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Ubuntu 8.10

chillypenguin
Grafter
Posts: 4,729
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Ubuntu 8.10

Remember that Ubuntu 8.10 will be out at the end of the month.  Cheesy

82 REPLIES 82
Santiago
Grafter
Posts: 3,291
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎10-08-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Look who's getting it too!

Heloman
Grafter
Posts: 519
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Why pick out Ubuntu?  Didn't see you mention Mandriva 2009 when it came out recently  Grin
Just been reading the latest, December (yes I said December!) edition of LFX (Linux Format magazine) and your post neatly underlined an article by the owner/operator of tuxmachines.org which bemoaned the fact that Ubuntu had:
" virtually brainwashed a whole generation into thinking that its distribution was the best. It's dominated the press: journalists, bloggers and users were already making the Ubuntu = Linux mistake......
A world where Ubuntu is synonymous with Linux is advantageous for only one company. Everyone else loses. So spread the word: there's more to open source than Ubuntu."
In the past I've mailed both the BBC ("Click") and other media outlets who have suggested people should try Linux and then just mention Ubuntu. From personal experience I know that it's not the simplest distro for a user to start with.
OK. Rant over! I try out all the new distros and I'll certainly try out 8.10. But why don't they offer a colour other than brown  Smiley
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

A little harsh, surely? Chilly simply pointed out that a new version of a popular distribution is imminent. Nobody here is saying that Ubuntu=linux.
chillypenguin
Grafter
Posts: 4,729
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

To be honest I did not see Heloman's post as harsh. But an interesting question, Why Ubuntu?
And not why did I pick to highlight the upcoming release of Ubuntu (because I may currently running Ubuntu.) over Mandiva (Mandrake was my first Linux).
But;
Why does Ubuntu get all the coverage?
Why does it feel like the only Linux that get talked about?
Why does it feel that Ubuntu is the only Linux that gets talked about?
I only tried it because you could not ignore it. And found that there was more packages (and more up to date) in its repositories than CentOS which I was using before.
Also I wanted to have a play with a debian based distribution.
If I required a highly stable distribution with long term support, I would go back to CentOS (RedHat Enterprise Linux).
As for Brown! I could not agree more, I much prefer Blue!!!
So answers on a post card. Why Ubuntu?
Waldo
Grafter
Posts: 473
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Quote from: Heloman
Just been reading the latest, December (yes I said December!) edition of LFX (Linux Format magazine) and your post neatly underlined an article by the owner/operator of tuxmachines.org which bemoaned the fact that Ubuntu had:
" virtually brainwashed a whole generation into thinking that its distribution was the best. It's dominated the press: journalists, bloggers and users were already making the Ubuntu = Linux mistake......
A world where Ubuntu is synonymous with Linux is advantageous for only one company. Everyone else loses. So spread the word: there's more to open source than Ubuntu."

Ah, the joy of irony; just had a look at tuxmachines.org and a list of the top 10 Linux distributions. No prizes for guessing which distro is No. 1 (PCLinuxOS doesn't rate a mention, but don't fret, it's just one person's opinion).
It's certainly true that there's more to open source than Ubuntu - I'm posting this from a FreeBSD box - if one considers that Firefox / Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org and the GIMP are, perhaps, the best-known open source applications, there can be few computer users who don't benefit from it (and Red hat / Novell are probably synonymous with 'enterprise' Linux).
Quote
In the past I've mailed both the BBC ("Click") and other media outlets who have suggested people should try Linux and then just mention Ubuntu.

Invariably, such suggestions are aimed at Windows users. GNU/Linux is all about choice, which tends to confuse Windows users when first faced with a plethora of distributions, window managers, desktop environments, etc.
Quote
From personal experience I know that it's not the simplest distro for a user to start with.

Oh, we know, we know  Roll_eyes
But those who run into difficulty with Ubuntu and seek help, will soon discover there are alternatives (just as you did).
Quote
OK. Rant over! I try out all the new distros and I'll certainly try out 8.10. 

I'll stick with Debian as my distro of choice. In general, there are far more similarities than differences between distributions.
Waldo
Grafter
Posts: 473
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Quote from: chillypenguin
So answers on a post card. Why Ubuntu?

