Mark Shuttleworth just posted an Ubuntu FAQ on his wiki page. In this FAQ, he addresses some of the more controversial subjects surrounding Ubuntu, including the fork (non-) issue, whether or not Ubuntu will ever go commercial, the brown desktop color, and much more.
Our default theme in the first four releases of Ubuntu is called “Human”, and it emphasises warm, human colours – brown.
Of what does he _really_ think if he says “human”…? I mean… warm, brown…?!
Of what does he _really_ think if he says “human”…? I mean… warm, brown…?!
What can I say? Maybe the dood likes “dark meat”?
Don’t worry, I’m sure the next color scheme will be pale “fishbelly white” of the Caucasian Geek.
So what colour do you think of when hearing the term “human”? Blue? Those are smurfs mate.
Let’s hope that the next development version of Ubuntu works better out of the box than the current development version. When a german kid can cobble together something like kanotix that is much better at hardware detection and installation of drivers then Ubuntu something is wrong with the picture.
Let’s hope that the next development version of Ubuntu works better out of the box than the current development version. When a german kid can cobble together something like kanotix that is much better at hardware detection and installation of drivers then Ubuntu something is wrong with the picture.
Since when is it a requirement that development branches should be rock solid? I’d say that developers would need quite a lot of freedom to try out ideas. As long as the final release runs I am happy.
And remember that the breezy development branch did some cutting edge stuff. The transition to gcc 4 pawed the way for debian and the modularization of Xorg was not trivial.
Why is it so difficult for people to accept that there are bugs in development releases?
Unless you filed a bug report for the problems you encountered, you shouldn’t be complaining. That’s what the releases are for, not so you can be “OMG bl33ding 3dg3!”.
The German kid made his customized version of Knoppix, and that is cobbled together by Klaus Knopper. Kanotix is Knoppix-cosmetics in comparison, not a full distro-compilation effort.
I don’t find what you say very fair.
Yes, Kanotix started as Knoppix spinoff, but now it is something vey different, to the point that Klaus Knopper is “backporting” many Kanotix features to Knoppix.
A very important difference is that Kanotix is optimized for HD install, whilst Klaus Knopper never really wanted an HD installer for Knoppix: it was kind of “forced” by the users.
I know one thing or two about Debian, and my opinion is that there are only 3 ways to install Debian or a *fully compatible* derivative:
1)The Debian installer
2)Kanotix
3)Libranet
As to the last 2 you can remove any reference to Libranet or Kanotix from your sources list and eventually, by dist-upgrading, they’ll become 100% percent Debian and nothing will break.
Why do New-buntu Users insist on asking questions in irc.freenode.net #debian ?
Most of them have no idea that they’re running Ubuntu and wouldn’t know how to tell if they were.
I’ve seen all kinds of questions ranging from “my apache is running but can’t access http://localhost/“ to tons of other questions about things we never have problems with ask on #debian about Ubuntu.
It even says on Ubuntu’s Community page to use their own #ubuntu channel.
And here’s the kicker… these New-buntu users argue when they are told that #debian is not an avenue of help for Ubuntu.
Two thumbs up for Ubuntu Linux!
People will continue to drop their distro suggestions and claims and talk bad about Ubuntu and/or Shuttleworth because they’re jealous that their distributions aren’t as popular but the fact remains that Ubuntu is fun and very easy to use and has a great community! I’m excited for the next version and will volunteer my time and money to personally hand it out to people in public, setting up unofficial booths where I give out Ubuntu install+live CDs and provide information about Ubuntu and free support to the best of my abilities.
Ubuntu Linux is the future
I realize there are alot of Ubuntu fanatics out there, but what really is special about the distro, besides the hype? I tried to test it out by installing it on a laptop that I used to test various distros, and it crapped out and never would install. I have installed about 7 other different distros, and each one installed fine. I ran the Ubuntu LiveCD and didn’t see anything unique or that I would call impressive about it.
Seriously, what really is special and unique about this distros compared to the others?
“I realize there are alot of Ubuntu fanatics out there”
I realize there are also a lot of anti-Ubuntu fanatics out there
I’m not an “anti-Ubuntu” fanatic. I was asking a serious questions for the Ubuntu cult. What really is so special about it and unique that you guys (and gals) love so much about it? Is it because it’s built around Gnome? I’m not at all flaming it, just curious……
I switched to Ubuntu because of Mark Shuttleworth. I belive in his vision and I trust him to cary out it.
