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Review: Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger
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CommentsThe Ubuntu distribution is on a six-month development cycle, so releases tend to be full of minor improvements and incremental changes. This is a good thing for users, since it means a great deal of stability from release to release -- as well as a predictable release cycle that's easy to plan around.
Installation
Ubuntu's installer may give some users pause, because it's not a fancy GUI installer. Nevertheless, Ubuntu's installer works exceedingly well. I tried out the Breezy installer on several machines, including an older Toshiba Satellite laptop and a home-built AMD Athlon 3000 XP machine. The installer detected all of my hardware, and even found and configured a wireless card that I've consistently had problems with when using other distros -- including previous versions of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu doesn't set up proprietary drivers for Nvidia or ATI cards during installation. It is possible to configure these cards with the proprietary drivers, and it's not terribly difficult to do so. Unless you plan to play 3D games or use Nvidia's Twinview for multiple monitors, it's probably not necessary, but it would be nice if the installer gave you the option to do so.
Experienced Linux users may find it odd that the Ubuntu installer does not prompt them for a root password. Instead of having a root user, Ubuntu uses the first normal user as the admin user. Instead of having root privileges all the time, however, Ubuntu uses sudo to manage system administration tasks. Mac users will recognize this behavior, since Mac OS X works essentially the same way. You can set up a root user if you need to, but this system works well for newer Linux users who may not be used to working as root.
Another thing that's different about Ubuntu's installation process is the minimal amount of information asked of the user during the install. Users don't have to wade through lists of packages, provide detailed information about partitioning, or try to guess what network card they might have installed. Ubuntu has a predefined set of packages that are installed with no user intervention. Hardware detection "just works," and users need to answer only a handful of questions during the install -- usually simple ones like "Select your time zone."
Ubuntu desktop
The standard Ubuntu desktop for Breezy is GNOME 2.12. (If you prefer KDE, you can try the Kubuntu distro, about which more in a moment.) The changes between Breezy and the previous Ubuntu release are fairly subtle, and some of the changes are related to changes in GNOME rather than changes made directly by Ubuntu.
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| Ubuntu desktop - click to enlarge |
One change I noticed right away is the absence of the Run Application entry in the Applications menu. The GNOME developers are on a quest to make the desktop as simple and user-friendly as possible, but sometimes they go a bit too far in the drive to simplify the desktop. The Alt-F2 shortcut brings up the Run Application dialog, but that's not something that most users will know.
On the other hand, this version fixes the annoying "jumping window" effect that plagued the Nautilus file manager in GNOME 2.10; in the previous Ubuntu release, the Nautilus window would jump around the screen when you'd open a new folder. There is also a sidebar for the file manager that includes bookmarked directories and a few default destinations, such as the user's home directory. The file manager also features "breadcrumbs" in a navigation bar, so if you browse to a directory -- like /home/user/public_html/images -- there will be icons for "home," "user," "public_html," and "images" that allow you to quickly retrace your steps through the directory structure.
The default set of applications includes Firefox, Evolution, OpenOffice 2, Gaim, a BitTorrent client, Gnomemeeting, the GIMP, and a number of other productivity and entertainment applications for desktop use. The odds are good that this set of applications will be sufficient for many users -- and if not, it's easy enough to add new ones. Ubuntu includes two GUI package management tools, Synaptic and Gnome App Install. Synaptic is a front end for the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT), and is somewhat complex. It's simpler than using apt-get for many users, but it still may be a bit arcane for users who aren't familiar with Linux package management.
The Gnome App Install utility, on the other hand, is a piece of cake. It provides a list of available pre-selected programs arranged like the GNOME Application menu, which makes it easy for users to browse through the packages to install programs. It doesn't include every application in the Ubuntu repositories, but it's a good solution for new users. Users may need to fall back to the Gnome App Install "advanced" mode, which is Synaptic, if they can't find a desired package.
Folder sharing is easy to do in this release, using NFS or Samba. If you don't have NFS or Samba installed, the first time you attempt to share a folder through Nautilus (by right-clicking and selecting Share Folder), Ubuntu walks you through installing those packages.
