Ubuntu

[Tywais]

A major upgrade to Ubuntu (6.04) scheduled for April release may be delayed until May.

More details here: http://os.newsforge.com/os/06/03/15/193121...l?tid=2&tid=138

Looks like it's going to have some really nice features. Also read a pre-release article in Bangkok Post: http://www.bangkokpost.com/220306_Database..._datacol002.php

[Sulaphat]

Another good distro, SimplyMepis, will start using the Dapper base with the release of SimplyMepis 6.0 in the near future.

www.mepis.org.

The KDE desktop from Mepis with the ubuntu base should be quite good.

[Tywais]

Another good distro, SimplyMepis, will start using the Dapper base with the release of SimplyMepis 6.0 in the near future.

www.mepis.org.

The KDE desktop from Mepis with the ubuntu base should be quite good.

I prefer KDE but what is the difference between the Mepis distribution and Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE)? Difficult to navigate the Mepis site to find the installed packages.

[Wallalai]

Hi,

I just installed the last kubuntu dapper drake i386 this morning I'm in the apt-get upgrade process just now. Nice distro, very good hardware detection, and a very easy to use K desktop environnement (KDE), beginners should like.

I had only one problem, X freezed 2 time when using the nv driver. As soon as I installed the proprietary driver (in console mode) the problem was resolved.

I'll install a customized kernel and some missing libraries (win32 codecs), some apps, and it should be ok. I had a good surprise discovering konversation, a very good IRC client (I usually use Weechat), and konqueror is a nice multi-purpose app. Kscd remains the winner in CD reading. Among the new apps is Katapult, an apps launcher that pop-up with the Alt-Space shortcut, then you only need to type the app name and it try to complete it and give you some automatic choices.

So now with three GNU/Linux distros installed on my HDD's (Archlinux, Sourcemage and Kubuntu) I should have enough to do, test, during the rainy days.

[Sulaphat]

Another good distro, SimplyMepis, will start using the Dapper base with the release of SimplyMepis 6.0 in the near future.

www.mepis.org.

The KDE desktop from Mepis with the ubuntu base should be quite good.

I prefer KDE but what is the difference between the Mepis distribution and Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE)? Difficult to navigate the Mepis site to find the installed packages.

Kubuntu is good, too. I really only have two small issues with kubuntu. One is having root login disabled. I know the work-around for that, so no big deal. The other one is that for some reason I could not get Breezy to upgrade to KDE 3.5 on my notebook and still have the wireless card work properly. I'm sure there is a way around this one, too. I just haven't found it yet.

But I would agree with you that the differences between Kubuntu and Mepis are likely to be relatively minor.

[Wallalai]

Oups, I forgot to give the link to Dapper drake (Ubuntu testing), here is it:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/dapper/flight-5/ available as direct download or by torrent client.

Ubuntu comes with Gnome desktop environment and kubuntu with KDE.

Supported architectures: i386 (common PC) PPC (Mac) and 64 bits.

Edited March 26, 2006 by Wallalai

[Tywais]

Oups, I forgot to give the link to Dapper drake (Ubuntu testing), here is it:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/dapper/flight-5/ available as direst download or by torrent client.

Ubuntu comes with Gnome desktop environment and kubuntu with KDE.

Supported architectures: i386 (common PC) PPC (Mac) and 64 bits.

I assume that is a test release and not a final (stable) release. They indicate June 06 as the official release to get the GUI (Desktop) finalized. Seems the desktop is their main focus at the moment to complete it.

[Wallalai]

Oups, I forgot to give the link to Dapper drake (Ubuntu testing), here is it:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/dapper/flight-5/ available as direst download or by torrent client.

Ubuntu comes with Gnome desktop environment and kubuntu with KDE.

Supported architectures: i386 (common PC) PPC (Mac) and 64 bits.

I assume that is a test release and not a final (stable) release. They indicate June 06 as the official release to get the GUI (Desktop) finalized. Seems the desktop is their main focus at the moment to complete it.

You're right, as I mentioned, it's the testing version.

[Tywais]

You're right, as I mentioned, it's the testing version.

Late night, eyes getting blurry.

[Niloc]

I received last Tuesday a nice little package from France with five copies of Ubuntu, one I have passed on.

I installed it on my laptop and it went like a charm. Now I have to learn how to use Linux! I have used a number of OS's an I am looking forward to the learning experience.