Just taking the train to be there when it happends.
…and oh, it does the job better than my previous Gentoo installation.
I’m not going to justify that. It just does.
Another Ubuntu article, another “it doesn’t work on my laptop so what’s up with the hype” post. If it doesn’t work, fill a bug report. If you don’t want, then stick with one of the seven other distros. It doesn’t offer much over others, the main difference being the presentation. Some like it, others don’t. Just remember that nobody is forcing you to use it, and if your operating system (whatever it is) works, don’t fix it.
On the article itself: I believe he clarified many points, especially on the Debian/Ubuntu symbiosis. It won’t stop people from spreading rumors and misinformation, but hopefully it will stop many endless, pointless discussions.
“Another Ubuntu article, another “it doesn’t work on my laptop so what’s up with the hype” post.”
Relax, it was just another troll. See his reply where he says “Ubuntu cult”.
I’ve noticed a lot of these in the past few months when Linux (especially Ubuntu) keeps getting easier to use and more people are learning about it. Perhaps similar trolls are really coming from people working in a poor country and paid to post anti-Ubuntu and/or anti-Linux posts by a malicious company who feels threatened by the FOSS movement, who knows, stranger things have happened.
The spirit, name, and philosophy of Linux is powerful and threatens to shake the world’s greedy fat sucking evil corporations to the core.
FOSS is on the march
heh, speaking of which, someone just modded you -1 for speaking the truth
it just goes to show there’s always one MS turd in the punchbowl
It was me who voted him -1, for spreading FUD. Reasons:
Relax, it was just another troll. See his reply where he says “Ubuntu cult”.
“Cult” isn’t necessarily meant negative. What he probably wanted to say is that there are a lot of people praising Ubuntu.
Perhaps similar trolls are really coming from people working in a poor country and paid to post anti-Ubuntu and/or anti-Linux posts by a malicious company who feels threatened by the FOSS movement, who knows, stranger things have happened.
Paranoia?
The spirit, name, and philosophy of Linux is powerful and threatens to shake the world’s greedy fat sucking evil corporations to the core.
True, but this could have been said in a less agressive tone.
FOSS is on the march
Wrong, armies are on the march. Keep this for the militaries. We’re not playing war here.
By the way, I’m using Linux exclusively. So much for the “MS turd”.
I’m a troll eh? lol
I run SuSE 99% of the time at home. I’ve setup a Linux box at work (Mandriva running as my Proxy/Web Filter).
I’ve handed out alot of copies of Knoppix and Mandriva’s Live CD to alot of my friends so that they can test out Linux for themselves.
My USB keychain has contains a live version of Damn Small that I use on systems that just aren’t wanting to cooperate and also to again show my friends just how awesome Linux is.
Looking on my desk, I see a couple of Knoppix CD’s, an Ubuntu CD, Mandriva Live CD,k SuSE Live CD, and a couple of O’Reily books on Linux.
I run Open Office on my desktop at work, and have installed it on several other desktops at the office as well. I’ve installed FireFox on everyone’s PC and made it the default browser on those machines, because it’s a much more secure browser. I have also gotten the majority of my friends to take a look at Open Office and also to start using FireFox.
So, to Mr Anonymous at 66.93.16.—, do you really think I’m a troll? The reason I used the word “cult” is because of users like yourself that get so defensive when someone says the least little thing that could be twisted into something negative about your distro, and you immediately lash out without even using your brain. Even though I use FOSS and Linux every single day and promote it’s use to everyone I know, you chose to label me a troll. If that’s not a “cult”, I don’t know what is.
I could claim I use all of MS products to serve the purpose of a particular argument, but I don’t and whether or not I did use said products isn’t instantly provable, you have to trust an anonymous person at their word – which is stupid.
Your reaction, IMO, is just the typical old repeated troll tactic of trying to dredge up ‘proof’ from thin air.
Sorry, but you’re still a troll, probably of some troll cult.
“The reason I used the word “cult””
is probably because of a membership in a troll cult. I’m sure you’ve heard of GNAA, right? Are you a member?
Trolls and their troll cults, sheesh.
In all seriousness, I really don’t care if you believe me or not. However, it wasn’t me that starting lashing out at people. It was you and your “types” that started with the mentality of labeling myself a “troll” after I asked a legitimate question, which a few answered directly (unlike yourself, as you immediately went on the defensive). And, I do appreciate their responses.