I also like the new Smeg menu editor for GNOME and KDE included with this release -- obviously, someone is a Red Dwarf fan. Smeg makes it much easier to add, delete, and rearrange menus for both desktops.
Kubuntu desktop
There's little difference, under the hood, between Kubuntu and Ubuntu. The main difference, of course, is the package selection. Kubuntu includes the KDE 3.4.2 desktop and a selection of packages more suitable for KDE.
There are two ways to install Kubuntu -- either by installing from one of the Kubuntu install discs, or by installing the "kubuntu-desktop" meta-package on a system with Ubuntu installed. This is the route I usually take, since I like to have both desktops available.
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| Kubuntu desktop - click to enlarge |
The default Kubuntu package set includes OpenOffice.org 2 rather than KOffice. The KOffice packages are available, but not installed by default.
KDE's KControl has been replaced with a System Settings control panel that reminds me a bit of the Mac OS X system setting panel. It's a bit easier to navigate, though this change might not make long-time KDE users happy. KControl is available as an add-on package, though, so users who really prefer KControl can install it.
One thing I like about Kubuntu is Kontact. I realize that Kontact is available for other distros as well, but I really like the way that the KDE developers have integrated KMail, Akregator, and other KOrganizer parts into one application.
Kubuntu also comes with a slightly different set of desktop applications than Ubuntu. For example, you get the Krita image manipulation program, Kopete instant messenger, Konversation for Internet Relay Chat (IRC), the amaroK audio player, and so forth. My recommendation would be to install Ubuntu and then install the Kubuntu desktop package and mix and match. Whether you prefer GNOME or KDE, the applications run just fine on either desktop -- and each set of applications has its strengths.
Package management and selection
Since Ubuntu uses the same package format as Debian (.deb), it uses the same package management tools -- dpkg, APT, Synaptic, and so forth. However, Debian packages and Ubuntu packages are not "mix and match." If you want to install a package from Debian onto an Ubuntu system, you're best off using a source package and compiling it yourself.
The Ubuntu/Kubuntu default package selections provide a good starter desktop -- but by no means do they provide every package that you might want. However, the Ubuntu package repository has thousands of popular applications (and not-so-popular applications, as well). Want to run XFce instead of GNOME or KDE? It's in the repository. Want to use XMMS instead of Totem? It's available.
There are very few applications that I haven't been able to find in the Ubuntu package repositories. Usually the ones that have been absent are newer applications that haven't found their way into any distribution yet.
I do wish that Ubuntu had a "developer" installation profile. Fedora, SUSE, and other distros give users the opportunity to install a large swath of developer packages -- including packages that include headers users need when compiling packages from source. Many Linux users never compile their own applications, but if you do it can be a royal pain to have to install a bunch of developer packages before you can satisfy all the dependencies needed for an application to compile.
Server install
Ubuntu has garnered most of its reputation as a desktop operating system, and hasn't really received the respect it deserves as a server OS. However, Ubuntu can be installed with a minimal ("server") set of packages and used for servers just as easily as it can be for desktops.
The server install is extremely minimal, though not quite as minimal as a Debian base install. After the install, I checked the package database and found that about 230 packages were installed. The only services started automatically were things like cron, syslogd, and atd. Even the SSH daemon is not installed by default.
The server install provides a good base for setting up the packages you need for your server. You should be able to find all the packages you might want to run a file, Web, or mail server.
Miscellaneous improvements
As I mentioned already, the Breezy release managed to detect hardware that's proved problematic for other distributions. In addition to using my wireless network card with no problems, Breezy is the first distro that has put my laptop to sleep when I close the lid.
This release includes a Services application to manage system services like cron, syslogd, atd, Samba, and other services you might have installed. This is pretty basic -- it just covers activating or deactivating services -- but it does make it easier for users who are not Linux-savvy to manage system services.
Ubuntu also features a Language Selector application that makes it easy to select the system language, and will download additional language support packages, including translations -- for menus, help, dialogs, etc. -- dictionaries, writing aids, and other tools.
Summary
Breezy is available for x86, PowerPC, and AMD64 machines. The download consists of a single ISO for installation, or a live CD for those who want to test out the release before taking the plunge and installing it on their hard disk.
