Tell me about UBUNTU

[timwilky]

Oh come on stop bashing Linux because you don't know how to use it. Horses for courses. I used to run a data centre with over 700 servers and 80% of them were Linux flavours. Why because we were using them for what they are good at. Application clusters, database clusters, web presentation servers, DNS servers etc.

I don't run Ubuntu, but I do have fedora and suse severs in various versions running under vmware server on my dev systems. I also have fedora 12 running under vm workstation on laptop. So forget dual boot etc if you need windows and their tethered apps.

[mr.anderson]

Originally Posted by Scoobs

Is it any good. should I use it?

Originally Posted by beabert

command lines

Originally Posted by timwilky

I used to run a data centre with over 700 servers

Hmmm...

Scoobs remember I'm just down the road if you need any advice.

[ophic]

I'm an IT professional so I can use either windows or linux with equal ease. In fact I sit directly in front of both at work.

As far as linux has come, windows is still that bit "slicker" in overall feel. However, imho it tries too hard to do everything for you, and it doesn't report errors well either. On linux, everything is logged, most of the errors either make sense or can be googled, with the solution being in the top few results. I also prefer the complete absence of having to manage licences, and I use it at home because it's free.

Linux lacks a consistent interface as it's so configurable. There are at least 10 popular and modern window managers you can choose from. Double edged sword, this one. Consistency vs flexibility. Still most of the available window managers are perfectly usable, even for a beginner, with email, browser, office apps all available and similar to their windows counterparts.

It might be because I was brought up using old command line computers, BBC Basic etc, but I find the command line much more flexible and faster than a GUI. I can send the same command to 80 servers if I wish, in one line. I also find the scripting much more intuitive and flexible, simply because scripting is an extension of the command line, which you don't tend to use much in windows. But nevertheless the GUI

In terms of distributions, most of them are good. Fedora, Ubuntu, Suse, Mandriva - there's not much to choose between them. They all do the job, it's just down to personal preference. I use Mandriva, simply because it's the one I know best under the hood.

Last point - commercial software companies often prefer to sell training courses rather than provide free information. Obviously this is cos they make a large profit on it. The open source community has no such interest, and most information is freely available if you're willing to look. There are exceptions, of course - some really useful and widely used packages have such dire documentation, you wonder how anyone manages to use them.

Last point number 2 as linux doesn't try to hide anything from you, it's a steep learning curve, but it goes all the way to the top. With windows, it's much harder to dig below the surface, so you only really learn what's on the screen in front of you, which quite often isn't a lot.

[ophic]

God, did I write that much? Sorry chaps I went on a bit

[fastdruid]

A few things

Firstly drivers, the issue is *not* with Linux but with the hardware providers who *refuse* to provide drivers, work with or even provide any information for Linux programmers to write the drivers for them. This is a situation inflamed by Microsoft who have a vested interest that Hardware manufactures only ever produce Windows drivers.

Command line, pluses and minuses, minus is that it is complicated and hard to understand for the uneducated (in computers). Plus sides are multiple, firstly that it allows you to do whatever you want, no application to do what you want? Write a small script to do it, add an icon and you have a program. Tie multiple small programs together and manipulate anything however you want. Secondly try instructing anyone to do something complicated on windows, you end up describing the windows (of which where they are depends on your *personal* setup) and tabs. People put snippets of command line for linux tasks not because there are no graphical ways of doing things but because it is easier to cut and paste.

As for help, you try getting help for windows unless you pay through the nose, BSOD due to driver issue? Think Microsoft cares? I’ve reported bugs and had *personal* builds from the developers “here try this and see if it fixes the issue”.

FWIW I run both Windows and Linux, my work PC is Ubuntu (dual screen) and I run VirtualBox with a Windows XP VM filling one of the two screens, it works exactly like I had two PC’s with one shared mouse, I can copy and paste between them etc etc. My laptop is XP/Ubuntu dual boot (I mostly use Windows) and my desktop is XP x64/Ubuntu.

Horses for courses, Windows is better than Linux at some tasks and Linux better than Windows at others, don’t bash it just because *you* can’t get on with it.

Druid

[madcockney]

Originally Posted by timwilky

Oh come on stop bashing Linux because you don't know how to use it. Horses for courses. I used to run a data centre with over 700 servers and 80% of them were Linux flavours. Why because we were using them for what they are good at. Application clusters, database clusters, web presentation servers, DNS servers etc.

I don't run Ubuntu, but I do have fedora and suse severs in various versions running under vmware server on my dev systems. I also have fedora 12 running under vm workstation on laptop. So forget dual boot etc if you need windows and their tethered apps.

Was there a reason you used VMware and not Citrix Xenserver, or similar or just that the laptop doesn't support VM extensions.

If your a first timer, try Linux Mint.............

http://www.linuxmint.com/

The latest version is 8 Helana. I've been using it for the last2 months and its been hassle free. Set ups dual boot using grub loader so will keep your XP installation.

Linux Mint installs all the Multimedia Drivers / Fonts and Firefox addons such as Flash player for utube. Also the fonts are readable in both the OS and Firefox. Also installs Nvidia driver, be aware ATI cards are not well supported in Linux.

NB: Mint is Ubuntu underneath.

I love the rotating cube desktop (compiz) of the 4 virtual desktops it always amazes everybody (XP users) I show and all off onboard graphics driver. Linux is a true multitasking OS so if something like media file conversion is taking a while to run, rotate your desktop cube to the next virtual desktop and start something else running.

All you Windows drives will show up and be browsable straight from the off. It also picks up network attached drives easily.

OpenOffice is also installed by default so any attachment that anybody emails you you will be able to view even 2007 .docx files.

Open up the Package manager 28K application available to install !

A cool thing Mint does is, if you do a screen grab using the 'PrintScreen' button it copies it straight to a jpg file not just to the buffer ala XP.

1# NO KNOWN VIRUS OR MALWARE !

2# FREE - FREE - FREE

Things to look out for...
1. You have to mount drives inc. CD before you use them. This sometimes means the CD will not eject by pressing the open tray button you have to do it from the OS.

2. Permissions - If something isn't working / starting 9 of 10 its a permissions issue.

3. Not all hardware is supported - fact.

4. A 30Gb partition is more than enough for any Linux distro.

5. You'll need to learn something about partitioning your harddrive. Download & burn Parted Magic 4.8 to a CD can help out alot with this. Harddrives are so huge now adays that dual booting and space are no longer an issue !
http://partedmagic.com/

Linux is for people that like to fiddle, it suits the sort of person who when they first get a new car, opens the bonnet to look at the engine before anything else