Another Rave Review for Ubuntu

[Ed Sutherland]

I just want to add my voice to those many fans of Ubuntu. The progress 
Linux has made over the last six months is amazing. Nothing more 
epitomizes the greater depth of desktop-centric Linux distributions than 
Ubuntu.

The person who is responsible for the tagline: "Linux for Humans" should 
get a hearty pat on the back. In a nutshell, it is what Linux has always 
needed. I'd been a bit turned-off by the chip-on-the-shoulder much of 
the Linux community had held when it came to the average user. It was as 
if Linux was created by and for CS majors burned out from answering too 
many IT requests. When the average user from Windows decided to 
investigate Linux as a desktop replacement, the response was like the 
proverbial straw that broke the camel's back and a simple question was 
too often greeted by 'read the manual', as if most people have no life 
beyond tweaking their computer operating system and reading obscure man 
pages.

If Linspire is the perfect Linux desktop for beginners, Ubuntu is 
shaping up as the perfect Linux desktop for intermediate users. I fall 
into that category. I like the hand-holding Linspire offers, but prefer 
a bit more freedom.

The two major improvements of Ubuntu haven't been in the performance 
department but in the user experience. I was able to install Ubuntu with 
only one technical question: choosing the partition. My computer 
components were all recognized and X.org came up without a hitch. This 
is a vast improvement over previous Linux distributions which required 
manipulation of various files and settings. I was quickly able to get to 
work; the reason for a computer. As someone pointed out, my computer 
works for me -- not the other way around.

Anyway, I wanted to let the Ubuntu community of my positive experience. 
Although I'm using Linspire 5.0 now for its CNR feature and the 
consolidating of KDE and Gnome apps into a single 'look' I'll keep my 
eyes open for future Ubuntu progress.

Ed