To respond to you cander:
1. You attacked me because I asked what was special about Ubuntu and made it stand out from other distros. Your inability to carry on intelligently resulted in what alot of kids do these days when they can’t respond in a grown manner and that is to get defensive and begin to attack the poster.
2. You say it’s “stupid” to take an “anonymous” poster at their word, correct? Going by your logic, can we assume that everything coming from you is a lie, and for anyone to believe anything you say is stupid as well, after all, you are anonymous too.
3. My reactions are an old tactic? Yeah, that’s really it. The problem is that you just “assumed” incorrectly, and now you’re left with mud on your face.
I’m sorry, but I won’t be responding to someone as mentality challenged and handicapped as you are anymore.
“In all seriousness,”
IMO if you were serious you wouldn’t be trolling.
“I really don’t care if you believe me or not.”
So why are you, STILL reading the replies AND wasting time replying to them IF YOU DON’T CARE? I call bullsh*t.
“However, it wasn’t me” [..] “It was you and your “types””
The blame game, how trollish.
“You attacked me ”
Drama queen trolls! They’re invading! Ahhhhhh! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THEY’RE(*&!@*(#^!@*&#^&!@&#&!*@#*&!(*@&$#
NO CARRIER
“Your inability”
More trollish icicing for the troll cult cake
“they can’t respond in a grown manner”
Oh boo hoo ;P
“begin to attack the poster.”
Yeah like how trolls say (distroname) cult and then perpetuate the trolling days later and claim they don’t care. Do you really belong to the GNAA troll cult?
“You say it’s “stupid””
Get a life, yes trolling IS stupid, there’s fresh air, nice green trees, beautiful birds of song outside, but those things don’t cater to the ego, so maybe recommending a trip outside of the house/apartment/cardboard box doesn’t help, but I tried.
“mud on your face”
Mud? Well if you don’t like the brown Gnome look with Ubuntu you can try Kubuntu.
“I won’t be responding to someone as mentality challenged and handicapped as you are anymore.”
Did you practice this conversation in a mirror before typing it? Mirror mirror on the wall.. LOL!
What a joke
?!?
Say What????
So, to Mr Anonymous at 66.93.16.—, do you really think I’m a troll?
If you’re not, you’re doing an excellent imitation of one. And I don’t care what operating system you run; I myself don’t even run Ubuntu on a regular basis (I’m responsible for thousands of servers running mostly RHEL and Debian; at home, I do keep a Fedora/Windows box for development purposes and the occassional need to run a Windows app, but mostly use a Mac). I was responding to the content of your posts, nothing more.
Let’s be clear: rushing into the comments for an article about a particular distro and having nothing to say about the content of the article but instead immediately complaining about the number of articles about the distro, labeling everything and everyone with words like fanatic, hype, and cult, complaining about your personal installation issues, and then requesting that others defend their choice of distro – this is trollish behavior. OSNews regulars watch similar things happen in every single thread about every single distro, it gets very tiresome and boosts the noise in the signal to noise ratio so high that nobody who actually wants to discuss the content of the article can get a word in edgewise. If your intentions were genuine, I apologize, but you might want to reconsider your approach.
“On the article itself: I believe he clarified many points, especially on the Debian/Ubuntu symbiosis. It won’t stop people from spreading rumors and misinformation, but hopefully it will stop many endless, pointless discussions.”
Indeed. In fact it seems to have done the job of shutting up the trollish rumours so well that there’s no meaningful discussion on this thread. The worst people can say about it now is “it’s brown and the names are stupid”. And of course “it doesn’t work on my laptop”.
Which is a valid complaint, But I don’t think any distro works for every computer. I’ve tried many distros and the only ones I couldn’t get installed were Debian (kernel panic on first reboot after installation) and PCLinuxOS (don’t know what happened there). But I am not so arrogant to think that I am so special and my hardware so universal that I can declare those distros unfit for consumption based on the fact that they didn’t work for me.
I’ll bite…
Why is Ubuntu special?
