mohtasham1983

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Two days after the official release date, I installed this version of ubuntu. As it says, it is supposed to be very stable, but I don't know why they have unstable packages enabled by default in it. Compiz fusion caused my computer to be rebooted 5 times, when playing videos. That's why I had to disable it. Also, firefox 3 has a lot of bugs as it is BETA. If epiphany had some of firefox shortcuts and add ons I would definitely go for it.

The overall performance of the system is slower compared to previous versions of ubuntu (Dapper, Edgy, Feisty and Gutsy) that I have used for.

This version has disappointed me. The only reason I'm keeping it is that this is the only computer I own and I have a lot of stuffs in it. Once school is over, I will switch to Gentoo for sure, as I heard very good reviews about it.

Newbies better try PClinuxOS as I read very good reviews about, in this site.

If ubuntu wants to stay the most popular linux distribution, it has to avoid putting latest but instable versions of programs as default.

Edited on June 28:
I installed this version for many of my friends. All you have to do is to upgrade it after you install it. Right now my Ubuntu is in a very good condition without any major problem. Just sometimes firefox crashes when playing videos on youtube. The firefox team has announce that firefox 3 has a small issues with I/O buffering in Linux. I hope they provide a patch for it very soon. Right now, I use opera to watch videos on youtube. I found out that Opera has a built in bittorrent client. That's why I'm very pleased with Opera. Now I use both browsers :)

At first when I rated this version of ubuntu 6, then I changed it to 7 and now 8. Yes, I'm very picky about my operating systems. I rate XP 4 and never worked on Vista, so cannot really rate it.

Michael Caro

I was a very satisfied Ubuntu user until this release (8.04). Firefox doesn't work right, Opera barely works at all, the Open-Office spreadsheet works, but not well. Also, it crashed on me several times. I'm back to using Windows XP and looking for the best Linux to switch to.

angryfirelord

After my dive-in with Ubuntu since 2006, I haven't been more attached to any other distro.

The CD boots up with the usual options, but with a new option to install it right away. So away the LiveCD goes and it detects all of my hardware without issues.

The installer is similar to the previous ones, but a little more refined. For new users, partitioning can be a little confusing, but other than that it's quick and easy to use. After a few minutes of questions, the installer did its thing and after some minutes later, (I didn't keep count) I had a fresh install on my PC.

As usual, updates were quick and easy, there are now over 24,000 packages with all of the repositories enabled, and everything was quick to respond. All in all, Ubuntu still lives up to its expectations.

(I'm not sure why the above reviewers rated it so low. Perhaps a little problem solving would have fixed their issues)

htnusa

I've been a debian fan since potatoe, but then went the red hat route for awhile, and i still run fedora.

Ubuntu really opened my eyes.... as a friend put it "elegant code".
Wow tons of packages and lots of toys, I'm impressed period.

As far as two days after a release date, most distros have some issues early on if not all.

Ubuntu exceeded my expectations.
Very cool.

mongoosecage

To me this is a very good OS. It installs well, getting packages are very easy, and it is customizable.

Main issues for me were that the kernel would update and leave the old kernel in place. Which would cause GRUB to show 3 to 4 different Ubuntus.

As well as, the cpu usage would go strange every once it while. Firefox needs some work with flash.

I feel that this is yet a good OS for the Windows to Linux switch, because it keeps it easy yet introducing a new GUI that isnt very similar to Windows. This helps keeping newcomers from freaking out when they see other distros.

boyd3

I was a former windows user, and after building a system for a client he was shocked at the prices... 400 for hardware, and almost 400 for software including operating system? Yes, thats how it is if you want to go the Microsoft route. Gotta be a better way right? Plus we wanted something that didn't crash every 10 minutes....

I've been running 7.10 for about 8 weeks, and finally switched to 8.04 I gotta say, it is different from windows, but not enough that it would be a scary cross over for most windows peeps.

Using Wine, I installed my sons games on the PC here, and to tell you the truth, he hasn't noticed the operating system change. Just looks a little different to him.

format C:

