See you guys on the torrents,
Ubuntu 7.10 is out today. Codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon" -- in that alliterative fashion that never gets old (yet) -- 7.10 includes the brand new GNOME 2.20 desktop, Compiz Fusion for gee whiz 3D interface effects, desktop search (pictured), fast user switching, Firefox plug-in support, much improved monitor support and configuration (at last), and a whole bunch of other minor tweaks and major improvements. Time will tell if this release proves to be the true commercial OS killer a lot of people are banking on, but there's no denying that Ubuntu Linux provides an increasingly attractive and perpetually free alternative to traditional operating systems and even many Linux desktop distributions. Welcome to the
OS war, Gutsy Gibbon!
[Thanks,
strider_mt2k]
posted Oct 18th 2007 11:01AM
I may just have to replace Fedora 6 with this release. Does it work on older laptops? (As in a single-core Pentium M, >1 gig ram) Or do those "gee wiz" 3d effects cancel that?
I'm sure you can turn that stuff off.
God only knows it would be a disaster if they made that useless eye candy the default as most PCs that run Ubuntu are older machines.
I believe the release notes state that it will detect your computer's resources and disable them if it can't handle them.
Why does it look like windows with a bad gold/brown theme?
This Linux community had a chance to start over with a new OS and this is the best they could come up with?
Ubuntu Feisty Fawn runs great on my Dell 4150, a 2002 vintage Pentium M Laptop. Including very acceptable performance with Beryl, another 3D UI Effects package, that makes it look a lot like Vista with eye candy turned on. I don't know from Compiz Fusion, but it should work fine ...
@Jack: that's one of the many themes available. You can change them in the settings to look like MacOS or Windows if you really want.
Mike, it's similar to Windows for several reason.
1. Adoption for the non-tech elite: Ubuntu sells itself as an attractive alternative to the masses. Being that Windows is what 90 percent of the computer-using public is comfortable with, Ubuntu stands the best chance at adoption by offering something familiar.
2. It doesn't have to look that way: Go to Gnome-Looks.org and see for yourself. You can make the GUI look like nearly anything. I've seen clean desktops that use a series of orb icons to navigate through applications and the file structure. That's the real beauty of Linux. It's not what they give you, it's what you can make.
3. Judge not by a single photo: A lot of Ubuntu is radically different, and actually more intuitive, from Windows. It just takes more than a fleeting glance at a single photo to experience that.
Installed, configured, running smoothly. The graphic effects use the graphics processor, so it won't screw with performance. Also, you can very very easily turn them off
though, they offer productivity advantages too, not just eyecandy.
ey mac users, where are you?.. look, this thing can look cooler than your leopard-to-be... and it's faster... can you believe this?
Surprisingly, unlike vista, it doesn't take a ridiculous machine to handle the graphics effects of compiz. I'm running an Inspiron 5160 with a P4 @ 3.2 and 64mb Geforce go 5200 and I can run any of the effects of compiz with no problem and it doesn't hog all my cpu cycles like vista.
I'm running it on a 1.6GHz Pentium M 725 (Dothan), with 1 GB RAM and a terrible Intel "Extreme" 2 Integrated card. It runs FAST, and the 3D effects work without a hitch or any slowdown at all.
I've only been using Ubuntu for 3 months now, but I regret not switching years back, this is the best computing experience I've ever had.
Cheers to open source!
JackOLantern, it is probably intentional, to ease migration of users. Not everyone likes to see change for the sake of changes, so why change what people know and generally works pretty well. However, for eye candy and actually useful new effects, compiz is pretty good.
I agree completely on the colour scheme though, it makes me feel like I'm inside someone's intestines.
I just installed it on VMWare which has no any 3D accelerator of any sort, it in fact emulates 10 year old PC.
It runs just great, and the effects mode (compiz) was turned off by default since it couldn't find a 3D GPU.
Linus Torvalds the creator or the linux kernal has said that his own family still uses windows. That is very sad. My Mom would use anything I created because she loves me.
The creator of Ubuntu has said he doesn't think linux/Ubuntu is ready for the mainstream.
