Review: Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Hardy Heron

[.Maleficus.]

Well, you can do 'lspci' from the command line, or open up System > Administration > System Monitor for the Windows type task manager (resources, stuff like that).

[Killa_Ape]

Liked the review, I am looking for a cheap laptop now to have it as my work computer (word processing, small GIMP usage, videos/music) and run ubuntu/xubuntu, was wondering what kind of laptop I should be looking for and if it was easier for setting up depending on brand.

edit: why == what, can't believe I didn't catch that on the re-read

[.Maleficus.]

Liked the review, I am looking for a cheap laptop now to have it as my work computer (word processing, small GIMP usage, videos/music) and run ubuntu/xubuntu, was wondering why kind of laptop I should be looking for and if it was easier for setting up depending on brand.

That's a hard one. I would personally get a Dell (I mean, Dell even makes laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled!) but it depends on preference. You could have hardware trouble any way you go. I'd just find one you like, find the specs and search Google for it's compatibility.

[Drum Thumper]

Liked the review, I am looking for a cheap laptop now to have it as my work computer (word processing, small GIMP usage, videos/music) and run ubuntu/xubuntu, was wondering why kind of laptop I should be looking for and if it was easier for setting up depending on brand.

I'd recommend the Xubuntu derivative. It's got a smaller RAM requirement.

[jbaldwinroberts]

Anyone know how to get webcams working in aMSN. I follow through the setup but it then crashes when i press finish. Ill have a look on the ubuntu forms.

Thanks
Joe

[Killa_Ape]

I ordered a Toshiba Satellite, it'll do what I need and it sounds like it'll be a slight challenge getting everything to work, but where's the fun if it's too easy ;p Havn't used Ubuntu in a while so it'll be a good learning experience.

[chaksq]

I just installed Xubuntu 8.04 on my IBM ThinkPad T20. This works amazing, quick boot considering I have 256mb of RAM and a 700mhz PIII. I have full use of my wireless card, haven't tested the range yet, it's practically sitting on my router right now. I had installed Fedora 8 once before on this machine partly because I think it uses a restricted driver which Ubuntu and it's official derivatives now support, don't ever expect to find restricted drivers in Fedora, their usage violates the principles of Fedora. Nothing against Fedora I admire their objectives but they do get in the way of some out of the box functionality for new users.

I did install directly to the computer not on top of Windows (which I deleted entirely) so I can't comment on that installer. The regular installer works nicely but doesn't allow for package selection which could be a drawback for some users, the text based varient I hear has more options in that regard. I had used an earlier version of the on top of windows installer called wubi before it was integrated into the Ubuntu project. That older version worked but was imperfect, I think it works better now that it has been fully integrated into the Ubuntu project, a friend installed that way with no issues.

Xubuntu uses Xfce not Gnome as the desktop environment, this means it uses less resources and works better on older machines. I had used an earlier version which did not work well at all, very slow. This new version is drastically improved and works significantly better. I now feel Ubuntu has gotten most of the kinks out and is very viable for everyday use on the desktop. I strongly recommend this to anyone looking to breath new life in an old computer. I plan on installing the various Ubuntu distros on a variety of my hardware and test how well it runs on various hardware and configurations. If you are wary of Linux try and of the desktop edition install disks, they all feature the ability to boot from live CD without changing your computer so you can see how well it works.

Edit:

[Quakken]

I decided to get rid of it, for now. As in, until I can find a driver for my sound setup (darn you open source community for not doing your job!).

It was a great experience, the windows installer is a piece of glory, and if you turn on "excess visual effects" or something to that resolve, your windows will be... squishy. And bendy, and such. It's awesome.

I didn't find something on it that I couldn't do in windows, and if there was a sound driver for my m-audio box, I would probably be using right now. Oh well. Next computer, I'll get a cheapo sound card to stick in there for it to use. I have one, but my computer is under my desk and I would have to move all my junk around to change my headphones from my computer to my m-audio box every time I had to use windows. Maybe after I get a new computer, I could use pure-ubuntu (or some other linux) on this one for websurfing and file-serverage, as well as have fully pimped out ubuntu on my new computer just for that also.

[The_Crippler]

Oh, this is just a strange meeting of worlds for me...Someone got Ubuntu in my TBCS...someone got TBCS in my Ubuntu.


My short two cents on this release:

Some networking and mounting procedures that used to be automatic don't seem to be there any more. On the other hand, wireless on my laptop rocks. Also, a lot of the desktop effects wouldn't work with the video card in my laptop in past versions - now they work out of the box.


Common line: Linux isn't ready for the desk top.

I have found this to be 50% true and 50% false.

Gaming? Joe-User accessible? Not so much. Yes, games can work in WINE, but not well. Yes, a Joe-User can do basic tasks with no problems - but not power user stuff like they can in Windows.

Yes: Multimedia, true power-users, office work, utility programs. All very much in Ubuntu's element. And, if set up well, Joe-User could actually be perfectly happy using it...but someone knowledgeable should set it up.

[Dane Bramage]

hey y'all... i don't pretend to know much about this kind of stuff, but this article was forwarded to me from a buddy over at microsoft...

http://www.dailytech.com/Huge+Hole+i...ticle11869.htm

Seems they found a big 'ole hole in some Linux distro packages. this isn't a diss... just an FYI for those of you that use Ubuntu as a server.