-free in every sense
-community supported and completely open development
-committed to ideals of Free Software
-6 month release schedule
-minimum of 18 months of security updates (some releases will have 3 years of desktop support, 5 years server support)
-emphasis on accessibility and internationalization
-official pressed CD’s mailed anywhere in the world at no cost
-no “professional” version which means no glass ceiling for how great the free version can be
-contributes patches back to community
-surprisingly stable yet cutting edge packages in new releases
-helpful forums and other support (http://www.ubuntuguide.org)
-deb package format for simple installs/upgrades
So while it is true that none of these things are unique to the Linux scene, this is one of the few (if not the only) distros that seems to have it all. Plus, there is enough financial backing behind the Ubuntu Foundation to ensure that Ubuntu will be around for some time–I look forward to it.
But hey, use what makes you happy
That shut him up.
The Ubuntu hype is dead except for OSNews. Other debian-based distros do a much better job at installation and hardware detection.
The (insert distro name here) is dead except for (insert website here). Other (insert distro name here)-based distros do a much better job at (insert function here).
Yadda f–kin yadda *HAND!*
The Ubuntu hype is dead except for OSNews.
Yep, thats why this is on the Slashdot front page right now.
If you Ubuntu zealots had thoroughly read the original post of the poor guy you’re flaming now, you’d have noticed his question was indeed meant serious. Regretfully it’s behaviour like this ruining the Linux experience for many. Now for the question: On some German OS blog, somebody once wrote that there’s something “magical” about Ubuntu, though he didn’t know how to further specify it. It really has to be the presentation, as has already been pointed out here in the comments. For most people, the default look and behaviour of a distro’s desktop is very important, and Ubuntu somehow manages to look attractive in a way that a lot of people feel convinced to give it a try, and then keep it.
“If you Ubuntu zealots had thoroughly read the original post of the poor guy you’re flaming now, you’d have noticed his question was indeed meant serious.”
Yeah, right, actually if you google for similar questions about any distro you’ll begin to see a trend, especially in newsgroups. There is something odd going on and you just have to participate in the FOSS community(ies) long enough to see it. If they really cared so much, they would go to the ubuntuforums and discuss this where there is a large portion of ubuntu users, but no, it’s more appetite enhancing to post a troll here, isn’t it? See their follow up with the words “Ubuntu cult”. Or are you just playing devil’s advocate for giggles?
“Regretfully it’s behaviour like this ruining the Linux experience for many.”
Posts attacking distributions and following up with the word “cult” is what ruins the experience, not the FOSS community and its behavior.
I just tried to defend somebody who – from my point of view – was attacked for raising a simple question. I don’t understand why all this agression takes place here and you guys can’t answer a simple question. Instead people are labeled “trolls” instantly. I’m not in the least against Ubuntu or Linux in general (using Fedora here), nor do I wish to support a flamewar.
Perhaps the agressive stance is justified:
http://www.osnews.com/permalink.php?news_id=11998&comment_id=36581
It’s the second or third post like this I see. Draw up your own conclusions, but I rest my case.
(Man, what a waste of my time…)
Or cant you ahndle that that poster maybe right and Ubuntu is an overhyped distro… But that doesnt make any more or less Linux.
Well, the IP seems to be the same, so maybe you’re right.
I just tried to defend somebody who – from my point of view – was attacked for raising a simple question.
Your point of view is flawed. People, especially anonymous people (yes I see the irony), who immediately rush in to every distro story with comments about “fanatics” and “hype” and “cults” and conclude that there’s “nothing special” and “nothing impressive” about something because it doesn’t install on their laptop – those people are trolling, not asking honest questions or making constructive comments. I admit, this may not seem obvious until you’ve seen it a few thousand times. But it is the case. You’ve been trolled and you’re reacting exactly as the troller had hoped.
Your point of view is flawed.
Or yours is, but honestly, I don’t know.
You’ve been trolled and you’re reacting exactly as the troller had hoped.
Maybe I’ve been tricked into believing the question was meant honest. Yet I think the people who really got “trolled” are the ones acting overly agressive. That’s what “trolls” want to do, provoke, and on this comment board it was easy to make people flip out. BTW, I think people calling others “trolls” are playing in the same league like them. This all results in nobody being able to ask any questions who may only in the slightest bit be critical.
“Maybe I’ve been tricked into believing the question was meant honest”
Maybe? O_o
“Yet I think the people who really got “trolled” are the ones acting overly agressive”
or the ones who were really trolled are the ones who totally missed it and are forced to speculate, just like those who are crazy don’t think they’re really crazy and they try and say others are.
mod parent up +5 informative!
Okay, what does it mean when a post get’s “modded”?
If I’m not mistaken, it means rating a post.
