Ubuntu (Just a quick drive from Redmond, WA) - Ubuntu is quickly becoming one of the most popular Linux distributions.  Its current release is version 7.04, entitled Feisty Fawn.  The next version will be 7.10, dubbed Gutsy Gibbon.  Gibbon will bring new support for simplified Xorg configurations (making it easier to setup video cards, graphics modes, etc.) and it will be the first to include a full mobile or embedded edition.  It will also carry with it what many feel is the biggest addition to Linux:  Compiz Fusion.  It's an enhanced 3D GUI which many believe greatly exceeds Windows Vista in presence, friendliness, ease of use and configuration.

TG Daily wrote an article entitled Leaving Redmond, WA in 24 Hours.  That article outlined many of the quirks Windows users might encounter as they switched to Ubuntu or Linux in general.  In our experience it takes about 24 hours of OS research on use to become familiar enough with Linux.  That's if you're an average Windows user.  And in that time the foundation is laid for a new way to use your computer, one that in our experience is even fun again.

The Redmond, WA article was based on the 7.04 release which primarily uses more traditional GUIs like Gnome and KDE--though it can also use Compiz or Beryl as alternative 3D desktops.  Since companies like Dell and Intel have begun showing significant interest in Ubuntu, with Intel even going so far as devoting significant stage time and a keynote interview to Ubuntu and its team during their Fall IDF 2007, the Ubuntu management and development groups have begun focusing on giving users more of what they want in a Windows-like OS.  It's primarily that rich, multi-media experience that's being injected into Gibbon today, one which will definitely raise the face of Linux.

Part of the reason why Gutsy Gibbon will include a full mobile/embedded version is the rich graphics and trend toward flashier mobile devices.  Intel is looking to use Ubuntu as its de facto mobile OS, for MIDs, notebooks, PDAs, and all small devices.  This changing face of Ubuntu, from standard GUI to the uber-graphical  GUI, will help make Gibbon a more desirable alternative to Windows on every platform.  Finally, in a graphical manner a user will be able to have the same OS on small mobile devices as on desktop and notebook.

The 7.10 release signifies a notable crossover from the traditional image of Linux as a text-based tool, or basic GUI.  While those abilities can still be employed for low-overhead performance, user desirable additions like Compiz Fusion finally bring full 3D to the GUI in an integrated manner.  Multi-layered windows, animations, graphics, everything you would expect from an enhanced GUI experience will be there.

Gutsty Gibbon's official release date is slated for October 18.  Today it is available for download in a pre-release form.  If anyone has experience using Ubuntu or Gibbon specifically, please post your comments and experience below.

LINUX! *snort snort*

Oct 10, 2007 10:16     

LINUX!
Brian report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

umm...

Oct 10, 2007 10:22     

compiz has been around for a LONG time. [The new feature is Compiz Fusion, which brings the best of Compiz and Beryl together. -Rick]
Skittle report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu Pwns

Oct 10, 2007 10:27     

Ubuntu Is awesome.From my experience all i have to say is 3 lil words: I Just Works. You don't have to worry about install hardware and stuff and then messing with drivers.You plug it in and there you go.Again this from my experience.
bob report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

cool

Oct 10, 2007 10:34     

I've been using openSUSE for the last few months at home but maybe it's time to test out Ubuntu on the new workstation which should be built early next year. By then drivers should be even more settled, good stuff and thanks for the info.
Niva report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hope they got out the bugs...

Oct 10, 2007 10:46     

In Fiesty they had a testing version of compiz which caused bugs and crashes on may computers (including mine) but it was disabled by default. I hope that Gutsy wont be entirely reliant on compiz. Or that if it is they have worked out the bugs that made my mobile graphics reject it. Still I do intend to install it when I can get my hands on a final release.
e1000 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Actual experience

Oct 10, 2007 10:49     

I've been using Ubuntu for my home office for almost a year and a half now and I've been using Gutsy Gibbon for a little over a week. My primary office computer is a little long in the tooth and required some command line editing to bring Compiz Fusion online, but I am seriously impressed. I really believe that this new version will help start driving further adoption in the mainstream. This beta release has been completely stable and worked "out of the box" on my system, unlike previous versions which required some tinkering.

