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View Full Version : Newbie review of Ubuntu "Hoary Hedgehog"



matthew
August 28th, 2005, 01:39 AM
Just found it. Read it here:
http://distroreviews.com/index.php?view=117

mstlyevil
August 28th, 2005, 01:57 AM
Except for the DVD part, (I finally got that working after adding amd script to the modules file.) My experience has been about the same. I started trying it a week ago and now I have removed XP Pro from my desktop completely. The forums and the how to's and the guides are a godsend. I didn't have this level of help with Windows the first time I used it. Everything I learned about windows, I learned by the seat of my pants. My hats off to Ubuntu for making me a Linux believer. \\:D/

sapo
August 28th, 2005, 02:03 AM
He just said what all windows users want...

Why did he choose Ubuntu after all?

Cause it was the only one that worked without any effort to install anything.. its not cause is fast or more eye candy that the other distros.. because it just works :)

thats why i use ubuntu too :wink:

drizek
August 28th, 2005, 02:40 AM
He just said what all windows users want...

Why did he choose Ubuntu after all?

Cause it was the only one that worked without any effort to install anything.. its not cause is fast or more eye candy that the other distros.. because it just works :)

thats why i use ubuntu too :wink:
exactly. it took me a day to install windows 2000 on a laptop. the network didnt work out of the box(both wifi and ethernet. ETHERNET!) so i had to burn the chipset drivers on a cd and bring them over. and then i had to download the rest of the drivers and put them on. and all this time i was afraid i would get raped by some virus or exploit becuase i had not yet installed sp4. and then i had to download sp4 and install that and then i had to do the rest of the windows update crap. at least a dozen restarts required and lots of head banging. at the end of the install, all i had was windows 2000 and and a copy of deerpark alpha installed.i wanted to do a backup, so i had to go get a nero CD and install that. i didnt want to bother with installing office 2003, so i just used openoffice instead.


linux doesnt **** you off when it doesnt work, it just makes you feel stupid.

with k/ubuntu on the other hand, you have a fully working system right after the hour-long install. office, cd burning, web browsing, chat, etc. then an apt-get upgrade might take another 30-45 minutes, but the system is entirely usable during that time, and you lose nothing. you dont even have to restart. video drivers? "apt-get install nvidia-glx nvidia-settings", nvidia-settings configure(or something like that), ctrl+alt+backspace. voila.

mstlyevil
August 28th, 2005, 02:46 AM
linux doesnt **** you off when it doesnt work, it just makes you feel stupid.

LOL. I know what yopu mean. M$ advertises that windows works right out of the box. They fail to tell you that that is only if you have all your drivers ready to install after you install the os. Ubuntu on the other hand asked for no drivers and EVERYTHING worked upon install. LMFAO.

agger
August 28th, 2005, 11:23 AM
What a nice review!

My experience exactly: (almost) everything Just Worked.

Brunellus
August 28th, 2005, 02:03 PM
I read it.

Let's all get over the fact that he's happy with Ubuntu, and consider the following:

1) He is *not* a newbie. He's already gone through three installs, and was able to articulate, more or less, why his previous two efforts were unsatisfactory. That already shows more dedication than most.

2) He is giving the, frankly, erroneous impression that EVERYTHING works out of the box with Ubuntu--something that is manifestly untrue when it comes to multimedia codecs.

While positive news about Ubuntu always makes me happy, I worry about crossing the line into stupid propaganda. Real newbies referred to this article will think that Ubuntu will play DVDs right out of the box...and when it doesn't, they'll complain, walk away, and spew "Linux is teh suX0rz!@" all over the 'net.

mstlyevil
August 28th, 2005, 06:22 PM
Windows does not play dvd's out of the box. I had to install a dvd playing program to do that and windows certainly doesn't have all the multimedia codexes out of the box.
I think what he meant was you can start using your PC to surf the web, check E-mail, and other basic functions that you cannot do with windows until you set up your network, install all your drivers and go through the silly activation process. Ubuntu is more ready out of the box then Win XP.

Brunellus
August 28th, 2005, 07:53 PM
Windows does not play dvd's out of the box. I had to install a dvd playing program to do that and windows certainly doesn't have all the multimedia codexes out of the box.
I think what he meant was you can start using your PC to surf the web, check E-mail, and other basic functions that you cannot do with windows until you set up your network, install all your drivers and go through the silly activation process. Ubuntu is more ready out of the box then Win XP.
Newbies don't install windows--they buy it OEM preinstalled. Thus, they never deal with the bare windows install and associated issues.

