Ubuntu

Ubuntu Linux 6.06 --

Ubuntu is one of the fastest growing Linux distros out today, probably one of the most trendy as well. RedHat and SuSe don't really have anything to worry about with this latest release replacing their server market. Microsoft, on the other hand, should be getting a little bit worried about the, "just know a little bit, but tired of paying for the least Windows," crowd, cuz baby, this distro will win 'em over. Well . . . it could.

I downloaded this update to the Ubuntu offerings at the very time that Slashdot posted that it was on the mirrors, burned it to CD, and cranked 'er up. The Ubuntu have stepped ahead of the crouw with the ease of the installation. They' have combined the Live CD and the installation CD onto one media. One boots to the CD and finds oneself in a real live, fully functional Linux environment complete with gnome. A convenient icon on the desktop reads Install and a simple double-click fires off the installation.


The installation is fully graphic and extremely easy. The ease of the installation process is a definite turn-on for the inexperienced Linux novice. It walks you through setting up a new user, setting local variables, partitioning the hard disk, and oddly mounting the disks detected on the system. While it isn't obvious how to tell the boot loader to install to the mbr or customize the boot loader, the installer will detect other OSs and automatically configure the menu.lst. While a huge advantage for a novice, the new installer is a little bit too automatic for a more seasoned Linux vet. The installer does everything for you, including select the packages you want. I found that to be a little annoying. But hey that's the point of the system, ease of use.

A couple of problems I've encountered have been to do with dual display and firefox java and flash plugins not installing automatically. Each of these problems has a basis in other late releases of Linux like Fedora. The dual head problem can be fixed with a BIOS tweak, making the PCI video card the primary and the AGP secondary. As far as I can tell it's a problem with xorg 7 or so. Also, the flash plugins and java plugin come with instruction for installing manually,s o nothing terrible there.

So far Ubuntu is all I expected as far as stability. They've included the same quality they've always had, and gave 6.06 a little spit-shine while they were at it. The system is no enterprise server, but it's not supposed to be. It is, however, a Windows replacement OS. With 3 full years of support, the sleek design, and the reliability Ubuntu brings a wonderful product and a strong competitor to the market. Oh and did I mention that it's free!!