IT Professionals

Ubuntu Feisty – My Thoughts

Posted by on Feb 20, 2007 | 2 Comments

I must admit, even I understand where the powers that manage Ubuntu are coming from with their decision to exclude the default activation of proprietary video drivers, but have they considered the cost of such a decision?

Joe Blow user is going to look at what is going to work and what is not, with the least path of resistance. And while the argument as to the stability of Beryl is valid, its lack of inclusion tied in along with proprietary drivers is going to cost them users – pure and simple.

Wait, it gets fuzzier:

Then we have this statement to consider. Great news; new infrastructure is coming to deal with an issue that should have been taken care of three versions ago. This is beyond stupid. So with the latest release, we still have no dual monitor support, clearly defined method for installing NVIDIA/ATI drivers (not seeing valid evidence anyway) and with reports of WPA working in GUI bliss in Herd 3 but then vanishing in Herd 4, I can’t help but wonder why the heck the devs over there are thinking? At least I can still fall back here for the time being I guess, but honestly…

In the end, Ubuntu is my chosen distro and I will stick with it. For me, easier is great until you ask me to relinquish too much of my personal freedom. Linux does not ask this of me and therefore will remain my preferred OS.

As for the rocky road for Feisty, well, I suppose it is time to take things into my own hands…

[tags]Feisty,Ubuntu,OS,distro,linux[/tags]

  • Martin

    Matt, you have to keep in mind we are supposed to get a new goodie by the time Feisty shows up in its final version : CNR for other distros… As dump as it might sound today, it might be the key to get Joe Blow User to get on board and feel at home, as he will only have to install Feisty, then run CNR to click, click, click what he needs, without any command lines paste from the unofficial Ubuntu guide ;)

    As of me, Dapper still sits on my laptop, no problem whatsoever. But FC6 is back in my main desktop, and I must say that RPM based distro are more solid for complicated setup, my box is made of various parts canibalized from all around…

    Fedora install today takes some time to tweak, since there’s no Automatix2 for FC… But once the CNR thing shows up, it’ll be much faster and easier… Great for me, and even greater for Joe Blow User !!!

  • http://www.matthartley.com Matt Hartley

    Martin: You bring up a good point and having worked with a certain member of the Linspire team in the past and still working as an “Insider”, it ought to be exciting.

    I would also agree that Fedora is a solid distro to its core, however I simply cannot get behind RPM package management. Every distro I have used RPMs with has been a hassle filled with bugs and errors. The distros (SuSE and Fedora) are outstanding in their own right, bit they loose people with the RPM thing. Hopefully CNR will become a cross-distro platform for applications that will help to deal with this. After all, Fedora does do a lot of things the right way the first time. I will give them that.