I am a relitive new user of Linux and i most recently have tried Ubuntu 8.04. Perhaps the only problem I have with it is that my mouse and keyboard only work half of the time, and that is any mouse and keyboard. I tried a live CD of 7.10, and it was very glitchy when booting up, though once it did it was fine. That also might have been because I have 64-bit processors. That I know of, everything else works fine. I don't mind using the command line, which I'm sure I'll have to do to get the mouse and keyboard working. I'm the kind of person that likes that fact they can do so much with the command line, and I find it kind of fun to learn. Though it does frustrate me a bit that I have to do some tweeking just to get the mouse and keyboard to work.

I use Fedora 8 at school all the time, and from my experience with it, it is O.K.. I guess it helps to have a couple Linux "gurus" as teachers too.

I also attempted to try OpenSuSe, but it screwed up during install, so there is 40GB of unusable space on my mom's hard drive. The only way to fix it is to delete the whole hard drive, which isn't an option.

While many people may find the help they need on online forums, I must have very unusual problems because a lot of the time I either don't get an answer, or I get an unhelpful one.

i am from Malaysia, i am using ubuntu 8.04, it is user friendly, i can play MP3 and do many windows-similar applications, it is excellent!

I'm not sure why more people don't use Xandros. I evaluated many distributions for my employer and found most of them could not handle the Windows network that we're stuck with. I also applied the evaluation at home where, unfortunately, I'm still on dialup. Almost all distributions had problems with dialup modems, especially Winmodems. All of these difficulties were present in Ubuntu. Xandros did not have any problem in either area, and was really user friendly via GUI. I think this interface is necessary for everyday users that are not involved in, or literate in computer software. That applies to most of our employees, and most of the people using computers today.

Likely most people have never tried Xandros. If it manages winmodems that would be a great feature. Your post could make some people's day. Back when I was still on dial up, I gave up and bought an external modem because that was all I could find in an all hardware one.

Most people aren't computer professionals. I would rather paint the house or rebuild the engine in my car than download, install, configure, and evaluate even a fraction of the versions of the distros available. Even if I did, chances are, I might discard a great one because I screwed it up somehow. I have been using this Debian for about 6 weeks, and I am still evaluating what app I want to use for composing stuff like this. Being typing and spelling impaired, I desperately need a top notch spell check. I am writing this in OO. So far it looks like maybe I have found something even better than NS 4.X I have used the last 8 years.

Note, I was able to afford broadband by what I saved by switching to VOIP. I am paying the same $55 total now for internet and phone as I was on dial up, and my free calling area now includes half the world instead of half my county.

I've used 6.10 and 7.10 primarily. I wish I had stayed on 6.10 longer. It was easy to install, and required only a few customizations like for VPN connections.

The 8.04 upgrade failed; a full install succeeded, but then an update broke a lot of things. What amazed me about 8.04 is that even the XUbuntu and alternate installs for KUbuntu did not work. Yet, the 7.10 install was just fine.

I see three months out there will be an 8.04.1 point release, and I'll probably give that a go.

I'm sticking with 6.06.xLTS: rock solid, reliable, does exactly what is asked of it. Absolutely no complaints (and I maintain five other identical installations, for other non-technical people, remotely).

From what I have read about 8.04, I am not "upgrading".

Whilst I may be perceived as a "dinosaur", I'm a happy & productive one. So are the other users - no "HELP" calls from them that aren't resolved by "Reboot your router / tell your ISP that their link is down"

A good point tredegar. What new features does 8.04 have? I must admit I am very happy with the new Iceweasel that came with my new Debian. It loads some sites my old Foxfire didn't and my new Konqueror doesn't. One of the few things I have had trouble with is the Roadrunner site. My up to date Flash isn't good enough for them. Maybe I will decide to quit bothering them and switch to Earthlink, half again the bandwidth for the same $30/mo.

I'm a change adict who loves a new release every 6 month's. Already excellent, 8.04 improved in a number of areas. I'm disapointed thatUbuntu has disowned NFS from a setup perspective. Samba isn't a solution for 100% linux shops. I figured out how to get NFS working even though the scant instruction neglected to say install nfs-kernel server was required. It only said to install nfs-common. Hybernate worked on my Dell 1420n and compiz is now supported with the Intel X3100.

Not at all. you just conform to that old and well proven axiom.
"If it ai'nt broke, don't fix it."

Too true, but someone has to be interested in "spinning cubes" and "flame-effect" window closures and the like [I looked, I saw, I abandoned], or perhaps nothing will advance. So I am not criticising, but just saying what works for me: Functionality over Form. Substance over Style. But I commend the eye-candy enthusiasts for their efforts

As I see it, linux is both for fun and functionality. You make your choice, make whatever contributions you can (not necessarily financial) and just enjoy the freedom.

I try not to forget that this is an OS developed, distributed, and maintained by enthusiasts who distribute their code for nothing other than feeling that they are improving things. I am immensely grateful to all these unseen people.

Linux, and in particular (at the moment) kubuntu works for me

The measure of a person has a lot more to do with their results than it does with the tools they used.