I am typing this from the Ubuntu 7 beta. The last time I checked out Ubuntu was back in the Dapper Drake era (5.04). Fast-forward to today and I am quite impressed.
Installation was very interesting. Ubuntu booted to a live CD and had an “Install” icon on the desktop. Clicking on this walked me through a straight forward and easy installation. Once it was underway, I still had full access to the live CD functions. During install, I was able to surf the internet, use OpenOffice.org, play some games, etc. Very nice to be able to use my computer while installing an OS!
Once I booted into the OS for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to see that everything worked. It auto-detected the basics: DVD-RW, network, hard drives, USB, monitor, keyboard, mouse, sound … it also auto-detected and configured my scanner and printer. When I plugged in my MP3 player, it auto-detected it as a music device, offered up Rhythmbox for managing my audio and placed an icon on my desktop showing it was mounted. Just as I expected it to work. Right clicking on my icon allowed me to safely unplug my device. Yippie!
Shortly after booting for the first time, Ubuntu notified me of updates. Given the beta nature of the software, there were quite a few updates for the system (343 infact). Unlike Windows, the centralized updating tool will update all the software on the system. No need for multiple, conflicting updating services.
The 3D Accelerated desktop (Compiz) is a user-selectable item from the System Preferences menu. This allows for wobbly windows, a graphical window selection tool and a rotating virtual desktop interface (among other 3D eye candy). The system, while impressive was clearly marked as “experimental” and while it ran acceptable on my computer, performance can vary.
So far I haven’t been tempted to drop to the shell to do any command line functions. Everything “just worked” to allow me to quickly get to work in a desktop environment. The core set of apps are not overwhelming but best-of-breed. The desktop is very clean and professional.
Overall I am quite impressed. There are some new open source tools for loading up Windows apps and using Windows virtualized within Linux to use legacy applications. I am going to give these tools a shot to see how they function. From what I have read, my expectations are very high.
It really is exciting to see how far Linux has matured. I can see myself recommending these to computer novices. Why not? The core apps are Linux native, Windows can live in a virtual world for those Windows specific applications and the entire system is far lower cost and secure. Its exciting!