I love Ubuntu and it works great with my think pad but its not like I will get rid of windows any time soon.
It works great on my intel 300 mhz processor with 512 mbs of ram you should be fine.
this pleases me...
if only adobe would write software for it :(
I find that their neglect provides motivation to independence. If I need something that blender, the GIMP, and inkscape, ktoon, etc. don't have, I'll submit feature requests. Maybe even donate money..
It is in Microsoft and Adobe's best interests to ignore the Linux platform for as long as they can, because it defies their model, and for that matter, everything they stand for.
Or, if they do support it somehow, to do so quietly.
"It is in Microsoft and Adobe's best interests to ignore the Linux platform for as long as they can, because it defies their model, and for that matter, everything they stand for.
Or, if they do support it somehow, to do so quietly."
Former Macromedia (now part of Adobe) released alpha versions of Flash and Dreamweaver on Linux few years ago, they had Wine packed inside, but promised to behave well under Linux.
The interest was low, since back then designers were a tiny minority on Linux.
Few months ago, they announced a beta of the Flex Builder 3 for Linux. It's for developing Flash / AIR applications, hence for developers, and they hope they'll have better luck with this.
If Ubuntu keeps going forward in the fashion we see, I won't be surprised to see Photoshop and Flash running on Ubuntu.
Microsoft does indeed try to keep things Windows-only, since it increases the value of their OS. Adobe has no its own OS, its current strategy is to provide *everything* on multiple platforms, which is why they ported Audition to Mac, and revived Premiere on Mac.
If Linux proves viable, Adobe will be all over it.
And I agree: if Adobe CS happens on Linux, I might as well become a full-time Ubuntu user myself.
"And I agree: if Adobe CS happens on Linux, I might as well become a full-time Ubuntu user myself."
http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=wine+photoshop
Third result is "HOW-TO: Adobe Photoshop CS2 on Ubuntu - 8 steps!" I'm sure I read recently (couple weeks ago, maybe?) on some news sites that Wine had managed to get Photoshop CS or CS2 or something running...
photoshop is good fun and all, but what about illustrator, indesign... dreamweaver and flash?
You should take a look at the Wine Application DB (http://appdb.winehq.org/). It's very impressive, personally. I wouldn't consider switching to Linux without it (Wine, not the Application DB).
see http://favoritepage.net/
Time will tell if this release proves to be the true commercial OS killer a lot of people are banking on"
As long as I have to keep doing things like editing source.list files or having to use a terminal for ANY reason, it isn't going to be close.
Absolutely agree. Linux die hards who think everyone should use the terminal are the people that turn me off from Linux to begin with. In this day and age you should be able to do everything via GUI.
Linux die hards are the reason I don't use linux.
System -> Administration -> Software Sources
Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
But, I do know where you're coming from. Gutsy isn't quite ready for the average Joe Schmoe, unless that Joe has a friend/relative/coworker who uses Linux and is willing to answer basic questions. Yes, I know the Ubuntu support community in forums, on IRC, and on Launchpad is amazing, but I wouldn't expect Joe to know they exist or how to use them.
I'm wondering if the Nvidia 8800 series drivers are included and working
Nothing but trouble here just trying to run (and see) setup with the last two Ubuntu distros
Sorry to say this, but GUI's are not the end-all-beat-all. They have their place (for all the people that can't use a command line, especially), but for many things it makes sense to at least have a command line version available, because it is far more flexible and usually faster.
GUI's dumb things down too much in many cases. Ever notice how the young store clerks can add up two numbers without a calculator. People need to use their brains more.
I'm not saying that we need more command line utilities and fewer GUI's, just that I'd hate to have a contractor build me a house with a nailgun and gorilla glue as their ONLY tools.
I've been using ubuntu for a couple years now, and you really don't need the commandline for too much. I only use the commandline in gutsy because I prefer it these days. Ubuntu is working strongly at removing the dependence of the commandline and making it more gui oriented..
people that don't use the command line should really start, in any OS.. it makes you understand what the system is actually doing..not just what it looks like its doing!
