He's so easily corrupted by power that he dishes out a hundred grand to his janitors? Shuttleworth is an idealist, not an idealogue. There is a substantial difference between the two. He strikes me as someone who has realized that Don Quixote had a point. He may indeed have future disagreements with developers, but where would the fun be if we all agreed on everything?
After reading these threads, I feel compelled to give my 2 cents. I mean really, complaining about how a Desktop oriented LiveCD makes a lousy web server?! Here's a brief synopsis of my ubuntu experience. First - excellent desktop integration. My computer illiterate friends who had chronic windows problems are now running ubuntu with few complaints. Hardware detection is adequate, although much of the problem is with the hardware vendors themselves failing to release drivers for linux. As far as the liveCD complaints.... Most of them are true. The ubuntu livecd is great for giving a Windows user a preview of the Gnome interface, but other than that, it's useless. Ubuntu comes with a minimum of default packages, and if you have other preferences you'll need to experiment with a full install to get them. The installation is not difficult if you're familiar with the linux file structure and file systems, but I can see how it would be confusing for a linux novice. The most frustrating (yet most admirable) issue with ubuntu is it's insistance on including only open software in the default installation. To play DVDs or even a simple mp3, you have to download additional software through synaptic (which is still absurdly easy). If you are an ubergeek who is looking for a superpowered server or a system that is tweakable to the nth degree then go play with gentoo. If you're that technically savvy, then you are well aware of the limitations of a Desktop oriented distro and a LiveCD and should not be overly critical when they don't work for other purposes. For those of us who just want a linux distro that feels comfortable on a desktop, has adequate support (don't forget that you can purchase tech support if you don't like the forums or irc) and is absurdly easy to use - then install ubuntu and find out if it's right for you. It's free, so what do you have to lose?!
Back in a past life I too was an IT tech and went through the rather interesting experience of becoming a linux junkie. I believe that the best way to feed a man is to teach him to fish, however, so I'll just impart a few litte things that really helped me to learn. First, forget "familiarizing" yourself with Knoppix or some other CD bootable distro. While these are great for introducing users to the "feel" of a linux GUI, they don't give you half the experience you need to become a linux admin. Same goes for dual booting - if you can't make it work in *nix, than stick with windows, or find a work-around. I wiped XP off my HDD and dove right in with a stage 2 install of Gentoo. Just going through that install process taught me a ton! I spent the next 6 months tripping over one obstacle after another, from configuring a 7 button mouse to learning how to configure a wireless interface,etc. I played, made mistakes, broke things, fixed them, and broke them again until I learned how things WORKED. When it came time to return to school, I didn't have as much time to play with my system, so I experimented with other distros for a few months before settling on Ubuntu. I'm still learning, but have become able enough to convert many of my friends and family (some of which don't know a processor from a floppy drive) to linux without too much difficulty. I currently maintain 15 computers on 4 different networks and am glad I migrated to linux, but even happier I took the time to learn my way around. One last piece of advice - before you switch spend a couple weeks browsing the forums and irc channels of various linux distros, especially "bare bones" ones like gentoo and slackware. Once you have an idea of where to go when you need help and you learn enough of the language that you're not ignored because you ask questions that have already been posted - THEN you are ready to switch. Good luck! Oh! check out www.distrowatch.com if you haven't already.
Agreed, the first was horrible because Lucas was busy playing with his CGI toys rather than developing storyline and character depth. Episode II was slightly better, mostly because it had more references to the original trilogy which almost made it feel like it had a plot. Other than that, it was loaded with action gimmicks and emotionless characters. The prequels were supposed to answer all of our questions about how the empire came to power, how Luke and Leia wound up on different worlds (and how Leia got the palace while Luke got a sandbox!) and most of all... What made Anakin into Vader. Episode 1 told us nothing, and was a huge disappointment. Episode 11 gave us a few hints, and filled in the gaps on other stock characters like Boba and Yoda. Episode 111 has potential because Lucas seems to have finally put away his toys and got around to showing us what we've wanted all along........the story behind the saga!