There are two things that a previous poster didn’t mention, but that are the two most compelling reasons I switched to Ubuntu:
First, and most important, is how cohesive everything is. They’ve worked hard to get as many bits as possible working smoothly and in a simple fashion. The best example is the HAL/DBUS stack that allows automounting goodness; another great example is the Ubuntu update manager. Mostly the Ubuntu devs just add glue to upstream, but it’s such quality glue, like cyanoacrylate or something ^_^
Second, umm… I don’t remember what the second reason was. Simplicity, perhaps… the fact that they offer a pared-down distro so beginners aren’t overwhelmed by a ridiculous number of choices. More advanced users can easily choose packages from the universe.
To me, I simply like it. It works. On my laptop BTW. But then Knoppix works on my laptop as well, and eLive, and SymphonyOS, and Musix, etc… guess I must be a lucky b*st*rd.
I am a TOTAL Linux newbee, and so far over the past months or so of introducing myself to it, I’ve always gone back to Ubuntu, purely for subjective reasons I guess, as I am still ignorant about what’s going on under the bonnet.
Now, I like the way Linux is evolving, I like the fact that I can actually get tons of stuff to work under Linux although I know jack sh*t about it. And Ubuntu is great for me to explore it. Simple to set up AND to use, and I guess if I ever want to go lower level than that, I can. Up to me, the user.
Now, the fact that it doesn’t work under certain conditions or on certain systems doesn’t make it any different to more or less any other distro out there, does it?
I dunno. Seems like loads of people just like trashing the most popular distro/OS out there because it’s popularity seems to take away it’s “geeky” appeal or something.
Anyway, running Breezy on my laptop, watching it getting stabler and more functional with every update, is nice to experience. Also, never seen my system boot up that fast. Although Knoppix/SymphonyOS was pretty impressive at that as well. Aaaaaanyway, thanks Ubuntu for such great work. Hope to see it become my primary OS of choice one day. Which goes for every single attempt to do that out there, by the way.
Cheers!
As a former Gentoo user I switched to ubuntu as they were quicker at including the new versions of Gnome. I’m not sure if this has changed?
And as a laptop user it helps that I don’t have to compile everything all the time.
I may go back to Gentoo if/when I buy a desktop. But for my laptop and current needs ubuntu is just better than everything else I’ve used.
Building a desktop OS is tough. Lindows didn’t make a dent in the market. Will Shuttleworth succed where every other failed?
Lindows is avowedly commercial: While they tried to charge service fees for their “click’n’run” warehouse, Ubuntu provides a similar service for free using the user-friendly Synaptic package manager (front-end onto Debian’s Apt-Get)
Lindows still charges for its products, for a long time they even charged for the LiveCD edition. Both Live and installable Ubuntu is free for download, which is why I’ve used them.
I would hardly call Synaptic “user friendly”
You haven’t seen Gnome-App-Install then =) (synaptic is now the “advanced” tool for 5.10)
I would hardly call Synaptic “user friendly”
They are responsible for some Synaptic improvements like a better “quiet” mode, and tools like gnome-app-install and the Ubuntu updater which tie into Synaptic as a shell for apt installs. The end result is a better – though still imperfect – interface for common tasks:
http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=430&slide=2…
http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=430&slide=3…
And the main Synaptic interface has been prettified and simplified thanks in part to work sponsored by Ubuntu:
http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/slideshow.php?release=430&slide=2…
they can call it a “fairy” naming scheme on the Ubuntu site but the moment anyone says anything negative elsewhere the zealots come out of the woodwork to defend the Ubuntu name?
Because Mark Shuttleworth isn’t one of the zealots.
Ubuntu is a nice distro for 1999. However, it is 2005, and a small Linux company, by the name of RedHat, is paving the way to the future. With directory services, buffer protection, and SELinux, there just isn’t any other Linux distribution that can even compare. Ubuntu is nice but it is just so 1999.
Well, what’s special about ubuntu for me is that it was the first distrib to give me all (allmost) on a very simple dell d600 !!
Didn’t have to go to get the wifi drivers, recomp the kernel or whatever. I know it still sounds strnage to old Linux’s users, but it was for me a great point.
And still all the good things from debian
It’s still brown.
From FAQ:
In short, we are a project that tries hard to collaborate with many other projects – such as upstream X.org, and GNOME
Yes yes Gnome but where is KDE ?
it’s time to switch again into another distro which support a decent desktop environment.
