Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 22
 Easier than Windows! November 3, 2006
baligathi
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Over the years, I have tried to use Linux in place of Windows because I hated how Windows always crashes, has bugs, gets viruses, is expensive, etc.. You've heard them all. The only thing is, you have to deal with Windows because it's easy and all the software you need works on it, right? Linux is too hard and "geeky" right? Well, maybe in the past. But no more! Not with Ubuntu 6.06. This is by far the easiest operating system in the world! You can do everything you ever needed to do from the GUI, without ever touching the terminal, or console! There is also an easy way to install software through the Synaptic Package Manager. There's also plenty of software to make any former Windows user happy. Firefox, OpenOffice (which works with all Windows Office formats), Rhythmbox and Totem Movie Player(much faster and less buggy than Windows Media Player), Evolution (better and faster than Outlook), and much much more! If you ever need more, you can always easily download via the Synaptic Package Manager.
No viruses, very few bugs/glitches, even fewer crashes, user-friendliness, a great community of support, and a plethora of useful software are just some of the main reasons why I love this operating system.
So if you hate Windows but are afraid to use Linux because it's too technical or difficult, don't fret anymore! Ubuntu is way easier than Windows, it's way faster than Windows, it does everything Windows does and more, and it's free!
 Promising distro but nowhere near the best out there November 12, 2006
Moi
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
Ubuntu shows promise but is over hyped and is not ready to compete with the best distro out there: SuSE. Despite its claim to be newbie friendly, it is not. Yes, it is better then XP or Vista. Much better, but really what isn't?
The installation is fairly easy, almost too easy. That may sound wrong but bear with me. Very few options are given, no real package or boot choice and the use of a single password is disconcerting. It feels like an XP install and that is not a good thing. You have to pick your extra packages after install and a newbie might not be aware of that. It decides for you what you need, very unLinux-like. If you are keeping windows on your machine, you are not given a choice of your default boot OS. You can also do that after install, but how is a newbie supposed to know how and where to do that?
Or even that he can? Ubuntu doesn't use a traditional root/user system, and by default the administrator password is the same as your log-in. So if an attacker can get into your user account, he can easily gain root access. It is possible to seperate them but it is not something a novice will want to do on a single user system, so they are stuck with this odd decision. The only good thing about it is that a user can't log into a root account and much things up. But is this trade-off worth it, especially given that warnings about being in root can easily be given?
The best part of Ubuntu doesn't even come with it, you have to find out about it from 3rd parties: EasyUbuntu. It takes care of some tasks of which a few can be annoying to get working. Although getting DVD's to play is fairly easy, and better distros allow you to choose an up to date version of Java and other packages that this tool helps with.
Another annoyance and newbie unfriendly "feature" is that if you are running a dual boot system you can't access any windows partitions by default. Granted, it is easy to make them visible, but you have to do a search online to find out how. This is not something you want to see in a Linux distro that is touting "ease of use".
The choice of Gnome as the default desktop is not a very good one. It is not quite as polished as KDE, which has better apps. Yes, you can run most KDE apps in Gnome, but again you have to install alot of extra libraries that a newbie won't know how to do given the poor installation routine. Even after that, SuperKaramba doesn't seem to work in Gnome and is far superior to gDesklets. Even though it is a toy, XGL is one good reason to run Gnome, since getting it to work in KDE can be a headache, but Ubuntu doesn't play nice with XGL. Not that this is a major problem since XGL has no real practical use, but can be fun. If you must use Ubuntu, use Kubuntu.
Given all these problems, it has promise. In the next 2-3 years it might really earn its title as most popular. As it stands, it is still unpolished and not deserving of its hype. I fear it will scare too many people that are sick of the games and shoddy programming of Microsoft away for good. Also, do not order the disk here, you can download it for free or order a free disk straight from the fine people at Ubuntu.It is also often available as a DVD in many Linux magazines.
If you want to try Linux, I suggest SuSE. Not only does it have the most packages and hardware compatibility, but it is actually easy to use(the only headache is getting DVD's to play, but simple directions online get it working in 5 minutes), and is produced by a company that knows each package inside and out. They are a professional software engineering company and don't just bundle packages together and throw it out the door.
 Great FREE operating system! January 14, 2007
Herb Hunter (Baghdad)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I'm a big believer in Ubuntu after tolerating one too many Microsoft updates and never ending add-ons.
