Ars has a review of Ubuntu 7.10. They conclude: "Ubuntu 7.10 provides an unparalleled desktop Linux experience and sets new standards for power and ease of use. This release lives up to Ubuntu's reputation and delivers cutting-edge new features and solid enhancements. Although Ubuntu 7.10 is very impressive, some of the new additions - particularly Compiz and Tracker - lack the polish and robustness that they need to truly shine. These technologies are still a work in progress and give Ubuntu 7.10 a slightly unfinished feel. Ubuntu also unfortunately inherits some of the minor weaknesses of the GNOME desktop environment."
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Member since:2006-04-19
I think that's what's doing a lot of damage to Linux in general, is all these people that want a zero-cost OS, and all this really stupid mentality of people being against Microsoft, so they're cool because they use Linux. My own personal perspective, Linux anti-Microsoft people will never be "cool" as long as they don't know how to work without a graphical desktop environment and without graphical menus. For me, with Linux, I feel depressed, with Open/FreeBSD, I feel I can whip it into a frenzy and have a great old time with it all!
Have you thought about using PC-BSD so you can just install and go, populate the ports, and edit all of like 2 system files to make a bullet-proof system to use? I hear PF as even developed a couple graphical things for editing PF stuff, although I have not tried or seen PC 1.4 myself.
Member since:2006-05-30
I think that's what's doing a lot of damage to Linux in general, is all these people that want a zero-cost OS
I concur with this comment. In fact, this kind of mentality is what's driving alot of the application development we see on Linux these days - applications that go against the generally accepted "UNIX philosoph(y|ies)" that have been in place since the creation of UNIX. I could make a huge list, but the major offenders are things like GUI-only applications, bloated do-everything apps, and captive user interfaces. This is precisely the crap most of us *nix-users hate about Windows, OSX, and others. It just seems to me (and a lot of other people that have been following this for a long time) that application development (and subsequently, distros) on Linux are just trying to replicate the MS, Apple, Adobe, and other major software paradigms out there. Not only are they following (or often poorly imitating) instead of leading in this type of software, but cumulatively, they've resulted in these end user experiences that are functionally no different than using Vista or OSX.
If I really wanted to change my system and application settings by navigating huge, unmapped trees of dialog boxes, or waste all my clock cycles animating menus and rendering drop shadows, then I would just stick with Windows.
Member since:
2006-02-05
I wouldnt go quite as far with the ubuntu bashing as you do (considering what it is trying to be, and considering you compare it to stuff like fedora), but i find linux to be getting rather boring too. The exciting new stuff is all basically things that have been already done elsewhere. Sure, fancy graphics are nice for demoing it to someone used to windows or osx, but I miss the days when the work was being done on more interesting things. I think a big part of it is the massive influx of clueless users over the last few years. I used to be proud of being part of the linux "community", but nowadays it means alot less then it used to. The mac community is stereo-typed by its high priesthood, the windows community by its apologetics, but the linux community used to be all about the uber geek. Instead, now it seems to be about the ex-windows user who is too cheap to buy vista, and wants a free ride.
Personally, I am going the Belenix route, possibly Project Indiana, but we'll see about what kind of direction they go (I don't want to dump linux for a linux clone).