Jeremy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

$15 mill a year on Ubuntu

Oct 10, 2007 11:15     

We made the move from ASP and MS-SQL to PHP and MySQL on Ubuntu. In the first month we saw a 10% increase in business. It's safe to say the software/hardware worked as well under Ubuntu as it did under Microsoft. No reason to go back and more of our user's are converting over. I'm excited to see 7.10 when it comes out. I currently run Xp64 and W2k. I think soon I'll trade Xp64 for Ubuntu 7.10.
GZ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu rulezzzzzzzzzz

Oct 10, 2007 11:51     

Hey the hardy heron 8.04 i think that it will be windows killer.
Theodoros report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

My Ubuntu Story!

Oct 10, 2007 11:52     

I use my computer a lot, I run a real estate business with over 30 websites of which I am the administrator. I also do PC Consulting. I purchased a new laptop which came with Vista. After about 3 months of using it to make sure it was not just my natural resistance to change that I hated about it I finally got frustrated enough to decide I would downgrade the laptop to xp. A friend suggested I try a ubuntu live cd and run it from the cd rom to check compatibility. I did and it seemed to run fine but a little slow, I figured that since there was an install icon, and that because I was done with vista why not install it now and see how it worked from the hard disk. I was amazed by how quickly it booted and how when you click on an application such as firefox it just almost instantly pops up and when you click to close it instantly closes. This was different than the last few years experience I had had with XP and certainly much faster than Vista. I found myself using my laptop to do everything and completely avoiding my desktop. It was just faster to do things without having to wait on the hourglass with windows. After about a month of not using my desktop pc at all but being reluctant to make the total switch just in case I needed that one application to run that only ran in windows. I never found that application as everything I needed to do all my web publishing, programming, business documents, and even what little gaming I do, I was able to find suitable replacements for and mostly for free. Heck even most of my windows games installed with wine and ran well on ubuntu fiesty. I installed ubuntu on my desktop pc as well. Additionally on the pc my kids use ubuntu has solved many issues, no more does it get so bogged down with spyware and viruses every couple of weeks that it wont hardly run. I have not had to touch it for nearly 4 months. I am currently running both feisty and gutsy on my desktop as a dual boot system. I have to say this as well, I have been using a pc since the 80s and my next statement is based on my personal experience with the releases of Windows, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows Millenium, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Vista. From the time gutsy was released as a beta it has been more stable and had far fewer problems than have been in any of the Microsoft final releases I have installed. I am excited and have been counting down the days until Gutsy becomes an official release. I do not expect to see any amazing changes in it since its working great for me, but at this point the developers are still saying not to use it on a production machine. TOO LATE :) God Bless Joe

Joe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu ownz joo!

Oct 10, 2007 12:35     

Seriously though; I switched to Ubuntu over a year ago and have never looked back.
NutZ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

try a real distro

Oct 10, 2007 13:51     

ubuntu is pretty much for kiddies and grandparents. try a real dsitro like debian... [Ubuntu is Debian based. All Debian software works in Ubuntu. -Rick]
Skittle report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu Footnote

Oct 10, 2007 13:57     

I had ran Ubuntu 5.10 since early 2006, but I uninstalled because I needed to use the hard drive it was on to a different computer. Still, great OS! I'll be installing it on my new build--give it 20GB and it should be happy.
Bobsama report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu and Nvidia

Oct 10, 2007 14:25     

Fiesty Fawn will not let you install without making loads of modifications if you have an 8800GTX. For the linux noob this is a big problem, as there is no straight forward way to make the changes unless you know what you are doing. I am hoping that the new 3D GUI version (sigh...) will have support for this right out of the box so you can at least install it without having to invite people over to help out. I have 3 friends I tried to talk into trying it out that have new gaming systems, and they all went back to 100% windows with no intention of even trying again. Makes mae sad...

JFB report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu is very clean and smooth distro

Oct 10, 2007 14:25     

I finally checked out Ubuntu this summer after using Mandriva/Mandrake for the last 8 years and being a "silver" member for the last 4. I found it to be much cleaner and smoother in terms of administration and application installation/grouping. I'm looking forward to installing Gutsy next and plan to migrate my Mandriva systems to kubuntu in the future.
John report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Well done Captain Obvious

Oct 10, 2007 14:31     

"The 7.10 release signifies a notable crossover from the traditional image of Linux as a text-based tool, or basic GUI. While those abilities can still be employed for low-overhead performance, user desirable additions like Compiz Fusion finally bring full 3D to the GUI in an integrated manner. Multi-layered windows, animations, graphics, everything you would expect from an enhanced GUI experience will be there." Captain Obvious can now rest after a hard day at work. Sarcasm aside, this is what I believe has been holding back Linux for so long; a polished user interface. Look at Apple with their OS for an example of what can be done.

