Frederik
30/01/2010 5:36:02 PM
I think one of the reasons _many_ so called "hard core" linux users (who are really just using GNU running on Linux -- most of them never mess with the kernel directly) see Ubuntu as some what of a bastard (at least in the beginning) is due to the fact that from the start, Ubuntu was a debian based distribution which broke backwards compatibility of packages -- as it grew in popularity this become a problem. All the other Debian based distros did have compatible packages, which was seen as one major strong point for deb (package format) distros over rpm based distros. This reason has of course never been the real reason some dislike ubuntu -- some don't like it because of personal taste (me for instance), others don't like it because of the animosity already existing when they got around to it.
Moreover it seems that the Ubuntu dev team is often given credit for developing new features or fixing bugs in common packages, by the mainstream media (including so called "linux magazines"), even if the Ubuntu devs did nothing but add the features to the OS. I am not saying that the Ubuntu devs are not contributing nor that they should not be credited for their work -- it simply pisses some people off that they get credit for work they didn't do. For a similar situation, check the GNU or Linux articles by Richard Stallman (similar situation).
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Daniel
25/01/2010 2:10:09 PM
I use Ubuntu as my primary OS, but I've used Mepis, PCLinuxOS Gnome Edition, Linux Mint, Mandriva, and a few others. They all have good points (PCLos did amazing things with Synaptic and RPM, but I still remember RPM hell from Mandriva) and bad points, but they're all pretty good as far as I'm concerned. Thus, there's no point in these ridiculous exercises in ego-stroking that is "My distro is best". Suggest what you will to a new linux user, but don't get all hung up on an irrational hatred for one thing over another.
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open
12/11/2009 3:47:00 AM
openSuSe is by far the easiest to install and has the most hardware support. 11.2 is out.
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Magice
25/08/2009 8:53:29 AM
Personally, I think there are two classes of GNU/Linux users. One consists of more, you know, hackery users (I wish to use the world "sophisticated", but it sounds too big); the other consists of more "please make it just work" users. Now, the situation is totally different in Windows and Mac OS. When is the last time you see a Windows user talk realistically about how to improve Windows? Same goes for Mac.
Of course, the first type of users dominant the discussion. Again, if you are the type expecting stuffs to work, you would not likely to talk about improve stuffs, since, well, don't fix what works. Thus, when we talk about "the best distros", soon enough it will bog down to very technical details (soon = after the whining of "I use such and such and it refuse to work"; and into, "after 2 hours of tweaking xorg.conf and trying to recompile the whole thing, it is still not working).
In that case, well, what do you expect? The users of each distro use them because they find their choice easy to configure. I find RHEL/Fedora to be intuitive, so I use them; my friends like Debian, so they use it. Is there one better than the other? I can list some (dis)advantages, but they are biases. Nothing is perfect.
Frankly, I like these discussions. True, one will end up wounding a bit, but we learn. Remember rpm hell? I don't. Why? RH/Fedora learned from Debian. Why? Flame. Or, Fedora often includes stuffs that will eventually migrate to other places. Of course, Fedora users like myself will brag about our bleeding edge (and get bleeding, of course). You, Debian users, learn it. And they do.
Flame, thus, is a good thing. We should try to understand and expand, not try to silent people, eh?
With all of that said, Ubuntu sucks. At least use Debian, will ya?
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Dario
24/08/2009 3:28:57 AM
but wasn't GNU = Linux(kernel) + Shell + User Apps?
in teory u can install what ubuntu brings by default, on fedora and vice versa.
it's like selling soup, u can sell minestrone soup or vegetable soup, but it's still soup, y can add one's ingredients to the other and have the best from both soups ^_^
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LinuxLover
24/08/2009 1:09:42 AM
Personally, for me, I hate how the users and the company, itself, all the way up to the owner, Mark Shuttleworth, obnoxiously omits the fact that Ubuntu is Linux and supplants Ubuntu for the very word Linux every chance they can. This is as if Ubuntu is something more than Linux, or something somewhat far beyond mere run of the mill distros. It's this arrogance that turns me off.
I think Ubuntu, in and of itself, is a fine distro. It's not perfect, and neither is any other distro. However, I highly disagree that it's a distro for beginners. Yes, it installs easy. But, when something goes wrong, it takes some research and some CLI work and maybe even some file hacking to straighten out. This is not easy for a new user. New users are far better off starting with Mandriva, which has a suite of apps wrapped in the Mandriva Control Center that do this kind of work for you in a simple GUI that users coming from either Windows or Mac can relate to. Besides, KDE is much easier to move from Windows and get used to than Gnome.
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Andrew http://www.headshotgamer.com/
23/08/2009 10:03:01 AM
RE: Crumpy - I agree about telling the complete noobs to use Mint, it's still Ubuntu under the hood, but it's more 'out of the box'. If you lump all of the distributions that use Ubuntu as a base together as one massive 'buntu monster, that monster would have one hell of a huge user base (50%+?).
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Crumpy
23/08/2009 9:24:17 AM
It's like one who appreciate good cars and drives a manual.
Someone comes along and also appreciate good cars but drives an auto. All newbies joins in and all praise for the auto version because of its ease of use.
We all are fanboys to an extend and this will never stops :D
As to new users, stop the crap about encouraging them to Ubuntu because of ease of use. That was when Mepis, PClinuxOS, Mint and others doesn't exist.
If you really wants to introduce new users to Linux because of ease of use, just show them to distros that have ALL the codecs installed by DEFAULT.
Fanboys of ubuntu please feel free to flame LOL
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righty.crupps http://gnuboard.blogspot.com
23/08/2009 5:42:14 AM
I use Linux and other Free Software and I am always encouraging others to do so, but I encourage the use of Ubuntu especially. Why, you may ask? I have a large list, but mostly it focuses on the solid and stable Gnome desktop, the growing support for the KDE desktop, and the salvation which are .deb files (meaning that .deb files for Debian normaly work for Debian, and also that .deb files for one release of Ubuntu work for others as well -- no more major issues with upgrades between the different releases). Check out my list at http://tinyurl.com/go-ubuntu I would like to see GNU/Linux succeed on the desktop very much, Ubuntu does just that, fortunately.
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lefty.crupps http://gnuski.blogspot.com
23/08/2009 4:26:21 AM
I use Linux and other Free Software and am always encouraging others to do so, but I discourage the use of Ubuntu myself. Why, you may ask? I have a large list, but mostly it focuses on the lame Gnome desktop, the poor support for the KDE desktop, and the breakage of .deb files (meaning that .deb files for Ubuntu don't work for Debian, and also the .deb files for one release of Ubuntu don't work for others -- causing major issues with upgrades between the frequent releases).
Check out my list at http://tinyurl.com/no-ubuntu I would like to see GNU/Linux succeed on the desktop very much, but not the way Ubuntu goes about it, unfortunately.
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