There and back again. Ubuntu.

chrispche · #1 26th September 2009, 10:37 PM

I have used Ubuntu since the days of Dapper Drake. Now I use Jaunty Ubuntu 9.04. Recently I got curious and decided to try out some other distros. So there I was browsing through Distrowatch. I decided to try out openSUSE, Mandriva and Fedora.

What I want to know is I tried all these out. None can compare to the stability and usability of Ubuntu. The best of the lot if I have to say is Fedora.

So once again I'm back using Ubuntu. The others were just to quirky. But they have there following right? So it must be usable to some. Why am I stuck on Ubuntu.

I'm not the only one after some research I find other's who are unable to pull away from Ubuntu. I mean it's like a drug or something, you simply cannot give it up. My reasons for wanting to move on is I think it's about time.

Seems to me I'm stuck.

stoat · #2 26th September 2009, 10:52 PM

Hello chrispche,

You should use what you like and forgive yourself for it. I did the opposite thing. I have always used and loved Fedora. Last night, for the first time, I installed Ubuntu 8.10 in a spare partition from a CD I've had around here for a while. I like it. Everything works. It's polished and pretty. A little snazzier than Debian Lenny which I maintain just to keep up with apt-get. I've tried a few others just out of curiosity, but I doubt I will ever stop calling Fedora my main Linux. So yeah, I guess they all have their followers.

***Dan*** · #3 26th September 2009, 10:59 PM

OK. Let me ask you a question.

Bluntly, why not stick with Ubuntu? If it works for you, and you've become used to it, dual boot. (or triple if you need)

It's all Linux, and any one of them can be made to look like another. Package management is the biggest difference. That and the whole "sudo" vs "su -" deal. And that's interchangeable too.

SO ... perhaps what you are perceiving as, "stuck" is simply a matter of making an intelligent choice for the time being. I'm sure if you find another distro which completely captures your fancy ... you'll be plenty quick enough to give up the brown *buntu.

billy123 · #4 27th September 2009, 05:45 AM

You could try Crunchbang Linux, which is Ubuntu-based but it uses Openbox to give a nice minimalistic desktop. It has inbuilt multimedia support, very good choice of default applications and it has fast boot times. Its perfect if you want to try something with the familiarity of Ubuntu but a totally different look and feel.

scottro · #5 27th September 2009, 07:18 AM

There's nothing wrong with going distro hopping till you find *the* one distro or O/S that pleases you. Sometimes, it can be due to a philosophical difference, sometimes, you just prefer distro X's default to distro Y's, even though you know that you could, with effort, make distro Y work the way distro X did.

Nokia · #6 27th September 2009, 08:04 AM

Hmmm, I feel good.
Come to think of it, I've been feeling good for quite a while.
Something must be wrong here...
Surely I need to switch my distro.
I'll sell all my computer related gear, buy Vista and 7 DVD's (all of them), hang it on my walls as pictures, and have a nice virus/malware/worry-free life.

NOW, I feal REAL good

Danielone · #7 11th October 2009, 10:07 PM

maybe you are so accostoumed to Ubuntu that you feel like it is natural to use it. consequently the other distros are like strangers to you

chrispche · #8 11th October 2009, 10:12 PM

Well I've been using Fedora 11 for some weeks now. I feel somewhat at home with it. However, with the new Ubuntu imminent, I could feel the tug back again. Although I will try it first, as everything seems to work fine and dandy in Fedora, well almost everything.

JN4OldSchool · #9 11th October 2009, 10:16 PM

Just learn to multi-boot, then you have no conflict. Only Linux nirvana.

chrispche · #10 11th October 2009, 10:18 PM

I think I will with the new Ubuntu coming out.

scottro · #11 12th October 2009, 04:14 AM

I must say, I'm impressed with Koala. They're finally offering a nice choice of backgrounds, there's a somewhat different color scheme, and at present, everything really does seem to Just Work(TM).

Seems as if they did a very nice job.

Nokia · #12 12th October 2009, 06:55 AM

Wonder if they'll stick with Firefox 3.5 or go for 3.6 after all. (And I don't mean using a ppa) A 3.6 RC is due this week iirc.
I should say Koala reached it's beta stage right about now. From the moment the official beta announcement was made almost two weeks ago there's been a fair amount of updates (few hundred megs). Things seem pretty stable for a few days. Firefox keyboard issues however still exist on all my dist-upgraded boxes. (IE <Enter> key doesn't work when typing an address, and this is somewhat annoying)

scottro · #13 12th October 2009, 12:23 PM

Nah, enter keys are over rated.

I didn't run into that. I don't use Ubuntu very much, actually, I just throw it on a laptop or two because some of my users have it, and will ask me questions. I just go with most of the default stuff, and for that, it really does seem to work well.

I'm sure if it were my main distribution, I would be full of complaints, as I tend to dislike desktop distributions. However, both Ubuntu and Fedora give you options for minimalistc installs.

Still, I was really impress by its ease of use, and I like the new look, too.