I tried both the AMD64 version and the x86 versions on several systems, a Dell Core 2 Duo tower, an AMD Athlon XP system I built years ago, and my Aspire 5672WLMI notebook. I don't like Ubuntu, and think it's the worst of any major distro. First off, the default theme is UGLY. All the brown (an allusion to the crap that is Ubuntu?), the stupid starting sound, and the default "human" gtk style. Yuck. Okay all that can be changed, but I don't know why it just doesn't default to the normal GNOME defaults? The normal installer sucks. You can't change what gets installed, it's feels slow and unresponsive since the system is running a full GNOME session off the CD at the same time. Plus it takes 10 minutes to boot. Not cool. I hate Network Manager. It loves to mess up my config settings. The WPA/PEAP/MSCHAPv2 we use here won't work if Network Manager is running, so I killed it and removed it from init, and set up wpa_supplicant. I also had to edit the GRUB config file since it picked the wrong partition for my XP installation. So I do a apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade, the usual "update every package" command for Debian based system, a new kernel got installed. Next time I rebooted, wonderful Ubuntu changed my GRUB config so XP wouldn't boot and Network Manager was back, and my wpa_supplicant setup was gone. WTF? I gave up on Ubuntu after this and the install CD now is literally a coaster for my coffee in my office :).
Another controversial feature is the inclusion of non-free software, such as the accelerated Nvidia drivers. While this is nice for new users, I think it detracts from the goal of the Free Software Community.
The Ubuntu "customizations" are another nightmare. I prefer packages that are not changed from the developers goal. The OpenSSL fiasco comes to mind. In any case, Ubuntu's Firefox is destabilized by the Ubuntu extension. I shouldn't have to do anything to have a stable browser.
Bottom line: I recommend that people steer clear of this distro and choose something else. I don't understand how it got to be so popular. Consider Fedora, CentOS, or OpenSUSE before Ubuntu if you want something easy.

megworld

i have used ubuntu for about a year now. I have found it a nice distro especially as it was a smooth change between linux and windows. I like ubuntu because i can change what i want in it and there is plenty of documentations when i breake my system.

Although i say all that and its all good i find it uses strange amounts of CPU and RAM when its not needed i will see my cpu usage suddenly increase to up to 90% when just running a music player or a torrent downloader. Hardy is stable most of the time but when things crash it can lock up the rest of my system.

Most people will not have this problem but i like a linux with only the software i will use on it, so i had to strip out all the software i didnt want and put in things i did. Although most of the software is great somethings i just will never use. stripping out software or changing software to run with the system can be time consuming. (this is because a lot are running with no GUI so you carnt directly see them you have to know that their there.

Ubuntu hardy is a good system and inculding the new kernel it was a great realife i can put it on and my webcams and much other hardware will work without hours of searching for drivers. Im happy to see some new applications and my graphic's driver in so i can run compiz even though it dose lock up my computer because its very unstable.

I have a laptop which means power usage is quite important to me and i have found i can run vista on it for about 40mins on battery and hardy for abotut 30mins. This shocked me as vista is a memory hungry, cpu robbing bitch and for hardy to do the same dissapointed me. Also the power management and options could do with overlooking as some of them can be a bit hit and miss

all in all a good disto and i hightly recomend it, although there is some bad which distro dosnt. ubuntu is good for picking up hardware, it has a lot of documentation and i have found it to work well with my windows partitoning to get files and things.

Mega Man X

One of the questions most people ask when talking about Linux is: When will it be ready for the Desktop. I've asked it a couple of times myself. Since Ubuntu came into the game, I knew there was something special about it besides being well advertised.

I've been using Ubuntu since the beginning, but Ubuntu 8.04 was the turning point for me and it is the distro that has finally completely replaced Windows for me. And that is saying a lot, because I don't particularly have a problem with Microsoft Windows (except for versions prior to Windows 2000).

Installation:
Ubuntu runs off completely from the CD. It is a great way to test if your hardware is compatible with it, surf the net, try to install a few programs, etc. When you are ready to install Ubuntu, there is an icon for the installer right at your desktop which you just have to double click on it.

The installer is simple, yet powerful, capable of creating or resizing partitions of several formats. If you need a more powerful tool, you can use gparted straight from the Ubuntu live CD. Installing Ubuntu itself is a simple as setting the keyboard layout, choosing a location and creating the partitions. Even while Ubuntu is being installed, you can continue surfing the web or playing around without a problem. At the end of the installation, Ubuntu will ask if you want to continue using the Live CD or reboot.

Booting into Ubuntu - Desktop impressions and overall usability:
Ubuntu has a very polished boot screen and it boots quite fast too. After you login, you will notice a new wallpaper and the same look and feel of previous versions of Ubuntu.

By default, Ubuntu comes with a great selection of packages for desktop users. From OpenOffice 2.4 for productivity to rhythmbox and Totem for entertainment. It is all there. It is also important to notice that in the case of OpenOffice, the splash screen has a Human-like theme, adding a little more polish to the overall product.

As a developer, you will need to install other productivity tools, such as compilers and IDE's. But that is easily done through Synaptic.

Out of the box, Ubuntu does not come with any media playback support, which is a know problem since Redhat Linux 8.0. However, if you just double-click on a song, it will ask if you would like to install the necessary codecs. It is just that simple.

Nautilus has some new fancy features too. If you simply have your mouse over a song, it will start playing the song as well. A great way of previewing a song indeed. It is a small feature, but it adds a lot of polish to an already awesome OS. I wish the same could be done with movie files, but as far as I can tell, it doesn't.

