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September 30, 2005 5:24 AM PDT
Ubuntu carves niche in Linux landscape
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longer life span for support services than today's 18-month duration.
It also brings Ubuntu closer to major commercial Linux products. Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Suse Linux Enterprise Server, for example, get major updates about every year and a half so that customers and business partners don't have to constantly adapt. Those versions have a major advantage Ubuntu still lacks: certification for use with server hardware and software from computing powers such as Oracle, SAP, IBM and Dell.
Friction
While Ubuntu has helped Debian, it hasn't won universal acclaim in that domain.
One significant objection comes from Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian, chief strategy officer of a start-up called Progeny that is commercializing Debian and organizer of the Debian Common Core Alliance, an effort to make different Debian-based distributions compatible. Ubuntu isn't a DCCA member.
"I'm both positive and negative on Ubuntu," Murdock said. The positive: "It's an excellent distribution, and its success is without question growing the Debian universe." But the negative: "They chose to diverge from Debian rather than to extend the standard Debian core, leading to the inevitable compatibility problems."
Waugh is unimpressed by the DCCA. "Nothing demonstrates it's a compelling answer to the consortia that have failed in the past. We don't think that's going to work," he said.
Murdock, however, said he wishes Ubuntu was helping Debian more directly. "A lot of energy that might otherwise be directed at Debian proper is instead being directed at a Debian derivative, so it's harder to share their work than it otherwise might be," he said.
But Debian has problems as a starting point, Waugh said, because it's so broad and includes so many packages. And, he added, "You can't go walking into a project like Debian that has existed for so long, has its culture, its community and its infrastructure, and say, 'Here's how we're going to do it.'"
O'Grady isn't surprised there's friction as Ubuntu steals the thunder. "Ubuntu is rapidly becoming a more popular name than Debian," he said.
Developer's-eye view
Asked about their motivations for participating in Ubuntu, developers are quick to mention the freedoms that come with open-source software.
"I was drawn to it as a natural step in my increasing commitment to open source, after having been active as a Debian developer for about five years prior. Ubuntu represented a chance to explore many new directions in building an open-source operating system," Ubuntu Chief Technology Officer Matt Zimmerman said.
Adds Waugh, "A lot of people start using this because it's free, as in free beer, then they suddenly realize the reason it works so well is it's free, as in free speech."
There are some lumps, though. "Perhaps the worst of Ubuntu is that we are still a relatively young project, and having moved so quickly to the forefront of Linux, it's been a challenge to stay focused on our vision," Zimmerman said. "There is now a vast user community around Ubuntu, full of energy and excitement about a wide variety of different ideas, while realistically we can only pursue some of these at once."
And Sam Pohlenz, who works on Ubuntu's graphical configuration tools, isn't happy about support for audio and video software whose licensing rules prohibit their use as open-source software.
"One thing that plagues almost all Linux distributions is multimedia support 'out of the box,'" he said. Packages can be installed later, but "these legal issues are a rather large stumbling block for growing distributions such as Ubuntu," Pohlenz said.
Jonathan Riddell got involved when he saw a need to make the KDE user interface an alternative to the default, GNOME. The KDE version is an offshoot of the regular Ubuntu code base but is available separately in a project called Kubuntu.
"Nobody was doing good KDE support for Ubuntu," Riddell said. "Since Ubuntu was obviously going to be an important distribution, I felt it important that KDE should be well-supported on it."
And for now at least, idealism remains a powerful force within the project. When the early organizers were looking for a project name, Shuttleworth suggested Ubuntu.
"He said it's this African word that means 'I am because we are.' It focuses on community. It's all about sharing and consensus," Waugh said. "Everyone in the room was just gobsmacked because it really expressed what we believed as free-software and open-source contributors."
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That site is exactly to the point. Also, if you are too lazy to copy paste from ubuntuguide.org to get flash, java, mp3 support etc. up and running look no further than the Ubuntu Add-on CD found here
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=150088&postcount=1" target="_newWindow">http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=150088&postcount=1</a>
Install Ubuntu, put in the add on CD, run "sudo sh $HOME/ug-install.sh -auto" and you are done.
That is the fastest path to a working desktop available anywhere.
Anyway, If their install was more user friendly, they would have lot more users then they have now.
