer - only upgrade when the stable upgrades are available.  In fact, I'm holding back on going up to 10.10 at the moment because I use my netbook for uni.

I'd even dispute what someone said earlier about trying to install stuff beyond what comes installed; the Software Centre makes it very easy to install most packages, and a lot of the time if software you want isn't available there then you can still get it online somewhere as a .deb and install it manually without fiddling with the command line.

I like it, but at the end of the day, it's up to individual user's preferences.  Do what Kim suggested and grab yourself a LiveCD to try it out before you install, maybe.

[fred the great]

Everybody worries about binning Microshaft for Linux until they have done it.

But afterwards,they regret that they didn't do it sooner

And be jabers, it's free and it just works.

You don't need to use  the Command line but it is available should it ever be needed.

[tonycollinet]

I would love to bin microshaft, but there are a couple of applications for which there is no good enough alternative in linux land.

[Woofage]

I would love to bin microshaft, but there are a couple of applications for which there is no good enough alternative in linux land.

Would they run under Wine?

[Woofage]

<tiptoes away>

Sorry. Discussions on Linux inevitably become a lot more technical than was originally hoped. This is down to the flexibiity and scalability of the OS: you can run it on everything from embedded devices like network routers through smartphones to big server farms.

Get a live CD and JFDI .

[inc]

I would love to bin microshaft, but there are a couple of applications for which there is no good enough alternative in linux land.

It takes minutes to install Virtual Box  www.virtualbox.org/ on any Linux distro then run any version of Windows or any other OS within that. Your MS applications are just a click away but your PC is running in a much more secure environment. There are other virtualisation applications which can make use of processor functions like Intel VT or AMD-V there is no need for anyone to run MS as their main system.

[Polar Bear]

Everybody worries about binning Microshaft for Linux until they have done it.

But afterwards,they regret that they didn't do it sooner

And be jabers, it's free and it just works.

You don't need to use  the Command line but it is available should it ever be needed.

Pay attention at the back...

I've sort of given up with Ubuntu. It grieves me greatly to have to stick with Windoze but I really couldn't be arsed to learn a new bloody language every time I wanted to do something that wasn't web browsing or word processing. Practically everything I wanted to do ended up with command line stuff.

[ian]

I would love to bin microshaft, but there are a couple of applications for which there is no good enough alternative in linux land.

It takes minutes to install Virtual Box  www.virtualbox.org/ on any Linux distro then run any version of Windows or any other OS within that. Your MS applications are just a click away but your PC is running in a much more secure environment. There are other virtualisation applications which can make use of processor functions like Intel VT or AMD-V there is no need for anyone to run MS as their main system.

But if you are paying for a Windows licence, and it does everything you need, it seems a bit perverse to then go through the trouble of virtualising it.

Nor is Virtualbox the most friendly beast in the zoo.

[Attitudeless Badger]

Mint for the win, everything worked out of the box, and quicker on my eee900 than Ubuntu.

[urban_biker]

What's amazing is just how much free software is out there for linux. Plenty of games to keep the kids happy for years to come. Multiple utilities to support cameras, image mods, torrent, media servers etc etc.

I'm so glad that Microsoft introduced all that security for XP otherwise I'd still be running some ripped off version. Instead I have a full legal and most excellent Ubuntu install.

[Woofage]

AOL. 

?

[Bledlow]

Ubuntu (or any other Linux distro) isn't perfect, but neither is Windows.  If it supports your hardware without problems (boot off the live CD for an easy test), and runs the apps you need, you should be fine.

Always been my problem. I use too many things which are Windows (spit!) only.

[fred the great]

Quote from: nicknack on Yesterday at 07:48:00 PM
I've sort of given up with Ubuntu. It grieves me greatly to have to stick with Windoze but I really couldn't be arsed to learn a new bloody language every time I wanted to do something that wasn't web browsing or word processing. Practically everything I wanted to do ended up with command line stuff.


Ten years ago you probably needed to learn some Command Line stuff as I had to do.

Linux today is a vastly different animal although as I stated earlier the Command line is still available if you want to use it. There are many, many Programmes in the Synaptic Package Manager and you don't need a University Degree to use it.

To ditch Windoze I had to find two alternative programmes to replace existing M$ ones and that proved quite easy. I did try Virtual Microshaft for a short while but binned that idea also.