Yay! 1st? I think a free OS is always welcome! But nevertheless linux still needs to stop depending on command line interface if it wants to penetrate the market of us "dumbos"
The nature of the CLI is best suited for
1.automation
2.voice control
GUI is not the end of the computer interface. It is simply the mainstay. Just ask Scotty.
will it automatically pickup my WLAN drivers? and my tvtuner drivers? and my wacom tablet drivers? doubts doubts...
give it a shot, i have been pleasantly surprised with ubuntu in the past. It automatically installed devices that I had problems getting windows to even install with the disk...
You'll be surprised, Edgy Eft (two generations ago) picked up all of my HP DV2035US drivers on install. I know there is tablet functionality with Feisty (one generation ago). The only problem I've had is connecting to wireless networks that run on WPA.
Wifi and WPA support has been greatly improved in Gutsy. Even my iwl4965 chipset, which was released less than 6 months ago, is fully supported.
Almost every piece of hardware except for the oft few work with Fiesty. Man Im a convert,I only go back for a few pieces of software I cant find for Linux.
Ubuntu is a tiny third world country between giants.
Ubuntu would have a chance of making an impact if either there's a choice of not having an operating system built in, or having the option of Ubuntu being built in.
(Or be the back bone of one of the giants. Does FreeBSD on the Mac count?)
You mean like this?
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ubuntu?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
Or this:
http://www.system76.com/
I was talking about all the major computers though. Did anyone really buy these two computers? Anyone?
also, I've seen a computer on Dell with the option of a Windows OS and a Linux OS. The Windows one cost only $50 bucks more. I wouldn't be able to resists and just get that one. If all else I'd reformat the whole thing and install whatever else in there my self. I'm thinking that's what the popular option would be.
Off topic: Wouldn't it be dope if you could install a real version of FreeBSD in a MacBook? I could triboot Windows, OS X, and UNIX. Dopeness!
I'd also need another partition to be able to share files between all OSes. (Probably mostly porn.)
You know you can triple boot Linux/OSX/Windows on a PC...
http://www.osx86project.org/
Whether or not people buy them is a completely different issue from availability. In any case, I would say Dell is a pretty "major computer" as you put it. So don't back down from what you said. You are right; it's key that they are available pre-loaded. And they are.
As to if anyone buys them, I'm writing this from an Ubuntu Dell machine right now, and I would say I'm a satisfied customer.
Also, dont forget about Lenovo. I'd say they are pretty big, wouldnt you:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070806-lenovo-novell-partner-to-offer-linux-on-the-thinkpad.html
I think within the last year or two, the mainstream computer companies & users are finally starting to come around & take notice of Linux. And its gonna take that backing for it to REALLY come outta the basement of nerds & into the offices/studies of Joe Consumer.
Andrew,
thanks for that. I'll try that when I get around to it. I've seen someone mention on one of the fanboy MS vs. Apple threads. I give it a quick look. Thanks.
Marduk,
When I say computer, I meant computer, like different models, particularly the POPULAR ones like the M1330 from Dell. Dell is a company by the way, Dell's not a computer.
And what I say still stands. I'll break it down for you.
Ubuntu isn't built in in to the popular computers. By assuming I meant all computers is a ridiculous assumption.
And people buying them is what this post is all about. What's the point of making something available and no one's (when I say no one, don't assume I meant everyone in the planet, since you like to do that) buying it. You mention availability? Ubuntu is always available. I don't know what your point is. I never said Ubuntu isn't available. Dell isn't the first computer company to shove a Linux OS in a computer either.
Well congrats on being a satisfied Dell customer. It's nice to know that Dell is making cash off something that's given away for free. Well atleast it only happened to a few people, right?
"It's nice to know that Dell is making cash off something that's given away for free. Well at least it only happened to a few people, right?"
Dude, WTF are you talking about?? Dell is a HARDWARE COMPANY. They dont "make money" off of Ubuntu. You buy the hardware & pay LESS since you're not paying for Windows. Dell sells you the hardware, they provide the Ubuntu drivers & ship it pre-loaded so you dont have to mess with all that stuff.