That site is exactly to the point. Also, if you are too lazy to copy paste from ubuntuguide.org to get flash, java, mp3 support etc. up and running look no further than the Ubuntu Add-on CD found here
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=150088&postcount=1" target="_newWindow">http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=150088&postcount=1</a>
Install Ubuntu, put in the add on CD, run "sudo sh $HOME/ug-install.sh -auto" and you are done.
That is the fastest path to a working desktop available anywhere.
Anyway, If their install was more user friendly, they would have lot more users then they have now.
I like the package manager and the fact that it doesn't install everything under the sun by default. I like that I can download just about anything directly from the package manager. I also find it to be faster than SuSe in many ways.
I have to admit I think I really like the debian offshoots better than the others. This is my second debian offshoot and I really like it. It's probably the only Linux distro I haven't deleted 10 times trying to get it right.
I like the package manager and the fact that it doesn't install everything under the sun by default. I like that I can download just about anything directly from the package manager. I also find it to be faster than SuSe in many ways.
I have to admit I think I really like the debian offshoots better than the others. This is my second debian offshoot and I really like it. It's probably the only Linux distro I haven't deleted 10 times trying to get it right.
work for.
Free, runs on lower powered machines and really simple to use...
What more could I ask.
work for.
Free, runs on lower powered machines and really simple to use...
What more could I ask.
Personally if I were in the software development business that's what I would do. I would target the major players and only support those products. I would worry about trying to make my application work on every possible linux distro.
I think I would support RedHat, SuSe, and Ubuntu?. The reason I say Ubuntu is that I really like the direction Ubuntu is going. It sounds to me that they are trying to create a usuable and clutter free distro.
i hope one day you can use linux and enjoy it for what it is instead of using it looking for windows. then again, you can always try linspire ;)
Personally if I were in the software development business that's what I would do. I would target the major players and only support those products. I would worry about trying to make my application work on every possible linux distro.
I think I would support RedHat, SuSe, and Ubuntu?. The reason I say Ubuntu is that I really like the direction Ubuntu is going. It sounds to me that they are trying to create a usuable and clutter free distro.
i hope one day you can use linux and enjoy it for what it is instead of using it looking for windows. then again, you can always try linspire ;)
computer user who just migrated to it from Windows and loving it.
I have to say Ubuntu is really, really nice. I come from the Redhat/
Fedora camp and I'll have to admit that Ubuntu is catching up very
quickly to the ranks of Fedora. It still lacks some plug-n-play that
is found in distros like Fedora, but one thing Ubuntu has over a lot
of other distros is the attention-to-detail process making the
install very clean and elegant . I like the "community spirit" behind
Ubuntu and that is a major selling point for me.
computer user who just migrated to it from Windows and loving it.
I have to say Ubuntu is really, really nice. I come from the Redhat/
Fedora camp and I'll have to admit that Ubuntu is catching up very
quickly to the ranks of Fedora. It still lacks some plug-n-play that
is found in distros like Fedora, but one thing Ubuntu has over a lot
of other distros is the attention-to-detail process making the
install very clean and elegant . I like the "community spirit" behind
Ubuntu and that is a major selling point for me.
I've checked out KNOPIXX, SUSE, DEBIAN, GENTOO and UBUNTU.
By FAR my favorite ditrobution was/is Ubuntu.
The one current production pc I have runing linux is actually running Gentoo atm, but that's only because I found support for the hardware and apps I wanted to run in nice concise how-to's for that distro.
I keep thinking of scrapping the box and restarting it with Ubuntu and building the support I need in from the ground up as I've cut my teeth more on the core linux operating commands and procedures.
If you are a Windows user looking for a friendly and easy linux distro to transition to, or even just play with for testing sakes, I can recommend Ubuntu above all other distro's I've seen/read about/touched.
Rev
I've checked out KNOPIXX, SUSE, DEBIAN, GENTOO and UBUNTU.
By FAR my favorite ditrobution was/is Ubuntu.
The one current production pc I have runing linux is actually running Gentoo atm, but that's only because I found support for the hardware and apps I wanted to run in nice concise how-to's for that distro.
I keep thinking of scrapping the box and restarting it with Ubuntu and building the support I need in from the ground up as I've cut my teeth more on the core linux operating commands and procedures.
If you are a Windows user looking for a friendly and easy linux distro to transition to, or even just play with for testing sakes, I can recommend Ubuntu above all other distro's I've seen/read about/touched.
