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Walt Mossberg Reviews Dell Ubuntu: "...still too rough around the edges..."

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Re: Walt Mossberg Reviews Dell Ubuntu: "...still too rough around the edges..."

#21

Post by Tichy »

That's quite stupid: all the issues she mentions are also the case for Windows: no control panel for touchpads, no DVD player bundled, and to watch anything interesting you have to install Codec packs from dodgy download pages - I prefer a package manager for that. iPod, I don't know why she couldn't connect it (never had such problems with Ubuntu and external drives). I never tried syncing the iPod, but it's not as if Windows comes with bundled iPod syncing either.

I guess you need a person in the know to set up Ubuntu properly for you, but that's it.

OS X scores a few points in the mentioned problem areas (at least it comes with a DVD player), but it isn't for everyone, either. Personally, I can't stand it.

Re: Walt Mossberg Reviews Dell Ubuntu: "...still too rough around the edges..."

#22

Post by Tichy »

AF wrote: post #4
henning wrote: post #3

I think one of the most amazing things about Ubuntu/Debian is the apt-get based packaging system. Neither Mac nor Windows have anything nearly as good as that. That's its biggest advantage in my view, and if that doesn't matter to you then Linux probably isn't for you.

You know I really do like apt, but it isn't perfect, and 'rough around the edges' isn't a bad description for it (I know he meant Ubuntu as a whole). I've had multiple times that by using apt-get autoremove, my entire Ubuntu installation has been fubared. It is almost nicer how Windows and Mac apps ship with all the required libraries and functionality they need, and you don't have to worry about it (both as a develo…

Try supporting your parents who live far away. What do you do if security wholes in several applications crop up, as was for example the case with Java, Flash and Winamp several times? How do you explain to a normal user through the phone how to update those applications, and make sure that the old versions are properly removed (which the auto-updaters that come with most applications often don't do)?

Re: Walt Mossberg Reviews Dell Ubuntu: "...still too rough around the edges..."

#23

Post by Elfan »

bct wrote: post #17
papersmith wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make a really good point. I think one advantage a package management system has is unified updates. The down side is that could cause problems when configuration file formats change. Gentoo tries to handle this by managing all config files in CVS, so you can diff different versions and merge them. Luckily, in reality, config file formats don't change all that often.

> Gentoo tries to handle this by managing all config files in CVS, so you can diff different versions and merge them. Am I missing something? I wish it did this, but unless something has changed recently it just gives you a tool for merging updates in (and doesn't store old revisions).

dispatch-conf and etc-update are the two config updating tools included with gentoo's portage. dispatch-conf is the newer and preferred tool.

Be default dispatch-conf keeps a backup of your config files in /etc/config-archive. Optionally it can use rcs to track changes.

Re: Walt Mossberg Reviews Dell Ubuntu: "...still too rough around the edges..."

#24

Post by Zak »

Tichy wrote: post #21

That's quite stupid: all the issues she mentions are also the case for Windows: no control panel for touchpads, no DVD player bundled, and to watch anything interesting you have to install Codec packs from dodgy download pages - I prefer a package manager for that. iPod, I don't know why she couldn't connect it (never had such problems with Ubuntu and external drives). I never tried syncing the iPod, but it's not as…

>I guess you need a person in the know to set up Ubuntu properly for you, but that's it.

This is true of Windows as well. Even assuming the manufacturer has everything working out of the box, it's unlikely that it has virus and spyware protection included that won't demand money within a couple months, automatic defragmentation, etc....

Re: Walt Mossberg Reviews Dell Ubuntu: "...still too rough around the edges..."

#25

Post by Jd »

Zak wrote: post #20
ratsbane wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a little disappointed in Mossberg with this. He's right about some things - it is too much trouble to get DVDs, Flash, etc. working with Ubuntu, especially when so many things work so well. I've been strongly recommending Ubuntu or OS X to the cloud of relatives, friends, relatives of friends, and friends of relatives who seem to think that just because I do something with computers that I'm a resource for deskto…

I think you've just touched on the most important point of the whole discussion: the best OS for the average user is the one that their friend/relative/lover geek will be happy to fix for beer/home cooked meal/sex.

Depends. I'd prefer to have an OS that the end-user can use easily so that fixes are less frequent. However, if the payoff is sex then perhaps I would reconsider.
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