No offense, but are you seriously this ignorant??
Ignorant? Why is it only around $50 cheaper to not get Windows?
How about the tech support? Do you really think you're getting that for free?
Cheaper does not mean free.
N30 your probably the biggest douche of all time
n3o g3o: I have a linux preloaded system76 .. I can't speak for dell's support, but I've had nothing but good experience with tech support for linux with s76. If I can't find it on the forum, one call and I'm fixed. try getting that from windows or apple.. I've tried, it doesn't happen.
I just don't think you can handle the idea of something this good that doesn't cost anything.
I liked Ubuntu on my machines, but finding the right drivers was a pain in the butt, and I'm horrible with their CLI. I agree, it needs to be completely GUI before it can really have a snowballs chance at being an OS Killer.
I completely agree. It amazes me how the Linux faithful continually overlook things like intuitive driver installation and then are shocked that people would choose Windows or OSX over Linux.
Damn you guys are fast! When I opened this link nobody had posted, by the time i managed to type my entry, there were already like five posts! Of course i an typing on my nokia 6600, and i never was the texting type anyway, but I still apologise for my "1st!" rant in my previous post
YEah! Ubuntuuu! Now if only they would release a uPhone!
Does anyone know if there is a linux program that allows windows to be run for Windows-only programs, something like Apple's Bootcamp?
You can dual boot Windows and Linux, which is equivalent to how boot camp works. There are many guides to doing this on the web. Try "dual boot ubuntu and windows" in google, and people are usually willing to help on the #ubuntu irc channel.
You just partition your hard drive and choose which OS you want on boot. Ubuntu installs the GRUB which allows you to choose. Its very easy.
The only driver I need is for my Creative X-Fi Platinum...I have no sound :(
Everything else is great though! I do agree with the previous people who say ditch the command line. I can use it, but most people can't...it would open up many new doors for the Linux distros.
yes, the boot loader for ubuntu allows you to dual boot into windows and linux, but to my understanding you need to either have a free harddrive to install linux to or suffer a complete reformat during the partitioning phase of the install, but I could be wrong.
You could use Wine (http://www.winehq.org/) to use supported programs directly under Ubuntu or install a virtual machine (http://www.vmware.com/) and run a Windows o/s under that (which is more like a Bootcamp environment).
Apple's Bootcamp is basically just dual booting which is something that can be done with Linux
Yes, Wine.
Is google really that hard to use?
You can always try http://www.vmware.com/
check out http://vmware.com/products/desktop_virtualization.html. might not be the exact thing you want, but something similar.
In the latest Ubuntu releases, dual boot is very simple to do, you can choose it during the software install and ubuntu does everything automatically without any problem.
Even my 5 year old cousin can do it.
Tried WINE - anyone ever got the .NET Framework of any flavor to install? There are an awful lot of Windows programs that require that now and unless/until WINE supports the .NET Framework well, they can't run. (And in this case Mono does not support the calls they want to make so Mono is not an option.)
Yes, Gutsy includes KVM. This will allow you to run windows inside of a box like vmware does, but it's free.
It's not as clicky-gui as vmware, but it works well. I have a vitual windows XP machine on my media server.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/KVM
ifyou have windows right now you can download wubi (google it) and it automatically dowloads ubuntu and creates a partiton so you get a dual boot, it is unbelieveably easy, i couldn't use a cli if my life depended on it, almost no input from the user at all needed
wine's pretty good for basic apps
My old laptop hard drive still triple boots OSX/Vista/Feisty Fawn. I liked the open source aspect of Feisty, but when the hd started throwing negative SMART errors, I bought a new drive, installed Vista, and haven't looked back.
WPA replicant never worked on my laptop (Intel 945 chipset) so I could only connect to certain wireless networks. It was ridiculously difficult and inefficient to share the wireless connection with my nic, whereas with Windows I just click a button that says "network bridge". Many things had to be installed at the command line, often requiring 20 minutes of reading/learning. I don't mind reading/learning, as I'm an engineering student, I just don't have enough free time to waste hours a day learning how to use an OS.
