Ubuntu 9.04 Is Out

[Richard-BKK]

This last night I downloaded Ubuntu 9.04 and this morning I did a quick install. And I'm impressed...

I not know about others here, but I have the habit to be stupid enough to buy regularly stuff for which I not have to think to long to know it likely not works with Linux. So I have a very wide collection of USB stuff like no-name Chinese Bluetooth and several Skype USB telephones. to my surprise they came all to live with Ubuntu 9.04.

Most impressive was the fact that Ubuntu 9.04 found my wireless Microsoft Desktop Elite keyboard and Mouse set. For the first time I can click Calculator on my keyboard and Ubuntu opens the Gnome calculator and volume control and mute also works flawless...

Most impressed was that a little USB Bluetooth doogle I bought not so long ago worked, it is one of the new little one's almost not bigger then a USB plug. In MS Windows you need to insert a CD, which of course I lost before I actual wanted to install the device.

[Crushdepth]

Unfortunately the upgrade to 9.04 broke my Ubuntu installation and has left it in a very sorry state. Grrr...

And while I'm here whining and complaining, why isn't there a Thai mirror for Ubuntu that actually *works* ?

[dave_boo]

I'm glad you have had such a positive experience with a Linux distro. You seem fairly intelligent, so I'm assuming that you don't mind dropping to a terminal (CLI) to make any adjustments, but overall can you make most of the necessary changes to the system with the GUI on Ubuntu 9.04? I.E., is that distro THE distro for people coming from Windows?

I'm obviously a rabid SuSE user, but have customised my installs way above and beyond what a 'normal' user would do and sometimes get overly technical offering advice on this and other forums. If Ubuntu is the best distro to ease people into the F/OSS world, I'll have to re-evaluate my stance on besmirching it quite so much......

Another thing to note is that Ubuntu is using an extremely modern kernel, 2.6.28 to be explicit (latest is 2.6.30). It's really good to see that Linux has been making such progress!

[OxfordWill]

yes it is the correct choice for anyone coming from windows. even governments have recognised this.

[mbox]

This last night I downloaded Ubuntu 9.04 and this morning I did a quick install. And I'm impressed...

I not know about others here, but I have the habit to be stupid enough to buy regularly stuff for which I not have to think to long to know it likely not works with Linux. So I have a very wide collection of USB stuff like no-name Chinese Bluetooth and several Skype USB telephones. to my surprise they came all to live with Ubuntu 9.04.

Most impressive was the fact that Ubuntu 9.04 found my wireless Microsoft Desktop Elite keyboard and Mouse set. For the first time I can click Calculator on my keyboard and Ubuntu opens the Gnome calculator and volume control and mute also works flawless...

Most impressed was that a little USB Bluetooth doogle I bought not so long ago worked, it is one of the new little one's almost not bigger then a USB plug. In MS Windows you need to insert a CD, which of course I lost before I actual wanted to install the device.

Hi richard,

Same here,

I got it downloaded last night ( xubuntu for me) and installed it on an axioo classmate...i was looking for the right distro for this netbook for a while....the older 8.10 was good but the xubuntu 9.04 is working great now.....looks like i can keep this for good on this netbook

mbox

[Richard-BKK]

He Dave,

I did not do much testing yet, I installed Ubuntu 9.04 on one computer. It was no upgrade, it was a clean install.

And yes I'm not scared to open the terminal to do some command entering, it is sometimes 200 percent faster then clicking around with the mouse.

Sure some more testing will follow before I upgrade all computers in the office.

[mbox]

I'm glad you have had such a positive experience with a Linux distro. You seem fairly intelligent, so I'm assuming that you don't mind dropping to a terminal (CLI) to make any adjustments, but overall can you make most of the necessary changes to the system with the GUI on Ubuntu 9.04? I.E., is that distro THE distro for people coming from Windows?

I'm obviously a rabid SuSE user, but have customised my installs way above and beyond what a 'normal' user would do and sometimes get overly technical offering advice on this and other forums. If Ubuntu is the best distro to ease people into the F/OSS world, I'll have to re-evaluate my stance on besmirching it quite so much......

Another thing to note is that Ubuntu is using an extremely modern kernel, 2.6.28 to be explicit (latest is 2.6.30). It's really good to see that Linux has been making such progress!

