(K)Ubuntu v5.04 vs. Mandriva v10.2

[maspro]

Hi there,

For some time now I have been reading some very cool things about (K)Ubuntu. Currently I have Mandriva running as my distro. Can someone tell me why I should choose (K)Ubuntu instead of Mandriva? What are the pros and cons of both distro's and why is the one better than the other?

If I look at distrowatch.com Ubuntu currently ranks 1st place and Mandriva 2nd place, while this used to be the other way around.

[diebels]

Ubuntu is better. Not sure about kubuntu.

[gil-galad]

They both are fine.

[jdonnell]

apt-get is the biggest reason to use ubuntu over mandriva. I've had too many problems with rpm based systems in the past (primarily redhat)

[XDevHald]

ACK! rpm's are nasty, apt-get is an eye catcher to all dev's and also newbies to linux, very simple and easy.

As far as Mandriva goes, it's not a comparison to Kubuntu at all. The desktop is much cleaner and has more utils than Mandriva will ever have.

[poofyhairguy]

Hi there,

For some time now I have been reading some very cool things about (K)Ubuntu. Currently I have Mandriva running as my distro. Can someone tell me why I should choose (K)Ubuntu instead of Mandriva? What are the pros and cons of both distro's and why is the one better than the other?

Sure. First of all, if you like Gnome than Ubuntu's Gnome is miles better than KDEs. Its untainted for the most part, and is MUCH cleaner. I hated Mandrake's Gnome when I used it.

Second of all (this is a big one for me), if you hate compiling software as much as me- I hate it a lot- then you will be happy to learn that (k)Ubuntu has many more packages availible than Mandriva. I mean, Mandriva has the most of the RPM based distros (I knowledgable fan has told me that Mandriva has around 9000 RPM packages online) , but it doesn't touch Ubuntu/Debian (Hoary has over 14000 packages when you include the universe). Packages make life easier (I can never get hand compiled apps to work correctly personally) and Ubuntu has most that you'll need. Plus, if you need something not in the Universe or Main parts of Ubuntu then there is a pretty good chance that someone else has it on another server (like jdong).

Third of all, Ubuntu only has one version. What you see is what you get. It does not have media codecs installed by default (just like Mandriva's download version for the same reasons), but at least Ubuntu doesn't rub in your face that there is a better version. One thing that stuck out to me about Mandrake 10.1 is that in KDE the menu bar blatently told me it was the "download version" as if I was using a second class OS. In their situation I would prefer something like having the download version be called "Mandriva" and having the pay for version be "Mandriva Professional."

Fourth, you don't have to pay to get on the servers. I don't mind Mandriva making money, but I personally prefer free.

Fifth, Ubuntu has pretty good documentation for a newer distro. First there is the Ubuntu Guide:

http://ubuntuguide.org/

And then this part of the forums:

http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=58

Sixth, Ubuntu promises two releases a year and I think Mandriva might only offer one a year (might be wrong on that point).

Seventh, Ubuntu lacks all of the draketools which at first seems like a bad thing but really isn't. You get dependent on these tools, and they are buggy and they don't work right part of the time (did for me in 10.1).Gnome has better tools by default, and Ubuntu uses them. I must point out here that this is more of a bad thing in Kubuntu in my opinion because KDE lacks a lot of the tools that Gnome has. KDE suffers from the fact that most ot the KDE distros have their own GUI tools (drake tools in Mandriva and YAST in SUSE) so some areas are REALLY lacking. You have to install the Gnome system tools in Kubuntu or hit some commandline. Hopefully soon Kubuntu will have a YAST port.

Eighth, Ubuntu sounds cooler to me than Mandriva. I know that is a poor point, but I kinda liked the Mandrake name. This new name is one letter away from being a drag queen (not that thats bad or anything, its just that I wouldn't want RuPaul's OS).

Ninth, the last Madriva release candidate had KDE 3.3 and Gnome 2.8. (K)ubuntu has 3.4 and Gnome 2.10.

http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mandrake

Mandriva's cooker is up to date, but is not fair comparing that to a released OS (Hoary).


Tenth (and finally), Ubuntu has a great community. Is it better than Mandriva's? Well, I don't know. So no one uppence there.

There, ten reasons. Of course, you are on the Ubuntu forum....so bias is hopefully expected.

[maspro]

Thx guys for the replies so far, especially poofyhairguy for his very comprehensive reply.

Well I installed Ubuntu and indeed one of the first things I missed was the draktools, also I don't fancy Gnome that much, so I guess it's going to be KDE with the extra Gnome tools. I did notice that Ubuntu is faster than Mandriva, so that's a plus. Also the whole apt-get idea sounds much better than urpmi.

I read that Connectiva was the first rpm-based distro that successfully ported apt-get to it's distro and that it eventually fully replaced Connectiva's rpm. So is it safe to asume that Connectiva apt-get works about the same as Debian apt-get? Also is there much difference in Connectiva's implementation of apt-get and that of a ported apt-get (yum???) for Fedora? Since Mandrake & Connectiva have merged now, I think it's safe to asume that the next major Mandriva release will have a full implementation of Connectiva's apt-get. Whould this make Mandriva a lot better?

Are there any more cons that make Mandriva the lesser choice?

[arctic]

hmmm... somehow i knew that this thread would end in trolling around... and it does.

both systems are fine distros. in the end it simply depends on your very own expectations to an os and to your personal needs if you should choose k/ubuntu or stick to mandriva. just try them and make your choice.

i use both systems and none of them is really superior to another imho. and i could point out 10 weaknesses in ubuntu that do not apply to mandriva, but that would be even more trolling, so i keep my mouth shut.

[KiwiNZ]

Mandriva is run by a money-grubbing company; it's president's the bunny below my post.

Please keep to the subject. This thread is for a comparison btween to fine products lets keep personalities and or trolling out of it .That way we all enjoy a good conversation .

Thanks

[poofyhairguy]

Thx guys for the replies so far, especially poofyhairguy for his very comprehensive reply.

Well I installed Ubuntu and indeed one of the first things I missed was the draktools, also I don't fancy Gnome that much, so I guess it's going to be KDE with the extra Gnome tools. I did notice that Ubuntu is faster than Mandriva, so that's a plus. Also the whole apt-get idea sounds much better than urpmi.

I read that Connectiva was the first rpm-based distro that successfully ported apt-get to it's distro and that it eventually fully replaced Connectiva's rpm. So is it safe to asume that Connectiva apt-get works about the same as Debian apt-get? Also is there much difference in Connectiva's implementation of apt-get and that of a ported apt-get (yum???) for Fedora?

Works about the same, just has more packages availible.

Since Mandrake & Connectiva have merged now, I think it's safe to asume that the next major Mandriva release will have a full implementation of Connectiva's apt-get. Whould this make Mandriva a lot better?

Not really. I personally believe that URMPI is the best RPM tool. It works great, made me like Linux early on. Plus, the package managers don't matter as much as the repos you connect to. If I was you, I would try out the program called synaptic. Its a GREAT gui for apt-get, and I don't know if I could live without it.

I'm glad you tried Ubuntu and I hope you like it. If not, no big deal. Its all Linux on the inside.