For the Web, Ubuntu comes packed with the latest Firefox 3, a browser which needs no presentation. I am using Ubuntu x86_64 and it is important to mention that I had a lot of issues getting flash to run before. Now, it is just as simple to install as going to a flash site. Firefox will tell you about the missing files and Ubuntu will install it for you.

For Opera users, there are good news too. Opera has finally released their great browser for Linux x86_64 architecture.

One thing that I always had trouble with in Linux (not only with Ubuntu, but other distributions as well), was to get my so needed Korean inputs working from my keyboard. I am (still) learning Korean and that is a very important thing for me, when chatting with my Korean friends. This time around, it worked just fine by adding the Korean language support at System - Administration - Language Support. After that, SCIM will display an icon on the task bar, where I can easily change from Korean to English (or by using the CRTL + Space combination). This is by leaps and bounds easier than in Windows XP, where you actually will be asked for your Windows XP disk and a reboot to get it working.

Hardware support:
Some improvements were made on the hardware support area as well. For example, my wired Xbox 360 Controller works out of the box. Before, it required compiling a program and loading the correct modules. That is no longer necessary. Even the "X" on the middle of the controller stops blinking once you try to play a game or emulator. That is saying a lot, because it was a bit complicated to install that joypad before and even Windows XP need drivers for it.

My mp3 player, my WD external USB HD and my Logitech joystick, all worked out of the box. Even my Microsoft mouse, which has a few extra buttons for "back" and "forward" worked right away, which didn't before.

All the buttons on my Saitek Eclipse keyboard also worked without additional tweaking.

I had a few issues with Ubuntu on the past with the sound outputs on my Dell. For example, when plugging my headset on the front of the PC, the speakers would not automatically mute. Now they do. Microphone worked just fine through Skype as well.

For the graphics driver, I've tried Ubuntu with both ATI and Nvidia. After the installation, if Ubuntu finds one of these cards, it will ask if you want to enable restricted drivers. If you choose to do so, you will get 3D acceleration running right away. Compared to Windows, where you have to go to the web and grab the drivers, unpack, install and reboot, this is a really great feature.

Gaming, natively and through Wine:
This is not quite a review of Ubuntu, but it has to be mentioned. Wine has finally reached version 1.x. And after 15 long years of development, that application is the main reason why I could finally leave Windows behind. All, absolutely all the games I play, worked. Even some console emulators made for Windows worked and read my inputs correctly, such as CPS3Emulator(Nebula). These are some of the games I've tried so far:

- Half-Life and all expansions (through Steam);
- Counter-Strike;
- SiN 1;
- SiN Episodes: Emergence;
- Counter-Strike: Source;
- Day of Defeat: Source;
- World of Warcraft;
- Diablo 2 LOD;
- StarCraft;
- Warcraft 2 Battle.NET edition;
- Warcraft 3 and Frozen Throne Expansion;
- Guild Wars;
- Baldur's Gate 2;

and emulators:
- Gens;
- Zsnes;
- CPS3Emulator(Nebula);

Note: for those wondering why I used ZSnes in Wine... well, I wanted to test it, plus I could not find a ZSnes emulator in the Ubuntu repositories for x64. And Gens for Linux has always been... horrible.

The results vary though. Source games run a bit slower than they did in Windows. Others, like World of Warcraft run relatively faster. Some, run just as well, like Warcraft 3 and Diablo 2.

While most of these games run without any tweak, some, like World of Warcraft would only run with the "-opengl" flag. usually, details like that are found within AppDB on wine's page, which is also a very active source of information for those in need of running Windows applications in Linux.

So far, I've tried only a few native games: Flightgear, which worked beautifully with my Logitech Joystick, without any addition configuration. I also tried SuperTux 2 and Battle for Wesnoth, all which can easily be installed from Synaptic, also worked without a problem. SuperTux also identified the Xbox 360 Controller.

Community and Documentation
One of the selling points of Ubuntu for me is the huge (and still increasing) community. Both at LQ.org and Ubuntu forums, you are most likely going to receive a reply very quickly. The IRC channel is also very active and friendly.

The Ubuntu Guide continues to be one of the most helpful guides around the net for Ubuntu users and for some, only that is already a good enough reason to choose Ubuntu over any other distribution.

Final thoughts
I know this review may sound biased at times, but it is for a good reason. I think this version of Ubuntu and wine 1.x release are a turning point of Linux as a strong Desktop alternative (at least it was for me). It is the first time, ever, that I felt like Windows was no longer necessary for my needs. Again, I don't particularly have a problem with XP, but put side-a-side with Ubuntu, really feels old, especially with how beautifully Ubuntu renders my fonts, updates, install packages and even has so welcomed small features, like the mouse over song preview in Nautilus.

