Why Ubuntu?
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
India
October 23, 2007 1:15pm CST
I have been a user of linux for many years. Tried various distribution, even Ubuntu. To be honest I dont like Gnome and I am a KDE fan. May be due to the same reason I didn't find Ubuntu Interesting. So I tried Kubuntu. Even though I like KDE and always use KDE I couldn't find anything interesting on Kubuntu too. I feel there are a whole lot of better distribution out there like openSuse, Mandriva, PClinux but still why Ubuntu gets all this hype. I am a opensuse user I don't find anything in Ubuntu or Kubuntu that makes me use that distribution.
2 people like this
12 responses
@suchand (117)
• Australia
23 Oct 07
Well,
I do disagree strongly.
I generally tests all the linux distros that come out in time to time, and so far, i have found ubuntu to be the best , stable one . Fedora's are always bleeding edge, You try to add something new, It flatters out most of the time. Ubuntu on the other hand have been excellently stable, at least in my experience.
The strongest points are, a well maintained doccumentation, technical support, well timed updates, and the best thing is out of box compatibility , especially in the case of laptops. I remember having a hec of a time configuring the sound card on my laptop, on all the possible linux distros at that time (SUse, fedors, centOS, novel , Vector, VLOS, mandriva and what not, and all were the latest versions) Only ubuntu come up with everything configured right out of the box. I had my sound card working at last on linux, and that was when I fell in love with ubuntu, and it continues still :D (and mind you the ubuntu I tried was 3 months older release than the fedora I tried, and my sound card was a standard Conexant one)
Ubuntu also supports fluxbox , xfce, enlightenment etc etc as window managers. Infact there is an ubuntu variant named Xubuntu, which runs XFCE as the primary desktop WM.
Now with compiz and beryl seamlessly integrated to ubuntu, the desktop looks simply awesome. You will need to install them seperately as they are not part of the standard CD ROM. but installing anything new on ubuntu is a breeze, its just an apt-get install away.
So from the stability point of view as well as the user friendliness view and from product support pov ubuntu stands apart.
Here are a few screen shots, non traditional.
http://www.mylot.com/w/image/1786277.aspx
http://www.mylot.com/w/image/1786271.aspx
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
23 Oct 07
Thanks Suchand. As said in my post I am not new to Linux world and even to Ubuntu. For me opensuse have been always the best. It works the way I want and configuration have been a breeze. There are many features that I miss on ubuntu/kubuntu when comparing it with opensuse, but to be honest ubuntu is much better than fedora when it comes to usability, but never felt when comparing it with opensuse. On the driver front Ubuntu would be better than opensuse but on usability I prefer opensuse.
1 person likes this
@suchand (117)
• Australia
24 Oct 07
Swaroop,
What exactly your were not able to find in ubuntu ?
The installation CD that is given out by ubuntu is the minimalist version of it. you will need to add a lot of other softwares from their repo, which there are plenty. In fact fedora and ubuntu have the best repos around.
On the other hand OpenSuse distributes as the complete package , in 3-4 cds or as a DVD.
Have your tried the DVD version of ubuntu, which contains almost all the essentials ?
Just curious :D
2 people like this
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
24 Oct 07
Software availability was a problem with ubuntu. I think one or two release before there was no DVD for Ubuntu. Before that they provided only with one CD and it didn't have many softwares that I required. So I had to install it manually. Another thing that keeps me attached to opensuse is the power of YAST. It provides GUI's for almost every configuration of opensuse. Even it provided a GUI to configure apache server. I miss such features on Ubuntus control center. Another thing that I miss on Ubuntu is the ability to repair the system using the installation CD (not sure if it is available in the latest version of ubuntu). For example if there is some problem with the boot loader we can reinstall it through the repair option in the installation CD. For that too YAST is comes to the rescue. It seems that canonical is more interested in a gnome and least interested in KDE version (Kubuntu) and I am a die hard fan of KDE.
1 person likes this
@jeyaprakash84 (69)
• India
3 Nov 07
In my view also it is true that distributions like Suse, PC Linux OS, Mandriva and Fedora seems to be better when compared to Ubuntu. I am using Compaq Presario C555 TU. Open Suse supported my graphics completely which made such a lot of difference. The clarity was equivalent to Vista.
