Reasons for me to go back to windows from Ubuntu

[jvictor]

No FLAME intended..

1) The kernel cant handle my DVD+RW(sony DRU-810A) . Machine freezes; Tried posting-no one could help

2) Digicam doesnt work Kodak CX7220, cant copy images .. But can browse them ! Why do i need it then ?!

3) Spent more time trying to get it work, rather than getting my work done on it

Kind of dissapointing experience. Dunno when such basic/everyday needs are gng to get right in Ubuntu. There is no point in rushing a release every 6 months without getting the existing bugs fixed.The 6 months release looks more like a publicity gimmic than actual commitment to the project.

[wolfchri]

In my case, same but vice versa: Windows needs drivers for everything, Ubuntu (and PClinuxOS) is recognizing everything without any user interaction.

My Hardware:
AMD64, K8TNeo, GForce 5700, Canon Powershot A200, Myson USB Harddisk, RT2500 WLan card.

So I will never ever switch back to Windows - since I bought Cedega, I can even play Battlefield2 for 40 (?) Euros - a Windows XP Home license comes at least at 80 Euros if you get it with a new PC.

My suggestion: Write to the manufacturers of your hardware that does not work and ask them to open the interface specifications. And when you purchase hardware next time, try to get hardware that is known to work with Linux.

Ubuntu Linux however is no marketing gag - it is not only rock solid, free and userfriendly but also in most of the cases has a simply better hardware support than Windows XP.

[matthew]

No FLAME intended..

1) The kernel cant handle my DVD+RW(sony DRU-810A) . Machine freezes; Tried posting-no one could help

2) Digicam doesnt work Kodak CX7220, cant copy images .. But can browse them ! Why do i need it then ?!

3) Spent more time trying to get it work, rather than getting my work done on it

Kind of dissapointing experience. Dunno when such basic/everyday needs are gng to get right in Ubuntu. There is no point in rushing a release every 6 months without getting the existing bugs fixed.The 6 months release looks more like a publicity gimmic than actual commitment to the project.

I'm sorry to hear of the disappointing experience. It is rare, but sometimes things are discovered that either require more of us than we are capable of doing in order to get them to work, or there just isn't any way known at present.

I hope you will check back in the future, maybe in April 2006 when the next release comes out. Maybe it will work better for you.

[xequence]

This is very annoying! IF UBUNTU DOESENT WORK FOR YOU, DONT USE IT. USE THE OS THAT WORKS FOR YOU. IF YOU WANT COMPLETE COMPATABILITY, USE A MAC.

I am not going to stop using ubuntu because it doesent support YOUR dvd drive! Windows doesent auto detect my hardware very well, does that mean I should go on a windows forum telling them they shouldent use it because it doesent detect MY hardware?

[MetalMusicAddict]

This is very annoying! IF UBUNTU DOESENT WORK FOR YOU, DONT USE IT. USE THE OS THAT WORKS FOR YOU. IF YOU WANT COMPLETE COMPATABILITY, USE A MAC.

I am not going to stop using ubuntu because it doesent support YOUR dvd drive! Windows doesent auto detect my hardware very well, does that mean I should go on a windows forum telling them they shouldent use it because it doesent detect MY hardware?
I dont think he ment it that way. :) I took it as personal reasons to go back.

I have a couple of issues but not enough for me to go back. Ubuntu is just more fun. ;)

[xequence]

I dont think he ment it that way. :) I took it as personal reasons to go back.

Oh, ok :P I took it as them saying that if it doesent work for them, it doesent work at all. But then again, I rarly understand things right ;)

[joshuapurcell]

3) Spent more time trying to get it work, rather than getting my work done on it

Kind of dissapointing experience. Dunno when such basic/everyday needs are gng to get right in Ubuntu. There is no point in rushing a release every 6 months without getting the existing bugs fixed.The 6 months release looks more like a publicity gimmic than actual commitment to the project.
One thing that I've learned about the current state of Linux is that unless you A)find it fun to work out computer-related problems for yourself, B)have a person around who is knowledgeable with Linux, or C)are very good at googling for answers (goes along with A I guess), then you may as well stick with Windows. The chances of a person who doesn't fit into one of these three categories being able to just install a Linux distribution (even Ubuntu) and have everything magically 'just work' are slim to none (although I'm considering installing Ubuntu on my grandparents' machine at some point). Much the same can be said about Windows to a lesser extent.