If anyone wants a copy, let me know, I live in Pai but get down to Chiang Mai every month or so to drop it off there is no problem.

Thanks for the site,

Colin

[Tywais]

I'm beginning the download for Ubuntu now. Has anyone tried to install it under VMWare or VirtualPC? I'm not going to setup a dual boot for this and of course the alternative is a LiveCD version. I have a lot of computer horsepower now so running a virtual version of it is not an issue and would be convenient.

[Wallalai]

I have installed the testing version of Dapper drake on vmware some weeks ago. No problem encountered.

[Tywais]

I have installed the testing version of Dapper drake on vmware some weeks ago. No problem encountered.

Thanks Wallalai, the download just finished and will try the installation under VMWare today.

[Tywais]

Finally got a chance to install kubuntu flight-6 under VMWare without any complications. Audio, networking everything works fine. My first attempt was using the AMD64 bit iso. Installation worked but would not boot fully, well VMWare did say it was experimental.

The issue I have with it at the moment is there are no development tools with the main install such as gcc, make, flex etc. So I am apt-get the development package now. My main purpose for the linux install was for program development and clearly ubuntu is targetting the general user. May have to install my primary distribution, Slackware since it is very well suited to programming.

But all in all it is a very nice and easy install and looks quite good. Pretty much a full hands off installation.

[Wallalai]

That's the problem with Ubuntu: no developpement tools included by default. And yes Ubuntu is targeted to to general users and attracting a lot of Linux beginners (Easy to install).

I had fun to try it, but will never change my Archlinux for Ubuntu. It's far more easy to build my own packages and kernels with Arch.

[stub]

Preorders for free CD's of Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake) are now open. Pressed CDs of Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu are available:

• Ubuntu Shipit
  
• Kubuntu Shipit
  
• Edubuntu Shipit
  

[Tywais]

Preorders for free CD's of Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake) are now open. Pressed CDs of Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu are available:

• Ubuntu Shipit
  
• Kubuntu Shipit
  
• Edubuntu Shipit
  

Thanks for the update stub.

[Crushdepth]

Anyone got views on how Ubuntu compares to Suse for 'general use'?

Thanks.

[rishi]

Anyone got views on how Ubuntu compares to Suse for 'general use'?

After I - as a total Linux newbee - have spend my few spare hours throughout three months on diving into the delicacies of Suse 9.3 -> 10.0 -> 10.1, I tried out Kubuntu 6.06. Well, it didn't take me long to dispose of Kubuntu (Ubuntu + KDE). As opposed to Suse, which immediately recognized ALL my hardware - incl. WiFi, graphic and sound - Kubuntu didn't recognize any of these.

Well, that didn't prevent me from checking it out anyway (on a 640 x 400 resolution). IMHO Kubuntu isn't but a Linux distro, that someone has handicapped severely to his taste. You only have a diminished set of options to make things appear and work for yor needs --- and what you get after installation is similiar to what you get after installing Windows - nothing but the OS and a few primitive applications. Next step will be to install some decent Office, Graphic, etc. applications before you can get productive.

After a Suse installation you can get productive as soon as you've figured which of the many preinstalled applications, you'd prefer.

IMHO Kubuntu is mostly suited for computer-newbees, who wouldn't know how to make a formatted document or edit a photo, anyway. But, for sure, it's much easier to get aquainted with the Kubuntu OS than the Suse OS. For those who merely need a homecomputer with Internet, email, Word-processing, Photo-editing and maybe a few games (K)ubuntu would suffice --- but that's it.

[francois]

hi'

Suse, definitly Suse

disapointed by all the others, sometime for a detail, but with Suse, no detail left behind... this is Linux today!

why do you think that Linus (creator of linux) use Suse Linux?

francois

[Crushdepth]

I tried an older version of Ubuntu (Hoary hedgehog or whatever) and hated it because as a first-time Total Linux Idiot I couldn't figure out why I didn't have permission to open the CD drive! (The hardware detection also sucked). The other thing I didn't like is this business of having the admin account disabled. One of the main attractions of Linux to me is that the user separation is so much better/brutally effective.

I tried to install Suse 10.1 on my laptop a couple of times using CDs from Fortune and both times the install didn't work - stuck on CD 3, and I don't have enough bandwidth to download a clean copy so I'm a bit frustrated with that (I'm too cheap to pay for it). I did get 9.3 going for a while and it was ok but unfortunately I trashed that attempting to get to 10...

