has anyone here heard of ubuntu and mark shuttleworth?

[Gato Moteado]

it's a great alternative to microsoft windows and
microsoft office and it's all completely free. it's
basically debian linux with a windows-like skin and a
whole bunch of great applications. it has an office
suite that includes alternatives to word, excel,
powerpoint, etc....they're all easy to use and they
can load and save files in the standard microsoft
office formats. the word processor allows you to save
documents as PDFs as well. it also comes with about
1000 other applications in the standard installation.
GIMP, an open source version of photoshop is
included....i have been using it and although it
doesn't have all the functionality of photoshop, it's
getting there. it's pretty close.

i wiped out windows on one of my PCs and installed
ubuntu(the entire installation fits on one CD). it
installed much more easily than windows and it booted
up and configured itself to my network without my
help. it uses firefox instead of explorer, which is a
much more stable and secure browser.

the guy responsible for ubuntu is mark shuttleworth.
he's the south african guy that became a billionaire
at age 25 by designing the secure system for internet
transactions. he tried to get nasa to send him to the
space station a couple years ago and when they
refused, he asked the russians and they sent him there
for $20 million. he got into some sort of a squabble
with bill gates and now he's determined to wipe out
microsoft and provide the world with free software.
he's concentrating on getting the third world and
developing nations connected to the web and that's why
he developed ubuntu. other countries have already
caught on too....i was told that spain has already started pushing
to make ubuntu
the country's standard OS and they are getting rid of
windows at an alarming rate.

if i were bill gates, i would definitely be worried
right now.

here's the ubuntu website: http://ubuntu.com/
you can download the "live" CD image
which will allow you to try out ubuntu without
installing it on your PC (it will boot up and run
right off the cd). the "live" CD will also let you
install the office suite on your windows system if you
want. download the "install" CD image if you want to
try out the whole system on a PC.

if you get a chance, check out this bio of mark
shuttleworth: http://markshuttleworth.com/bio.html

pass it on!

[NorthernSpy]

1. yup -- heard of it!

Meant to send away for the CD, but kinda forgot.

I'll do it now.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Emailed this thread to my husband

He turned me on to Firefox a while back, and I like it better than Explorer. If this software is as good as you say, I'll be willing to change over to it.

[Gato Moteado]

4. so far it's proven to be awesome

it's got an open source alternative to quarkxpress called scribus and it's installation package is included in the system. it also comes with GAIM, which is an IM program that let's you manage all your messaging programs in one centralized UI.

[jim3775]

3. Yes and yes, but I wouldn't recommend Ubuntu as an OS

I would recommend the just-released SUSE 10.0. It has a better design, its easier to use as a desktop, its more robust and full-featured, easier install, better configuration tool, nicer look and better hardware recognition.

I was impressed with Ubuntu but SUSE 10 is superior as a windows replacement.

It's easier to set-up an internet connection (especially ADSL, no pppoeconf), it's easier to install packages with SUSE (no apt-get), it's easier to install updates with SUSE. And is MUCH MUCH easier for newbies to get into.

http://www.opensuse.org/Welcome_to_openSUSE.org

[hobbit709]

6. The problem with SUSE is

it's now owned by Novell. When they took it over they wanted to start charging as much as microshaft.

[jim3775]

8. Maybe for enterprise stuff but the regular OS is still free

as in beer.

There is no charge for the new version.
http://www.opensuse.org/Download

[Gato Moteado]

12. SUSE is great....probably my favorite linux distrobution.....

....but the installs were not that great in the past when i worked with it. i had problems in the past with it on several PCs.

the reason i like ubuntu right now is that shuttleworth is behind it. he's an incredible guy and his projects are very well funded. the ubuntu install is the easiest of any linux installation i've tried.

by the way, do you know if SuSE 10.0 is available for sun sparc platform? i've got 5 beefed up sparcs laying around waiting for something to do.

[longship]

22. SuSE is very good.

But I switched from SuSE to get better package management. I now have standardized on the Debian version (apt-get). It is more intelligent than RPM in handling complex tasks like sorting out updates and upgrades. Plus you almost never have a problem which has been termed "RPM Hell" where you get locked into an impossible upgrade position. Apt-get just sorts it out.

But for neophytes, almost any of the big Linux distributions would be fine. It's all a matter of choice. SuSE is still an excellent distribution and many users will never experience the conditions necessary to trigger "RPM Hell". I would place SuSE as better than the Red Hat distributions, but not as good as some of the Debian-based distributions. These differences are subtle, though.

The stable Debian release has thousands and thousands of packages in its repository, probably more than any other distribution. I know this to be well more than 10,000 packages! But not everybody is ready for Debian.

I've fallen in love with Gentoo, which is basically a "do everything manually" distribution. Not for the feint of heart, but I have two Gentoo boxes running, both very stable. All packages are compiled from source with custom kernel and custom optimized compile options. Pretty tricky, so you've gotta be experienced if you're going to go Gentoo. Nice for us confirmed reductionists, though. :-)

[McKenzie]

5. Xandros is a good distro for those used to Windblows

it comes with Open Office bundled in and a good firewall (I use Firestarter though on my Linux machine)Open Office has cross platform functionality too.

Sigh, wtf am I still using Micro$oft?

[China_cat]

7. Sigh, wtf am I still using Micro$oft?

for the same reason I am...nothing I need to work with has a Linux port and I can't afford the several thousand dollars worth of new software to replace the ones that do. Hell, by the time I discovered Macs I had too much of a software investment to switch hardware even though there are MAC ports for all but about 2 of my programs.