Rev
buttons. Be more creative!
close button to the right (instead of the left as standard practice
by Mac OS, Amiga OS, BeOS, CDE etc...) doesn't make it
somehow original, especially since NeXT already had the close
button to the right on NeXTstep. The Windows UI is not all that
original other than a few concepts created by Microsoft built on
other previous ones.
Your suggestion is stuck in the "darn if you do, darn if you
don't"! Most computer users don't want to learn anything new,
so Linux developers (mainly Gnome and KDE) have had to adopt
some Windows-like features and concepts to satisfy those users.
Gnome has finally been pushing its way of doing things with
splitting the Gnome Panel into 2 parts (upper and lower)
providing the user with more flexibility with using the desktop
real estate wisely.
buttons. Be more creative!
close button to the right (instead of the left as standard practice
by Mac OS, Amiga OS, BeOS, CDE etc...) doesn't make it
somehow original, especially since NeXT already had the close
button to the right on NeXTstep. The Windows UI is not all that
original other than a few concepts created by Microsoft built on
other previous ones.
Your suggestion is stuck in the "darn if you do, darn if you
don't"! Most computer users don't want to learn anything new,
so Linux developers (mainly Gnome and KDE) have had to adopt
some Windows-like features and concepts to satisfy those users.
Gnome has finally been pushing its way of doing things with
splitting the Gnome Panel into 2 parts (upper and lower)
providing the user with more flexibility with using the desktop
real estate wisely.
Compared to the other distros, Ubuntu presents a much simpler, cleaner desktop. It's very easy to find what I need on the desktop. The graphical package manager is also a joy to use and makes finding things very easy.
I think Ubuntu's multi-region and accessability supports are also huge pluses.
The biggest con of Ubuntu is also its biggest strength---that it comes reasonably bare-bones. It's great for most common uses, but if you want to do development, system administration or other such tasks, most of the tools just aren't there.
I think a good way to address this would be to have Ubuntu supplemental "task CDs" which have large suites of task-oriented Debian packages on them.
Compared to the other distros, Ubuntu presents a much simpler, cleaner desktop. It's very easy to find what I need on the desktop. The graphical package manager is also a joy to use and makes finding things very easy.
I think Ubuntu's multi-region and accessability supports are also huge pluses.
The biggest con of Ubuntu is also its biggest strength---that it comes reasonably bare-bones. It's great for most common uses, but if you want to do development, system administration or other such tasks, most of the tools just aren't there.
I think a good way to address this would be to have Ubuntu supplemental "task CDs" which have large suites of task-oriented Debian packages on them.
Then I finished my new 64-bit AMD system, and that distro didn't work on my new computer, so I picked up the Ubuntu AMD 64-bit distro as a Live CD. I think it is great. I use it for practically everything except gaming - then I use XP again.
my advice is this: if you are thinking about using linux, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. research the distros, understand what you are looking for. if you want an easier transition with good hardware detection, use SuSE or Fedora Core. from what i've heard ubuntu isn't as good as the above distros, but it's worth a try ;). if you want a stable distro, but don't mind a little hard-work, use debian or one of its derivitives. if you want to jump in at the deep-end but learn alot about linux, and computers in general, you can use slackware or gentoo. both distros are renowned for their speed, but also require users to read the f***ing manual (i'm not kidding about this ;)). there are more distros out there, and alot more information about each of the distros i've already mentioned. so what are you waiting for? get out and search!!
Then I finished my new 64-bit AMD system, and that distro didn't work on my new computer, so I picked up the Ubuntu AMD 64-bit distro as a Live CD. I think it is great. I use it for practically everything except gaming - then I use XP again.
my advice is this: if you are thinking about using linux, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. research the distros, understand what you are looking for. if you want an easier transition with good hardware detection, use SuSE or Fedora Core. from what i've heard ubuntu isn't as good as the above distros, but it's worth a try ;). if you want a stable distro, but don't mind a little hard-work, use debian or one of its derivitives. if you want to jump in at the deep-end but learn alot about linux, and computers in general, you can use slackware or gentoo. both distros are renowned for their speed, but also require users to read the f***ing manual (i'm not kidding about this ;)). there are more distros out there, and alot more information about each of the distros i've already mentioned. so what are you waiting for? get out and search!!