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He's so easily corrupted by power that he dishes out a hundred grand to his janitors? Shuttleworth is an idealist, not an idealogue. There is a substantial difference between the two. He strikes me as someone who has realized that Don Quixote had a point. He may indeed have future disagreements with developers, but where would the fun be if we all agreed on everything?
After reading these threads, I feel compelled to give my 2 cents. I mean really, complaining about how a Desktop oriented LiveCD makes a lousy web server?! Here's a brief synopsis of my ubuntu experience. First - excellent desktop integration. My computer illiterate friends who had chronic windows problems are now running ubuntu with few complaints. Hardware detection is adequate, although much of the problem is with the hardware vendors themselves failing to release drivers for linux. As far as the liveCD complaints.... Most of them are true. The ubuntu livecd is great for giving a Windows user a preview of the Gnome interface, but other than that, it's useless. Ubuntu comes with a minimum of default packages, and if you have other preferences you'll need to experiment with a full install to get them. The installation is not difficult if you're familiar with the linux file structure and file systems, but I can see how it would be confusing for a linux novice. The most frustrating (yet most admirable) issue with ubuntu is it's insistance on including only open software in the default installation. To play DVDs or even a simple mp3, you have to download additional software through synaptic (which is still absurdly easy). If you are an ubergeek who is looking for a superpowered server or a system that is tweakable to the nth degree then go play with gentoo. If you're that technically savvy, then you are well aware of the limitations of a Desktop oriented distro and a LiveCD and should not be overly critical when they don't work for other purposes. For those of us who just want a linux distro that feels comfortable on a desktop, has adequate support (don't forget that you can purchase tech support if you don't like the forums or irc) and is absurdly easy to use - then install ubuntu and find out if it's right for you. It's free, so what do you have to lose?!
Back in a past life I too was an IT tech and went through the rather interesting experience of becoming a linux junkie. I believe that the best way to feed a man is to teach him to fish, however, so I'll just impart a few litte things that really helped me to learn. First, forget "familiarizing" yourself with Knoppix or some other CD bootable distro. While these are great for introducing users to the "feel" of a linux GUI, they don't give you half the experience you need to become a linux admin. Same goes for dual booting - if you can't make it work in *nix, than stick with windows, or find a work-around. I wiped XP off my HDD and dove right in with a stage 2 install of Gentoo. Just going through that install process taught me a ton! I spent the next 6 months tripping over one obstacle after another, from configuring a 7 button mouse to learning how to configure a wireless interface,etc. I played, made mistakes, broke things, fixed them, and broke them again until I learned how things WORKED. When it came time to return to school, I didn't have as much time to play with my system, so I experimented with other distros for a few months before settling on Ubuntu. I'm still learning, but have become able enough to convert many of my friends and family (some of which don't know a processor from a floppy drive) to linux without too much difficulty. I currently maintain 15 computers on 4 different networks and am glad I migrated to linux, but even happier I took the time to learn my way around. One last piece of advice - before you switch spend a couple weeks browsing the forums and irc channels of various linux distros, especially "bare bones" ones like gentoo and slackware. Once you have an idea of where to go when you need help and you learn enough of the language that you're not ignored because you ask questions that have already been posted - THEN you are ready to switch. Good luck! Oh! check out www.distrowatch.com if you haven't already.
Agreed, the first was horrible because Lucas was busy playing with his CGI toys rather than developing storyline and character depth. Episode II was slightly better, mostly because it had more references to the original trilogy which almost made it feel like it had a plot. Other than that, it was loaded with action gimmicks and emotionless characters. The prequels were supposed to answer all of our questions about how the empire came to power, how Luke and Leia wound up on different worlds (and how Leia got the palace while Luke got a sandbox!) and most of all... What made Anakin into Vader. Episode 1 told us nothing, and was a huge disappointment. Episode 11 gave us a few hints, and filled in the gaps on other stock characters like Boba and Yoda. Episode 111 has potential because Lucas seems to have finally put away his toys and got around to showing us what we've wanted all along........the story behind the saga!