Dave_boo

Although i may not be on top of things in the Unix world but i periodically return to have a look.

I liked Suse too and i used to have it first on 9.1(and a few other versions later) ...even had back then mandrake powerpack 10.0 - this where the days where i got headache when many things worked but even more things weren't supported, specially if you have a Laptop and need to have wlan access-suse was the leader by far and mandrake was not much behind...times have changed and my current most liked distros are Kubuntu...on the netbook it became now xubuntu on the eeepc i remained with xandros . I also worked a while with freespire and pclinuxos both worked great but i went on my desktop back to windoz due to certain things i needed to have windows for....(its a german stream-tv program that only runs on win&mac)

What i like to say - it is worth to have a look on ubuntu again....time changes and distros do too

mbox

[Richard-BKK]

He Mbox,

I'm not completely without MS Windows, I run on 2 computers MS Windows XP with VMwork Station. VMwork Station now-a-day supports DirectX 9.0C and so we can play our favorite games and look streaming video with something what is called TVU player.

Downside, is that our hardware power demand is probably higher then what is required to run MS Windows Vista. Still in 3 years one computer had a problem and that was the fault of a failing power-supply. O and on our smallest computer, we needed to replace the AGP VGA card. Still this cannot be blamed on Linux.

P.S. All software I use is legal, we not use Linux because it is cheaper... I from as long as I can remember followed a alternative route to computers, same go's for my g/f she uses a Macintosh and a powerbook. And this seems to work well, she changed one of her older Mac's to Linux and I installed Apple OS-X in a VMwork station box (which I belief is not completely legal, still we have a Apple license for the OS I use in my Vmware Workstation, so in Thailand I probably will be save).

O and even as I'm a fan of opensource software, I use Nero Linux for CD-burning

[RKASA]

Unfortunately the upgrade to 9.04 broke my Ubuntu installation and has left it in a very sorry state. Grrr...

And while I'm here whining and complaining, why isn't there a Thai mirror for Ubuntu that actually *works* ?

I don't use Ubuntu, but take a look around here it said to be the fastest mirror and its in Thailand http://www2.mirror.in.th/osarchive/ubuntu/dists/

I am sure it connects to what ever apt-get your using.

[Tywais]

I installed Apple OS-X in a VMwork station box (which I belief is not completely legal, still we have a Apple license for the OS I use in my Vmware Workstation, so in Thailand I probably will be save).

Actually it is not legal to use on a non-Apple computer even with a license. The EULA specifically states to be used only on Apple branded computers.

[mbox]

He Mbox,

I'm not completely without MS Windows, I run on 2 computers MS Windows XP with VMwork Station. VMwork Station now-a-day supports DirectX 9.0C and so we can play our favorite games and look streaming video with something what is called TVU player.

Downside, is that our hardware power demand is probably higher then what is required to run MS Windows Vista. Still in 3 years one computer had a problem and that was the fault of a failing power-supply. O and on our smallest computer, we needed to replace the AGP VGA card. Still this cannot be blamed on Linux.

P.S. All software I use is legal, we not use Linux because it is cheaper... I from as long as I can remember followed a alternative route to computers, same go's for my g/f she uses a Macintosh and a powerbook. And this seems to work well, she changed one of her older Mac's to Linux and I installed Apple OS-X in a VMwork station box (which I belief is not completely legal, still we have a Apple license for the OS I use in my Vmware Workstation, so in Thailand I probably will be save).

O and even as I'm a fan of opensource software, I use Nero Linux for CD-burning

Hi richard....bikes and linux seem to be the forums where we keep meeting.

I didn't use linux just because it is free ...but it is a good side-effect. In fact i bought the suse 9.1 and Mandrake 10.0 back then....later i did the free downloads or with the shipit from ubuntu freely shipped. The main reason why i like to use linux, is the fact that Virus issues are no longer an issue , because no antivirus is in need there it doesn't slow down your machine .

Open source software there are some excellent products such as firefox, thunderbird, open office.....

Linux really became much more userfriendly and even though not as popular as windows or apple yet,but a mature alternative to these Os's . In Servers itself Linux is the best way to go....