I personally introduced a friend of mine whose faculty only uses Windows, and because of regular crashes that their M$ server had he wasn't a stranger in the Mark Shuttleworth lab. Now Linux is like a religion to him, and he is introducing more and more friends as the lab is not restricted to the Science students, unlike the rest. "Mesh, I feel like I'm control of everything now... I actually understand why I'm whatever I'm doing on my PC... look... I can configure my mail client, gunzip my files and ftp my pictures to my website. Before I could only run spell-check in that white window where I could type my essays - I didn't even know that it was called word. Right now I only run windows as a window within linux and that's when I need to play games". Well, believe it or not even I sometimes ask him for some commands - most recently on how to access my untouched windows hosted Novell Netware account within linux. He didn't know but within a few minutes he already figured it out. So much for a Humanities major.
He's just one example of many of us who are brainwashed in our first year by being only introduced to Windows, which of course "sponsors" our departments. Well, I'm glad that at least now only first years use windows. In fact, they should uninstall it in all the campus machines. Every student will then be conscious again and understand the basics like why they click, login, get viruses, etc and that they don't have to press control-alt-delete anymore, rather than just being clueless puppets who are just being exploited.
Only then we'll say we have a sane community that is moving forward, rather than having proprietery bareers that are leashing development not only in the ICT industry but every other! In fact the only reason why students keep asking simple windows questions is that it is so stupidly simple to do things with it, if they ever work! A student using Ubuntu for the first time will ask: how do I cut a directory and paste in...; you just go like rm -r [directory]. When s/he says the directory is not there anymore you'll go like oh, I thought I said mv... this cutting-pasting concept is confusing me a little, what are we scissoring by the way? then he'll find out about all the commands and what they do. Next time he'll be setting up an auto-responder for you when you go for a vacation. That is a quality student, majoring in law. The world will then move forward.
Tip: Whenever anyone asks you any windows question the answer is start->run->cmd & type: format %systemdrive%
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.ubuntu.com/" target="_newWindow">http://www.ubuntu.com/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/" target="_newWindow">http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.firefox.com/" target="_newWindow">http://www.firefox.com/</a>
I personally introduced a friend of mine whose faculty only uses Windows, and because of regular crashes that their M$ server had he wasn't a stranger in the Mark Shuttleworth lab. Now Linux is like a religion to him, and he is introducing more and more friends as the lab is not restricted to the Science students, unlike the rest. "Mesh, I feel like I'm control of everything now... I actually understand why I'm whatever I'm doing on my PC... look... I can configure my mail client, gunzip my files and ftp my pictures to my website. Before I could only run spell-check in that white window where I could type my essays - I didn't even know that it was called word. Right now I only run windows as a window within linux and that's when I need to play games". Well, believe it or not even I sometimes ask him for some commands - most recently on how to access my untouched windows hosted Novell Netware account within linux. He didn't know but within a few minutes he already figured it out. So much for a Humanities major.
He's just one example of many of us who are brainwashed in our first year by being only introduced to Windows, which of course "sponsors" our departments. Well, I'm glad that at least now only first years use windows. In fact, they should uninstall it in all the campus machines. Every student will then be conscious again and understand the basics like why they click, login, get viruses, etc and that they don't have to press control-alt-delete anymore, rather than just being clueless puppets who are just being exploited.
Only then we'll say we have a sane community that is moving forward, rather than having proprietery bareers that are leashing development not only in the ICT industry but every other! In fact the only reason why students keep asking simple windows questions is that it is so stupidly simple to do things with it, if they ever work! A student using Ubuntu for the first time will ask: how do I cut a directory and paste in...; you just go like rm -r [directory]. When s/he says the directory is not there anymore you'll go like oh, I thought I said mv... this cutting-pasting concept is confusing me a little, what are we scissoring by the way? then he'll find out about all the commands and what they do. Next time he'll be setting up an auto-responder for you when you go for a vacation. That is a quality student, majoring in law. The world will then move forward.
Tip: Whenever anyone asks you any windows question the answer is start->run->cmd & type: format %systemdrive%
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.ubuntu.com/" target="_newWindow">http://www.ubuntu.com/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/" target="_newWindow">http://www.shuttleworthfoundation.org/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.firefox.com/" target="_newWindow">http://www.firefox.com/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/5.10/" target="_newWindow">http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/5.10/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/5.10/" target="_newWindow">http://us.releases.ubuntu.com/releases/5.10/</a>
My hope is that someday one of these companies will create a program like nlite that will allow a Linux distro to be customized without the need for programming.
My hope is that someday one of these companies will create a program like nlite that will allow a Linux distro to be customized without the need for programming.