About the six month release that you say looks like a "publicity gimic" though: Ubuntu (and Linux) gains from knowing that there will be a release that is considered stable on a regular time frame, which is more than the other OS platforms can claim. This is definitely a big commitment to the project in terms of resources alone... and I think it's one of the reasons why Ubuntu has taken off so much in the past year. I can't find anything wrong with that: the more interest being focused on this project means there will be more incentive for developers to work on the project, which means the less chance you will see problems in the next scheduled release of the distribution. Being considered stable doesn't mean that everything will magically work without any intervention from the user (see above paragraph).

[bonzodog]

I have to say it, but i'm in the 'windows was too difficult/buggy/pain-in-the-****' to set up, so I removed it from the box :). Windows just didn't like my hardware. The battle to get drivers that worked was unreal. My box is ALL Nvidia hardware (mobo/sound/graphics/network), and some of them didn't work with out first going to the website, pulling down buggy drivers then doing re-installs and update after update after update just to get the system running. Total time to get a stable windows system? 1 and a half weeks, 4- 5 hours a day.
Now, ubuntu; took 1 and a half hours including updates to install and get stable. thats a from -scratch install, plus set-up and 30-40 mins waiting for the update files to download and install. Every piece of hardware on this box was recognised from the word go.
I'm sorry, but Microsoft windows XP lacks proper hardware support, and software support is very thin on the ground. Linux is much easier to use and install.

[drizek]

This is very annoying... IF YOU WANT COMPLETE COMPATABILITY, USE A MAC.

no, that is annoying.

[poofyhairguy]

1) The kernel cant handle my DVD+RW(sony DRU-810A) . Machine freezes; Tried posting-no one could help

Odd. I have the generic version of that drive (the xU model instead of the xA) and the wiki page for turning on DMA made it magically work for me. But there might be a world of difference in that one letter:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DMA?highlight=%28dma%29


2) Digicam doesnt work Kodak CX7220, cant copy images .. But can browse them ! Why do i need it then ?!

I totally know the answer to this one as I had same problem once. Its gksudo. Use this command to start digicam:

gksudo digikam

If you are using only Kubuntu gksudo might need to be installed, just install synaptic and it will do that automatically.


3) Spent more time trying to get it work, rather than getting my work done on it

Yep, that can be troubling. I see my computer as a toy, not a tool, so I have spent the time to hammer out these things. But I see your perspective.


Kind of dissapointing experience. Dunno when such basic/everyday needs are gng to get right in

You have to understand- Ubuntu really doesn't have that many resources. I think there are only like 15 people who work on the distro. And some of the problems are because of the kernel, which Ubuntu has little control over as that is not maintained by them. Ubuntu has to run for years on $10 million. Microsoft will spend that much buying new machines to test on before Vista is released I bet (or one office party). Desktop Linux will never have the resouces of the other side, so it will always be hit or miss. I don't see how anyone can see these odds and be anything other than amazed at how much DOES work. But I guess that is irrelevent to a user: it either works as much as needed or it doesn't.


There is no point in rushing a release every 6 months without getting the existing bugs fixed.The 6 months release looks more like a publicity gimmic than actual commitment to the project.

Not really. If Ubuntu waited till every bug was fixed the release cycle would be like regular Debians- every few years. And Ubuntu was created to get away from that. Most of the software would be way out of date by then.

You are correct that the six month releases are partially publicity stunts. It keeps the user base interested and keeps feeding the community so they don't get bored and go somewhere else. But part of it is because any longer and the releases would get so far behind it would be hard to resync with Sid, and that where most of the Ubuntu resources go- rsyncing the whole thing with Sid (debian unstable) every six months.

But Mark himself does not consider each release to be equal. The way he talks about the next one, Dapper, he seems to imply that it will be in a way the first BIG Ubuntu release. The one Ubuntu has been building up to. The one that would have been released had they stuck to your plan (release when its all ready). So its a little bit of both.

But I can almost promise you that any Linux you try is going to have problems. Distros that release as often or nearly as often as Ubuntu will have some bugs that were not fixed, and distros that have a longer time between releases will have software too old ot be relevent as a desktop OS. That just the way things are. There are very few resources in Desktop Linuxland (WAY less than what is spent developing Linux's server side) and so us users have to deal with that.

If you don't want to its your choice, it not like we charge for re-entry if you change your mind. Just please don't have a bad attitude about it because that shows you don't get how shoestring this all is. Please note that the developers do their best, and Mark has spent more money than any should (withou hoping to get it back), and its still has about 1/1000th at best of what sort of resources the other side has...

[poofyhairguy]

This is very annoying! IF UBUNTU DOESENT WORK FOR YOU, DONT USE IT. USE THE OS THAT WORKS FOR YOU. IF YOU WANT COMPLETE COMPATABILITY, USE A MAC.


Lets not shout, ok?

