First look at Ubuntu
I installed Ubuntu Linux on a spare partition on my laptop. I like it. Mary installed Ubuntu too, and also likes it.
At this point it seems too good to be true: Debian with less bullshit. No awful dselect installer. No long-running flamewars that resemble primary school lunchtime or Parliamentary Question Time.
I was going to say "Debian under adult supervision", but that's too harsh. There are some great responsible, mature and talented people working on Debian, but for some reason their process or culture often lets them down. Exhibit 1, debian-devel. Having a benevolent dictator may be an improvement.
It looks like the installer has a way to go, but even now it's easier than the Windows installer, and roughly as easy (though less pretty) than the Mac installer. I hadn't even noticed that it automatically detected my video card without asking. Wow. "It just works."
It didn't detect my Compaq Evo N410c laptop's wierd Orinoco-USB wireless card, but since that needs a driver built from CVS (gar) I can't really blame them. I haven't tried suspend.
I had been running Gentoo on that machine so as to get more recent packages and to avoid some of the annoying parts of Debian. The Ubuntu install process is approximately fifty times faster than Gentoo, both in elapsed time and in number of keystrokes. I don't think I'm exaggerating.
I installed the somewhat obscure darcs package by enabling the "Universe" dpkg source, and clicking through Synaptic. It seems to show building on Debian's massive package base is a good idea...
So, hearty congratulations to the Ubuntu team. What's next?
[ps: "It just works" is an interesting ambiguity, but I meant it in the positive sense.]
Update: jdub writes that hoary hedgehogs are next. (Naturally.)
I suppose what I really meant to ask is, will Ubuntu make a long-term sustainable business out of releasing a no-strings-attached free software distribution? There are some grounds for hope.
posted Wed 22 Sep 2004 in /software/ubuntu | link
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