Come on…. quit moaning.
Most distros are evolving anyway. Ubuntu is a long way from becoming enterprise ready like redhat or Suse but it doesnt promise to be that. It’s a lot close to being Desktop Ready (c) .One of the reasons Ubuntu works so well is that is what it says it is and sticks to that.
–rant_being
Many other distros try to be a jack of all trades and masters of none. There are tens of thousands of applications available for linux and endless configurations, instead of trying to be the all flexible tool be something clear and defined.
Distros have the role simplifying or focusing on a particular part of computing.
The Linux kernel and its application layer have the job of being flexible enough to be customised to a specialised need.
So stop the Ubuntu bashing, desktop war nonsense KDE,Gnome they have a long way to go. KDE4 and Gnome 3 promise big things … if they deliver on half i will be happy : -) –end_rant
They chose GNOME as the default desktop, and as such, that is where the majority of their (limited) work is. As you know, they also provide a KDE desktop for those that do not want to use GNOME, but you can’t expect them to support both of them at the same level. DEs are just far to complex for that.
I think its great that they are focusing on one DE rather than putting half as much effort into 2. I suggest you either use Kubuntu, or move to a KDE centric distro and stop with the comments that undermine the great work the Ubuntu Community has done.
I’m very KDE myself, although GNOME 2.12 has a very thin glipse of hope. But I would like all desktops throwen in just so they’re included so I can try all of them. I like KDE for technical reasons behind its structure, and the different option menus when you have folder or system windows open, like being able to open a terminal from the menu in any folder window to type any commands specific to the open folder instead of manually typing in each folder name to change directories, just click on folder and open terminal, whola!
Anyways, all that being said, I disagree with you but yours is one of the few posts I can really repect. Basically saying instead of smering Ubunutu for being Gnome, switch to a KDE based disto, and stop the smering if DE is the only reason for it. I myself am not a fan of Ubunut because they do not include any free(no cost) propietary formats like Adobe Acrobat Reader and Real Player, and because the website address for my web-based POP mail from ISP has never worked in Fireox with Ubuntu, but every other distro I have tried I can access the web-based POP mail no problem in Firefox.
But yes, if GNOME is the only reason for not liking Ubuntu, then definately, quit the ranting and switch distros!
“switch to a KDE based disto”
There’s NO REASON to switch, see below.
“I myself am not a fan of Ubunut because they do not include any free(no cost) propietary formats like Adobe Acrobat Reader and Real Player,”
XPDF works and it’s free. Both Adobe Acrobat Reader and Real Player can be downloaded manually off their respective sites, or is that too hard for you?
“and because the website address for my web-based POP mail from ISP has never worked in Fireox with Ubuntu, but every other distro I have tried I can access the web-based POP mail no problem in Firefox.”
Sounds like a user problem, not a distro problem.
“But yes, if GNOME is the only reason for not liking Ubuntu, then definately, quit the ranting and switch distros!”
There’s NO REASON to switch, KDE/Kubuntu can be added to the sources.list and after apt-get update downloaded and installed INTO UBUNTU.
Why do people keep saying switch to a KDE distro when they can install Ubuntu AND KEEP IT AND ADD KDE/KUBUNTU to it?
Why do people keep saying switch to a KDE distro when they can install Ubuntu AND KEEP IT AND ADD KDE/KUBUNTU to it?
Relax with the hostility. I prefer Gnome, but I have no problem with a KDE fan wanting a distro that caters to KDE and pays special attention to KDE integration. Distros that play DE favorites tend to support one better than the other, Suse (despite the Novell takeover) being a good example for KDE and RHEL & Fedora being a good example for Gnome. Yes, Ubuntu has Kubuntu (which I’m tremendously impressed by), both as an installation option for vanilla Ubuntu and as a separately spun distro. But Kubuntu is a community-driven sub-project and doesn’t have all the resources of Ubuntu proper, which is decidedly Gnome-centric, and if some folks would prefer something they perceive as a more KDE-centric distro for whatever reason then so be it. Why in the world does this bother you?
kubuntu is kde oriented. kubuntu, ubuntu, ubuntu live, edubuntu are all just virtual packages in the same repo. all it takes for a kde oriented ubuntu is apt-get install kubuntu-desktop.
“Why in the world does this bother you?”