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
12 Nov 07
I am also a great fan of opensuse and through this thread I was just finding out why ubuntu got such popularity. Thanks for your response and also nice to know that you prefer opensuse.
@pointyblue (222)
• Denmark
24 Oct 07
Hi Swaroop,
How long ago did you try out Ubuntu? The new 7.10 version is simply awesome - and very user friendly, even to newbies, which has always been linux's biggest problem.
What exactly is it you miss in Ubuntu?
1 person likes this
@shahrukhmalik (49)
• Pakistan
28 Oct 07
Best feature: Live CD
Second: Good community support
Third: Free home delivery
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
28 Oct 07
Shahrukh I agree to all what you have said. Well I am trying to find out what makes it special for a new users to linux in feature wise. I was indirectly trying to compare opensuse with ubuntu. All the points you had listed is certainly plus points for ubuntu when compared to opensuse. Thanks for your response :)
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
28 Oct 07
Great...Sure do post your opinion and I am really looking forward for it :)
@Nufan09 (27)
• Italy
30 Oct 07
I have been a user of Debian, before Ubuntu born.
I like Ubuntu becouse it is simple, always kept up to date (packages), and works fine with a lot of HW.
I think the last release, 7.10, is very very nice, from every point of view.
OpenSuse is fine too, probably it suppor more kind of HW then Ubuntu/Debian, and it is very simple to use and install.
Both distributions are very stable.
I think this is only a point of view, you like Suse, I like Ubuntu.
1 person likes this
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
31 Oct 07
Thanks Nufan, actually I didn't start this topic to create a flame war between opensuse and ubuntu users. I had used ubuntu before and couldnt find anything superior to opensuse. So was just confused why ubuntu gets so much attention since both operating system got its own advantage and disadvantage. So I am trying to find what ubuntu users feel their operating system is superior. In fact Suchand, one of the myloter (check the first post) who is a ubuntu users have promised he would test both the OS and would start new post regarding the same. Thanks for your response :)
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
2 Nov 07
If you are a serious gamer then you may find it bit difficult to go on with linux. Well after installing linux (dual boot) you may try Transgamers cedega to run windows games on Linux. They support many game titles. There have also been some ports of windows games to linux. Links that you might be interested in:
1) http://www.cedega.com/
2) http://appdb.winehq.org/
3) http://www.linuxgamepublishing.com/
4) http://icculus.org/lgfaq/gamelist.php
Other than this id games, epic games are know for their linux support. Hopefully more game studios would enter linux market. Thanks for your response.
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
13 Nov 07
Agreed but why don't u feel opensuse is versatile? I am using opensuse and i now depend on opensuse for each and every computational needs of mine. Not only that with all those GUI tools to configure the system (YAST) its been years I really had to use the terminal. Once set up I still feels opensuse have an edge over ubuntu. The only problem anyone finds would be their package manager. But from my point of view it is good with minor hiccups other than that it is the perfect system. Reny if you could point out why you feel Ubuntu is versatile then please do list it. Thanks for your response.
@Countrymom (371)
• United States
24 Oct 07
I really like Ubuntu. It has many many features that are so user friendly. Even my 5 year old likes ubuntu. She will shut down windows and boot into ubuntu (by herself) if someone leave the computer on windows. Definitely like ubuntu in this household.
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
24 Oct 07
It is great to know that Linux is been accepted as a alternative desktop solution and I agree to the fact that Ubuntu have a major role in that adoption. Thanks for your response :)
@dark_joev (3034)
• United States
2 Dec 07
I used it caues well I didn't want to buy Red Hat which is the only other linux I have ever used and I also like Ubuntu becaues it is easy to use. I also like it becaues It is well supported and can be on one CD and I also like Debian I don't have a Prefference between KDE and Gnome.
@swaroop_sv2003 (531)
• India
22 Dec 07
Opensuse got a professional touch and it is visible from the very booting of the system. I know that some users might have problem with opensuse due to its somewhat poor hardware recognition and some bugs. But once everything is set i bet u that opensuse will lure u. Seriously it is the most professional operating system around.
