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> The short version: Ubuntu 12.04 is the best release they’ve ever had and > absolutely blows the upcoming releases of Windows and MacOS X out of the > wat

> The short version: Ubuntu 12.04 is the best release they’ve ever had and > absolutely blows the upcoming releases of Windows and MacOS X out of the > water in just about every way that matters. The second half of that statement may be a touch hyperbolic.

feiern 15y ago
It really seems to be a great release, but that second half clearly shows that kool aid comes in different flavors, not just apples :D
demetris 15y ago
It says more about the quality of the review than about the relative merits of the 3 systems. These things are simple: If Ubuntu were so much better, or just plain better, than other operating systems, more people would use it. Firefox is, and has been for a long time, much better than IE, and so people use it. OpenOffice/LibreOffice is not better than Microsoft Office, and so people don’t prefer it over Microsoft Office. Ubuntu is not better than Windows or OS X, and so very few people prefer it.
- rbanffy 15y ago
  > plain better, than other operating systems, more people would use it. Desktop Linux is not for everyone. It all depends on what you use your computer for - if you write software for Mac or Windows or if you rely on perfect Office compatibility, it's most definitely not for you. If you run heavy software that has no Linux counterpart, it's obviously not for you. If you develop software that'll run on Linux, it's a really good choice. If you browse the web for everything, it's a great choice.
- bho 15y ago
  The cost of switching is a high barrier for many people. Changing from Windows to Ubuntu requires you to find equivalents for all of the software you need. Changing from your browser -> Firefox = most websites will still work, no additional effort on anyone. Changing from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice forces you to ensure all the documents open correctly and others can open yours correctly. It's not always so black and white.
  - batista 15y ago
    >Changing from Windows to Ubuntu requires you to find equivalents for all of the software you need. Yes, but that goes both ways. If Ubuntu lacks equivalents for all of the software you need, you cannot say that it's "better than the other OSs", i.e. software availability is a very important metric of "better" in an OS, even more important than the network stack being 5% faster, or the filesystem supporting more esoteric features etc. So, it would be like saying "Ubuntu is better than OS X/Win if we exclude things that also matter a lot".
  - chrisveto 15y ago
    I agree with batista, if OS has no quality software .. then why on earth would I use that OS? Also, til Ubuntu can't support .PSD files with GIMP natively, I will never .. ever use it. And no, I do not want to use Wine emulator or whatever the hell you gotta do to get stuff working under Ubuntu.
    - TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago
      > I do not want to use Wine emulator or whatever the hell you gotta do to get stuff working under Ubuntu Why don't you want to use it? Using Wine is as simple as double-clicking a Windows EXE and letting it install or run. It's no more difficult than using software on Windows (usually) And sorry to nitpick, but WINE stands for "WINE Is Not an Emulator", because it isn't :)
      - ced 15y ago
        I'm a long-time Ubuntu user, and I use Wine only when I absolutely have to, because it most definitely does not "just work". Case in point, GP was talking about Photoshop. This is from Wine's page for CS3: First off: don't expect this to work well. Wine does not yet support Photoshop CS3. Only read these instructions if you feel like fiddling around, not if you expect to get a working Photoshop. The other versions look in better shape, but still. I am eternally grateful to the Humble Bundle folks for insisting on Linux support.