Probably because you still didn’t understand what the poster was trying to say, that you don’t have to switch to Kubuntu to get KDE, you can add KDE to Ubuntu just fine.
Please read and comprehend before hitting reply, or sit down with some salt before foot tasting.
like being able to open a terminal from the menu in any folder window to type any commands specific to the open folder instead of manually typing in each folder name to change directories, just click on folder and open terminal, whola!
Just an FYI for anyone who might want this feature in Gnome: it’s available as a Nautilus script called “Open Terminal Here” and works just as described above. (Not everyone likes the approach, of course, but Gnome tends to follow the Firefox “extensions” model of keeping geeky functionality out of the core and making it available as add-ons, like the excellent Devil’s Pie for window management geeks and various Nautilus scripts for shell-lovers.)
I myself am not a fan of Ubunut because they do not include any free(no cost) propietary formats like Adobe Acrobat Reader and Real Player
Both of these and many others are available in multiverse for 5.04; that is, they’re not installed by default, but can be easily installed with a few clicks in Synaptic (anyone interested can Google for the Unofficial Ubuntu Guide or Ubuntu Forums). Not an ideal situation, perhaps, but the same situation faced by many other distros such as Fedora.
because the website address for my web-based POP mail from ISP has never worked in Fireox with Ubuntu, but every other distro I have tried I can access the web-based POP mail no problem in Firefox.
That’s a very bizarre problem if it’s the same version of Firefox and I hope you’ll take a moment to file a bug because I’m sure they’d love to know about it.
But yes, if GNOME is the only reason for not liking Ubuntu, then definately, quit the ranting and switch distros!
And if Ubuntu sounds great except for Gnome, I’d suggest looking into Kubuntu – I recently saw a demo and those guys are doing a kickass job.
I totally agree with your premise – DE and distro wars are tiresome and quite frankly only interest a handful of us geeks anyway; if you don’t like it, try something else. It’s sad that every technical choice has to become a religious battle on the scale of the Great Schism in some circles.
What clown modded this +1?
If the “yes yes Gnome but where is KDE” poster had any experience with google (or hell even LOOKED at ubuntu.com) they’d know about Kubuntu and you can install KDE within Ubuntu just fine. Add this to your Ubuntu’s sources.list:
deb http://kubuntu.org/hoary-kde342 hoary-updates main
deb-src http://kubuntu.org/hoary-kde342 hoary-updates main
and apt-get update and you’re good to go. Kubuntu.org is quick on KDE releases, they even have a beta of a new version available right now.
Take that, trolls.
“it’s time to switch again into another distro which support a decent desktop environment.”
Nope. Troll somewhere else, dude.
actually *like* the brown colour. I think it’s more relaxing and laid-back and just plain serene…
Why does everyone insist on changing the brown colour? Do people really prefer the KDE-screaming-in-your-face kind of blue that all other distros have?
It’s a pity that nobody likes green. I like green. Yes, I know there’s TWM, but I prefer something a bit more sophisticated.
How about making green the default color of Xubuntu? (XFCE4+Ubuntu- which exists in the Breezy repositories as of now)
Great document.
I hope more similar “letters” like this being written by project leaders.
I bet Microsoft’s blog-mania will come with something similar too… which is good.
Maybe also Apple and others will come up and explain the “why”s too.
Hear hear. I don’t understand why the usual flamefest cropped up, this is actually a pretty interesting article on Ubuntu. Some good honest and enlightened answers from the man behind the project himself.
Although I don’t run it myself, since I run regular debian, I do understand the popularity.
It’s sort of the first/most accessable version of Debian Linux for the masses.
Debian has always had soo many great things about it, and many things going for it, but it just never really focused on the desktop user.
Debian was always a little bit unaccessable for the newbie, and soo even though there was all this really great stuff that Debian had goin for it most people could never actaully experience those things.
Ubuntu came along and made debian really usable by the masses and exposed people to the good things about debian that they had only heard about before.
All the good things about debian, plus desktop user focus, a desktop user oriented freqeuency of updates schedule(where getting new version of GNOME is more important to the user than keeping a stable kernel version etc)…Really, how could it not be popular?
The only “shame” is that the Debian project didn’t do this exact thing years ago themselves.
Great way to put it, and all that needs to be said!
It’s Debian for the masses, how could it not be popular?