I've got a machine here with Ubuntu on it. And it's absolutely no good to me as a work machine.

[McKenzie]

10. you are bang on the nail there...I thought about a Mac

btw, but the cost issue put me off it and I know zilch about Macs anyway. My graphics team use G5's and they rave about them.

[China_cat]

14. If I ever hit the lottery

:)

Macs will make up the bulk of computers in this house (I do a lot of graphic work) and there'll be no problem about affording the new software.

I don't see any problem with a switchover to a Mac. I went from a Commodore 64 to a PC with no instructions and no problems. Using the Linux on the other machine is no problem. If you don't want your work going anywhere else but that particular machine.

[Gato Moteado]

15. just curious.....

what applications are you using that you can't find a suitable open source alternative?

[China_cat]

16. Quite a few 3d apps.

There is NOTHING comparable to World Builder, for instance. Yes you could get the Sun versions of Maya or Lightwave but that would also entail getting whole new hardware that wouldn't run any other OS.

And, no matter what you say, GIMP is NOT an alternative to Illustrator or Corel Draw or Macromedia Freehand.

[Solon]

23. There's a Linux version of Maya now...

Just an FYI.

http://cgw.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=Articles&Subsection=Display&ARTICLE_ID=118664

[mrfrapp]

25. Vector Editors

"GIMP is NOT an alternative to Illustrator or Corel Draw or Macromedia Freehand."

You're comparing apples to oranges, The Gimp is not meant to be an alternative to those programs. Inkscape is a good vector editor and may or may not be suitable for your needs. Also, Xara X is in the process of being ported and open sourced.

[McKenzie]

17. graphics mainly

I work in Urban Design and Architectural Conservation. I get Autocad files sent to me at home and I don't know of any proggie that will convert the files.

And I agree with the other poster about The Gimp...Corel knocks it into a cocked hat.

[Gato Moteado]

18. bummer!

yeah, gimp is not there yet. i have faith it will be. right now it's probably unfair to compare it (a free tool) to packages costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. but it will get there.

look at MySQL. plenty of companies are dumping oracle or MSSQL for it.

[longship]

21. SQL alternative

PostgreSQL is a great alternative to MySQL although both work great. With Linux you almost always have choices. For databases there's many choices, including all the major commercial entries. MySQL and PostgreSQL are the two big free ones with many of the same features. For simpler data structures Berkeley DB (from SleepyCat) is an excellent thin, non-SQL alternative. Berkeley DB is lightning fast and features some very high level features, like full transaction processing. Of course, Berkeley DB is entirely free as well.

[mrfrapp]

26. BerkeleyDB vs. SQLite

BerkeleyDB is great but depending on your needs SQLite may be a better solution. It's smaller than BerkeleyDB and supports SQL92. It does have definate disadvantages when compared to BerkeleyDB but I've not really found them to be a problem.

[longship]

28. SQLite a good choice, too.

nt

[longship]

9. I've been using Linux for almost ten years.

Great system. I now have seven machines running it on my home/business network. Everybody in the family uses only Linux. Stable and reliable as anything. Five of the machines are *never* rebooted or shut down.

Ubuntu is a great distribution and Shuttleworth is a visionary who knows what he's going for.

[peacetalksforall]

11. This is inspiring -

"...and now he's determined to wipe out
microsoft and provide the world with free software.
he's concentrating on getting the third world and
developing nations connected to the web and that's why
he developed ubuntu."

Are any of the 'zines reviewing this? I'd like to read more of the negatives.

Is it easy for someone who doesn't want to spend two extra minutes stumped, guessing, searching, calling to get past a roadblock. I am not challenged by being a pc techie since I have enough of being stumped in my interest area.

Thanks for posting this.

I'd like to use a system that is safe from spying by the Poindexter and Echelon boys. I don't trust Gates, but don't know if my declaration is fully justified. It is a crazy world that we have to investigate who is who politically and ideologically before we buy or get something for nothing.

Congratulations to Mr. Shuttleworth.

[Gato Moteado]

13. fyi

from what i know of mark shuttleworth (and i've spoken to some of his friends and associates), he is no fan of bush and the repubs.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. He's following in Richard Stallman's tracks a bit there

And, of course, Debian is an FSF project.

Stallman's been preaching the free software gospel in places like India and third-world countries for years now. Made Microsoft uber-nervous.

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. Just hearing about Linux distros now?

That's good, though.

Keep rockin' the penguin, yo.

[Solon]

24. I love it, it just works...

even better to set up than Windows, shorter time too! For example, I have an AMD AthalonXP, my biggest problems with Windows XP are setting up the drivers for my Nvidia GeForce4 and SBLIVE! card. Have to hunt down the disks, or search the internet, etc. Reboot like 2 times, and had to tweak my sound card, just to get it all the work. In Ubuntu, however, sound card worked right out of the box, and it was as simple as looking in Synaptic and, get the Nvidia driver, type in "sudo nvidia-glx enable" in the terminal, hit ctrl-alt-backspace to restart X, login and DONE!

My onboard ethernet works, my weird assed discount usb internet cam works, and never had to pull out any disk but the ubuntu disk it booted from. Took me about a TOTAL of a half hour to install it completely, ready to go, whereas for Windows XP it was more like an hour and a half. Why the installer in windows is so freaking slow, I don't know, and why the hell does it take so long for the CD to BOOT!!!!

[lateo]

27. Ubuntu is my favorite Linux distro.

Finally someone brought Debian to the masses. :)