        15y ago
- cturner 15y ago
  Firefox is an interesting example, because on little things it behaves differently in windows to linux. For example - double click the address bar in Windows - highlights a token. Do it in linux, highlights the whole link.
  - dhughes 15y ago
    That inconsistency bugs me. I believe on OS X it does the same thing as Windows.
  - ditoa 15y ago
    Yeah Fx is annoying with its inconsistent defaults between platforms. The one you mention is because browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll is set to true on Windows but False on Linux. Why I have no idea!
    - onli 15y ago
      I can't know for sure that it is intended because of this, but it is a good default for linux because of the way copy & paste works. Not to select the whole link enables you to copy something by selecting it, change the url, go to that page and insert the prior copied text with the middle mouse button. The windows-setting is wrong in that context, disabling that workflow, even though it's inconsistent between platforms. Sometimes that's a good thing.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- bigphishy 15y ago
  Firefox has also been out a long time. When FF was in beta versions it was already a better browser than IE, but nearly no one knew of it, therefore FF had a small number of users. As awareness of FF grew, so did its popularity. It is silly to judge the quality of a product or service by the number of people that use it.
- frodowiz 15y ago
  sure and the fact microsoft ties you into a lifelong comittment with licenses(break one and you still owe money) has nothing to do with it. dude, ive been hearing bunk like this for years and in the meantime linux is growing like weeds. you need to be glad no real way of measuring linux growth numbers exists. it would be very painful im sure. ms is dying and must find another venue soon. in the mean time, let me know when you are ready to be free, ill direct you to ubuntu's website.
cobychapple 15y ago
When I read this article, I was open to hearing how this could be the case, but then I read: "Working with Ubuntu 12.04 is quite simple and elegant… until you want to sit down and see what applications are available on your system." Which sounds like it really doesn't blow anything out of the water. Then I also read: "click the “Ubuntu” button in the top left, then click the little white icon on the bottom center that is, I assume, representative of “a comb, a pencil and a building with pacman on it”. Then you expand the “Installed” section by clicking on the left/center of the screen. Then you click on “Filter Results” in the top right." WAT? That's the complete opposite of a well-thought-out experience for the user. So why is it that this GUI environment is superior again?
- bostonvaulter2 15y ago
  Yeah, it is really weird for him to open a positive review with that.
- SkyMarshal 15y ago
  He's not the best writer. The point he meant to get across is that that's a nitpick, not a huge problem, but he spends several paragraphs explaining the problem and only a few sentences explaining that it's just a minor nitpick and overall the experience is good. Totally out of proportion, leading readers to weight the bad more than he intended. Key phrases: > In short: It’s fast. Stable. And generally a pleasure to use. > In fact, this is my only big gripe with the Unity interface. And it’s not a big one. I’m nit-picking here.
- viraptor 15y ago
  Criticism takes more space and attention than good things. When you like something, you just do. Maybe there are a couple of things that you really really like and you can write about them. On the other hand things that don't work as you expect have some story to it - why don't you like them, what else did you expect, who does it properly, how is it affecting your workflow, how much you dislike that problem. I expect things like that to affect most reviews...

