>> "ubuntu ShipIt is great, but it slow and doesn't fit with stand-alone PC. I think it's better if they ship a complete cd or a dvd than a bunch of single cd"

thats impossible , linux is about major and important upgrading of softwares and systems even while you are in the middle of your work ... you cant really relax and enjoy and stop learning about your machines for let say 6 months or more ... a bit ridiculous actually ...

distributing linux with somekind of base system and an "automatically-done" package manager is the easiest things to do ...


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Honestly, I believe the Ubuntu user base is being grossly underestimated, as a lot of 'first-time' Windows converts, like myself, have chosen it as their first distro for one reason or another.

Personally, I had been wanting to try Linux for quite some time, but didn't want my first attempt to go badly. So, I researched for a while. Seeing rave reviews about Dapper in TechWeb & PCWorld, as well as the high ranking on DistroWatch, convinced me to give it a go. The installation was fast and easy, and it just works without any hassles. Also, of all the distros I've tried so far, Dapper is still my favorite. Not saying the others are bad, but I've not been overly impressed.

BTW- 8 months on, Ubuntu is still #1 on DistroWatch, & Debian is #7.

Bill

Originally posted by dragonslayer48dx:
This goes a long way to explaining why Ubuntu polled so highly. It's a kind of self-fulfilling prophesy. High rankings mean more people trying it which in turn keeps the rankings high.

I also think the reputation Debian had for being hard to install has worked against it to some extent. Of course, the current Debian installer is so friendly it's almost cuddly and hardware detection is second to none, but if you don't try it you won't know that!

IMHO Debian deserved more votes, but then so did Slackware. Along with Gentoo these remain the best distros I've used.

Just my

The first part is true, so long as it works. It wouldn't receive rave reviews if it didn't. (Bearing in mind, of course, that the reviewers were installing and using Ubuntu on various PCs).

Also, considering that Ubuntu is based on Debian, it would be foolish for the Ubuntu Team to remove functionality from the base distro. So, IMHO, Ubuntu should be Debian+. And yes, if Debian has/had a bad reputation, it certainly didn't help.

But what I really like most about Linux is that we have choices.

BTW- Love your signature. I always have a beer, just in case of failure (or success!)

Originally posted by dragonslayer48dx:
Possibly it is. But Debian + what? With the most extensive package list available, a choice of three versions plus backports, a choice of desktops, a reliable multi-choice installer and good hardware detection, the only thing Debian lacks by default is proprietary hardware drivers. I confess that I haven't used Ubuntu, hence my original question, but Debian is a hard act to follow IMO.

Absolutely! Couldn't agree more.

I have a confession to make here! Sometimes I have a JD and coke instead (for those truly frustrating "what the hell" moments I've been known to omit the coke)

I like the idea of inserting your past distros in your sig as you've done. In case you're interested I've used Suse, Libranet, Knoppix (installed), Slackware, Gentoo and Debian. I've also got the CDs for Mepis and FC5 but they're still sitting on the shelf (not enough hours in the day).

Mikie

I'm new to the Linux world, I like the idea of Open Source very much, Linux just plain rox!!! I've used Red Hat (not sure what version), once, I've seen Mandrake and its successor Mandriva, But as a Windows user crossing over, Ubuntu is the best option I believe. It makes transition a bit smoother and does not really intimidate a first timer. I've shown a few of my friends Ubuntu and they were instant converts. The installation of programmes though is a pain. I'll get the hang after a while tho!!!

I'm no expert (far from it), having installed Ubuntu as my first serious attempt at Linux in over 5 years, in October 2005.

It really depends what you want to install, the degree of difficulty installing. If you install something from the repositories it's easier than any installation in Windows. It IS different though.

To those who wonder why Ubuntu is most popular, it has received great reviews from people who are experienced Linux users along with those who are new to Linux. I believe it's a good middle of the road distro, because although it's got some nice GUIs it's also nice for getting your hands dirty. Once again I'm not an expert, only being relatively new to Linux, but that's one thing that attracted me to it. I didn't want "another Windows" but I wanted something that I'd be able to use 'til I got used to Linux too.

I hope this post doesn't appear in the forum the way it appears in the preview. Where is the text wrap option?

Yup, that is it exactly. It is why ubuntu jumped ahead of other noob-friendly distros like xandros and linspire, because it can appeal to experienced linux users as well as noobs like me.

i suspect that maybe that kind of appeal of ubuntu only works on people who want to or try to use linux seriously for the first time after using windows for years ... so consider themselves lucky that they try ubuntu earlier and they dont need to know the existence of any other flavours ...

as for other people who may have use somekind of linux on and off for years ... they cant really talk about the appeal of ubuntu ... its a kind of laziness after all those silly years(like got nothing better to do) actually ... and they dont find the needs hunting for another major distro let alone upgrade(its silly for them) to the latest distribution of their old fav. distro ...



//.2 cents ...


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That may be it, I suppose. I jumped in to XandrOS after having played with REd Hat and SusE previously, though, so Xandros was my first debian-build distro. If I'd tried Ubuntu first I might have stuck with it.

But I like the feel of Xandros, and the user community, and the availability of tech support from Ottawa ... I'll stick with it for now!

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. I tried RedHat about 5 years ago, because it was the distro which came with the "how to install linux" book. I played with it, but although I'd like to have given Windows the flick, I'm not a geek (well not an IT pro anyway...you may say I'm a geek simply because I use Linux as my main OS) and Linux really wasn't as easy as it is now.

When it came to trying again, I had people from my LUG mailing list talking about Ubuntu, and these guys are system admins etc. I don't even understand most of what they're talking about.

I mentioned trying Ubuntu, and they said it would be worthwhile. I had a LiveCD for Ubuntu, one for Knoppix and one for Xandros. The Xandros one didn't boot. The Ubuntu one booted into a nice slick desktop and had several apps that I'd used before in Windows already installed. I used it for a few hours, found a howto on dual-booting Ubuntu, followed it, it just worked.

The Ubuntu user forums (ubuntuforums.org) are acknowledged as one of the major reasons people use Ubuntu.

I've considered triple-booting another distro but I just don't have the disk space to run 3 OSs and I need XP atm. So because Ubuntu is my main/working OS, and I still rely on XP for a couple of programs, I haven't been able to try another distro. And if I did, it'd have to do something special to take me away from Ubuntu.

I tried a slackware LiveCD at one stage, pretty recently. Obviously I couldn't set it up with everything I wanted, on LiveCD so I couldn't give it a real go. I've bought an external USB HD and have so far used it for backups, but if I can work out how to install a distro to boot from the usb I'll be able to give other distros a go.

my 2c

first ist ubuntu 2. Slackware
i think Slackware people visit often forums because of your problems
because of this they shine so most as they to be )

How I got to like Ubuntu was a by friend of mine showing me the ubuntu desktop, he gave me live cd and I tried it and as they say "the rest is histiry."

How I got to like Ubuntu was a by friend of mine showing me the ubuntu desktop, he gave me live cd and I tried it and as they say "the rest is history."

it would most likely be the /etc/X11/Xorg.conf file maybe you should take a little look into there?
if you wanted to cheat you could steal yours from knoppix and paste it into ubuntu. but make sure you back up your current one first. always backup.