J report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

...stop it

Oct 10, 2007 15:15     

Do you mind not editing my posts? and of course its debian based.. with a bunch of bloatware added in. The whole joy of debian is building it from the ground up your self. [I'm curious how you've come to this conclusion, as if it's foregone for all users? Ubuntu's greatest asset is that it allows Linux newbies to begin the process without significant difficulty. It's the "it just works" version of Linux. -Rick]

Skittle report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Admin

Oct 10, 2007 15:32     

In Feisty Fawn, the networking tool has died on my box so my NIC card has to be brought up via shell commands after a boot. Also some problem causes the system to hang for a few minutes at each boot, failing to load the GUI. Last, I have NEVER seen gigabit speeds from my NIC card (I tried 3). If I switch the card to 1000mbit, it disconnects from the switch. Other than that, it seems a decent file server OS. I hope the upgrade fixes my problems.

TJ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I am using gutsy too for a few weeks now. I was not...

Oct 10, 2007 15:32     

I am using gutsy too for a few weeks now. I was not intending to install it till its final release but the good reviews were encouraging. Apart from some minor bugs (not affecting its functionality) Gutsy is really much much better than Feisty. Ubuntu is really turning out to be more polished as new releases come out. Im really loving my Gutsy laptop. Makes working more productive and cost effective. I deleted windows and installed ubuntu on our server and 2 laptops :)

brownknight report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Oh yeah

Oct 10, 2007 16:04     

I installed Fiesty on my laptop about a month ago. At first I hated it because the ATI card in my laptop was not playing well with Ubuntu and my wireless card was having problems as well. Then I decided to spend some time learning it. Figured out ndiswrapper for my wireless card, found tons of help for my graphics card online. Installed Compiz-fusion and now I must say the only reason I will not switch to a Ubuntu only system is because I am a gamer. Everything else is better than Windows and it is very fun to work on my computer again!

SC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu

Oct 10, 2007 20:50     

Ubuntu may not be the choice for gamers but it definitely simplifies your life. How many times have you had to reboot after you install updates for windows? I had to reboot Ubuntu once when it updated the kernel. I installed 7.04 Feisty on my aging 3-4 year old laptop two months ago and have never looked back. I no longer fear running other applications while its updating or installing because it might crash. It is absolutely amazing that I can run a 3D GUI (compiz fusion) on a 1.5GHz single core Pentium M laptop with 512MB. More importantly, it is more responsive than it ever was running windows XP. These open-source developers should be commended rather than ridiculed. Having written assembly and C code myself and considering the price we pay ($0), the OSes they have given us (this applies to all free linux distros) are amazing. I really overwhelmed by it. Thanks and as the old saying goes... The best things in life are free.

Stefan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

UBUNTU the warrior against M$

Oct 11, 2007 00:00     

i know linux itself means of choices...may be thats why there is too much number of distros...but this existence of too much no of distros actually helping m$...linux community is split to more than 1000 pieces... i have been only using ubuntu for last 1.5 yrs...i first used this distro and not even trying other distros... because i found it great more over i found a perfect warrior against m$ with enlightened ideas and strong backup... now eagerly waiting for Gusty's arrival....

jittos.... report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Happy user since Sept 05

Oct 11, 2007 05:59     

I switched my production machine to the Breezy Badger (that's Ubuntu 5.10 for you new users ;-) in September of 2005 (yep, I was impressed enough to use a beta on my production machine), and have used each version since. Every new version has impressed me with the rapid advances in functionality and usability. Last night, I helped my daughter load Xubuntu 7.04 onto an ancient machine (350 Mhz Pentium II, 320 MB RAM, 10.2 GB hard drive) for a friend, and was again very impressed - it's quite snappy and useful! While it's nice to know I have choice again in my operating system (Mandriva, Fedora, etc.), I'm *very* happy with *buntu for now.

ricegf report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Feisty Fawn Had Annoying Bugs for Notebooks, etc.

