I have been using ubuntu for over a year now, I used to have vista on my machine but ever since I tried ubuntu out of sheer curiosity I've never looked back. In my opinion it's one of the most user friendly Linux distro available. I have recently upgraded to the latest version of ubuntu called gutsy gibbon which has been running smoothly so far. Apart from games, which I don't have time for anymore, I can do everything else that I could do in vista.
Installing software in ubuntu is even easier than in vista, all the software you'll ever need is available through a nice little app called synaptic. Now you can install/uninstall software without ever having to use the "dreaded" command line. You don't even have to worry about finding the right codecs to play your music and videos, ubuntu will automatically find the codecs you need whenever you try to play an unknown media file. This all very neat since the above two reasons are what kept a lot of people away from Linux previously.
I could go on and on about how cool ubuntu is but unfortunately I have to work on my thesis so I'm just going give you a short list of some of the reason why you may want to try ubuntu for yourself:
- You can customize almost everything in ubuntu
- No more worrying about viruses or spyware
- Runs very fast and smooth
- Uses very little resources perfect for older machines
- Compiz fusion makes vista's aero look cheap and bloated
- Very large and active community which means finding solutions to any problems you may face is easy
- Easy software and codec installation
- And its FREE! So what are you waiting for?
When I get some more time I'll post about some of the applications I use in ubuntu but for now enjoy the screenshots.
Links:
ubuntu.com
About the poll; Ubuntu is not an OS. Linux is an OS, Ubuntu is a distribution of that OS. As you have added Ubuntu you could have added other distros or "Other Linux" option to be fair. Obviously, I'm getting tired of seeing so much Ubuntu-centric stuff. Most of the great features of Ubuntu are not unique but addopted from other distros (i.e. Compiz or the control center of the screenshoot).
ReplyDelete"In my opinion it's the most user friendly Linux distro available."
ReplyDeleteWell, how many of the you have tried. As far as I can gather from your post, none. So, what is the point of your statement?
Have you, tried to add new fonts in Ubuntu? How about managing services or configuring mous with 3 buttons? If not, then how can you say that it is easy to use? If you do not like command line then Mandriva or openSUSE are far more user friendly distributions for you. They have, at least decent control center.
I wish you good luck.
Fair enough i could have added other distro's. Ubuntu is a very popular distro so alot of people are going to be talking about it, and it is popular for a reason. Im not really comparing it to any other linux distro, im just saying i like it. Yes alot of the features are from other distros but i like how ubuntu has put it all together, its not perfect but it works for me. You could probably write the same about any other distros, just depends on personal preferences. I guess i am a bit of an ubuntu fanboy :)
ReplyDeletegoood little bit of praise for Ubuntu there its good to see you liked it. Ubuntu is not the only user friendly distro out there though just to get some experience give openSuSE a try or Mandriva or PCLinuxOS or Fedora all very high quality distros with support paid support available for Mandriva, SuSE (if you purchase SLED 10 from Novell) and fedora (if you purchase a Red Hat from Red Hat). as said before if you truly hate the command line give openSuSE a go becuse it will probably have the biggest chance of you not needing to to use it, Ubuntu is getting there but for anything slightly advanced it is needed. I'm not saying switch but maybe give it a try or remember your options.
ReplyDelete@MBranco maybe there was amistake made in the poll, but how about being happy that this person has chosen to use linux? and for your infomation Ubuntu is more of an operating system than linux is becuse when getting down to the core of it like you seem to want to Linux is a Kernal, see how far you go with just a kernal loaded on your PC. thats why you need userland tools such as GNU or BSD (yes the BSD userland tools can be used with the linux kernal, most just choose to use GNU).
i have never used ubunto or any linux based os's. i have been a fool to microsoft, and i guess i continue to be.
ReplyDeletebut if someone says they like using a certain OS, then good for them i say!
i have heard newer linux os's are really good, and because theyre both free and to a certain degree, open source, they have become very popular over the years.
i might try one to see whats the big deal.
thanks mohammed for your post
Yep, I have tried openSuSE, Fedora, Mandriva, Linspire (then Lindows) and yet it was Ubuntu that I eventually settled with.
ReplyDeleteA regular update cycle means that generally if something doesn't work properly straight away, in 6 months it will. This has happened to me a couple of times, mainly with wireless USB devices. The other great thing about Ubuntu, which only comes from popularity, is that even a fairly obscure problem, like trying to get the Three UK 3G modem working, has a fair few people trying to do it (on the Ubuntu forums). This means that effectively anything is doable, and finding out how to, is pretty easy. Even doing harder tasks is simple, you just search through Ubuntu forums, then copy and paste the code into a terminal, from someone who has already found a solution. This is where a good terminal is worth it's weight in gold, it is much easier to just copy some text into a terminal and press return, than to try to follow someone's instructions on how to navigate a wizard.
The scale and growth of Ubuntu is only a good thing I think, as it takes a marketing budget and reliable polish, to fix Bug #1 (too many bloody Windows users).
Even your poll is as limited as your Linux experience. There are a whole lot more Linux distros than Ubuntu, and many of them are even more user friendly. Don't get me wrong, Ubuntu is a good solid Linux, but not everyone uses it (including me) and it's definitely not the most user friendly, either.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I use PCLinuxOS because it's more straight ahead with far less configuring and 'tweaking' than any other Linux. Besides, I'm able to issue commands via CLI just fine, but why when PCLinuxOS (Mandriva and Suse as well) has such a good graphical control center to do it instead? PCLinuxOS is truly "Radically simple..."
Actually I have used opensuse 10.1, 10.2 and 10.3, fedora 7 and 8, freespire before it was based on ubuntu, Sabayon linux and gOS
ReplyDelete