To repeat what I stated earlier, change to Linux and soon afterwards you will wonder why you didn't change much earlier. As said already, play with a live CD to get an understanding of it.

Stated simply, it's a replacement Windoze with none of those ruddy annoying complications that Microshaft tries to shove down your throat. You can of course have a dual boot system if you must keep any Microshaft Programmes.

[inc]

But if you are paying for a Windows licence, and it does everything you need, it seems a bit perverse to then go through the trouble of virtualising it.

Nor is Virtualbox the most friendly beast in the zoo.

 XP is still the most  popular Windows version and came out in 2001. What is perverse about wanting a modern OS, which is intrinsically more secure, no need for troublesome anti-virus and you can still run those must have Windows applications when needed,  usually three clicks, one for VirtualBox one for Windows and one for the application, seems simple enough to me. I have installed VirtualBox and QEMU several times on different machines and all that has been required is apt-get install. It is not only about the OS, open source applications are also quicker to change and bug fix. I started using Golden Cheetah sports software some months back and asked the developers would it be possible to import .srd files from my Polar HRM, three days later it was done, that just does not happen with proprietary software, look at the success of Open Streeet Map.

[itsbruce]

AOL. 

?

When AOL users were first unleashed onto Usenet, which used to be the primary arena for discussion on the Net, they were a) much less clueful than the typical Net user of that era and b) much more numerous.  They quickly established a reputation for unintelligent debate and particularly for following up a post purely to say "I agree".  <aol> became shorthand for "I agree".

[Tewdric]

AOL. 

?

"Me too"

[nicknack]

To repeat what I stated earlier, change to Linux and soon afterwards you will wonder why you didn't change much earlier. As said already, play with a live CD to get an understanding of it.

And to, more or less, repeat what I said - this is not true for everyone. I still haven't forgiven Ubuntu for the last time I did an upgrade. It removed the dual boot from the main hard disk so I now have a bit of a rigmarole to boot from an external disk. I did have a bash at trying to replace it, but failed. As seems to be usual with Ubuntu, once something goes wrong (frequently) you need a degree to try and fix it. Internet help is no damn use. For every problem there appears to be dozens of conflicting solutions - none of which work.

[Polar Bear]

Arcoleo,

Why don't you understand that for some people Linux is not a solution?   It works for you, fine.  It doesn't work for nicknack, and, it doesn't work for me.   

Linux cannot do everything, nor can Windows.   As it happens, Windows does everything I need whereas Linux fails.   QED.

[bobb]

I need to use Windows for my work. Period.

I like Ubuntu, but I've given up booting into it for general pissing around on the interwebs and listening to music because no matter how many times I try - I just cannot get sound to work.

Nobody else seems to know either, because I've asked here and elsewhere plenty of times. So, Arcoleo - let me know how to get audio working taking a line out from the sound card into a digital hifi amp. In Windows you just check the "Digital output only" box. In Ubuntu - fuck only knows what you have to do....

[pcolbeck]

Sound is nasty in Linux always has been. Getting better slowly but still a bit crap. Its because the sound card manufacturers won't release the specs to the guys who right Linux drivers. Graphics ar easier as ATI and Nvidea help and write drivers for Linux.

[MikeFromLFE]

I think there are a number of barriers to much more widespread adoption of Linux:

- There are a number of applications that users are familiar with / have to use that are not available in Linux. This is simply because Microsoft has the market by the short & curlies (although is loosing its grip slowly); this leads to a lack of functionality even where alternatives are 'sort of' available. My Garmin 605 is an example of this. I guess most users will cope with Wine, where it works - and it is not as universal as I was led to beleive - I've not tried VirtualBox, but my reading of the issues makes me wary; the comment about having to keep a valid Windows licence is very valid.

- The Linux community don't help themselves. Ask a 'simple' question about how to do stuff, and before long there will be a long set of answers involving wierd acronyms, the terminal window and 'stuff'. Yes, this probably shows the flexibility and adaptability of Linux, but it is seriously off-putting to me as an eager learner. In Windows, you are just told "it don't work" - simples.

- Many of us have had bad previous experiences with "Distros" before Linux came of age, this has left a sour taste in many mouths. This also feeds into the confusing amount of choice about what to superceed a sick Windows installation with. Choice is good, but too much choice for the less technologically savvie is toxic.