I liked Ubuntu, but it'll never replace Vista/XP/OSX.
The next step in attracting new users to ditch the "human" color schemes.
I know it's shallow, but orange and beige don't exactly scream "great alternative! try me!"
I thought I was the only one! The color scheme made me sick after 10 minutes.
You know you can change the color just like every other OS? It actually gives you a bit more flexibility in being able to change the button scheme, borders, etc.
I like Ubuntu Studio's black. With gutsy they did something to it that doesn't look that great, though. Other than that, it's pretty cool.
But yeah, black and blue are awesome.
I use ubuntu, and the theme customization is great, but my point is that screenshots of orange and beige are not inviting at all.
I want to answer some of the questions raised here so let's do it:
1. Yes it will most likely detect your WLAN driver, if you have network access it can also download proprietry parts for the driver if it's supported but needs those parts. Ubuntu 7.10 has a "Restricted Driver Manager" which (based on 100% GUI) will tell you which propritry drivers you need (like Graphics drivers and so on) and automaticaly download them with 1 click. The same goes for codecs.
2. Wether you need to use the commandline heavily depends on what you want to do. If you want to Develop software on it and use different Toolkits you might need to use it, however if you are a Developer that shouldn't be too hard. If you only want to use it for stuff like web surfing, Email, foto editing and managing files you won't need it unless you are one of those unlucky guys/girls who have badly supported hardware.
3. Yes there are Linux programs you can use to run Windows. They are called virtual machines and simulate (using the real hardware) another PC on which you will be able to install Windows.
They are not like Boot Camp, which is nothing else than an installer for Windows + a BIOS for Intel Macs, howver. I don't know wether you know VirtualPC from Microsoft, but it's the same thing.
There are several Linux apps which do this job, among them:
-VirtualBox (OpenSource and easy to install)
-VMWare (very fast but commercial market leader)
-Qemu (Very, very slow but runs also on PowerPC Macs (running Linux or Mac OS X))
4. Yes Ubuntu will run on old hardware, the Eye Candy is only activated when there are the needed driver and hardware features (currently that's only the case for older Radeon cards, Nvidia and Intel ON Board)
Another comment at the side, the basis of Mac OS X is only partly FreeBSD it's more than there is in Windows though (Windows' ping and netstat tools are BSD too)
I personally can't wait for the Horny Hippo release! ;)
Im looking fwd to the Raging Raven
I'm looking forward to what type of Zebra it will be!!! Zippy maybe!
Hope I'm still alive then! Z feels a long way off!
Hey, has Ubuntu stopped being produced for powerpc? I have a G3, yes a G3, sitting around and wouldn't mind turning it into a server in a dark corner. But, I can't seem to find any newly developed OS for it. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Ubuntu is only community supported on PowerPC at the moment, I don't know wether they have released the current version already though.
too bad it ran like trash on my powerbook g4 1.67.
Even if you actually are first, it's still annoying.
I dont know when I will ever install Linux again - Grub stole 3 days of my life and was impossible to remove. Unless Grub is sorted out and more USER FRIENDLY Ubuntu is useless.
I love Linux, but let's be realistic. It's still way too nerdy for most people.
I'm so tired of statements like this: "Time will tell if this release proves to be the true commercial OS killer a lot of people are banking on".
Every year it's the same thing. Is this the year of the Linux desktop? No, it's not. And it won't be for a DAMN long time.
Great news! I've been using Feisty for about 3 months now alongside XP on my Dell 2200 and it makes even the Mac Pro (OS X Tiger) at work look slow (wrt respone and boot times etc) and compiz beats the pants off the eycandy on Mac and vista (though leopard should be about equal with Spaces and such)... only thing now is to figure out how to upgrade it w/o wiping my partitions bya ccident :D
I tried Ubuntu awhile back...it was OK. Two things about it totally turned me off:
- WEP only, no support for WPA
- getting Java to run was a hack and discouraged
If they've fixed both of these issues, it may be worth another look. I hope they have.
A lot of progress has been made on the WIFI side, it just depends if your card has good drivers. Some *cough*Broadcom*cough* are a pain, as they wont release specs.
