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Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

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Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#11

The claim that Ubuntu is somehow related to Windows is, of course, ridiculous. What's more ridiculous, though, is how the author assumes it matters which free desktop he's running. It's, basically, an open invitation for flame war.

Yes - I agree this felt like flame-bait.

I found the absence of any references to Debian odd. I say that because for me the choice among Linux distributions is largely a choice of what kind of package management you want to use.

One thing I related to in the article was the reference to the early days of trying Linux:

"I think the first version of Linux I ever tried was from some CD's I found in a magazine back in the mid to late 90's, I think it was version 5 of Redhat."

I like Ubuntu because I have always been more comfortable with dpkg/apt than rpm/yum. I have come to like yum alot more and find CentOS to be a fine choice for servers.

My fondness for Debian is not rational though. It was the first distribution I successfully used. Something just clicked - the install worked, the documentation made sense, apt worked pretty well.

I have dabbled with Gentoo and Slackware and can see the attraction of source based installing. Ditto with NetBSD and pkgsrc. But Debian was my "first"...

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#12

The claim that Ubuntu is somehow related to Windows is, of course, ridiculous. What's more ridiculous, though, is how the author assumes it matters which free desktop he's running. It's, basically, an open invitation for flame war.

Well I'm sorry to see you brush off my opinion piece without actually addressing even a single point.

Just for clarification though: My point isn't that Ubuntu is related to Windows, my point is that it seems Ubuntu is specifically targeting ex-Windows users as prospective clients, and that this fact could explain some of its recent behavior.

And no, I dont think it matters which desktop I'm running, but I do think it matters that the Linux desktop community stay a deverse field, and if the trends we are seeing continue for a few more years that may no longer be the case.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#13
post #8

Fedora was never a very good distro from personal experience ( I've only tried 7-9 though ). And from that fedora really isn't any harder than another distro and is themed for similar audiences as ubuntu. Debian and Ubuntu have one major advantage going for them package management through apt and aptitude.

>package management through apt and aptitude

I thought that this would be my biggest hurdle, but it turned out to be a non-issue as yum has exceeded my expectations, so far at least.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#14
Arguments like this guy and his friend had are the things that distro wars are made of, and it's this sort of infighting that keeps 1996..2010 from becoming "The Year Of The Linux Desktop"

As for Linux distros, I prefer highly flexible ones that start out small and powerful, but are easily customized and rolled into whatever you could possibly want. A long time ago, I thought that meant Gentoo, but I've acquired a soft spot on my heart for Arch Linux. Every install is YOUR distro, built your way.

That's great for me because I know exactly what packages I want to use for word processing, window management, web browsing, music playing, and graphics editing.

The difference, really, between some of the more bloated and popular distributions comes down to whose set of broad-sweeping assumptions do you ascribe to best.

Most computer users don't really care what program comes up for a given task. They just want it to do that task. To that end, both Ubuntu and Fedora should work just fine and I really see no need to get one's knickers in a twist over semantics like this. +1 to all who said it's flame bait.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#15
This reads to me like the writer had an inferiority complex seed planted in his mind by a peer, and eventually ended up acting on that subconscious trigger to modify his choices even though the follow up attempt at rationally examining the claims originally made yielded nothing beyond marketing material.

30% adoption in a tiny sector does not a monoculture make, Ubuntu really just is a better mousetrap from the perspective of wanting a low maintenance Linux based environment. Any project which is open in Fedora is just as open in Ubuntu.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#16
I used to use Fedora, until I found out that one of its leads used to develop malware for the FBI.

http://paranoia.dubfire.net/2009/04/current-red-hat-linux-em...

At which point I switched to Ubuntu.

Now, that may seem a bit hasty, but I'd rather not have the FBI involved with my operating system at all, thank you.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#17
post #9

His assertion that Ubuntu has made Linux a monoculture because it's up to 30% market share makes me happy. He's dreadfully wrong, but it's nice to see a group so consensus-phobic. It means I certainly won't have to worry about a Linux monoculture any time soon. We also won't have commercial apps running smoothly on all Linux boxes any time soon for the same reason, but lately Wine is handling that for me pretty well.…

I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear.

What do you think the Linux Desktop landscape will look like in 5 years if Ubuntu continues to rise at the same pace or even nearly the same pace that it is now?

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#18

I would switch to Linux - any distro - in a heartbeat if I can find one that does these this one thing well: I use my laptop with multiple monitors depending on where I am. Windows handles this perfectly. On all the Linux distros I tried, I always had trouble, and required some kind of editing of some text file hidden somewhere require root access or something. Horrible user experience.

If you have an ATI card, this is pretty much par for the course. I've spent countless hours trying to get mine to work with dual monitors. It just simply doesn't work since I have monitors with different aspect ratios (one is widescreen). Nvidia, as mentioned is a good brand of card to have as it works much more nicely on most linux distros.

ATI recently released a Linux version of their Catalyst Control Center. I had a fairly smooth experience on Lenny Debian with the ATI Radeon X1550.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#19

The claim that Ubuntu is somehow related to Windows is, of course, ridiculous. What's more ridiculous, though, is how the author assumes it matters which free desktop he's running. It's, basically, an open invitation for flame war.

Well I'm sorry to see you brush off my opinion piece without actually addressing even a single point. Just for clarification though: My point isn't that Ubuntu is related to Windows, my point is that it seems Ubuntu is specifically targeting ex-Windows users as prospective clients, and that this fact could explain some of its recent behavior. And no, I dont think it matters which desktop I'm running, but I do think i…

I see your point, but I think if there was more unification, The Linux Movement" would maybe stand a chance at gaining more ground on the desktop market.

Re: Hello Fedora, Goodbye Ubuntu

#20
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I'm sorry to see you brush off my opinion piece without actually addressing even a single point. Just for clarification though: My point isn't that Ubuntu is related to Windows, my point is that it seems Ubuntu is specifically targeting ex-Windows users as prospective clients, and that this fact could explain some of its recent behavior. And no, I dont think it matters which desktop I'm running, but I do think i…

I see your point, but I think if there was more unification, The Linux Movement" would maybe stand a chance at gaining more ground on the desktop market.

I agree, but the trouble is how to gain unification without becoming a mono-culture.

I'm worried what might happen if this continues for another 5 years http://www.google.com/trends?q=Fedora+Desktop,+Ubuntu+Deskto...

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