[xequence]

Lets not shout, ok?

Yea, I kinda forgot about the whole caps = shouting thing, I just wanted the thread starter to notice the caps :P You all know im sorry ;)

[jvictor]

Well, I dont say that no one should use it :-D. Its the way one interprets the post ! I am just telling problems i faced, so that people with similar config can save the time and effort. I believe every individual has the right to express his views in a forum as long as he maintains the decorum of the forum.

Adding one more issue i faced,

5.04 Ubuntu , Kubuntu (64 bit) , 5.10 (32 bit & 64 bit) Ubuntu show that there is a MD5 sum problem when copying e2fsprogs udeb / jfsutils udeb when i use my DVD+RW. I cant belive that during all downloads, the iso got corrupted exactly at the point, or my dvd writing s/w (nero) thought that those files are bad in all these isos.

If i run the instal from my old samsung 52x cd-r drive it goes fine ! Maybe the developers need to chk that too...

[panickedthumb]

you should post a bug report on bugzilla.ubuntu.com about that DVD+RW problem

[jvictor]

Well i have posted one related to the DVD RW in bugzilla

http://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/show_bug.cgi?id=18170

[AllenGG]

The purpose of these forums is to help people with the transition to Linux.
Ubuntu is unique, try to get support like this from Micro$oft or Apple.
Mandriva has support, but for full use it's expensive and awkward. SuSe is downright strange, Red Hat is definitely aimed toward the "Enterprise" market.
Debian, Ubuntu's base distro is helpfull, but it's easier with Ubuntu,
Let's face it, some people will not find it usefull, that's why M$ is so rich.
Allen;)

[aysiu]

Well, I dont say that no one should use it :-D. Its the way one interprets the post ! I am just telling problems i faced, so that people with similar config can save the time and effort. I believe every individual has the right to express his views in a forum as long as he maintains the decorum of the forum. ...which is why I changed the title of your thread to include the words for me. That "for you" may apply to certain people, but I think your original thread title was misleading and more likely to get people upset.

[jvictor]

Only if i got my DVD writer get to work without crashing the entire OS, and digicam in plug and play fashion; i would completely switch to Ubuntu. Will do a desperate try tonite to get a clean install and try tweaking the DMA settings & Cable select stuff of my writer.

Again is there a clean tool for cd/dvd burning that doesnt segfault or burn binary images as text onto the cd ?

One more thing , What are those big list of kernels doing in my grub screen ? What is the difference bwn all of them ? Some say Generic , Some say Generic default..

[pjs_flyer]

I have to say that given the resources Ubuntu has, I've been amazed at how straightforward the install was - in particular the wireless card working out of the box (took me weeks to sort out under Suse 9.2, albeit with an earlier kernel). More importantly, pretty much every glitch has a note (and usually a solution) on the forum. And although I do use my laptop for work, tweaking is part of the fun with Linux!

P.

[Greyfoxwolf]

tweaking is part of the fun with Linux!
P.

hell yeah
I'm a real linux n00bie and i have stumbled up on realy big problems but i have overcome each problem (with the help of this forum and some google skills). For a windows user its hard to adjust but think it in this way: How long did you have to use windows in order to learn how it acts? (not how it works but ACTS)
Also in windows everything is closed in a box, you have to be on a realy high skill level to understand the inner workings at least thats what you have been made to believe. It works like a bunch of automated boxes.
In linux however you are forced to look into the box, it looks dificult but its not. But once you understand the workings then you can custumsize and adjust just about anything with ease.
I am very dissapointed to see users go back to windows because one or more linux distros are too hard for them to understand within time span of a few weeks. Especialy Windows XP users, they'll get frustrated in no time.
Windows is like the parent bird feeding its chick with regurgitated food which tastes like crap, well for most windows users its time get out of the nest and start to catch their own bugs 'n worms.

[jvictor]

Isnt that like telling if a device driver doesnt work write ur own device driver ?

I would like to know how many of the people who say about looking under the hood have actually written device drivers and rev-enginereed thier hardaware's chip level design !!!

When it comes to hardware support M$-XP is far ahead, which is the plain truth.There maybe many reasons behind it, which all of us know ...

I am not tellng that ubuntu is not worth its salt. I am just giving plain facts based on real life experience, So that the developers / community can benefit from it and these kind of naggin issues dont make people turn away from this initiative.

Agree with this or not,

The better the hardware support is , the wider the acceptance of the distro will be. When the distro has a larger user base, apps will automatically follow.

[Stormy Eyes]

I am not tellng that ubuntu is not worth its salt. I am just giving plain facts based on real life experience, So that the developers / community can benefit from it and these kind of naggin issues dont make people turn away from this initiative.

