Bob McCune

I’ve been hearing about Ubuntu being the hot new distro for some time now, but never looked into it until last night. I didn’t know anything about it, but assumed this was another geek distro that appealed to hard core Linux fans. It turns out that the exact opposite is true. This is the anti-geek version of Linux. It’s the Linux for the rest of us, if you will. (Note to self… kick your ass for typing that last sentence.)

Ubuntu seeks to be provide a simple, easy-to-use Linux installation and from what I can tell, they have done an amazingly good job. I’m installing it right now on my MacBook Pro under Parallels (which seriously rocks, btw). When you start the installer it quickly does a preliminary installation which brings up a useable Linux environment. If your only goal is to poke around to see what Ubuntu has to offer, this may be all the farther you need to go. If you’re ready to make the Linux commitment you can simply double click the install icon on the desktop to run the complete installer. This will finish installing the OS and install the usual batch of apps you’d expect (Open Office, Firefox, Evolution, Gimp, etc).

Upon startup it immediately checks if there are any updates. It found 51. Wow, it’s almost like I’m using Windows! The auto update feature is very nicely integrated and far more polished than others I have seen. It uses a customized version of Gnome as its desktop manager, which looks very nice.

So, does the rising popularity of Ubuntu spell certain doom for Bill Gates and Steve Jobs? Umm… not likely. Despite being a well put together distro, it’s still Linux. For instance, when I was installing Oracle Express, the installer puked because my swap partition was too small. In 2006, if the term “swap partition” even has to be part of a user’s vocabulary I think that quickly disqualifies it as a serious contender. That said, overall I’d have to say I’m pretty impressed. The installation couldn’t be simpler. The Gnome-based UI is nice and everything looks and feels cohesive and consistent, which is rare in the Linux world.

Is this the distro for you? If you regularly attend Star Trek conventions and/or live in your mother’s basement, probably not. You’re not the target audience. However, if you’re looking for a simple, easy-to-use Linux, Ubuntu would certainly be my recommendation.

laterOn,

-Bob