What's so great about ubuntu?

[voyager529]

Hey CMN!

I've been reading alot of stuff on ZDNet and lots of people there are raving about Ubuntu, especially in light of the recent 7.0 release. I've been noticing a leaning from alot of people toward saying that ubuntu is the greatest linux distro since sliced bread linux

So, I downloaded it. And the DVD version. and the Kubuntu version DVD. I ran them all. While I still come home to windows every night, I've still spent some time on fedora, knoppix, mandrake, suse, xandros, and linspire. Ubuntu didn't seem any better or different (especially with KDE) than any of the other distros. Personally, I still think that Xandros makes the best version of linux - enough linux to keep the nerds happy, enough windows to keep the masses happy. it does common sense things like let you see drives in a 'my computer' style fasion instead of having to sift to find the root directory of the drive, and automatically mounts USB drives (i don't know if ubuntu does the latter, but it should be SOP for linux these days).


So I ask again, why is ubuntu getting all this attention?

Joey

[tekjojo]

I solely run Ubuntu on my home computer and I really like it. It does automatically mount USB drives (you were wondering), but I think like you said that is something just about all the distro's will do for you.

I'm not really sure why it gets so much hype... it does live up to its' advertising that it "just works" in that if you don't want to delve into the stuff that makes linux so powerful, you don't have to. Being a nerd, I have but I can see how a lot of people would like that flexibility of just having it "work" once installed, not having to configure a lot of things (previous linux distros have been known for spending tons of time configuring it to make it work).

Just my two cents...

Joe

[voyager529]

understood, but let's compare kubuntu with knoppix. the dvd of ubuntu 7.0 doesn't ship with nearly as much stuff on it, and they both seem very similar otherwise. what does ubuntu do that knoppix doesn't (assuming that you get a particular build that lets you both install and run live as ubuntu does)

Joey

[adamdiehl]

Let me first say: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT LINUX.

With that said, I wanted to mention that Ubuntu does have a Christian Edition. lol.

[Trib4l]

The reason Ubuntu doesn't ship with the stuff that a lot of distros, like knoppix and sabayon for example, ship with is do to GNU licensing. They will only ship stuff that they absolutely have permission to ship and support. Nothing that's an owned, copyrighted product will generally make it on there. Pretty much every piece of software, with exception to OpenOffice which is still free, is a community supported and developed repos and application.

Sabayon comes with all kinds of flashy stuff - for example beryl, OGL versions of Quake4 - that sort of thing. Ubuntu isn't out to prove anything, "it just works". That's also why they offer the different desktop managers as well with gnome, KDE, or XFCE - they know some things will work on machines that others won't.

I'm running Xubuntu on an old lappy that can't possibly run gnome or KDE. XFCE is way lighter and runs faster.

IMO, that's the primary difference. It's being developed as a serious front end, and a free, well supported, direct replacement for MS products in an office environment.

[[Admin] PHugger]

If you cut through all of the hype and fanboyism.......

Ubuntu is supported by a company and a millionaire's money - not a complete dependence on a community. Develop is driven forward with 2 scheduled releases each year (704 in April and 710 in October). My fav unix distro would be Sun's Solaris. It's not as flashy, but the support is top notch.

Ubuntu is simply trying to push itself out of the pile of other distros - this is called marketing. Linux has too many distros and flavors to ever gain a foot hold. Ubuntu is trying to establish itself as the leader and doing a pretty good job.



PCH

[Trib4l]

There is that...

Yeah, Solaris is the king of unix IMO. I work for a company who makes large printers (starts and ends with X), and Solaris 8, 9, and 10 are used as backbones for all the large production systems. Mostly 10 now. Excellent OS.

[dovprst]

Ubuntu is nice and all, but it does not just work. I gave up trying to get the Nvidia and ATI drivers to work right with two laptops. I still use it, but as of 6.10 I don't see it as being as good as advertised. It won' even let me upgrade to 7.04. I do like it, but it is disappointing how much still does not work right.

[tekjojo]

Originally Posted by dovprst

Ubuntu is nice and all, but it does not just work. I gave up trying to get the Nvidia and ATI drivers to work right with two laptops. I still use it, but as of 6.10 I don't see it as being as good as advertised. It won' even let me upgrade to 7.04. I do like it, but it is disappointing how much still does not work right.

I suppose the same could be said about any OS... not everyone is going to experience the same results every time. I have a few issues with mine not working perfectly with all of my hardware.

I agree with PHugger... Ubuntu is just trying to market itself above the rest.

Joe

[blwells45]

I too, don't get the hype that surrounds Ubuntu. I tried it out, and didn't see where it was any "better" than what I already run, Fedora. So far, I have had GREAT luck with Red Hat derivatives, so, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

While I love Linux, I think there are several things that keep it from world domination.

1. As Phugger mentioned, there are too many competing distros. It not only gets confusing, but it gets aggravating, especially when the flame wars get started.

2. People will use what they are familiar with. As long as Windows dominates in the business/school environments, most people with just use what they know.

3. People will use what is most convenient. This is perhaps tied to number two. But, it is slightly different. As long as PCs come preinstalled with Windows, people will not see any reason to "upgrade" to a different OS. Most people could care less what's under the hood. They just want it to work.

4. Until hardware companies start actively supporting Linux with compatible drivers, Linux will continue to lag behind the Plug and Play "beauty" of Windows. Of course, that brings us back to number one.... what distro do they support? And, then what kernel? And, how long do they continue support? And then, of course, you have the proprietary driver / open source driver debate. If a hardware company releases a Linux driver, but not the source code, then "purist" releases won't include it anyway. So, why bother?

My rambling .02 cents worth!

[Tony Kanago]

The answer:

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

It is a scheme, nothing more.

FreeBSD > *.

[Lucas]

I prefer those Knoppix Live CD's

anything goes wrong, hard reset, done!