You should be complaining at https://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/, not here on forums that the developers do not have time to read. If you filed an actual bug report, you might eventually see a fix. I understand your frustration, but posting here is pointless.

[aysiu]

You should be complaining at https://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/, not here on forums that the developers do not have time to read. If you filed an actual bug report, you might eventually see a fix. I understand your frustration, but posting here is pointless. I agree. For more information, read What's better than whining on the forums? Making a difference. (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=78741)

[Brunellus]

aysiu, I'm running out of space in my .sig to link to your posts....

[Leopard]

I have to say it, but i'm in the 'windows was too difficult/buggy/pain-in-the-****' to set up, so I removed it from the box :). Windows just didn't like my hardware. The battle to get drivers that worked was unreal. My box is ALL Nvidia hardware (mobo/sound/graphics/network), and some of them didn't work with out first going to the website, pulling down buggy drivers then doing re-installs and update after update after update just to get the system running. Total time to get a stable windows system? 1 and a half weeks, 4- 5 hours a day.
Now, ubuntu; took 1 and a half hours including updates to install and get stable. thats a from -scratch install, plus set-up and 30-40 mins waiting for the update files to download and install. Every piece of hardware on this box was recognised from the word go.
I'm sorry, but Microsoft windows XP lacks proper hardware support, and software support is very thin on the ground. Linux is much easier to use and install.

If you're experienced in Windows, and not Linux, the installation is the same - about 1.5 hours to get the OS installed, all drivers, patched via windows Update etc.

For a linux noob like me, it took multiple installs of breezy before I was using a stable system. It took me 2 nihgts to get dual monitors to work, and tonight was wasted attempting to get accelerated graphics drivers to work (yes, it's ATI, and no it still isn't working :(). On windows, that takes a download, a few clicks and a reboot. [Both require some knowledge of your hardware].

I'll keep plugging away at Ubuntu, as I see it has a future, though I might clean up some space to try XP64 & the latest Suse also ;)

[nocturn]

No FLAME intended..

1) The kernel cant handle my DVD+RW(sony DRU-810A) . Machine freezes; Tried posting-no one could help

2) Digicam doesnt work Kodak CX7220, cant copy images .. But can browse them ! Why do i need it then ?!

3) Spent more time trying to get it work, rather than getting my work done on it

Kind of dissapointing experience. Dunno when such basic/everyday needs are gng to get right in Ubuntu. There is no point in rushing a release every 6 months without getting the existing bugs fixed.The 6 months release looks more like a publicity gimmic than actual commitment to the project.


I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with it. For my machines it is just opposite. My DVD burner, Digicam etc all worked out of the box.

Linux has dificulties supporting hardware that is not conforming to standards, this is especially bad with Digital camera's (with the ones that just use usb-mass-storage working properly).

Anyway, good luck to you.

[nocturn]

Well i have posted one related to the DVD RW in bugzilla

http://bugzilla.ubuntu.com/show_bug.cgi?id=18170

You posted this about 5 days ago, allow people some time to look at this problem.

[nocturn]

Again is there a clean tool for cd/dvd burning that doesnt segfault or burn binary images as text onto the cd ?

K3B (in the repositories) is awesome.

[nocturn]

When it comes to hardware support M$-XP is far ahead, which is the plain truth.There maybe many reasons behind it, which all of us know ...


Unless you are running older hardware (like a scanner bought with Win95 drivers) or your driver is not signed, or plugging in a device just hangs the machine, ...

Anyway, to keep a WinXP machine working properly, it takes a lot of work (virusscans, anti-spyware, ...). Not to mention the pain to recover when it finally crashes (no single /home to keep when reinstalling).

No thanks.

[nocturn]

(yes, it's ATI, and no it still isn't working :(). On windows, that takes a download, a few clicks and a reboot. [Both require some knowledge of your hardware].

I understand, but ATI is to blame for the poor quality of their drivers on Linux. Nvidia does not seem to have such difficulties, although I do regret the lack of GPL'ed drivers for both.

If you buy a product for windows, let's say a mustek scanner, you use the drivers they supply. If they make bad drivers, you're out of luck too.

[Malphas]

In linux however you are forced to look into the box
That's a generalisation and not necessarily correct. Have you tested this theory with every GNU/Linux distribution out there? That also seems to go against what Ubuntu is about, if I wanted to be "forced into looking into the box" I would use Slackware or Gentoo, or build from scratch. To be honest I don't wish to be "forced" into doing anything by my operating system, be it Windows or Linux.

[jvictor]

At last got it work in a stable manner....

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=82751