I must say, Ubuntu (kubuntu version) is nice!

[SinNisTeR]

I'm not the most experienced *nix user, but I've done some standard stuff in my days. When i ran kubuntu on my dell 600m laptop, things just seemed right. Internet worked right away, audio was flawless, samba was configured, the works! I am very impressed. this seems more like what linux is supposed to be, in the sense that if you wanted it, you could have it all installed. The power and flexibility is still all there. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[ShaneDOTM]

There's a reason that the kubuntu/ubuntu pair have been jumping up the popularity list. Ease of use is one of the main reasons. Glad you found a distro that works for you.

 

[Megatomic]

Woohoo, another Ubuntu user. I've tried both Ubuntu and Kubuntu and on my laptop Ubuntu works out the best, for the same reasons I might add. Today I gave tweaking the OS a shot. With Ubuntuguide to help me it was a breeze.

I'm actually considering renovating my main desktop to a more linux friendly platform and ditching windows. And I never thought I'd say such a thing.

 

[QueZart]

Gonna DL it.. I been playing with Ubuntu and Knoppix Live CD's.. Kinda as a learning experience thing. I gotta say I fing the KDE desktop more uh? comfortable i guess.

I'm not ready to try another Install tho, my ignorance of GRUB gave me alot of problems last time and took me hourz to get my comp resetup to working condition heh.

Getting there tho, and definitely leaning towards a KDE distro

 

[Canterwood]

I've tried out Ubuntu, but I hate the Gnome interface.

But Kubuntu might be just what I'm after.

Here's hoping.

 

[drag]

Ubuntu is nice and Linux in general is making very good progress as a desktop OS, especially in the last year or so.

And it'll keep on improving. Ubuntu itself has a strong 6 month release cycle... "Breezy" itself is due out sometime in october, I beleive. So by the time Vista gets out you'd already have 2 maybe 3 new Ubuntu releases.

That will include a ubuntu-style modified Gnome 2.12 desktop with some new features such as widespread use of vector-based graphics, improved file manager, and improvements in gnome default media applications. Here is a preview of Gnome 2.12

Also we should see the inclusion of some interesting C# (yes, the Microsoft-created language) applications using Mono into Ubuntu. Applications such as F-prot (nice photogragh/image managing software) and Beagle (advanced desktop search application.) should be there by default... I think.

And that kinda help lays the groundwork for future releases were Linux desktop will move more and more gradually to being OpenGL accelerated and everything that entails.

Personally I am a Debian user. Ubuntu itself is based on Debian and is mostly so-so compatable.. they take a snapshot of Debian unstable then build Ubuntu's extensive mods and usability improvements on top of that. Lots of docs from Debian.org and such apply to Ubuntu and any power-user should be sure to check those out on how to get the most from apt-get and such.

Also since Debian and Ubuntu are simliar then Debian 'Stable' (currently Sarge) on a home server should make a good compliment to a Ubuntu desktop.

For isntance what I do is that I have a seperate file server setup from my desktop. It has 256megs of ram, a 2400+ AMD cpu, a intel gigabit network card, a 120gig WD harddrive connected thru the motherboard's PATA interface, and 2 120gig Maxtor drives hooked up thru a SATA controller plugged into a PCI port. Using Linux software RAID (technically known as Linux 'md'), I have those in a RAID 5 configuration with linux LVM (logical volume management) on those so I can resize and manipulate the partitions while they are running (more or less).

Although it would of been much simplier to buy one or two bigger harddrives...

It makes a nice setup. With the gigabit network it's as fast, and maybe even faster, then local storage on my desktop (just a 80gig wd). If you like to dual-boot with windows it can be handy because you can put you music/movies files on the server and have them aviable to both OSes equally without having to resort to any extra fat32 partitions.

Then if you want to get fancy you could have it do some streaming media stuff, or maybe use it as a remote web-controlled jutebox. I have mythtv and a video card on mine so that I can record shows and such (but you have to be carefull that the mythtv backend and frontend on your systems are the same version) so I can do things like watch TV on laptop as I carry it around the house or go outside and such. Or you can use it as a webserver or whatever you want. Linux also makes a great game server if you like to have lan parties and such, most games even if they don't have a linux client have a linux server aviable for it. Hell, you can even use Asterisk@home to create a corporate-style PBX for your home. (make calls over VoIP on a veriaty of formats, use regular telephone lines, email faxes to yourself and to other's fax machine in the form of PDFs, have 'put on hold' music, all sorts of stuff) (note that asterix@home is it's own distro based on CentOS that is based on Redhat ES, but you get the idea..)

Some of the stuff is very difficult to do, but it's fun if you like to mess around with computers as a hobby. Almost every peice of technology that is aviable and is used by large corporations and such is aviable to you in one for or another in Linux at no extra cost so the sky is the limit.

 

[imported_vdorta]

After trying Linux for years, this is the first time I like it as implemented in Ubuntu and Kubuntu. I hope they improve the installer and include a "us_intl with deadkeys" keyboard layout.

 

[hopejr]

kde 3.4 is really nice. That's the only window manager i can stand in linux, so I like kubuntu the best of any distro too.

 

[Noema]

I tried Ubuntu for a couple of days and was amazed by the ease of use, even for the LINUX illiterate like me.

The only thing keeping me from making the switch is my ATI card, because if I did switch I'd be running WoW and some others in WINE but I hear the ATI drivers for Linux are teh suxXx0rz.

