I'm impressed. Ubuntu 'just works'. Something I've been waiting for since the days of RedHat 9. I think Redhat was on the right track if they stuck with it but at the same time I felt paranoid, checking weekly to see if they would start twisting there words, charging high prices, making design choices not based on the communities majority vote, etc.
I stuck in my Ubuntu CD, booted - didn't even mind the (very easy) non-gui installer. It gave me very few options, which I like when Im installing and TADA, im left with a (keep in mind, I've never used a Debian distro before, it's abandoment made me feel that the distro and it's concepts were outdated) OS that 'just works' and is ready to expand with all the applications I need as a System Administrator.
Amazing, DVD playback, my iPod shuffle, VMware, it all just works. I come from Gentoo / BSD's. I like control, otherwise my OS feels 'dirty' and find myself reformatting everytime I want to add on a new service / new concept to managing my personal data, etc. what a pain in the ass.
The Gnome "Live CD" for there 2.10 release is what informed be about Ubuntu. I lvoe Gnome. KDE has a lot of power, but Gnome has always had a better vibe (yea, I know it's code, I mean the vibe, passion of the developers and concepts). I noticed it was /very/ hard to find the Release Notes when I first stumbled upon the page. I also think a lot of things could be better automated / done in the backgroud. Not bashing Ubuntu, I just want to see you guys at the top.
I'll donate monthly, focusing on your general funds, and documentation funds. I think we can do a better job with compiling a 'handbook' to centralize all the basics, very much liek FreeBSD's handbook. As a new comer to Ubuntu and Debian in general, im confused as to how packages are managed, how you organize your init scripts, how you've setup sound, etc. Things I'd like to know about and tweak as a sysadmin.
Anyway, keep up all the good work, you're on the right track. I love that you stress it will always be free, I love the passion behind your goals. Your GUI tweaks/themes even are done very well. I don't mind keeping the default Ubuntu background up, I think it looks awesome and im usually a #000000 kinda guy.
I was consiering gettinga new Mac with OS X tiger... but after my first day with Ubuntu and seeing how your stress your commitment to it, I feel safer / more comfortable using it.
Thanks guys. Maybe You'll see me on the dev teams (graphic design / UI cordinator) when I get some time.
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