The only real "problem" I had, is not Ubuntu's fault as so to speak. It was with Skype, which still refuses to release a x64 binary for Linux. I think the average user would have some troubles installing Skype, but the tutorials on the net are fairly comprehensive.

There are still a few bugs needed to be fixed, but Ubuntu is a pretty solid OS, both for the average user, the gamer (thanks for wine) and the developer. And keep in mind that I am using Ubuntu x86_64, which has been a lot harder to get things going on the past.

I am so impressed with this distribution that I just had to stop by Canonical Store and order a few things to help support this distribution =)

Now if you excuse me, I am going to play some World of Warcraft with my Blood Elf Paladin or throw a few Shoryukens in Street Fighter Third Strike.

Thanks for reading. Presented by Mega Man X.

cyberwiz

I am relatively a 'long-term' Ubuntu user (since Breezy). Have been using a number of other Linux distros over time but in my opinion nothing comes close to the 'easiness', flexibility, and the usability of Ubuntu.

Currently I use Hardy (live upgraded from 7.10) at work every day fully integrated into MS/Exchange environment. Never looked back at Windows pc since 3 years.

MafiaTux

I like it but it just doesn't do everything i want fast enough so I went with mandriva for my main computer instead.

OldClay

Over the years I've tried a number of distros. Redhat 4.3 didn't like my S3 graphic's card. Suse 6.4,8.1,9.2,10.4 It seems I could never to get the hang of it. I guess I'm an ol' winhoe's idiot. I repair computers. And that's where a good deal of my income comes from. Ubuntu 7.10 was first the linux distro. That I could really settle down with. And this 8.04 is the first linux operating system I've ever recomended or installed on someone elses computer.. I have still alot to learn about linux. But over the years. I've become so disenchanted with winhoe's and all the cr** that goes with it. That really it is worth it to me to learn new things.

I would recommend this to new users.

The only real problem I've had is with the nvidia graphics drivers.

caryb

My experience is with Kubuntu & Ubuntu server, I'm not a fan of Gnome! On the kubuntu side it is easy to use very intuitive, No browns to be seen. Great KDE app support. On the server side I run 12 Servers from Dapper to Hardy some being VMware server hosts for Citrix & Microsoft apps. It is extremely stable with the old tried & tested Debian with greater development & user base.

Keep up the good work Ubuntu folks!

Cary

screwballl

I have been dealing with various linux distros for at least a decade and Ubuntu 8.04 is the most stable and best looking version to date. They have made it easy to install software, change settings and updated the GUI to make more applications run without the need for an CLI.
It has been setup so that someone who has never touched linux can jump right in when other distros are still "techie" or "business" related, or still too immature to be usable outside of a testing environment. Ubuntu has installed on quite a few machines in my possession without an OS problem. It works very well on multiple laptops that I have installed and used it on.

The only con I have run into is using the native Kubuntu installation media is still buggy with certain hardware configurations so I have had to install regular Ubuntu and then upgrade it with KDE (most recently KDE 4.1).

JeanBrownHarrel

I love this OS. The best one out of all current Linux versions.

The only one that will be better than this one is Ubuntu 8.10 [32-bit version] which is simply awesome.

There is NO better than 8.10 unless it is the next one after 8.10.

However, 8.04 is just fine until then.

Iyeru

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Ubuntu is more of a high-end desktop distro if you ask me. It has all the whistles and bells that Vista's composite manager has (and more thanks to compiz) but it's still not a distro I would use mainly. Plus, less debian packages are available than RPMs for some reason.

offbeat

After trying out different distros ranging from SuSE, Ubuntu, Knoppix, Fedora to RedHat, i've finally landed on Ubuntu Hardy Heron. I'm currently using a dual boot system on my PC together with Windows Xp. Things i liked about Hardy Heron is that it took lesser time to boot and it detected my NTFS drives easily. I could update the system with just few commands and things got updated automatically and painlessly.

The sad part was that even simple applications like gedit took some time to load. Players like Totem crashed when i fiddled with the cuttler bar etc. Regarding the games, i tried installing Age of Empires: The conquerors and running it. Sadly, the game ran at lesser speed. My pc's got 1.5Ghz processor, 256 MB RAM and 32MB Graphics card. I use the same machine to develop applications in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and it works nice and smooth. The beta version of Firefox 3 sucks! I read in the other posts that people had problems installing and using Opera. In my case i encountered no problems. Opera got installed and ran smoothly.

I havent tried KDE yet, I've been a big fan of Gnome from the start. I've disabled all the effects in gnome but still, the speed is a bit disappointing.

Joachim Schrader

In 2002 I started with Debian after some trying with RH, Mandrake and Suse. In 2004 I "converted" to linux completely using only Debian. Yhen I discovered Ubuntu, and I haven't looked back ever since....

greek45