[ubuntu-in] If not Ubuntu then what

[bkd.jdk]

On Tuesday 23 March 2010 12:33 PM, K Ramnarayan wrote:
> Hi
>
> This isn't exactly a poll but thought that it would be good to know what 
> people would choose if they had to move away from Ubuntu.
>
> Before saying anything i want to put this on record. Ubuntu is one of the best 
> distro's i have ever used. , its ease in installation, responsiveness to 
> multitude of hardware, the incredibly large and varied repositories, the very 
> decent derivatives (Mint, Ultimate etc) . The huge forum and support. 
> Basically i like it very much
>
> Over the recent months there has been a lot of chatter about minor and maybe 
> not so minor aspects.
>
> First there was the dropping and inclusion of different programmes (e.g. GIMP) 
> not big things but when many small things add up they become to big. 
(OT)
These changes may seem small, but they are really big ones. Especially
the 'window buttons on the left' one. I really don't understand it, they
shouldn't add such changes in an LTS release. If they would want to
experiment, they can experiment in Lucid+1.
> Then there is this
> Ubuntu is not a democracy, Mark Shuttleworth
>
> Sounds crazy saying it like that but to read what he had to say check out
>
> Mark Shuttleworth: "This is not a democracy" 
> http://www.webupd8.org/2010/03/ubuntu-is-not-democratic.html
>
> and some related discussions
>
> http://www.osnews.com/story/23039/Kicking_in_Open_Doors_Open_Source_Is_Not_a_Democracy
>
> and
>
> http://www.itworld.com/open-source/101641/open-source-not-
> democracy?source=smlynch
>   
Well, Ubuntu has become very big and that's all because of it's
community. Not because of Canonical. There are people who spend nights
contributing to Ubuntu, just for the sake of the community and Canonical
is now completely ignoring them. In my opinion there should be some kind
of open poll before making big changes that would affect the whole
community, but no why will they do it, "Ubuntu is not a democracy" ya
know :)

> **
> There are many reasons to use Linux and one of them, for me, is not to be told 
> what to do by a corporation. Sure Canonical is not the new M$, i doubt it can 
> ever become that. (hope not)
>
> But what makes me uncomfortable is the extent of control Canonical is exerting 
> over its user base. Many Linux folks , now, are first time linuxers changed 
> over from Other OS' mainly because of Ubuntu.
>
> So not debating the specifics of Mark Shuttleworth's comments and the reactions 
> and the interpretations, I am getting an uneasy feeling. That maybe just maybe 
> we are becoming Ubuntu dependent and too complacent. 
>
> I can walk blindfolded through a typical Ubuntu install and its subsequent 
> setup of additional programmes, tweaking programmes to work like they should 
> for me.  Knowing what repos to add to get exactly what software and where to 
> source software (tuxwire, zyware).
>
> I cannot be happier with what i have. But what if we need to move to a freer 
> system. Are there any other distro's out there. Sure there are 600 plus many 
> of them with a passionate user base and with its attendant problem. 
>
> My questions are how would people feel about trying out a distro other than 
> Ubuntu (specially first time users), in fact have first time linux Ubuntu users 
> tried other distro's and what do they feel.
>   
First time users would definitely feel lost when trying out distro's
other than Ubuntu. But, I guess the first time users would not care much
for the community or democracy/meritocracy (whatever that Mark said).
They will just use Ubuntu as an alternative to Windows or Mac's, they
won't try out other distro's imho.

> (...)
>
> My other question is how many of us dual boot a second linux OS and is your 
> secondary OS as well set as your primary, are you comfortable with it, under 
> all conditions.
>   
I triple boot Vista+XP+Ubuntu and I try out other distro's (like
openSUSE) in virtualbox. I've been a long time Linux user (6+ years),
but after using Ubuntu, I still don't feel 'at home' using other
distro's. Mainly because I've become more equipped with the workings of
Ubuntu and I don't really want to spend time 'learning' the workings of
a new distro.
> My 3rd question is what would you suggest people try as a fall back option in 
> case people want to try and alternative.
>   
I'd suggest using Debian. Mainly because Ubuntu is a derivative of
Debian and the workings of the two distro's are similar (like, the
package manager, which most people love, including myself :)). Or Fedora
is also a good alternative for new users.
> My suggestions are Pardus, Mandriva, OpenSuse, Fedora, Knoppix
> Others have suggested Arch Linux
>
> The few times in the recent past when i tried another distro i very quickly 
> reverted back to Ubuntu, since i was uncomfortable around my system but now i 
> think its worth exploring an alternative in great earnest.
>
> look forward to reactions
>
> ram
>
>