Is Ubuntu for You?
September 17, 2007 | By Raymond T. Hightower
It’s free, it has few known viruses, and it was built using software expertise from around the world. Sounds like a great product, right? Maybe. But if you’re a business user who just wants to get things done, Ubuntu is probably not for you.
What is Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is one version (or distribution) of the Linux operating system. It’s an alternative to Windows XP by Microsoft or Apple’s Mac OS X. It’s open source, meaning that tech-savvy users are free to modify the most foundational functions of the product as they see fit. And it’s free.
But it’s not for everyone.
Ubuntu Review
Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal tested an Ubuntu-equipped Dell laptop for about a week. His conclusion: There are too many technical land mines in Ubuntu for average users. For example:
- Configuring the sensitivity of the laptop’s touchpad: No software available for this.
- Power management interference: When you wake the machine from power management mode, the audio volume control stops working.
- Playing audio (MP3) files. You can only do this with special software that you download & install yourself. On Windows & Mac machines, you can play audio files out of the box
- Playing Commercial DVDs. Feature not available.
CEO Says: Not for General Public
Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical, Ltd, agrees with Mossberg. Canonical is the distributor of Ubuntu! So if the CEO says it’s not for the general public, that’s probably true.One day…
You wrote:
“But if you’re a business user who just wants to get things done...”
wow! Walt is working hard.
Walt can install n number of free programs to play movies and mp3 and all kinds of media files with just a few clicks.
But even if Walt decides to do some serious job he has thousands of programs to choose without paying an extra penny.