Guys, gals,
What we seem to be missing here is that F/LOSS is concerned with choice. Every popular thing in the world has its zealots. That does not diminish the fact that there are people improving F/LOSS, which aside from the desktop community-building efforts, is what Ubuntu is all about.
How many of you who are saying that Ubuntu simply didn’t work for you have taken the time to file bugs in our Bugzilla/Malone? How many have taken it upon yourselves to volunteer your resources to F/LOSS?
There is no one distro to rule them all, and Ubuntu is not and will not be concerned with such a desultory goal. If you’re interested in helping with F/LOSS, then make an active effort to contribute to what interests you in the larger F/LOSS community. It’ll be much more effective than ranting here about how much $such_and_such stinks.
But now that I know that Mark Shuttleworth is so damn sexy, I think I like it even more.
I really want to be part of the oss community, but all this flinging of sh*t that goes on just iritate me. BTW, i really like ubuntu.
“but all this flinging of sh*t that goes on just iritate me”
Go outside much?
Read history much?
So long as there are humans with opinions and the means to share them, the sh*t you speak of will always be available for consumption.
And i want to merry him!
Ubuntu is great too!
I wanted to be rich and famous, have my own distro – and be the heart-throb of nerdy-girlies.
“Oh MESMERIC, I luv ya .. and all”
… Dunno about going to space though, I would probably puke under zero-gravity.
Ubuntu?
Good feel. I’ve installed it on two machines (not mine).
Only idiots flame other Linux Distros; but then the majority of users here are in their teens (or I at least hope they are!)
I just want my ATI opengl drivers to work out of the box. Detect the video card and install the opengl drivers from ATI.
…which would be illegal in most countries.
Few years ago who could say that one distro could take some place between debian, mdk, or red-hat?
unless you tried to be a geek, specialized in obscures hows-to, noway to think that desktop could be an aim for Linux.
Ubuntu deserve to have tried and success in this issue and authorise today Linux to be a true alternative easy to install, and to manage .
Of course everything is not yet perfect, but it’s now an aim for some other distros and realy urge a lot of newcommers to partcicipate to this crazy story.
Yes, for me and a lot of friends today the reference in Linux desktop distro is …’Ubuntu’.
And for this Bravo Monsieur Shuttleworth .
It is like a cult – all filled with thousands and thousands of Linux n00bs, who all seem mesmerised by Mark’s millions and who are all stangely attracted by the interface that is the United Colours of Ubuntu.
Personally I don’t see why the ‘human’ theme is all that attractive, but it does seem to appeal to a lot of inexperience users – so I guess it is all probably really just a matter of taste.
I admire Mark, but he seems to treat linux much as he treats most other things, in that for him a big part of the motivation is about winning the game. He is happy to give back, so long as he can still be number one.
GJ
I am a current Ubuntu user. I’m so antsy to get Breezy I can’t stand it anymore. Anyone think it’s a bad thing to install the preview release, then update when the final release becomes available? Should I wait for the final product, then re-format the whole machine (which was the orginal plan)?
I’m not really big on KDE, but I think I’ll try Kubuntu this time.
Secondly (off topic) I have searched about everywhere for the answer to this, but anyone know of how to extract mpegs from a VCD? More or less this function in Isobuster is what I’m looking for:
http://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/141726.php
-I tried this in both CDEMU and AviDemux, and they do not appear to support this function.
Also, pure Debian has recently caught my eye. Anyone have any thoughts on this vs. Ubuntu. Please note this is NOT intended in ANYWAY to start a (nother) flame war.
Anyway, I believe one knock on Debian was it takes forever for it to be update. I;ve done some reading but wanted to get feedback from actual users. Thanks again.
Also, pure Debian has recently caught my eye. Anyone have any thoughts on this vs. Ubuntu. Please note this is NOT intended in ANYWAY to start a (nother) flame war.
If you need stability and a long lifecycle for the purposes of say, running a server, then Debian Sarge or a Sarge-derived distro is a better option (or wait until the next release of Ubuntu after Breezy, which will have a 5-year support cycle).
If you’re a desktop user and want frequent updates, Ubuntu is probably a better choice than plain Debian Sid unless you’re a technical user and understand what you’re doing. Sarge is also a workable desktop distro, though, and many of the desktop-oriented Debian derivatives are Sarge-based.
Other than those technical aspects, though, it mostly comes down to your personal taste and comfort zone, as with most “distro x vs. distro y” questions.
Really? I think it is a very soothing color?