Comments on: Ubuntu Karmic Review & Advice On Upgrade Time

By: Combat_SAMBO_Guy

Combat_SAMBO_Guy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:11:35 +0000

I have 9.10 running, everything works, DVD playback is superb, and the nvidia driver is really evolved. running nvidia-settings in sudo made configuration of dual displays as easy as Windoze. DOn’t forget to install the proprietary driver and run nvidia-xconfig first. I ran the xconfig utility at runlevel 3 then back up to run level 5.

I am still trying to figure out what doesn’t work better, as I sit here watching a DVD on one screen while typing this comment on another display ( one is DVI and one is svideo). I am still trying to figure out the hook, the one feature to complain about. I use ivtv and mplayer for great tv and vlc for the rest of the 2 TB of video I have stored. Rythmbox handles music well, my Crossover Office plugin, well, could be better, not a Ubuntu thing.

Actually I enjoy writing scripts, but not rewriting them, so I keep my scripts stored and cp them to /usr/bin, they work well in every version I use, I have been in since Hardy Heron.

My favorite OS is still probably OS X, but for my everyday, I use Ubuntu. The one drawback, I had to get a new HP printer, my old Dell AIO 946 works like a winmodem, sending a lot of processing back to the machine. The HP was a welcome change.

By: Per F

Per F — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:57 +0000

Use alsamixer in bash instead. *Much* better than not having any control at all even if it sucks to have to run it in a cli window. I have to do that because the stupid kmixer won’t start on my laptop. Well, it’s nice to have a workaround anyway…

By: Danny B

Danny B — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:23:36 +0000

I am not impressed with Ubuntu 9.10. PulseAudio STILL doesn’t work (I have no sound in Flash or Skype as long as it’s enabled, and it crackles and skips), and the kicker is that now I can’t even remove it anymore because there is no volume control applet if I remove it! (The applet now depends on Pulse.) Fedora and Mandriva managed to get Pulse working just fine. Yes, I realize the PulseAudio dev works for Red Hat, but Mandriva still got it right. It’s been an ongoing struggle for me and my girlfriend to get sound working in Ubuntu ever since they introduced their broken PulseAudio implementation.

It also seems with every new Ubuntu release they managed to break something that worked before. Jaunty broke the Intel video driver (YouTube fullscreen is really slow in Jaunty). I had a bunch of wireless driver problems in Intrepid.

By: fallguy

fallguy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:15:48 +0000

YEa, I’m kind of bummed about the iTunes thing, but it was nothing a little clever Wine tweeking couldn’t handle. Still, the ultimate OS is one which you can both customize and be ready to rock OTS.

By: fallguy

fallguy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:12:42 +0000

I liked 9.04, I do like 9.10 but it is a beta. Like most Linux distros you still have to make utilities for yourself. I redirect /dev/video0 to mplayer for good tv watching.

Under 9.10 I had problems adjusting video using the nvidia-settings utility started with sudo. Never had that problem under previous versions. I had to go to runlevel 3 and use nvidia-xconfig to get my dual monitor setup. My printer acts like a Winmodem, passing some of the processing off to software, so my printer (Dell AIO 946) is still a brick in Ubuntu.

9.10 is fast, smooth and still not quite my OS X machine, but it gives my Vista machine a vital boost, except for the printer thing. The cool thing about all Linux machines is the ability to get past the interface and really do what I have to. I do like the new Ubuntu features, by release 10 it will totally be a desktop contender.

By: Julius

Julius — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:43:59 +0000

I’m still contented with the 8.04LTS I will wait for the next Ubuntu 10.04LTS that will raise the hair in you Steve Ballmer.

By: KnifeySpooney

KnifeySpooney — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:34:20 +0000

I can really tell a difference in hardware support in Karmic vs. Jaunty and older. Like magic, both my wireless card and printer were detected automatically in Karmic. That’s never happened before! I used to have to download a japanese version of my printer’s driver just to be able to use it, but now I don’t have to since it is already installed.

Woo

By: Ubuntu27

Ubuntu27 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:58:40 +0000

Hello Collin. Thank you for the review.

Collin, I think it will be a good idea to add “use bittorrent client for downloading Ubuntu” into one of your tips or advice.

By: Jonnan

Jonnan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:58:54 +0000

Compiz window manager is the most evil killer of getting anything done ever devised, even moreso then Nethack – I have to just turn it off.

“Yeah, I’ll just work on . . . . oooooo, look I can flip my gui around like a supervillain in a bond movie, and write ***IN FIRE*** on my screen . . . what was I doing again?”

By: Canonical Takes on Windows 7 With Linux Ubuntu 9.10 RC | NetBook 2010

Canonical Takes on Windows 7 With Linux Ubuntu 9.10 RC | NetBook 2010 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:44:21 +0000

[...] using some inexpensive software and hardware,” wrote a poster going by the name of Liberty in response to a blog entry. Using a test release of Karmic Koala, the poster said setting up an Internet connection on an [...]