Soliciting Input For a Linux Review
by Ryan Smith on February 6, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Ryan's Ramblings
One of the things we have been wanting to do for some time now is to do a proper review of Linux as an end-user operating system. We have done articles on Linux in the past relating to performance, but never a complete OS review.
A Month With a Mac, our article on the Mac experience was very well received and we would like to do this again for a Linux review. I, a Linux novice, will use Ubuntu Linux for a month as my primary OS in order to capture an idea of how the Linux experience stacks up, and how it compares to the Mac and Windows platforms.
Now the reason that we're soliciting advice first is due to a matter of timing. Ubuntu is on a six-month release schedule with the next version due in April. If we were to start our month-long experiment next week, our review would not be ready until the middle of March, only a month or so before the next Ubuntu release. On the other hand if we wait for the next version of Ubuntu, a review would not be done until at least the late-May/early-June time frame.
So we would like to hear back from our readers and Linux users. Would you rather see this kind of a review done sooner, or wait another 2-3 months for a review done with a newer version of Ubuntu? This isn't a straight-up vote, but we'd like to take your opinions under serious consideration, especially since we aren't intimately familiar with Ubuntu and what the next version may bring.
Please add your comments to this blog post, we'll get back to you next week to let you guys know if we're going ahead with our experiment or not.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
139 Comments
View All Comments
spazzytazz111 - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
I would like to see it sooner than later. I doubt there will be any significant changes in the next upgrade, so sooner would be better. As a side note, I would like to see some windows based gaming results/comparison (using both the free and paid versions of wine) on ubuntu vs. windows xp.Pyrii - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
I'd like to finally see a review where they show user-friendliness (AKA,none) and ease of use for people who don't understand the terminology (AKA, still none). Also the difference between linux types and the reason why there's 20 binaries to select from for any piece of software, and how to figure it all out.Hmm, that's more like a guide. But a review of linux for the non-linux savvy would be interesting.
hands - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
You're going to get plenty of comments about how you should try one distro or another. Some people will say that those kinds of comments are should be ignored, and that's sort of true. Very few people new to Linux have the time or motivation to try several different distros. However, each distro has different strengths and weaknesses even though each is Linux. So, even though you should indicate that your evaluation is of Linux in the title, the first paragraph (or two) should clarify the fact that a different distro might present a very different experience from the one evaluated.Due to its popularity (and therefore community support), Ubuntu is a good candidate, arguably the best, for this kind of review. However, after several attempts at using it, I wouldn't recommend it for anyone other than my mother for long term use. It simply lacks a lot of polish in my opinion. So, it never lasts long on one of my computers. I think that openSUSE is far more polished, but it can feel sluggish at times if you don't have the latest hardware. So, there are tradeoffs, but Fedora and Mandriva are also viable options. Xandros used to be a decent recommendation for Windows converts because their file browser was built to work well with Windows and provide a similar experience, but it has kind of been a joke lately (along with Linspire). Other distros are more suited either for more experienced Linux users or very inexperienced computer users.
With respect to which version of Ubuntu should be used if you're committed to that, I would recommend 8.04. More importantly, I would recommend waiting not only until 8.04 has been released, but wait until 8.04 has been out for about a month. There may not be much difference during that month, but I've found that Linux distros are often very good about ironing out serious issues in a very short time if any show up. Additionally, the approach to an Ubuntu LTS release (8.04) is much more like a commercial OS release than their other releases. Though, I still preferred other distros to their last LTS release (6.06).
There are lots of opinions about GNOME vs KDE. Ubuntu's strength is GNOME. So, if you're looking at Ubuntu, that's the desktop that will likely come out the best. I personally prefer KDE to GNOME, but whenever I've used Ubuntu, I've chosen GNOME over KDE due to failings in Kubuntu.