The release is supported for 18 months, total, so if you install Breezy now, the Ubuntu project should provide security releases through March 2007.
While this release isn't perfect, it's very, very good. I've tried a lot of Linux distributions over the years, and Ubuntu is definitely one of the best.
If you're already using Ubuntu, the new release is worth the upgrade. If you haven't tried Ubuntu yet, the Breezy release would be a good time to check in and see what all the fuss is about. It's one of the easiest Linux distros to install, and should serve newbies and Linux gurus well.
Comments
on Review: Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy BadgerNote: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content.
No serious problem but it WILL prevent your grandpa' setting it up out of the box<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:)
However you do need to do an extra installation of the ATI 3D driver.
People push Ubuntu then when they do a review people complain its a beta or release candidate.
People review RC's and beta's all the time. And people always say its a Beta/RC,, like we cat read. They review all the potential Linux distro's Final or testing it gives a good overview of what is to come. If you cant handle a little constructive critism your in the wrong place with linux, BSD or any OSS project. From my understandind all OSS projects are a work in progress. Should we not review anything?
Is the new version live-CD any better?
Knoppix loads fast indeed, and a look at dmesg tells me the hardware I have. why would a slow installer with the same info be better?
Not to mention that Ubuntu requiers user input during the install, which Knoppix does not...
What's so great about Ubuntu? I really do not understand
It is a stable and current Debian, with an "it just works" approach. For most people it is just what they seek in a Distro. (Including me). It is a well rounded package.
They do some groundbreaking work on new technologies and they have a very nice community surrounding it. Plus, the no-nonsense stance of Mark Shuttleworth on the relationship of Canonical with the Ubuntu Foundation is refreshing.
It includes very minor changes, including some KPDF crash bugs, a KolourPaint palette problem, and most importantly, the ability for Konqueror to use the wildcard character without borking.
Also, when you want to build something using a source package, the command
apt-get build-dep "sourcePackageName", will download all the dev packages required to build that package from source.
Hope this helps
I put the LiveCD it into my CD drive and booted and it worked great. Booted to Gnome. Detected all hardware, etc.
Since then, Ive installed it on 5 more machines and those people are happy with it.
Considering that my last attempt was with Red Hat 6.2, I promised myself that I would not install a dual boot on my main home computer until I found a Linux version that 'just worked'.
I did and now like a Mac lemming, Im giddy over it and cant stop talking about it... but best of all it is free. As in beer and everything else.
Gimp still doesnt do the 3% of stuff that I really need in Photoshop for my work which is why I still dual boot but once it is press ready, it will be byebye redmond.
My wife who is a technical writer has it installed on her Thinkpad now and loves it.
I still worry that I wont be able to troubleshoot as easily as a Win machine but that is only because Ive spent many a sleepless night the past two decades trying to figure things out.
My local LUG has been very helpful answering some questions I had and I suggest that people see if there is one in their city.
I think in the present scenario, there are good softwares on both Gnome and KDE which are used by Linux regulars.
Or why not just ship a DVD instead of 2 CDs? Nowadays, most PCs have a DVD drive as a standard attachment.
Ravi
--
<a href="http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com/" title="blogspot.com">http://linuxhelp.blogspot.com/</a blogspot.com>
Jeez, some people.
Besides, if you prefer something like Fluxbox or XFCE, you're going to have download the packages and install afterwards anyway.
The same can be done with Kubuntu or Ubuntu (i.e. apt-get install kubuntu-desktop or apt-get install ubuntu-desktop).
I went to the ubuntu forums for help and granted they tried. But they openly admitted that the sound problems would not go away, that they could not figure out why my tv card would not be recognized and try as they might, they could never give me a solution that would completely fix my video problems. To make matters worse, I reformatted and tried again but when I went back to my threads the moderators had erased the comments that were attempting to give me help.
I might try 5.10 because I want to see if the issue of 5.04 have been fixed.
Dear reviewer,
Try installing utk4 on 5.10 and tell me if the sound works or not. Or if you have to go into a terminal and type "killall -0 esd" or something to that effect. Go to a website and see if you can get all available (to linux) media to work.
These are only a few problems I found with the buggy 5.04. Ubuntu is overated and not really for the Linux beginner.