Oct 11, 2007 07:36     

I migrated from Edgy Eft to Feisty Fawn and observed the following concerning my Asus Z70Va notebook computer (1.73GHz Pentium M 740, 2GB RAM, 100GB HDD, ATI Mobility Radeon x700 w/128MB RAM... brand new in 2005): 1. Feisty Fawn System booted dramatically slower than on Edgy Eft. This seems to be a common problem for a significant portion of the notebook community. Some believe it has to do with wireless polling, but nothing I have done has fixed this problem. In fact, when I power up my notebook with Feisty Fawn and then walk over to a desktop with a 900MHz Celeron and integrated graphics and Edgy Eft, the Celeron system boots up long before the Feisty Version finishes. 2. Restricted drivers for ATI suck! Previewing 3D screensavers only run at normal speed if I move my Logitech bluetooth mouse around. When I don't move my mouse around, the screensaver slows down. Also, trying to get my LCD to run at native resolution (1680x1050) requires editing the config file (typical for Linux... but with restricted drivers you'd think this would be fixed). Without tweaking, I can only look at things in 1024x768. 3. I have noticed that either my CPU / GPU fan spins much more often on Fesity Fawn than on Edgy Eft. Not sure why. 4. For scenarios such as trying to install Xubuntu onto a notebook which may not have a working internal CD drive and does not support booting off of USB, there is no easy way to install the OS like you can with Debian (which Ubuntu is based off of). It would be very nice if Ubuntu provided floppy images so that a person can boot up and initiate a floppy install which then switches to installing the OS via ethernet. Debian does this quite easily. I'm not sure why Ubuntu cannot offer such an option. 5. A co-worker of mine recently bought a Sapphire Radeon 1950-series card and tried installing Feisty Kubuntu. The KDE GUI never came up and he was forced to use either a command prompt or switch to a different card. I hope the following gets fixed: 1. Restricted drivers actually run 3D mode without interaction from my mouse. 2. Have my system run at native resolution assuming the restricted drivers actually work. 3. Boot significantly faster (as promised for Feisty Fawn) 4. Provide a Floppy Boot option for limited systems to kickstart via floppy but install through the Internet via ethernet.

Guyver report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu 4tw,

Oct 11, 2007 07:53     

I have been using Ubuntu 7.04 on my desktop for quite some time, works flawlessly and I have Comix installed and it is beautiful. I am using 7.10 Gibbon on my Macbook pro (triple booting) and it works perfect, I have everything working and once again Comix is fantastic!
Crawlgsx report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu a version break through

Oct 11, 2007 14:07     

I install the 7.10 Gutsy Gibson, and all I can say is wow. The new desktop effects are as good as or better and than Vista. I installed it on an AthonXP 1800, 512MB and Geforce 6600. Very stable and I notice little performance loss. Ubuntu/linux still needs more quality apps, but the OS is ready. My minor complaint would be that they need to explain the keyboard shortcuts for some of the desktop effects. The Expo effect was my favorite. It makes it easier organize all your running apps on different desktops.

Brian report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

oh crap!

Oct 12, 2007 12:40     

ubuntu works fantastic! it screwed my pc like a hooker!
roger farjood report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I havent tried this mugabe stuff yet but may soon d...

Oct 13, 2007 03:50     

I havent tried this mugabe stuff yet but may soon do so..but I am amused when I read people say things like, well they should add this or that etc etc...when all of it gets added will it not become the same bloated OS people complain about with MS?
Bill report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Personally I prefer Mandriva...

Oct 13, 2007 04:05     

...but then, to each his own. I enjoyed Ubuntu 7.04 quite a lot, but I started Linux in the early Slackware days (when you still had to compile your kernel yourself to make a Sound Blaster work) and as such I've gotten very attached to a full root account and easy config files management. In that area, Mandriva is slightly better than Ubuntu as it provides text versions of most of its config tools and wizards. Try Mandriva 2008; it's a very, very good mix between Fedora and Ubuntu in GUI clean/friendliness and flexibility. If you want GUI only, then indeed, Ubuntu rocks.

Mitch 74 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Ubuntu is nothing else than a free windows

Oct 13, 2007 09:05     

In my opinion, ubuntu turns out to become something not far from a free windows, because "everything just works" and "woohoo, great coloured GUI"... Isn't the fun with Linux that you really are able to customize your system to the extreme? The problem I currently see with Gutsy (or any other Ubuntu) is that you might never need to use the console or just install some drivers or programs or anything just by point-and-click and thus you won't ever gain the experience of working with command-line based stuff WHICH IS THE CORE OF LINUX! So, in one sentence: Ubuntu is becoming more and more like Windows and is not aware that it's forgetting and loosening its connections to where it came from.

