A HUGE Ubuntu convert
February 22nd, 2007[ Linux ]
Now that I have some experience with Ubuntu, I find myself looking for excuses to keep running fedora on my desktop. When you have the likes of Eric Raymond jumping to your OS you have to like your prospects. I have no idea how legitimate this ‘Goodbye Fedora letter’ is but if it is then it’s very interesting.
My only hesitations with moving my desktop to ubuntu are dual monitor and raid-1 support. I’m sure they’re both doable but I’d have to feel cozy about that first.
February 23rd, 2007 at 4:25 am
Hi!
I’m running Ubuntu (feisty, atm, but I also had edgy and dapper) and I’m running a dual screen setup (twinview) with nvidia card (on my laptop), and it works perfectly. If you have a nvidia card, it should work.
February 23rd, 2007 at 6:28 am
As it happens, I run a dual monitor raid-1 setup using Ubuntu Edgy on my main dev’ box.
For raid support you need to use the alternate rather than live CD for install, and manually configure the partitions. Dual monitor support is discussed here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=221174. Basically, install latest 3D driver then edit the x.conf by hand.
Feisty, due in April, is supposed to be making dual monitor easier.
February 23rd, 2007 at 9:49 am
First off. welcome to the Ubuntu community.
Ubuntu doesn’t yet have a nice graphical way to setup dual-head. But if you can manage, you can just edit your xorg.conf directly. You can even have a look at how fedora set yours up. Here is a link about it:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/XineramaHowTo
If in any doubt, you will find there is more understandable information online, than there is for any distrobution or OS. Perhaps due to sheer-size of people using Ubuntu. But if you still can’t manage, you can always place a support request on launchpad.
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+tickets
There are lots of nice people there answering your specific questions and needs. And in case your wondering, the support is from the community (although a lot of canonical employees also help people out there, in the majority of cases the community is faster to reply
I think Ubuntu’s power really comes from it being both a community effort and a commercial effort. Everything is transparent, you can see, add and discuss feature specifications. It has the best bug management systeem ever: it will track all of its own bugs, but also link them back upstream when it is not a packaging bug.
Every new version contains tweaks and love from the community as well from people being paid by Canonical. The line between these two groups of people is very very thin. In reality it comes down to people being paid to do the boring stuff and the community gets to do the exciting stuff. Some people only help by providing support for free to others (also managed on launchpad), some people just write specifications (whats needs to be improved the next version), others deal with translation, etc.
Its like the hobbyist are more in control with Ubuntu than any other commerically supported distrobution. If you want stable and supported you just don’t enable the universe
If you all the community love you can handle you enable the universe.
In any case, I hope you will like your new desktop. Just don’t be overwhelmed: there is a lot possible with ubuntu if you stick within the supported segment, but you can do even more if you decide to go hacking on your own.
Good reference-sites:
http://ubuntuguide.org
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/
If there is any software they don’t provide. The best place to help yourself is:
http://getdeb.net
February 23rd, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Wow, thanks for the comments. I’m fine with using mashing xorg(http://shiftmode.com/2007/02/new-majeen.html) by hand as that was the only way I got fedora going. I didn’t get any love from fedora in getting my dual monitors going so it’s no loss if that’s not currently in ubuntu.
February 25th, 2007 at 9:43 am
[…] But of course other people with a lower profile than Eric are switching their OS to Ubuntu every day. A Google blog search turns out two more recent converts to Ubuntu, both posted on their blog today: here and here. I sometimes wish they was a nice and easy way to welcome all these new people to the Ubuntu community. Previous Post: Travis Watkins: Compiz Porting » Next Post: Simon Law: DemoCamp Montréal 1 » Related Reading: […]