Is Ubunto worth the install?

Hello there

I have recently purchased the 8gig A110 with linpus linux on it. I am new to Linux and am enjoying learning about it.
It does appear though that a lot of peoples opinons are not in favour of Linpus. From my point of view it does appear to be a bit tricky to install apps, and it does seem a little on the basic side without modification and tweaking.

If I were to install Ubunto, would it be an easier operating system to install apps and games on?
I realise it's possible to install XP, but i am guessing ubunto will perform faster. Is it the middle ground between a fast light Linux operating system and the more compatable windows XP?
I am also more intersted in Ubunto than XP as i do enjoy trying things i have not tried before.

If i were to install, I must admit i would probably wait for KUKI Linux (hope they keep up the good work ), on fear of messing up my system, espcially on the tweaking side of things.
But i'm definately interested in hearing the pro's (and cons) of Ubunto over Acers Linpus

Cheers,
Lloyd

 

Yes its worth it. The choice you have is three fold.
1. Install 8.04, and fix what needs fixing.
2. Install 8.10 and live with poor 3D performance (and have to make a slight tweak for wireless).
3. Wait for Kuki as you suggested, and have everything work .

The main reasons you want to install Ubuntu (or in fact an other mainline distribution, there are several good ones) are two fold:
1. Updates, updates, updates: you will be more secure, and broken stuff gets fixed (and to honest, sometimes good stuff gets broken).
2. It is easy to install new software from the software repositories. The variety and range is staggering.

And finally, if you want light, go Xubuntu.

Hans

 

Thank for the info hans.
I think KUKI is definately the way for me to go.

How do you feel it compares to XP or Acers Linpus Lite, in terms of speed, stability and user freindlyness.

Lloyd

 

>How do you feel it compares to XP or Acers Linpus Lite, in terms of speed, stability and user freindlyness.

I can't really comment, I've only really run Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10 on the AAO. Everything can be made to work in 8.04. Almost everything works out of the box in 8.10.

I've booted XP a couple of times, and it seems fine (and is certainly within the specifications of the machine).

I've never run Linpus Lite, so I have no idea about that.

Hans

 

Ubuntu is, in my opinion, the best supported Linux distribution. It works well on the AA1, although if you enable Compiz under the GNOME desktop environment, Firefox can be a little laggy on scrolling.

I'm not a fan of the Linpus Lite version that comes with the One - when I activated the full XFCE desktop, I still had issues with the panels, and I found that certain applications - that I consider essential - wouldn't install due to issues with custom Acer libraries that the apps needed.

If you were to install Xubuntu and optimise it for the One, it's unlikely that you'd notice a significant difference between that and Linpus Lite - the main differences are under the hood, so to speak. XFCE does have the advantage over GNOME of supporting a (limited) compositing desktop out the box without needing to activate Compiz. That ought to let you run nice eye-candy (like Desklets) without some of the performance issues that come with GNOME and Compiz.

I'd recommend Xubuntu 8.10. It has the best compatibility out the box, and runs a lot lighter (imo) than XP or Ubuntu.

 

As an alternative.... Mandriva 2009 pretty much works out of the box. The only issue is that the right side SD card slot is a hit or miss issue. Everything else will work. Even Compiz effects are pretty snappy.

 

Aren't there sound and mic issues?
And horrendous bootup times and battery life, compared to un-kiddified Linpus?

I think Kuki is gonna be worth the wait.

 

Ubuntu certainly is worth the install in my opinion.

The plus points are:

• The base system is comprehensive
  It uses apt for software package management so keeping up-to-date and installing new software are very easy
  It's (probably) the most popular desktop Linux variant so getting help is easy
  It supports the hardware best of any distro apart from Linpus
  Performance is very acceptable on my One at least

However, like anything, it has its drawbacks, which are:

• Suspend/hibernate don't work properly
  Wifi light doesn't work
  Battery life isn't great - 2 hours at best (this is principally a hardware problem but Ubuntu doesn't seem to help much)
  Out of the box it boots pretty slowly (certainly compared to Linpus)

While I fully support the Kuki project, I think it is unlikely that it will have any major advantages over Intrepid. Intrepid works well on the One, so I don't believe that cutting it down will really be all that worthwhile and any hardware that is not supported by Intrepid won't be supported by Kuki (or put another way, anything that the Kuki team figures out how to fix will work equally well in Intrepid). The principal benefit of Kuki (and this may well apply to you) is that relative newcomers to Linux will find it easier to install as it should (eventually) work out of the box without the need for tweaking which may put off those not very familiar with Linux.

It may be that Kuki's custom kernel is worth a look though as it should address the slow boot time issue in Intrepid.

It is interesting to hear that Mandriva supports "all" the hardware. So far, every time I have read that for any distro (Ubuntu included) that has actually meant "all the things I have tested and care about". So far, Linpus is the only distro that genuinely supports all the hardware. Unfortunately, Linpus sucks as it is too limited and installing new software or keeping it up-to-date once any changes have been made is a fraught business.

 

You can install a copy of Ubuntu to a pendrive and boot that (although it will be a bit slower and more buggy, so don't let that mess with your head!). http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

Linpus Pros

Everything works out of the box
Faster


Ubuntu Pros

Better support
Easier to fiddle with - install software etc...
Works better on a home network

The main disadvantage for Linpus imho is that out of the box all works OK, if you want to plug your phone in, your ipod etc... Ubuntu has much better support for this. If you just want to turn on, type, turn off, then Linpus will be OK for you.

 

Ok, thank you all for your replies.
As i have read more into it and now found a few guides i am feeling more confident about the idea of installing Ubunto intrepid.

Thanks for the pen drive link. I will soon give making a bootable USB Ubunto this way http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2008/11/01 ... installer/
Just to make sure though, when i have that plugged into my netbook, i can sample Ubunto without installing? and i'm guessing I can also install Ubunto using the same pen drive?

And one last thing, i heard that Firefox runs slower in Ubunto. How noticeable is this? As the main reason i bought this acer is to surf the net, i'd be a bit gutted if it was really slow.

Thanks for all the help

 

It is possible to install Ubuntu (not Ubunto) to a USB drive without making any changes to the internal disk at all - I have done so at least 30 times.

I have used Linpus (bleaargh!) and Ubuntu and Firefox runs fine in Ubuntu. There is no noticeable difference as far as I can tell. However, you shouldn't need to worry about it, if you install Ubuntu to an external drive, just go back to Linpus if you don't like it.