This is why Linux installs are always suffering by comparison--because Linux is something you install, not something you get for 'free'.

neighborlee
August 28th, 2005, 08:30 PM
Newbies don't install windows--they buy it OEM preinstalled. Thus, they never deal with the bare windows install and associated issues.

This is why Linux installs are always suffering by comparison--because Linux is something you install, not something you get for 'free'.

I agree 100%,,while its nice to see the flag waving behind ubuntu we must be careful to paint such a rosey picture with DVD out of the box etc.etc...now if we want to play fair lets mention that mandrake at least TELLS you what you need and where you need to get it if you try to play a DVD. I am not sure where I heard that ,,maybe in a review but anyway mandrake also excels in ease of use for most things so I imagine its true ( mandrake makes it easy also to install apps outside of their respository including dependency resolution: of course so does FC I think ? )

thats right..all the major vendors only support M$ OS ( okay some give linux via only CERTAIN laptop configurations and faik when they do its redhat being offered ) , which is a huge issue atm. I can't blame them completely as ubuntu, while I think the best distro out there,,stilll has ease of use and organizational issues that need addressed. Out of the box stuff works whereas in windows it will indeed take setting up so that part is superior but ease of use stuff is still important to newbies and windows converts so till that is 100% dont expect vendors to be willing to ship linux preinstalled alongside M$.

till that happens everyone must settle for second best ( if at all ) vendor support including apps and games.


Breezy is making HUGE inroads in ease of use from feature set I read , but i'm not sure enough to get vendors interested. ( I mean stable breezy isn't there yet but you get the idea ).

One thing I want to metnion is that my older PII 450 that used to run windows is now using ubuntu,,virus free and spam free and faster...gotta love it....I think once ease of use is completely cemented that along with virus/spam stuff we WILL get noticed by vendors and then M$ should indeed can consider that linux has landed.

You can argue that Linspire/xandros is there but those aren't free products, and many people on tight budgets need a OS that caters to the community, although I suppose xandros is close albeit cd burning is limited to 4x and that gnome isn't part of the DE.

One of the nicest thing about ubuntu is the community and fact you get all this nice stuff on ONE CD. Most other distros are so far over the top its not even funny, and I"m glad they are going for a livecd installer as well ! ;-)))

I really feel when all those things are in place that the entire linux community can rally behind ONE distro ( united we stand and divided against backdrop of 200 distros we fall ) and focus our efforts on acquiring the prize ;-)

cheers
nl

poofyhairguy
August 28th, 2005, 10:17 PM
I can't blame them completely as ubuntu, while I think the best distro out there,,stilll has ease of use and organizational issues that need addressed.

They don't do it because they would lose OEM Windows prices. That is a huge loss to them (it would eat their small margins of profit). The only time a major PC shipper will move to Linux is if WINE gets to the point where 90% of Windows software works out of the box.....so maybe never.

Doesn't matter, we can enjoy desktop linux without their help.

drizek
August 29th, 2005, 03:03 AM
They don't do it because they would lose OEM Windows prices. That is a huge loss to them (it would eat their small margins of profit). The only time a major PC shipper will move to Linux is if WINE gets to the point where 90% of Windows software works out of the box.....so maybe never.

Doesn't matter, we can enjoy desktop linux without their help.
ya, screw hp, dell and all of them. we just need the people making hte hardware inside their computers to make better drivers. intel, ati, nvidia, netgear, VIA, etc.

fartbarker
August 29th, 2005, 04:05 AM
ya, screw hp, dell and all of them. we just need the people making hte hardware inside their computers to make better drivers. intel, ati, nvidia, netgear, VIA, etc.
Here's my noob experience within the last few days.....

1. Fedora install failed (screen went blank every attempt)
2. Debian install failed (found no partitionable hard disk every attempt)
3. SUSE install failed (locked up in the middle every attempt)
4. Ubuntu install succeeded without a hitch

aysiu
August 29th, 2005, 04:09 AM
Here's my noob experience within the last few days.....

1. Fedora install failed (screen went blank every attempt)
2. Debian install failed (found no partitionable hard disk every attempt)
3. SUSE install failed (locked up in the middle every attempt)
4. Ubuntu install succeeded without a hitch That's what I love about multiple distros. Someone else very well could have had SuSE be the one that worked "without a hitch." For me, Mepis worked without a hitch, but I still like Ubuntu better.