Janus report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re: janus

Oct 13, 2007 13:48     

Ubuntu is evolving to what the majority desires. There's plenty of other distros for people like you who think or want to feel BAMF by using the console and "recompiling the kernel to run your soundblaster". Why do you think many consumers use Win XP instead of MS-DOS? Technology evolves to suit it's purpose and so must it's users.
hostile report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: Ubuntu is nothing else than a free windows

Oct 13, 2007 15:12     

So what you're saying is that you don't want it to be user friendly? Is that why you stopped using Windows? Did you get upset when they stopped using a DOS prompt? Seriously, it's called progress. I tried Ubuntu Breezy badger and despised it because I hated using the terminal for simple things like starting the Wireless Assistant. A year later I tried Dapper Drake and didn't like it much better. I personally prefer Mepis and consider it superior to Ubuntu. It seems like it took the best features of Ubuntu and greatly improved the interface, functionality, and hardware compatibility (which was my biggest issue). I still use Windows XP on my desktop. Mepis is primarily a way of enjoying my old laptop again.

Task report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE: Ubuntu and Nividia

Oct 13, 2007 23:57     

First of all what NOOB is going to spend $650 on a VIDEO CARD ??? If you have an 8800GTX I would sure hope you are more than an average user. Besides, why would ANYONE with a 8800GTX want to use any version of linux? No Directx9/10 -- do they even make many games for linux? Gamers should probably stick with XP/VISTA or at least dual boot. If people are really interested in getting Ubuntu to fly on an a new Nividia card, they'll be able to figure it out just like I did. And I am NOT a linux expert whatsoever.

samw report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Gutsy Beta

Oct 15, 2007 08:20     

I'm currently running Gutsy Beta release and it seems as if the OS is much more polished and easier to use than Feisty, an established product that it is. All settings seem to be a bit easier and Compiz Fusion setup finally worked.
Artem Ervits report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE:RE:Ubuntu and Nvidia

Oct 15, 2007 08:34     

Hi, I have been a linux user( I am currently on ubuntu 7.4 feisty fawn and will be upgrading to gusty ASAP) for 2 year and I am a gamer!! you can get alot of good games that play nativley on linux such as: Doom 3 Unreal Tournament 2004 any Quake game X2 Darwina etc..etc.. and plus an excellent piece of free software you get for linux called WINE which is a great API compatiblity layer for windows programs which I use to play the following: max payne 2 battlezone 2 World of Warcraft Half-life 1, 2 and 2:episode one Day of defeat counter strike: source hitman 1, 2 and 3 eve online ultima online GTA:vice city etc.. etc.. you get the picture... so get a nvidia 8800GTX graphics card for linux is worth it. I myself have a nvidia 6600GT which gets all the above game running fantastically on system. so please don't knock linux gaming capabilities until you have tried it for your self. just for alittle information for anyone wanting to move from windows to ubuntu and have programs in windows you not live without WINE supports windows program in general not just game and installing WINE on ubuntu is easy as WINE has it's own repositories for ubuntu and other major linux distro's

Joe Williams report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re:janus

Oct 17, 2007 17:47     

For as long as Ubuntu is only hiding some of the CLI functionality rather than ripping it out, it will be a long time before it even gets as bad as windows. It is the marriage of two limited conceptions: "we have figured it out for you" (windows) and "you figure that out yourself" (traditional Linux). What makes Ubuntu superior to, say, Debian is that you have it exactly your way. You prefer sudo? OK. You want a root account? Make one, it takes 2 seconds. You want to do stuff from the command line? OK, remove the GUI versions if you want to. You want to have both? You can. Seriously, the "old warrior" whining about Ubuntu betraying Linux is ludicrous. Ubuntu can do everything that Debian, Fedora or Slackware can. Plus something they cannot do: attract the masses of users who do no feel smarter because they can use a terminal.

JS report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Problema com ubuntu gutsy gibbon

Nov 09, 2007 12:20     

resulta que el sistema me ha gustado mucho pero tiene un unico problema que a la hora de conectarme con mi cuenta de hotmail en el instant messenger del ubuntu me provoco un error y no sale la descripcion de el. si alguien me puede ayudar con este problema se lo agradecere
Jesus report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0