Soliciting Input For a Linux Review
by Ryan Smith on February 6, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Ryan's Ramblings
One of the things we have been wanting to do for some time now is to do a proper review of Linux as an end-user operating system. We have done articles on Linux in the past relating to performance, but never a complete OS review.
A Month With a Mac, our article on the Mac experience was very well received and we would like to do this again for a Linux review. I, a Linux novice, will use Ubuntu Linux for a month as my primary OS in order to capture an idea of how the Linux experience stacks up, and how it compares to the Mac and Windows platforms.
Now the reason that we're soliciting advice first is due to a matter of timing. Ubuntu is on a six-month release schedule with the next version due in April. If we were to start our month-long experiment next week, our review would not be ready until the middle of March, only a month or so before the next Ubuntu release. On the other hand if we wait for the next version of Ubuntu, a review would not be done until at least the late-May/early-June time frame.
So we would like to hear back from our readers and Linux users. Would you rather see this kind of a review done sooner, or wait another 2-3 months for a review done with a newer version of Ubuntu? This isn't a straight-up vote, but we'd like to take your opinions under serious consideration, especially since we aren't intimately familiar with Ubuntu and what the next version may bring.
Please add your comments to this blog post, we'll get back to you next week to let you guys know if we're going ahead with our experiment or not.
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BladeVenom - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
In Quake Wars, Linux stomps all over Vista. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&...">http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&...murphyslabrat - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
But that benchmark is super old, the Windows drivers have had plenty of time to mature. I think you need to find a more recent benchmark.BladeVenom - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
Total nonsense, October 30, 2007 isn't that old. Vista driver's have already had a year to mature. Newer drivers won't change the results. Especially since there are also even newer drivers for Linux now. The results would probably be even better now for Linux.paulpod - Friday, February 8, 2008 - link
How did gaming topics get in this reply thread?Regarding HD video, I can see that DRMed HD video might be difficult, but over-the-air MPEG transport stream from tuners cards is completely open.
And I forgot about editing. There are extremely fast, simple, and low priced editing solutions for 1080i mpeg on the PC (Womble Mpeg2Vcr). What is video editing (SD and HD) like on Unix? Particlarly solutions like Mpeg2Vcr that simply copy input to output, where possible, without unecessary re-rendering.
oznick - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
Ryan,Given that the upcoming version of Ubuntu (8.04, otherwise known as "Hardy Heron") is a long-term support release, meaning that it is supported on the desktop for 3 years and servers for 5 years, I would recommend waiting for it's release since it should be more comparable to Windows and OS-X as LTS releases are designed for maximum stability, reliability and compatability...
pmonti80 - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
I'd also wait for the next LTS version, Ubuntu 8.04.PolPot - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
From my experience, the following are the critical issues vis-a-vis Linux:1) It's a hell of a lot faster than Vista.
2) Prepare for major headaches installing wireless drivers.
3) Man, tons of free applications are available.
4) Really, you can pretty much kiss your old Windows applications goodbye -- Wine just isn't ready for primetime, even after over 10 years of development, and my guess is that it probably never will be.
5) Get ready for a STEEP learning curve when it comes to the command line. If you know DOS, you have a slight advantage, but not a huge one.
I've experimented with using Linux for my everyday tasks, and it works great 80% of the time. The problem is the other 20% -- I'm still having to boot to Windows. I'd like to get rid of it completely.
morphon - Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - link
I'd say go ahead and review with a few considerations:1. Ubuntu is GNOME-centric, and the latest version of Gnome has some evolutionary improvements but I doubt it will be enough to change your mind about the interface. So, at least in that sense, the "feel" will be similar.
2. Likewise your experience with the software repository will be identical.
3. The end-user security system is being totally redone in 8.04.
4. 8.04 will have better hardware detection and support. Any trials and tribulations you had getting some item to work may not apply to the newer version.
But given the pace of innovation in free software, any time you decide to do a review you will have the same problems. So I'd just go for it - nobody will consider it your "final say" on the topic.
Sasiki - Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - link
I say do the review now, post the article and then in April when the new distro comes out, do a brief follow up with the upgrade experience. I wouldn't expect a full article the 2nd go 'round, just a brief article on your upgrade experience.Calin - Thursday, February 7, 2008 - link
And prepare an article about it. After the new version is available, you might write a short follow-up about the new things - the upgrade process, things that appear different.Also, you could try to use your computer with different amounts of RAM, and inform us about the speed/feel of the system (1GB of RAM, 2GB of RAM - a lower memory use - 512MB or less - might prove interesting but painful to you).