Anyway, I've ordered the latest Ubuntu a few days ago so I guess I'll give that another shot. If it doesn't work out I'll bite the bullet and buy the Suse CDs.

Thanks my rant

[rishi]

I tried to install Suse 10.1 on my laptop a couple of times using CDs from Fortune and both times the install didn't work - stuck on CD 3, and I don't have enough bandwidth to download a clean copy so I'm a bit frustrated with that (I'm too cheap to pay for it).

A successfull checksum test of that particular copy of CD, you sit with, and that particular computer, you're instaling into, is crucial for a successfull install.

I had a similiar experience with CD4, dowloaded from opensuse.org. The checksum test was OK when I tested it on a desktop. It also installed OK on that desktop. However, when installing the same set of CD's on my laptop it failed on CD4. After severel unsuccesull attempts, I did another checksum test on the laptop ... alas, failure!

Well, before downloading again I decided to spend (waste?) 10 baht on burning the download to another CD, just for the try of it. This new CD passed the checksum test on the laptop with an OK ... and everything hereafter installed smoothly...

If you have a CD-burner, you might try to copy that fortune CD to a better quality CD and test it.

[francois]

hi'

rishi, you can't imagine the "so called" quality cd are in for most of them

first, burn on "VERY" good quality cd, verbatim comes to mind, and burn the cd'sas slow as possible, iso image often have burning mistakes if burned too fast [never more than 24x]

just my 2cts worth in here

francois

[Crushdepth]

Since I'm an impatient type, I dug out my old Ubuntu CD and gave it another go, and I hate it a lot less the second time around (having read a book on Linux in the interim, and having played with Suse 9.3 for a while before I broke it).

My revised impression of Ubuntu is that it is actually quite a light version of Linux. The default installation offers a good range of software, but it is just the basics, no frills and no duplication (eg. one browser and one email client rather than three, which suits me fine). It only took about 40 minutes to familarise myself with what all the software does and work through the admin menus, so the learning curve is pretty low. The updater/download system seems less clunky than YAST! and of course you can download/install a heap of extra stuff if you want to.

So, my impression so far is that Ubuntu is actually a good distribution for new users that want general desktop use with a minimum of messing around, but it lacks the 'grunt' of SuSe in terms of coming pre-packed with tons of software (which the newbie does not need, but the power user may).

I haven't been able to try SuSe 10.1...is it a big advance over 9?

[francois]

hi'

oh yes, a major one, give it a try, you'll be impressed

Suse!

francois

[Crushdepth]

I managed to download a copy of the Dapper Drake. Basically it just looks like a flashier version of Hoary Hedgehog, and ran a lot slower on my ancient (4 years) laptop, so I've gone back to Hoary for the moment.

I have one significant problem with both versions of Ubuntu: Neither recognises my wireless card. Any suggestions on how to fix that? It's a Senao long-range compact flash model, which plugs in via a 'smartcard' adapter.

[Sulaphat]

I managed to download a copy of the Dapper Drake. Basically it just looks like a flashier version of Hoary Hedgehog, and ran a lot slower on my ancient (4 years) laptop, so I've gone back to Hoary for the moment.

I have one significant problem with both versions of Ubuntu: Neither recognises my wireless card. Any suggestions on how to fix that? It's a Senao long-range compact flash model, which plugs in via a 'smartcard' adapter.

Have you tried ndiswrapper using the Windows driver of your wireless nic? It took a bit of work, but I have gotten Kubuntu to work with ndiswrapper and a Windows driver for a nic which did not have native Linux support.

[manjara]

I managed to download a copy of the Dapper Drake. Basically it just looks like a flashier version of Hoary Hedgehog, and ran a lot slower on my ancient (4 years) laptop, so I've gone back to Hoary for the moment.

I have one significant problem with both versions of Ubuntu: Neither recognises my wireless card. Any suggestions on how to fix that? It's a Senao long-range compact flash model, which plugs in via a 'smartcard' adapter.

Have you tried ndiswrapper using the Windows driver of your wireless nic? It took a bit of work, but I have gotten Kubuntu to work with ndiswrapper and a Windows driver for a nic which did not have native Linux support.

Don't use ndiswrapper on Dapper, try the NetManager application for Gnome, though for a lot of cards you still need to have an open (or WEP) Wifi setup.