I am running sharetv ( sharetv.us )and this is win & linux only application.. it is based little different than p2p or regular stream..on sharetv the stream itself is brought to bkk i connect to their servers in bkk and within thailand internet speed is mostly fine ...out of thailand thats where the probs starts( and where you will get problems with regular streams too). So i can watch my hours of German TV in great quality with about 10 min delay to the live version. I believe they are working on a linux version already and than i may turn my last pc back to linux too.nero linux i never used this but K3B was doing ok - not particular fast though...but i don't burn a lot of cd's ....with usb sticks it is even less required these days...

it is great to see the ubuntu/kubuntu/xubuntu are becoming real great distros for everyone,

mbox

[dave_boo]

tywais,

I'm not sure, but it was my understanding that he installed the vmware OSX on an apple computer....but I'm wrong a lot!

[Tywais]

I'm not sure, but it was my understanding that he installed the vmware OSX on an apple computer....but I'm wrong a lot!

Ah, now doing a 2nd read it appears you are right. Just seemed strange to install standard Linux in an Apple then virtualize OS-X in it. My apologies.

[dave_boo]

Everybody knows that Linux>OSX...

[Tywais]

Everybody knows that Linux>OSX...

A colleague at the uni came to me with his Acer netbook. He installed Vista on one partition and OS-X on a 2nd but it only booted into OS-X. I slapped in one of my LiveCDs and showed him how to mount the drive (command prompt) and run cfdisk to reset the boot flag. That's what got me looking into installing OS-X to play with it and found Apple's restriction. Well Suse and Slackware still suit me fine but I do love to tinker.

[Richard-BKK]

Okay Tywais,

I already stated that it was probably not 100% legal to install Apple's OS-X in a VMwork station session, but still in Thailand if Apple want to go to court I'm willing.

And if the EULA says it has to run on a Apple computer, I can put the old Apple Powerbook under the Linux box...does that fix the problem? (joke)

[Tywais]

And if the EULA says it has to run on a Apple computer, I can put the old Apple Powerbook under the Linux box...does that fix the problem? (joke)

It says Apple branded so perhaps printing off an Apple logo and stick it on your home brew might work. <OK, I am kidding about that just to be clear>

[Richard-BKK]

Back on track, I decided to wait probably a week or so, until most 3th party packages are available for Ubuntu 9.04. This is just a safety, probably a upgrade from 8.10 to 9.04 will work.

Also I noticed that Ubuntu 9.04 has support for EXT4 file system, have to look into that what the benefits are...

[Tywais]

Also I noticed that Ubuntu 9.04 has support for EXT4 file system, have to look into that what the benefits are...

Details here > Ext4.

//edit - a useful read on the various journaling file systems > Journaling File Systems

[Gary A]

Still no support for CAT CDMA Thailand. AIS, Dtac and True are supported.

[joncl]

I normally run PClinuxOS rather than ubuntu - but been running ubuntu in a vmware player here for a week on one of the Vista Ultimate notebooks and it works well, it suprised me how well the drivers just worked on this Asus notebook even when run inside the vmware player.

However I must say I prefer KDE over Gnome

[LivinLOS]

Did the 9.04 update yesterday (not without problems but I think I know what they are, related to a wubi environment).. All in all nice smooth progression, its fast, lean, simple and does 99% of what I want (garmin mapsource is my one big issue) better than any other option.. Free is nice but not 'the' reason.. For me everything hardware wise works, and works better than in XP or Vista (I tinkered with win7 but dont have an active partition right now) with less drivers fiddling and finding, hassle and config. When a Linux install is simpler than a windows install its getting to critical mass time.

I am a n00b to linux full time.. I kept trying it and finding it harder going than windows environments all the way back to slack 3.2 a very long time ago.. The Ibex release was the point where I tried it and stopped booting back. For me ubuntu rocks. I should test out some more live CDs and get a feel for different environments, but its a case of this is working for me, better than anything else I have yet seen.

I need to slot a Netbook remix version onto the GF's aspire 1 before we got travelling.

[dave_boo]

I normally run PClinuxOS rather than ubuntu - but been running ubuntu in a vmware player here for a week on one of the Vista Ultimate notebooks and it works well, it suprised me how well the drivers just worked on this Asus notebook even when run inside the vmware player.

However I must say I prefer KDE over Gnome

You may want to check out Kubuntu. Has everything that regular olde Ubuntu has, but that nice tasty KDE 4.2 to satisify your cravings....