feiern 15y ago

It really seems to be a great release, but that second half clearly shows that kool aid comes in different flavors, not just apples :D

demetris 15y ago

It says more about the quality of the review than about the relative merits of the 3 systems. These things are simple: If Ubuntu were so much better, or just plain better, than other operating systems, more people would use it. Firefox is, and has been for a long time, much better than IE, and so people use it. OpenOffice/LibreOffice is not better than Microsoft Office, and so people don’t prefer it over Microsoft Office. Ubuntu is not better than Windows or OS X, and so very few people prefer it.

rbanffy 15y ago
> plain better, than other operating systems, more people would use it. Desktop Linux is not for everyone. It all depends on what you use your computer for - if you write software for Mac or Windows or if you rely on perfect Office compatibility, it's most definitely not for you. If you run heavy software that has no Linux counterpart, it's obviously not for you. If you develop software that'll run on Linux, it's a really good choice. If you browse the web for everything, it's a great choice.
bho 15y ago
The cost of switching is a high barrier for many people. Changing from Windows to Ubuntu requires you to find equivalents for all of the software you need. Changing from your browser -> Firefox = most websites will still work, no additional effort on anyone. Changing from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice forces you to ensure all the documents open correctly and others can open yours correctly. It's not always so black and white.
- batista 15y ago
  >Changing from Windows to Ubuntu requires you to find equivalents for all of the software you need. Yes, but that goes both ways. If Ubuntu lacks equivalents for all of the software you need, you cannot say that it's "better than the other OSs", i.e. software availability is a very important metric of "better" in an OS, even more important than the network stack being 5% faster, or the filesystem supporting more esoteric features etc. So, it would be like saying "Ubuntu is better than OS X/Win if we exclude things that also matter a lot".
- chrisveto 15y ago
  I agree with batista, if OS has no quality software .. then why on earth would I use that OS? Also, til Ubuntu can't support .PSD files with GIMP natively, I will never .. ever use it. And no, I do not want to use Wine emulator or whatever the hell you gotta do to get stuff working under Ubuntu.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago
    > I do not want to use Wine emulator or whatever the hell you gotta do to get stuff working under Ubuntu Why don't you want to use it? Using Wine is as simple as double-clicking a Windows EXE and letting it install or run. It's no more difficult than using software on Windows (usually) And sorry to nitpick, but WINE stands for "WINE Is Not an Emulator", because it isn't :)
    - ced 15y ago
      I'm a long-time Ubuntu user, and I use Wine only when I absolutely have to, because it most definitely does not "just work". Case in point, GP was talking about Photoshop. This is from Wine's page for CS3: First off: don't expect this to work well. Wine does not yet support Photoshop CS3. Only read these instructions if you feel like fiddling around, not if you expect to get a working Photoshop. The other versions look in better shape, but still. I am eternally grateful to the Humble Bundle folks for insisting on Linux support.
      - 15y ago
cturner 15y ago
Firefox is an interesting example, because on little things it behaves differently in windows to linux. For example - double click the address bar in Windows - highlights a token. Do it in linux, highlights the whole link.
- dhughes 15y ago
  That inconsistency bugs me. I believe on OS X it does the same thing as Windows.
- ditoa 15y ago
  Yeah Fx is annoying with its inconsistent defaults between platforms. The one you mention is because browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll is set to true on Windows but False on Linux. Why I have no idea!
  - onli 15y ago
    I can't know for sure that it is intended because of this, but it is a good default for linux because of the way copy & paste works. Not to select the whole link enables you to copy something by selecting it, change the url, go to that page and insert the prior copied text with the middle mouse button. The windows-setting is wrong in that context, disabling that workflow, even though it's inconsistent between platforms. Sometimes that's a good thing.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
bigphishy 15y ago
Firefox has also been out a long time. When FF was in beta versions it was already a better browser than IE, but nearly no one knew of it, therefore FF had a small number of users. As awareness of FF grew, so did its popularity. It is silly to judge the quality of a product or service by the number of people that use it.
frodowiz 15y ago
sure and the fact microsoft ties you into a lifelong comittment with licenses(break one and you still owe money) has nothing to do with it. dude, ive been hearing bunk like this for years and in the meantime linux is growing like weeds. you need to be glad no real way of measuring linux growth numbers exists. it would be very painful im sure. ms is dying and must find another venue soon. in the mean time, let me know when you are ready to be free, ill direct you to ubuntu's website.

cobychapple 15y ago

When I read this article, I was open to hearing how this could be the case, but then I read: "Working with Ubuntu 12.04 is quite simple and elegant… until you want to sit down and see what applications are available on your system." Which sounds like it really doesn't blow anything out of the water. Then I also read: "click the “Ubuntu” button in the top left, then click the little white icon on the bottom center that is, I assume, representative of “a comb, a pencil and a building with pacman on it”. Then you expand the “Installed” section by clicking on the left/center of the screen. Then you click on “Filter Results” in the top right." WAT? That's the complete opposite of a well-thought-out experience for the user. So why is it that this GUI environment is superior again?

bostonvaulter2 15y ago
Yeah, it is really weird for him to open a positive review with that.
SkyMarshal 15y ago
He's not the best writer. The point he meant to get across is that that's a nitpick, not a huge problem, but he spends several paragraphs explaining the problem and only a few sentences explaining that it's just a minor nitpick and overall the experience is good. Totally out of proportion, leading readers to weight the bad more than he intended. Key phrases: > In short: It’s fast. Stable. And generally a pleasure to use. > In fact, this is my only big gripe with the Unity interface. And it’s not a big one. I’m nit-picking here.
viraptor 15y ago
Criticism takes more space and attention than good things. When you like something, you just do. Maybe there are a couple of things that you really really like and you can write about them. On the other hand things that don't work as you expect have some story to it - why don't you like them, what else did you expect, who does it properly, how is it affecting your workflow, how much you dislike that problem. I expect things like that to affect most reviews...