Review Ubuntu 16.04-Part 6-Xenial Xerus A week with and ratings
Ubuntu is a great Linux distro. Most people that started Linux before the Unity desktop and Gnome 3 came out, started with Ubuntu. My first distro (attempt) was Kubuntu 6 or 7 (can't remember), but with hardware issues, it was a disaster. By Ubuntu 8.04 (which I loved) it was able to get it installed and use it as my daily driver. Like I mentioned earlier, Ubuntu was perceived as so user-friendly that everyone was talking about it. It actually appeared that Ubuntu had an outside shot at bringing Linux to the masses. And I did actually see it on the shelves at best-buy one Christmas season...for $20. It's dropped down a few notches since then, but as far as usability goes, it's great and always impriving. Especially in terms of new-Linux-user usability.
I think I'm closer to four or five days instead of a week, but certainly enough to wrap this up.
Overall, this has been a good experience for me. I distro-hop...too much. Sometimes I will do an install, see one little thing I don't like and immediately slap another distro on. Generally I run a distro for a few days to a week. It's rare I keep something longer than that. Forcing myself to keep a distro longer allows a perspective that's not possible constantly swapping.
My perception of Ubuntu has always been...it's ok but it's boring. It's not the MOST stable distro out there (though it's certainly around the top of the list), so why bother other than the occasional check-in?
This week with Ubuntu has made me realize that there really are a lot of advantages to having Ubuntu as your main daily driver.
Obvious ones are:
IF it's packaged for Linux, it's available for Ubuntu. That's not the case with a lot of distros. It's so frustrating to see a piece of software that available in deb and not be able to install it on a smaller distro.
The community and forums are great (I'll get to that).
Unity is (finally) an absolutely acceptable option for a desktop environment.
Hardware management/installation is easy enough.
My printer works! I have a Canon pixma MG710 wireless printer. For the last year, the only distro that it works with out of the box has been Fedora. It also works with Ubuntu. That's GREAT! I can't get the scanner working yet, but I haven't spent much time trying. I don't know how tough that will be.
Ratings
Ease of installation:8
This installation is about as easy as it gets for me. You can easily install codecs on the front-end and hardware support is built in after. The only reason it isn't a 10 is because of the pain in the butt it used to be for me to get to a GUI with NVidia. I'm assuming it's still the same, but I'm not sure.
Package management: 10
There's always a slight learning curve for new people to understand the concepts behind package management. But, as far as Linux package management goes, Ubuntu is as easy as it gets. Plus there are options upon options.
Amount of packages available: 10
Again, this is as good as it gets for Linux. EVERYTHING is packaged for Ubuntu, and most of it is already in the repositories.
Distro innovation: 7
I'm not sure I've ever spent time thinking about this before. I am not a fan of Canonical's Ubuntu directional decisions. However, in terms of innovation....they really do. They constantly bring new things to the Linux desktop. They always fail, but they bring new things. No one else really does that with the boldness that Canonical/Ubuntu does. The question is...will ANY of these innovations spread and stick in the Linux ecosystem? I don't think so. Unity has been out for years. I'm not aware of a single other distro using it as the default. But I'm glad it's there.
Community/support/documentation: 10
Again, this is as good as it gets with Linux. Ubuntu has been around long enough and the community and user-base is so large, support is great. There is thorough documentation, blogs, forum posts, it's all out there. As a new user, you can confidently go to the forums and ask any question. It's rare that you'll get the Linux-vet-snarky-smack down that you'll get with certain other distros.
Stable enough for a business? 8
This is a hard question to answer accurately without a broader and longer test. Ubuntu isn't a cutting edge distro. It's also not the absolutely most stable. However, Ubuntu is a relatively stable release and it does release LTS versions. So I would have to say it's definitely a good option for your business daily driver. There will be occasional things to trouble-shoot (I'm looking at you scanner). But overall, it will work, and that's what you want on your...um...work machine. Personally, I've only had a couple very small hiccups this week with it. No major issues whatsoever.
Overall performance:8
Ubuntu is up there at the head of the pack. It doesn't feel as fast or fluid as Arch, but it's neck and neck with the other major distros and heavier desktop environments. No issues here
Fun-factor: 7
This isn't what I'd consider a fun distro. When the first thought I have is "Ugh...it's so ugly", that says something. However, I'll bump it up a little for two reasons. Unity, love it or hate it, brings some variety and I enjoy that. Also, the sheer amount of packages available means there is more software just sitting there to try out and play with. I like that too. As a whole, there isn't much here that isn't available on every distro. So "fun" is not how I would label it.
Overall rating: 8.5
This is just the average of the above rating and based on nothing other than knee-jerk opinions really
Summary
Look, it's Ubuntu. everyone yaps about Mint, but if you're looking to try Linux, Ubuntu is always a safe first-step. Besides the distro you start with and get comfortable with will always sort of have a "home" feeling. Ubuntu has that for me.