When my laptop OS needed a rebuild, I didn't want to suffer through whatever Vista promises (not much), then buy a bunch more virus, firewall and spyware updates, and still run the risk of betting it all on the next Windows ME. Niether did I want to pay through the nose for an Apple, one that, in all likelihood, six months later wouldn't be "cool" anymore and would have few replaceable or upgradable parts. Apple takes planned obsolescence to a whole new level and laughs at you while they do it - no thanks. Been there done that. Ubuntu let me have the best of both worlds - keep a laptop I already have and like, plus gain an operating system with no built-in PMS.
As with other Linux based systems, there is a learing curve, though not nearly what it used to be. You don't have to be a programmer to use it, and you can probably wipe the hard drive clean on your current computer, install this system and be up and running in less than a day. There are hundreds of linux-based versions of whatever you currently use with your Microsoft machine, whether it's DVD ripping, bittorrent streaming, office software, scanner software, you name it. With a search engine and several online forums, you can get your questions answered along the way very easily.
I installed Ubuntu on my HP laptop and everything works just fine, except for a small LED indicating when my wireless is turned on (the wireless itself works flawlessy). I started with version 5.10, then upgraded to 6.06 this past fall. There is an even beta version out now (6.10), but I'm sticking with 6.06 for now.
When you install this operating system from the disc (I burned one that installed just fine), you not only get the OS, but much of the software I mentioned before, including OpenOffice, a free substitute for Microsoft Office. OpenOffice is impressive, especially for free. I must admit thoguh, MS Office is better - but only just barely. Evolution comes with a calendar, but it is not nearly as developed as the one in Outlook. The formatting in MS Word is also much more adjustable than that of Open Office. Open Office can save documents in MS Word format. I've been able to us an MS machine using XP to open these documents created with Open Office - provided they were saved properly.
Occasionally there are peripherals which will not work without adapting the Windows driver to work with Ubuntu (use a program called nsdiswrapper - I've never done this). One potential problem with desktop systems will probably be video drivers. Ubuntu will probably work with just about any monitor, but the driver is probably a very general, one size fits all version, as I noticed problems with scrolling on my desktop with Ubuntu, which runs 6.10.
As I understand it, most video drivers are proprietary, so people who write Unbuntu and other Linux versions are essentially guessing at what works best when they create a driver. The end result is that the driver(s) available will work, but may prove frustrating. This is one major setback with Ubuntu. The system is so close to being a perfect replacement for Microsoft (and, dare I say it, Apple), that it's only a matter of time.
The only other possible negative is gaming - if you like to play PC games, there are a few available on Ubuntu, but nothing like the selection for Windows. I'm not sure how easy it is to adapt a PC game to work on Ubuntu, or if it's even possible at all. I know there is (free) software available to play Playstation and Nintendo games, however.
If you want to give this system a try on an old desktop or laptop, go for it and have fun. One thing to remember, though - this OS is available FREE! I don't know why you're here looking to buy something you can get from Ubuntu for nothing - zero - nada! Ask them for five copies and give a few to your friends!
 I'm not so sure about this version of Ubuntu August 14, 2006
E. Michael Hauss (Monterey, TN)
5 out of 16 found this review helpful
I bought the DVD, put it in my DVD drive and booted from it only to discover that the installation attempt failed several times. I found that I had to install via the OEM mode in order to get the installation working. Once I finally did get the installation to begin working, I found that in order to partition my drives (I have 2 of them) I had to know what size a partition was going to be before I knew what directory I was going to allocate to it (sort of how you have to do it with FreeBSD). At the same time, I could not set up Logical Volume Management... I didn't know where to begin! Finally after attempting several times to install, I finally opted for 'preconfigured' installation with preconfigured options in OEM mode. I figured that would at least get it installed so I can try it out.
Once I finally got it installed, I was confused by the necessity to run scripts as 'oem'. I also found that the soundcard did not work for any user except root. I tried to play with permissions, but was not able to get this to work right.
In general, the installation was confusing and not smooth at all. So far the only installation that goes smooth enough for me is Fedora Core.
I understand that there are some problems with this particular version of Ubuntu, so I will have to try again when I can get my hands on some documentation and see what happens.
On the plus side, I will say that the ability to run the whole OS from the DVD is very good. This lets you see what you are getting before you install, which is done from the running version.
A useful intoduction to Linux November 3, 2006
Robert Harper (Concord MA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This CD contains a version of linux that can be run on any PC without the stress of the usual linux installation. It gives the user an opportunity to test fly linux before deciding to do a full scale installation, which can be quite difficult.
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