Mark Shuttleworth
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Ubuntu is a well-packaged version of Debian (in my opinion).
If I ever need to install a rpm package, I can always use the Ubution alien package to do this.
Are Red Hat, Suse, Mandriva still overwhelmingly keen to sell "optional" add-on software - for a fee?
Ubuntu does not appear to be doing this.
And I've found it to be far simpler than Red Hat or Mandriva.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Why Ubuntu? For me, I have tried other well known distributions, and Ubuntu has been the easiest to install and get to a position where I could do useful things with it. There are many distributions that I haven't tried, so, who knows, any one of them could be even better, but I would rather spend time getting things done than spending ages installing and configuring different distributions. One of the biggest problems new users have with Linux is installing software. Suse could be a right pain - even with YAST and rpm  I would often get problems with dependencies and spend ages searching for some obscure library to make something work. Synaptic in Ubuntu makes it easy.
It does have its flaws, to be sure. If I want to edit a configuration file I have to go via the command line. Why can't I use the GUI and have it ask me for a password? I have a desktop PC and a lappy running Ubuntu 8.04, and I would like to get simple peer-to-peer filesharing set up. This is a fairly basic thing to want to do, so there should be a simple, intuitive process to set it up. There isn't. OK, I haven't spent much time on it yet, but it doesn't look easy.
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
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Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

You could always do (as I have) allow the GUI to signon as root.
Provided I don't run a web browser whilst signed on as root, I feel pretty safe.
Please note that you will need to use the CLI to set-up root access via the GUI.  Grin Grin Grin
This does not affect your ability to use the CLI.
BTW Have you tried ALT+F2?
This lets you enter a single command, but via the GUI.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Heloman
Grafter
Posts: 519
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Quote from: Denzil
It does have its flaws, to be sure. If I want to edit a configuration file I have to go via the command line. Why can't I use the GUI and have it ask me for a password?

That's one of my biggest annoyances also, Denzil. And one of the reasons I prefer distros such as PCLOS and Mepis where I can login as "root". Another reason I think they are more suitable than Ubuntu for a newbie is that they contain all the essential proprietary (is that the right term?) software, such as Flash, by default. When I tried Ubuntu as my first distro - because of course I had read that it was the best distro for beginners- the installation was fine. But then I then I had to jump through hoops, being a computer and Linux dummy, downloading the necessary software to get things working.
Sorry you thought I was being harsh to Chilly with my first post, and I'm very glad he read it as I intended !
I read his post only minutes after reading the "Ubuntu = Linux" article in LFX, and so was spurred into getting a long-held gripe off my chest  Smiley
Santiago
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Posts: 3,291
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Registered: ‎10-08-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Bear with me while I drag the thread back down to my level.  Huh
When Ubuntu 8.10 is released, is it available as an upgrade to my 8.04 or do I have to do a reinstall with the newer version?
artificer
Grafter
Posts: 1,850
Registered: ‎11-08-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

as far as i am aware only pclinuxos and arch are meta-distros.  with all the others, it's a complete reinstall with each release.
avalon
Grafter
Posts: 361
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

I'd have thought you could just upgrade via the adept package manager.  I upgraded my lappy from kbuntu 7 to Kbuntu 8 using this method and everything worked fine, settings retained, etc.
Of course I'd imaged the partition beforehand just in case it didn't work as well as I hoped. Wink
But I chose Kbuntu rather than Ubuntu as I got along better with the KDE interface.  I have SUSE 9 on my old PC, but after spending quite some time in package dependancy hell trying to install one package I decided to go for Kbuntu and use synaptic for an easier life.
To the linux geeks out there snuffeling out obscure libraries and packages from the far corners of the internet to allow you to install something else - and then discovering you have to find yet another package to allow you to install those ones, and so on - may be a fun pastime, but I have better things to do with my time.
Waldo
Grafter
Posts: 473
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Ubuntu 8.10

Quote from: Santiago
When Ubuntu 8.10 is released, is it available as an upgrade to my 8.04 or do I have to do a reinstall with the newer version?

Any Debian-based distro will allow an upgrade; edit /etc/apt/sources.list to point to the new release and run an apt-get update and apt-get dist-upgrade.
I believe Ubuntu's package manager will inform you that a new release is available and offer the option to upgrade.