It's a great, solid distro that brings a lot to the table, in spite of Canonical's silliness.
First review! Ubuntu 16.04 -Part 1-Xenial Xerus
I think I'm closer to four or five days instead of a week, but certainly enough to wrap this up.
Overall, this has been a good experience for me. I distro-hop...too much. Sometimes I will do an install, see one little thing I don't like and immediately slap another distro on. Generally I run a distro for a few days to a week. It's rare I keep something longer than that. Forcing myself to keep a distro longer allows a perspective that's not possible constantly swapping.
My perception of Ubuntu has always been...it's ok but it's boring. It's not the MOST stable distro out there (though it's certainly around the top of the list), so why bother other than the occasional check-in?
This week with Ubuntu has made me realize that there really are a lot of advantages to having Ubuntu as your main daily driver.
Obvious ones are:
IF it's packaged for Linux, it's available for Ubuntu. That's not the case with a lot of distros. It's so frustrating to see a piece of software that available in deb and not be able to install it on a smaller distro.
The community and forums are great (I'll get to that).
Unity is (finally) an absolutely acceptable option for a desktop environment.
Hardware management/installation is easy enough.
My printer works! I have a Canon pixma MG710 wireless printer. For the last year, the only distro that it works with out of the box has been Fedora. It also works with Ubuntu. That's GREAT! I can't get the scanner working yet, but I haven't spent much time trying. I don't know how tough that will be.
Ratings
Ease of installation:8
This installation is about as easy as it gets for me. You can easily install codecs on the front-end and hardware support is built in after. The only reason it isn't a 10 is because of the pain in the butt it used to be for me to get to a GUI with NVidia. I'm assuming it's still the same, but I'm not sure.
Package management: 10
There's always a slight learning curve for new people to understand the concepts behind package management. But, as far as Linux package management goes, Ubuntu is as easy as it gets. Plus there are options upon options.
Amount of packages available: 10
Again, this is as good as it gets for Linux. EVERYTHING is packaged for Ubuntu, and most of it is already in the repositories.
Distro innovation: 7
I'm not sure I've ever spent time thinking about this before. I am not a fan of Canonical's Ubuntu directional decisions. However, in terms of innovation....they really do. They constantly bring new things to the Linux desktop. They always fail, but they bring new things. No one else really does that with the boldness that Canonical/Ubuntu does. The question is...will ANY of these innovations spread and stick in the Linux ecosystem? I don't think so. Unity has been out for years. I'm not aware of a single other distro using it as the default. But I'm glad it's there.
Community/support/documentation: 10
Again, this is as good as it gets with Linux. Ubuntu has been around long enough and the community and user-base is so large, support is great. There is thorough documentation, blogs, forum posts, it's all out there. As a new user, you can confidently go to the forums and ask any question. It's rare that you'll get the Linux-vet-snarky-smack down that you'll get with certain other distros.
Stable enough for a business? 8
This is a hard question to answer accurately without a broader and longer test. Ubuntu isn't a cutting edge distro. It's also not the absolutely most stable. However, Ubuntu is a relatively stable release and it does release LTS versions. So I would have to say it's definitely a good option for your business daily driver. There will be occasional things to trouble-shoot (I'm looking at you scanner). But overall, it will work, and that's what you want on your...um...work machine. Personally, I've only had a couple very small hiccups this week with it. No major issues whatsoever.
Overall performance:8
Ubuntu is up there at the head of the pack. It doesn't feel as fast or fluid as Arch, but it's neck and neck with the other major distros and heavier desktop environments. No issues here
Fun-factor: 7
This isn't what I'd consider a fun distro. When the first thought I have is "Ugh...it's so ugly", that says something. However, I'll bump it up a little for two reasons. Unity, love it or hate it, brings some variety and I enjoy that. Also, the sheer amount of packages available means there is more software just sitting there to try out and play with. I like that too. As a whole, there isn't much here that isn't available on every distro. So "fun" is not how I would label it.
Overall rating: 8.5
This is just the average of the above rating and based on nothing other than knee-jerk opinions really
Summary
Look, it's Ubuntu. everyone yaps about Mint, but if you're looking to try Linux, Ubuntu is always a safe first-step. Besides the distro you start with and get comfortable with will always sort of have a "home" feeling. Ubuntu has that for me.
It's a great, solid distro that brings a lot to the table, in spite of Canonical's silliness.
First review! Ubuntu 16.04 -Part 1-Xenial Xerus
Review Ubuntu 16.04-Part 6-Xenial Xerus A week with and ratings
![Review Ubuntu 16.04-Part 6-Xenial Xerus A week with and ratings]()
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