KDE 4 looks very promising, but I certainly wouldn't recommend trying it until KDE 4.1 is released. KDE 4.0 isn't really meant for use by anyone other than developers, or at the very least, experienced users.
arcturion - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
is ubuntu considered the best in end user experience and in user friendliness? i have only used it on a ps3 and i wont comment.you should probably look at what most people use their pc's for.
mine is very simple, web browsing, downloading , skype, bittorrent and the ability to watch all those torrents be it xvid divx MKV etc in the best quality. can you get ffdshow for linux? a quality h264/avc decoder supporting dual core? - i am using powerdvds filter.
then theres dvd and hddvd. i cant see anything besting xp in the ease of use and quality of media or the simplicity in installing new drivers. i am not interested in media centre features like tv tuners or epg
efc321 - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
If you are going to use Ubuntu then please make the title Ubuntu Linux review. Saying that Ubuntu represents Linux is like saying that Windows XP is Windows. I can hear the flamers now for what I am about to say. Please before you write about Ubuntu or as you are writing about Ubuntu write a companion artical by a differnt author on a couple of other Linux distros and how they differ from Ubntu. Ubuntu is not allways the best choice or best working desktop Linux. Ubuntu may not load on your particular computer at all. So a new person will try the live disk and it dose not work. So they say all Linux is bad and dose not work or too hard. So again a companion artical on two other flavors of linux, the differnce between KDE and Gnome and how to find other distros. Buy the way my choice for the other two distros for a fast look at are PClinuxOS (#1 on distrowatch) and Open SUSE (#3 on Distrowatch). Ubuntu is #2.Now on to your real question. When to start. NOW. Linux like all things computers. It never stands still. Just pick the best equipment at your price point and jump in. Upgrading your computer or operating system is a on going process if you wish to be current. So writing the artical during an upgrade period is perfect.
The idea of a main stream site posting articals about Linux is great. Just don't forget dual booting for Windows games
and that Ubuntu is not the only Linux in town.
Ryan Smith - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
Don't worry, we'll make sure that it's clear that it's an Ubuntu review.4Linux - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
I have used Linux on and off for awhile. Whenever I need to get a project done I return to a flavor of windows to "just get it done".Show me that I'm wrong and linux can be used for all things needed.
Thanks
rossmcdonald - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
I think a version bridging article would be good too.What I would really be interested to see in this article is more info on.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3108">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3108
Maybe some information on multiple monitor support too (non clone view). Its possible just not easy. I'm sure most of us use extended desktops on our Windows installations.
malrost - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
I recommend you do it ASAP.A novice user such as yourself won't be able to provide much valuable insight into how the next Ubuntu version compares with the current version. No offense meant; the differences are subtle and take some familiarity to recognize.
I suspect that most of the issues you will have will be very similar to those encountered by any other new Ubuntu user for the last several versions.
Just make sure you identify clearly identify the version in the review, and your knowledge that by the time we see it the next one will already be available. If your review came out 3 or more months after a more recent version was released, than it would cross the line of being uselessly out-of-date.
nubie - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
I don't really mind if you do it now, or later. Except for one thing: Multi-user support. Apparently the latest version (8.04) is going to be "long-support", for three years only bugfixes will be made. But the best part is support for multiple users (simultaneous and independent, with their own desktop and keyboard/mouse), with only a configuration file modification.Let's face it, PC's nowadays are hard to fully use: Quad Cores, Dual output video cards, TWO dual output video cards. USB has had the ability to put 100's of keyboards and mice on a single PC for at least 10 years. Now you can share a PC (even a used one), between 2 or 3 people who just want to browse the web or do some word processing, even play some simple games.
http://netpatia.blogspot.com/2008/01/coming-soon-m...">http://netpatia.blogspot.com/2008/01/coming-soon-m...
Even if you only review the current Ubuntu, at least use the experience garnered to attempt a review on multi-user systems. It seems that all of the attention is focused on the acquisition of more computing power, not logical distribution of the power.
Microsoft is not going to embrace multi-person PC's anytime soon (and certainly not without a $xx or more charge per head), so alternative Operating systems are needed. Many OEMs, such as ASUS are realizing this, the Eeepc and some of their High-end boards come with Linux embedded (ostensibly to "browse the web in 5 seconds", but they aren't fooling anyone, MS can't do it. How long until we see MS hyping a "new paradigm of web usefulness" and trying to offer a lame version of this feature?)