[joncl]

You may want to check out Kubuntu. Has everything that regular olde Ubuntu has, but that nice tasty KDE 4.2 to satisify your cravings....

Will do but set up all the cdk's under gnome so will get used to it in time again

[Richard-BKK]

So far I updated the following systems without problems;

- Asus P4S800D-E Delux Pentium 3.0HT, 2GB, 250GB Sata-II, VGA Nvdia FX-5500

- Asus P5B, Intel Dual Core 3ghz, 2GB, 320GB SATA-II, VGA Nvidia 8500GT

- Asus P5K, Intel Dual Core 3ghz, 3GB, 320GB SATA-II, VGA Nvidia 8600GT

I not encounter any problems what so ever, sometimes when you make a backup of a 320GB hard drive you secretly have some hope that things go wrong, so you not made the backup for nothing.... But I was out of this luck the whole upgrade from Ubuntu 8.10 to 9.04 was 1364 packages and was finished in 45 minutes.

So far... the only thing I dislike is that the switched the turn off button, but that is probably more a need to get used to it event.

Still need to upgrade 3 more computers and 3 notebooks... Probably the notebooks as last, I expect problems there...

[Tywais]

One person's feelings on it.

Ubuntu as slick as Win7, Mac OS X

"Here's what the official press release won't tell you about Ubuntu 9.04, which formally hit the streets overnight: its designers have polished the hel_l out of its user interface since the last release in October.

So much so, in fact, that I am starting to prefer using my Ubuntu "Jaunty Jackalope" desktop over the similarly slick Windows 7 beta (which I am currently running full-time on one desktop) and Mac OS X Leopard operating systems, which I also use regularly."

More here: Zdnet

[grtaylor]

Did the 9.04 update yesterday (not without problems but I think I know what they are, related to a wubi environment).. All in all nice smooth progression, its fast, lean, simple and does 99% of what I want (garmin mapsource is my one big issue) better than any other option.. Free is nice but not 'the' reason.. For me everything hardware wise works, and works better than in XP or Vista (I tinkered with win7 but dont have an active partition right now) with less drivers fiddling and finding, hassle and config. When a Linux install is simpler than a windows install its getting to critical mass time.

I am a n00b to linux full time.. I kept trying it and finding it harder going than windows environments all the way back to slack 3.2 a very long time ago.. The Ibex release was the point where I tried it and stopped booting back. For me ubuntu rocks. I should test out some more live CDs and get a feel for different environments, but its a case of this is working for me, better than anything else I have yet seen.

I need to slot a Netbook remix version onto the GF's aspire 1 before we got travelling.

Just in case it happens to you, I had a real problem with Ubuntu 8.10 on an Aspire One Netbook. The Wi-fi connection and cable LAN connection both refused to work. I finally got around it by installing a different kernel - from http://www.aspireonekernel.com/ Then it worked like a charm I upgraded to 9.04 today - and it still works fine.

[Ben10]

So far... the only thing I dislike is that the switched the turn off button, but that is probably more a need to get used to it event.

To get the shut down button back on the Top Gnome menu strip (just like in 8.10):

Right click on a blank space on the menu strip > click 'add to panel' > scroll down and select 'shut down' > click 'add' > left mouse button drag into your favourite position

NB: 'ext4' filesystem is not default on a clean install (due to compatibility issues with other ext filesystems I believe). You have to manually choose ext4 when setting up your partitions. For the same reasons you are not able to install ext4 with an upgrade install.

[Richard-BKK]

The network manager in Ubuntu 8.10 had in the beginning a few problems, I not call it that serious. It was very easy to get around it, just by manually adding a second network connection, and leave the "Auto Eth0" doing what ever it wanted to do.

This little bug was fixed early after Ubuntu 8.10 came available... anyway Ubuntu 9.04 has no problems connecting to the internet, matter of fact it has more hardware support then any other Linux distribution. (This is of course relative, as it is the latests big release... If Fedora or Suse brings anything on the market next it probably has even more support)

[Richb2004v2]

I've been using 9.04 for a few weeks now and it has satisfied my needs in every way. It does everything I need it to. After several attempts with other distros this is the one for me. I have it on an eeePC which due to screen restrictions isn't ideal, but I will hesitate to change as it works so well. I think this is a really viable alternative to Windows for the average home user. I haven't had to play with it in any way to get everything to work. As a new comer this works 100% for me.