I will probably just stay with Mepis.org or PCLinuxos.com both of these distro especially PCLinuxos.com work and work well.
Since Ubuntu is free, it relies on volunteers and community to get better and improve. Did you file a bug report for the problem you encountered? I have found that reporting bugs gets the attention of the core Ubuntu developers.
I'm running the Breezy development version on three systems and it's pretty good, although the frequent updates have caused a few problems such as with my screen resolution, but those issues have been quickly fixed.
Good Luck!
My experience so far has been good. I ordered Unbuntu from the Shipit-Free CDs program and just recieved it the other day. I poped in the Live CD and let it load up. It had no problems loading and after it was done I got myself familiar with the desktop and then opened up Gimp and messed around a little.
My experience was good and I am currently building a spare box from extra parts I have laying around that I will install and run Ubuntu on by itself.
This article downplays the improvements that have been made to Ubuntu Linux with the Breezy release. While the set of applications hasn't changed much, many of the issues that existed with Hoary have been solved. This is a much more refined version.
If you haven't already found something else that works for you, I recommend giving Breezy a try. I like it!
Also much to my surprise, my wireless card was auto-detected and runs perfectly (What do mean I don't need ndiswrapper?!!?)
Anyway, if you were dissatisfied with Ubuntu six months ago, it's already time to check it out again.
READ THIS and ignore the parent poster troll
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on November 09, 2005 05:13 AMIgnore them, they're just trolling and advertising for their distro.
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Sometimes upgrading might not be a good idea
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on November 11, 2005 03:12 PMOK, my config is not quite common and thus I was prepared for some trouble. I've been around in the Linux scene from the times of redhat 4.x, and I use Linux at work. But you never stop learning with Linux and that keeps my brain active<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
Now to the problem: I use dual keyboard layouts (spanish + russian) and there was some vague note on a swiss keyboard not working, so I didn't pay any attention.
I used the apt utilities. So after changing by hand the<nobr> <wbr></nobr>/etc/apt/sources.list file and I
sudo apt-get dist-update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
and watched it download all the packages and reinstall everything. I rebooted and after that, I started experiencing all kinds of annoying problems with the X and the keyboard, which were finally solved after a lot of googling around.
Unfortunately, I have to say that this upgrade process was not tested (well enough) by the Ubuntu people and that might be a stain in their otherwise wonderfull, user friendly distro<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-(
Good news is that I finally managed to fix the problem and stabilise my distro. But I'm an experienced Linux user. What would my wife have done? I mean, other than calling me to fix the problem<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
Re:Sometimes upgrading might not be a good idea
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on December 19, 2005 08:35 PMIn the dvd boot live version the wireless is seen and allows me to enter admin settings and set up the wlan0 with the ssid no probs.
I thought yay I cna get internet now - so installed the samething to hard drive. It refused to play and every time I tried to use the admin network setup (that worked in live remember) it whirrs the disk thinks and then forgets about it.
What do I do or am i doomed to run forever onthe dvd?
Re:Sometimes upgrading might not be a good idea
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on January 11, 2006 11:48 PMOnly this is my Netgear MA101 Wireless USB Network Adapter was not recognized, neither was my Logitech Communicate STX Webcam, but those are all easy to fix.
Just use ndiswrapper for the Netgear MA 101 with at76c503a-source package
And for the webcam, i havent looked into that yet.
Ubuntu Linux 5.10 Breezy Bager is the BEST operating system EVER!
---Jonathan Yaniv-----
I tried this Ubuntu edition. The install was easy and it looks great. It detected everything except my Belkin Wireless USB adapter. I dont get any response for Belkin - they only provide Windows drivers. Any ideas people?
Thanks,
Raj
Ed
sudo su
and voila the root prompt !
It's probably better to just go one tool for one job... Make a desktop a desktop and let the server distro be a server. (I use slackware for servery type stuff, since you can install it with essentially nothing and assemble it to be perfectly focused.)
Review: Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger
Posted by: Anonymous [ip: 124.105.11.215] on October 07, 2007 11:55 AMthank you....
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Review: Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger
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Proxy support
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on October 11, 2005 05:36 PMI found it very weird that they took the proxy configuration out of the Debian installer.
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