[yeshuas]

Graham, I read in another thread that you didn't like version 9.04, what about it didn't you like?

[Grav!ty]

Graham, I read in another thread that you didn't like version 9.04, what about it didn't you like?

I unplugged my Windows installation drives so I didn't have to mess with the MBR of my 4 Windows installs. Then booted up to the Ubuntu 9.04 CD. Installation is a cinch, with clear directions as to what to choose and I was impressed that hardware drivers were downloaded and installed during setup. Installation took a little more than 20 minutes. The user interface is really good and as a predominantly Windows user I certainly was not lost. The task bars (one on the top and the other at the bottom of the screen) are great. Having Firefox as the default internet browser is another huge plus and OpenOffice 3.0 works great and has obviously come a long way.

I guess it is an OS that one can adapt to very easily and abandon Windows entirely except for some games and applications.

What got to me eventually (after all of 2 days of having it installed ) is the graphics drivers and the inability to save my desktop resolution. I downloaded the latest Linux nVidia drivers for my 7900GS and installed them and they made no difference. Each time I booted up to Ubuntu I had to reset my screen resolution from the default 800 X 600 which was really horrible and left the desktop buckled and out of shape to 1152 X 864 which filled the screen nicely. Also, I was unable to within Ubuntu, change the monitor refresh rate to the 85 Hz that it needs and that obviously was the cause of the problem. I didn't want to mess with the physical monitor settings as that would affect my Windows operating systems.

So yeah, I think it's come a long way and very easy to use with no special Linux knowledge or commands to have to use but somehow I think, based on how my GPU was fully supported not, there are still some things that need attention.

I'll install on my AMD system which has a 7800GT graphics card in the not too distant future and see how that goes

[yeshuas]

I only installed it in a VM, which is where I have been using Ubuntu 8.04 for a few months so it is hard to tell about the graphics drivers, and I too have an nVidia card so the drivers would probably be an issue for me with a complete live install, or that would be my guess since you found issue with it.

Thanks for the response
Daniel

[Grav!ty]

Well it may be my monitor that needs drivers and are not available although one would expect the standard CRT drivers to be good

[gries818]

Did you try using ndiswrapper for the graphics card drivers? It is used a lot for wireless card drivers, but it works for other Windows drivers too. Might be worth a try since it seems like you like the OS a lot.

Try

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install ndisgtk

Or just find the ndisgtk package in the repository... it is the graphic environment for ndiswrapper. Good luck.

[Grav!ty]

Thanks Will. Yeah a little perseverance and no doubt I'll get it right

I already nixed it though because I wanted to test the fixmbr thing again to get rid of the GRUB bootloader. I think Ubuntu/Canonical/Mark Shuttleworth is definitely on the right track. Actually it's quite amazing what they've managed to achieve and with a few more developments Windows could be in for some real competition. There are graphics interface features in 9.04 which give Vista and Windows 7 a run for their money.

Here's a few other things I found a bit "disconcerting" though...the fact one can't get a good look at one's hardware setup, only in text mode but not in a graphical depiction. Also, some driver installation and installation of some software still needs an understanding of the commands one needs to run and where to run to them. I find it strange that simple basic interfaces and executable programs that include calling the command set needed to implement them aren't being developed. That's the first user friendly requirements needed to bring Linux to the main stream in my opinion and it escapes me why much much more attention isn't paid to that. Until they do it's only those with an inclination to learn how to do those things that are going to be serious users of any Linux distribution. It's like the fact that 90% of PC users are familiar with windows is just totally ignored and they (developers) kinda say "hey if you want to use Linux then get with the program". Fact is most then opt not to "get with the program"

[imnuts]

Graham, it sounds like your xorg.conf file just needs to be updated/re-written to get the monitor settings that you want. Unfortunately, I don't know of a "simple" way to do this in Ubuntu, though maybe their wiki has something. It should mainly involve running "X -configure" as root, then "X -config xorg.conf.new" to test out the generated settings, which hopefully are right.

[gries818]

Besides some minor issues, I feel Linux is really starting to grow up... and fast. From my perspective, the actual core of the operating system is much more solid than the Desktop Environment (GNOME, KDE), but these are getting better with each successive release.

One major flaw with Linux however is the fact that new users can easily become overwhelmed with the fact that there are so many different options. One of it's greatest strengths, the fact that it is Open Source, can also come back to hurt it because users can't find the same sort of consistency they can with Windows or Mac. But Ubuntu is quickly emerging from this mess and proving it's worth against much more "weathered" OS'es. I'm sure Microsoft is already quaking in their boots over Ubuntu and if they keep up the hard work, it won't be long before Apple starts to worry too.

All I know is that regardless of whether I buy Apple, or buy from some other retailer: I am never buying Windows on a computer again. I'm so happy with my Mac and with my Linux server that I can't see the benefit to buying Windows again. Improvements made in compatibility between Linux/Mac and Windows have really helped to make not using Windows a viable option.