Since Java has been open sourced it will be a lot easier for distros to include it, although I am not sure if this has filtered down yet. Firefox in gutsy makes it foolproof to install 3rd party plugins.
Actually, I used Feisty for a while on my Dell Inspiron e1405, and while it took me hours to figure out how to install my broadcom minipci drivers, it worked perfectly after that, with WPA support. I just used NSWRAPPER or something like that. It used the Broadcom drivers.
im waiting for a vent linux client and wine or cedega to get better before i make a full switch :/
I don't know why people use Ventrilo anymore. Teamspeak has a better interface (IMO), better support for multiple channels, a better administrative interface, more codec support...
i use it because everyone else uses it, its hard to convert 20 people using one system especially when the server is paid for in 6-12 month periods.
When I can get Photoshop and Illustrator for Linux (GIMP etc are just not up to it, they're good but no-where good enough), when I can GUARANTEE games will run on Linux (WINE is in no-way foolproof) we want native games, when it's fully plug and play like Windows/OSX, when I don't have to bother with installing this 3rd party add-on to get that to work, and that add-on to get this to work, THEN I will switch in a second without a moments hesitation.
I have no desire to exit one operating system into another one, just because the operating system I was in isn't capable of running the tools I need - totally atrocious.
Linux still isn't up to the task of taking on Windows and OSX, I truly wish it was, I really do, but today is not the day and looks to be some way off as yet...and that's a pity.
TO have native games means you need native users... who's going to break first, developers or users?
And it is fully plug and play "like Windows". Arguably better than windows.
I agree, the one area linux truely lacks is gaming. if linux ever were to want to dominate the desktop market, developers would have to release native games.
the only ones that come to mind are epic and ID who do current ports
ok. I tried it. I doubleklicked on a simple mp3 and it said that I have to download mp3 codec. wtf? are you serious ubuntu-guys?
that was enough to me to return to the goodold xp.
You do know that the MP3 codec is a licensed and non-free audio format, right?
Doesn't matter. Joe User wants that functionality out of the box. I know that would be off-putting for anyone I would try to turn on to Linux. They don't care about licensing and things like that. They want it to work.
why not just click to install them? you have to be stupid to not understand that.. it will install them, its not like you can never play mp3s on it.
comments like yours make me wonder how computers even got this far "click to install mp3 support" .. "ahh hell give up, seems impossible to play mp3's..stupid linux" WTF!?!
seems people are just looking for excuses not to try new alternatives to the existing garbage thats dominating the computer world.
My guess is that he didn't actually install and try it because I just did on another PC (I just upgraded my own) and when I clicked on an MP3 the player asked to download the codec, gave me a warning about it's licensing and when I clicked Accept, it installed the codec and played the MP3 just fine.
And what happend to the 'engadget only reports about hardware etc' stuff that they said when they didnt cover Halo 3?
Halo 3 is a game. Ubuntu is an operating system. (An open software platform that connects hardware and acts as an abstraction layer for software). BIG difference.
Ohhhh, but still...
Its lovely to see the bile and vitriol from people, the truth is that ubuntu installs very easily on many computers.
There are lots of configuration issues on all OS's, Ubuntu does a good job and installs many things including non-free drivers over a network connection.
The weird thing is people are happy to sit through the configuration process for XP of Vista for 10-30mins but puke their guts up (in a forum commenting way) at mp3's requiring a quick 2 minute install procedure with ubuntu, because its free does it mean it should be instantly installed?
Why no complaints about a 50 minute configuration routine after turning my brand new Vaio SZ4 laptop on with vista then followed by multiple new driver installs and multiple reboots.
Installing 7.10 took 25 minutes and was fully configured with network updates after an 90mins (this was in beta so lots of things were updated since the install disk was made).
No OS is perfect, but Ubuntu does a fine job of giving the user a decent experience, and using the command line is something I've seldom had to do with 7.10.
Would be nice to see a bit of sensible reasoning going on on an engadget forum, but probably too much to wish for eh?
bring on the fanboi's... z zzz zzzzz