Lunix: Ubuntu. Any users? What are your thoughts?

[Ben-e]

Does anyone use Linux? I have been playing around with it for a few months now and finding its pretty good in terms of speed and general usage.

One thing is for sure, im finding that Ubuntu is bloody fast - programs open super quick (although im using a high performance SSD) and just general processing is way faster than Mac or Win 7..

I would love to see Adobe start making products that run in Linux! Imagine Ubuntu 64 bit and photoshop..

 

[thecat]

Was using it for a while. got sick off the lack of mainstream programs and the need to be a nerd to get other things to work the way i wanted them.

Faster, more stable, and if you have the know how more powerful than windows just just a big a pain in the arse for various other reasons...

 

[SummitFever]

... Imagine Ubuntu 64 bit and photoshop..

Have you tried the Gimp? It'll give PS a run for its money in many image manipulation areas.

 

[cam-o]

I run Ubuntu 10.4 on a pretty powerful laptop (Quad Core i7 with 8Gb RAM).
It screams. Mine is a demo box, so I use it to run VMs - the reduced overhead of Ubuntu allows me to run more virtuals concurrently than on Windows.

Lack of mainstream apps as already mentioned is the only headache. You do need to sort out your own troubleshooting for devices etc too, but there's plenty of forums out there with the info. Stuff like 3G modems can be a hassle.
If you're happy with OpenOffice or Lotus Symphony it's a great way to go, free and fast.

I once raced two identical lappies on a reboot (Win7 64 Vs Ubuntu) - the ubuntu box was fully rebooted and usuable before the Win7 box had shut down.

 

[Kizzmtbr]

oh and by the way its LINUX

n00b


but seriously, i gave it a try, its good for a free OS, but it just didnt suit my workflow.

 

[3viltoast3r]

I've reincarnated an old P3 for use as a caching proxy on our home network - Seriously stable, reliable, and considering it's a P3 runs not too badly.

High end Ubuntu builds are awesome! Make a dual boot if you really need to use windows apps.. But remember you can try WINE or some form of Virtual Machine - If you know your way around a computer (And Google - Did anyone mention knowledge base is massive?), Then it is definitely something you should try. Also, dont bodge it, Eg Don't fuck round with folder permission - Put files/folders where they belong..

 

[thecat]

Did anyone mention knowledge base is massive?).

Yeah but often when starting out it's like asking rotorburn if an STP is a good DH bike....

 

[3viltoast3r]

Yeah but often when starting out it's like asking rotorburn if an STP is a good DH bike....

Very true, But as I said, If you know your way round a computer fairly well then it is definitely worthwhile giving it a try.

 

[willsy01]

I've worked in IT for 10yrs and i've never even laid eyes on a machine running Linux......let alone used one.

/CSH

 

[crampy]

I use it every day with both desktops and servers. Awesome if you know what you are doing. Can be daunting if you don't. Depends on your nerd rating.

+1 Gimp for PS replacement.

 

[cam-o]

I've worked in IT for 10yrs and i've never even laid eyes on a machine running Linux......let alone used one.

/CSH

.....Ever seen a VMWare server? Technically doesn't run on linux, however a Linux kernal is booted when the box comes up for administration purposes.

(note - ESX, not ESXi)

 

[Frayed]

ubuntu

I use Ubuntu on a Samsung netbook (use osx on the desktop though) and like it, mainly use it as I couldn't stand the Windows starter thing it came with. I find it a lot quicker to boot. As for photo editing programs like GIMP I wasn't much of a fan compared to recent PS releases though I do love the open source side of course.

 

[willsy01]

.....Ever seen a VMWare server? Technically doesn't run on linux, however a Linux kernal is booted when the box comes up for administration purposes.

(note - ESX, not ESXi)

We have 12 of them......ESXi though

 

[McBain]

I've worked in IT for 10yrs and i've never even laid eyes on a machine running Linux

Horses for courses.

Of the ~30 machines in our office (not counting the few dozen virtualized ones), there's a couple of Macs and only 2 boxes running Windows (one is just to drive a printer, and the other for an ancient bit of software that is Windows only). Everything else is running some flavour of Linux.

 

[indica]

Dubstep Linux

Someone I know is compiling this.

Dubstep Linux is a WTFPL-based distribution which features over-use of dubstep bass wobbles, and a light memory footprint! Every mouse click, keystroke, pop-up, literally any movement in Dubstep Linux plays a full or partial drum or bass sample, putting you in full control of your music AND operating system simultaneously! It is most used by famous producers such as Rusko. Now you can own the filth and produce music in the process of watching porn!!! Take bass to a whole new level with Dubstep Linux!

Click here to see the video demo​

 

[Ben-e]

Love the Dubstep vids!

Its good to hear that people generally have good things to say about Linux, I think that the only negatives are the lack of mainstream programs and also that you need a bit of IT experience to fully utilize it.

I have just downloaded the latest version (Ubuntu 11.06) and im going to run it directly off a 16 GB USB, primarily to be used for rendering purposes on my lappy. Im expecting to see massive increases in rendering speed due to full hardware utilization..

 

[PirateKing]

Been using it on and off since Warty, love this shit.

Was on Fedora before Ubuntu came along, so much better.

I also use Crunchbang for my slower pc's as it has a tiny footprint, but Ubuntu is where it's at. The new unity interface is the bomb too.

Also, get yourself some WINE action, I run GIMP natively but also Photoshop CS3 in WINE, when I need it.

 

[FoxRidersCo]

I use the latest release 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) setup as a dual boot with windows which I use for gaming.

Ubuntu can be confusing at first but once you get your head around the file system structure and using terminal commands to do all sorts of crazy things you could almost use Linux as a full time operating system.

Another benefit is that Linux is one of the most secure OS's to surf the internet and do online activities with as it is not vulnerable to Win 32 virus/trojans and the inbuilt firewall blocks all unwanted traffic and only opens the ports that are needed unlike windows which is an open hole that might as well just message hackers and invite them in for a play.

Natty Narwhal: http://mirror.filearena.net/pub/ubuntu-releases/11.04/

 

[cam-o]

We rebuilt a box yesterday which was running poorly under Win7 64 and put RHEL on instead. Scary thing, we needed Windows for a certain capability and sparked up a Win7 VM under a KVM Hypervisor on that exact same laptop.........it runs faster than Win7 natively on the same box.

 

[Ben-e]

Also, get yourself some WINE action, I run GIMP natively but also Photoshop CS3 in WINE, when I need it.

Yer wine's rad! Windows-based programs open in a fraction of the time! But wine works ok most of the time, I have a few issues with it when running a few other graphic based programs, but I just hope that the bigger software companies start taking note of Linux, because for me it means massive increases in productivity.