My opinion about Ubuntu & other Linux Distribution

[d4rkkn16ht]

I've seen many "Complaining Threads" already, here & other forum.
From my point of view,these things(the complains,opinions,bug reports,etc) are making FOSS community stronger.

But never judge !

Reading "Complaining Threads" makes me remember when I was installing MS DOS & MS Win95.
I was still a kid & high speed Internet was very rare in my country that time.
When using any new OS, yes I said ANY, for the first time,there will be bugs & any other unknown problems (drivers,compatibilities,etc).

Every new OS has similar problems.

My BIG points in my opinions :

Don't judge which OS is bad or good until you understand what's going on.

Linux Distributions are depending heavily on their communities.
The complains,opinions,bug reports are necessary.

Remember that many Linux Distribution's developers are not paid.
They depend solely on donations.

"But Ubuntu is supported by Canonical", some said.
Yes,Ubuntu is supported by Canonical,but Ubuntu is Linux (or GNU/Linux) and Linux is based on community work (FOSS & GNU).
Ubuntu developers only continuing what the community has done

Different from proprietary that gain as much profit as possible, FOSS Community is always trying to provide cheap (or even free) software & knowledge to everyone in need.

And because the nature in FOSS which is to include source code of every software it made,it is almost impossible for proprietary company to join & help them,unless they give the community their source code (which is now more & more proprietary company willingly join FOSS community,therefore compatibility issues in Linux are getting better)

Before there is any native hardware support from proprietary provider,Linux Communities have to create their own driver version which is sometimes takes time & buggy.

Lucky for us now that the latest Linux kernel is far more compatible to current hardware than few years ago.
(I compare it to the day I used Red Hat 5.0)


So,instead of mocking & yelling,give some appreciations to what the community has done ;)
The fact is even many Ubuntu (or other linux distributions) users complaining about bugs or other problems,Linux users are still increasing :D

[spaik]

i second that... u said everything :clap:

every time i found anything wrong with ubuntu i just wait and make sure that ubuntu team knows about it and then i know that in the next release it will be covered.

thanks again for taking the time to share ur thoughts :)

[djsroknrol]

Very good points indeed....

There are many computer and hardware configurations out there, and not every distro is going to work OTB. The more we let the devs know about, the more things will work the first time.

[Khakilang]

Bravo! I couldn't have say it better and to the community a great thank you for a great job.:popcorn:

[madjr]

if i see people complain or demand stuff, i'll link em to this thread

[d4rkkn16ht]

I want to add some information about my background & why I start this thread.

I am IT literate & live in Indonesia.
Even though I am IT literate,my background most of the time related to Microsoft products.
My first linux experience is Red Hat 5.0 when i was still studying in university many years ago,so I feel the pain typing in console (which is a very good knowledge that helped me many times in linux or MS products).

To be honest,the reason I stop using linux is lack of compatibility (Hardware & Software).
There are several years gap before I start using linux again.

The next linux I tried is Fedora & then openSuse (forgot the version).
That time there is still no liveCD so I have to install them before I can try them.
Still the problem persists,hardware compatibility.
But this time it amazed me that this issue is far improved compared to my Red Hat
experience years ago & this made me to try even more.

So I tried more Fedora,more openSuse,PCLinuxOS,DSL,Ubuntu,Mint & many other.
Yes,It was a bumpy road,but it really taught me many things.

There is one important lesson that keep me using linux until now (+5 years already):
Imperfection will keep us learning

And FOSS & GNU community accelerates the learning process.

I know that many people demand something that works OTB (so do I ;)).
It's alright to complain,but it will help if we submit the complain as a bug report (If we can't find any solutions on the related forum or the web).
That's the way comunities work.

Thank you for any responses :)

[Keith1212]

I want to add some information about my background & why I start this thread.

I am IT literate & live in Indonesia.
Even though I am IT literate,my background most of the time related to Microsoft products.
My first linux experience is Red Hat 5.0 when i was still studying in university many years ago,so I feel the pain typing in console (which is a very good knowledge that helped me many times in linux or MS products).