 

[bersl2]

Originally posted by: Noema
I tried Ubuntu for a couple of days and was amazed by the ease of use, even for the LINUX illiterate like me.

The only thing keeping me from making the switch is my ATI card, because if I did switch I'd be running WoW and some others in WINE but I hear the ATI drivers for Linux are teh suxXx0rz.

In a related story, the reverse-engineered driver for cards with ATI R3xx chips was merged into Xorg and Mesa CVS on 07-22.

current capabilities

 

[exilera]

Originally posted by: Noema
I tried Ubuntu for a couple of days and was amazed by the ease of use, even for the LINUX illiterate like me.

The only thing keeping me from making the switch is my ATI card, because if I did switch I'd be running WoW and some others in WINE but I hear the ATI drivers for Linux are teh suxXx0rz.

Yea this is the issue for me as well. I'm running WoW, plus I need an office application that runs .docs, PLUS, I have a my Macromedia Studio MX 2004 that I have to have. Anyone know if these apps will work in Ubuntu?

Also, I'm a complete Linux newbie so if someone could answer a simple question for me... what's with all the "distros"? Is Ubuntu a distro (I have copies of that that I ordered from a website), and how is Kubuntu different? What is Gnome, exactly?

Thanks

Edit: I run an ATI X800 video card; will I be able to find decent drivers?

 

[BlueWeasel]

Yes, Ubuntu is considered a distro like RedHat, Debian, and Slackware -- They are all different distrobutions of Linux.

KDE and Gnome are desktop managers (ie, the GUI behind Linux). Ubuntu uses Gnome as the default DM (others can be installed, though), and Kubuntu uses and is optimized for the KDE DM.

 

[exilera]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
Yes, Ubuntu is considered a distro like RedHat, Debian, and Slackware -- They are all different distrobutions of Linux.

KDE and Gnome are desktop managers (ie, the GUI behind Linux). Ubuntu uses Gnome as the default DM (others can be installed, though), and Kubuntu uses and is optimized for the KDE DM.

Ah that makes sense. Anyone have any links to screenshots for a Kubuntu desktop?

 

[BlueWeasel]

Kubuntu Screenshots

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: exilera

Originally posted by: Noema
I tried Ubuntu for a couple of days and was amazed by the ease of use, even for the LINUX illiterate like me.

The only thing keeping me from making the switch is my ATI card, because if I did switch I'd be running WoW and some others in WINE but I hear the ATI drivers for Linux are teh suxXx0rz.

Yea this is the issue for me as well. I'm running WoW, plus I need an office application that runs .docs, PLUS, I have a my Macromedia Studio MX 2004 that I have to have. Anyone know if these apps will work in Ubuntu?

WoW will work fine thru Wine. Wine is a Win32 API clone that is designed to run on Linux. It's not perfect.

It usually takes efforts to get it to work properly.. however Wine + it's extra directx9 support should get it working.

A easier method is to buy a subscription to Cedega.. I install point2play and use that to manage my windows games and cedega versions. (only realy GTA: San Andreas and Sid Miers Pirates! at this point).

Otherwise native Linux games are preferable by a long shot. Much nicer.

For handling .doc formats you have a veriaty of office applications to choose from.

There is the OpenOffice.org suite, which is designed to be a direct alternative to MS Office and is from Sun Microsystems. Both Gnome and KDE have their own office suites. Gnome includes things like Abiword, which is nice and very fast, and KDE has it's own set off applications.

So you have a 3 or 4 major apps to choose from and probably a half dozen or so in total.

I don't think you'll be able to get Macromedia Studio to work in Linux.

Web developement rocks in Linux though. It's just very different from Windows stuff. If you want to try some alternatives I suggest looking at BlueFish.

Otherwise Freshmeat.net will have dozens and dozens of apps to look at.

Also, I'm a complete Linux newbie so if someone could answer a simple question for me... what's with all the "distros"? Is Ubuntu a distro (I have copies of that that I ordered from a website), and how is Kubuntu different? What is Gnome, exactly?

Thanks

Edit: I run an ATI X800 video card; will I be able to find decent drivers?

A 'distro' is short for 'distribution'.

It's basicly another word for Operating System, but its used when speaking specificly about Linux-based operating systems.

Basicly since it's all Free software everybody has access to all the same stuff. A Linux distro is a OS that is uses GNU as it's basis and Linux as the kernel. On top of that you have many programs, tools, and applications from all over the world from many different people and many different projects.

A distro is a specific way of packaging the OS based on the objectives and biases of the project that is developing it.

For instance Novell uses Suse to target the corporate desktop as a Windows alternative. Redhat uses Redhat Enterprise Linux to target the Unix workstation and server market and provides a alternative to propriatory unix operating systems and compitition to Windows which also is trying to target that market. Debian is a effort to create a completely Free 'Universal OS' for any possible purposes a person would want. Ubuntu takes the Debian 'universal os' and targets it specific as a free software Desktop for general computer users. Fedora is a developement OS from Redhat to use latest software technologies and form the basis for future Redhat Enterprise Linux versions.

Many different variations beyond that.

There is enough differences between Linux versions that they should be realy considured individual operating systems many times...

 

[effowe]

I've tried Ubuntu and Kubuntu and they're both great. I have Kubuntu running mythtv right now and after some initial setup pains, everything is working flawlessly.

 

[Parkre]

where the best site to download Kubuntu?

 

[sourceninja]

http://www.kubuntu.org/