To be honest,the reason I stop using linux is lack of compatibility (Hardware & Software).
There are several years gap before I start using linux again.

The next linux I tried is Fedora & then openSuse (forgot the version).
That time there is still no liveCD so I have to install them before I can try them.
Still the problem persists,hardware compatibility.
But this time it amazed me that this issue is far improved compared to my Red Hat
experience years ago & this made me to try even more.

So I tried more Fedora,more openSuse,PCLinuxOS,DSL,Ubuntu,Mint & many other.
Yes,It is a bumpy road,but it really teach me many things.

There is one important lesson that keep me using linux until now (+5 years already):
Imperfection will keep us learning

And FOSS & GNU community accelerates the learning process.

I know that many people demand something that works OTB (so do I ;)).
It's alright to complain,but it will help if we submit the complain as a bug report (If we can't find any solutions on the related forum or the web).
That's the way comunities work.

Thank you for any responses :)
Dang I tried Ubuntu first and haven't felt the need to try another i guess for that small reason its was ok that i tried it late. I had always used a version of windows since i was little. I had seen friends using linux a couple times in high school, but they all seemed over whelming. The first time I really tried linux was on my modded xbox console with a version of gentoox home. It was very hard to install, but once i got it working it was beautiful. Even tho it was on a 19" tv. All i had to do was enlarge all the text and it was fine.
Anyways, like i was saying i tried ubuntu first and it seems perfect for me so i'm not gonna bother trying others. I had dual booted with windows 7 for about 2 days while i tried Ubuntu. I felt good enough to completely delete my win 7 to make ubuntu my only os.

btw great thread and well said. When i first tried ubuntu every problem i had was solved by a quick google.

[swoll1980]

Every new OS has similar problems.

Linux is twenty years old. Which makes it older than NT

[errrata]

Does anybody know of a Ubuntu/Linux hardware compatibility database? If not we should create one could be a handy resource for somebody buying a new PC or wondering if they can install on old.

[errrata]

Does anybody know of a Ubuntu/Linux hardware compatibility database? If not we should create one could be a handy resource for somebody buying a new PC or wondering if they can install on old.

Nevermind found it at
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupport/

[Meep3D]

if i see people complain or demand stuff, i'll link em to this thread

The secret to popularity - just get rid of all the unhappy people!

[d4rkkn16ht]

The secret to popularity - just get rid of all the unhappy people!
Those people are including our families,friends,employers/employees,colleagues & total strangers.

In my opinion,these unhappy people are the most important part that will make Linux (Ubuntu in particular) growing ;)

So,it's better to make them understand than to get rid all of them.
We need those people to grow ;)

[d4rkkn16ht]

Linux is twenty years old. Which makes it older than NT
I know Linux is old enough,but every new version release there will be additional features & most of the times new kernel that render it a New OS :)

[moster]

I know Linux is old enough,but every new version release there will be additional features & most of the times new kernel that render it a New OS :)

I personally was expecting something like MacOS X by now. Hell, it is year 2010! But no... Fun? Yes. Usefull? Yes, but for 2% of desktop after all this time :(

[d4rkkn16ht]

I personally was expecting something like MacOS X by now. Hell, it is year 2010! But no... Fun? Yes. Usefull? Yes, but for 2% of desktop after all this time :(

I used to expect the same,until I realize something.
If you expect Ubuntu (or other Linux Distro) to be like MacOS X or MS Windows,choose MacOS X or MS Windows instead.
Ubuntu (or other Linux Distro) is designed this way for several reasons & one of them is Customizable (features & looks).

I can even install Karmic on my old & reliable PIII 500MHz,448MB SDRAM,GeForce 4 with compiz-fusion enabled+emerald & customized theme.
It runs very well with a little tweaks.

Can I do that with MacOS X or MS Windows 7 ?
I don't think so.
The effort will be too much.

So,The Points are Choices & Alternatives is the strength of FOSS & Linux ;)

To increase Desktop user share is our job,The Communities (Devs & us,users),to re-educate others by sharing our thought,knowledge & opinion without judging.

We give them understanding & alternatives.