[CoLoCo] My Gutsy Experience So Far

[Michael Haney]

As someone who hasn't messed with Linux in a really long time (last
time I did it was Red Hat version 5) and since then things ave really
changed.  I am really starting to like Ubuntu 7.10.  Now I did have
some trouble with a few things and one of them was DVD playback.  This
is a real issue because for Linux to become popular as a viable
alternative to Windows you MUST have the ability to play DVDs and MP3
files in the operating system.  These aren't included in Ubuntu by
default for ludicrous licensing reasons which is just a symptom of a
bigger problem with Intellectual Property Law in the US, but I managed
to get it working finally after looking it up online.  Activating
Compiz Fusion's additional special capabilities was as easy as
downloading the configuration tool and that was easy enough.

For Ubuntu to move forward the issue of audio/video codecs must be
addressed and taken seriously.  Simply not including them is "not an
option" if the community wishes for adoption of Ubuntu to become truly
mainstream.  This will never happen as long as your average novice
computer user can't installed Ubuntu then play his/her MP3s or DVDs
without doing a lot of research to find out how to get it to work.  A
stand must be taken on this issue and Canonical Ltd is in a unique
position to make a statement.  This is serious because this is what is
important to Ubuntu's targeted user base, this isn't something that
can be ignored or swept under the rug.  That's my .02 cents on the
issue.

Other than that I haven't had any problems running Ubuntu with Wubi
7.10.  Actually Wubi is the front end for Lupin, which is the software
the runs the virtual disk that Ubuntu and many other Linux distros use
when installed this way.  I had one minor hickup when the Gnome Deamon
for mounted drives failed to load but after restarting the problem
went away.  There is one outstanding issue I am researching.  Ubuntu
7.04 let me browse the main Host NTFS file system but 7.10 doesn't.  I
can access my DVD drives (a reader and writer), my 2nd hard drive
which is an 80gb drive, and my two USB drives (a 512 Flash drive and
an old 16gb in a USB drive housing).  I haven't been able to figure
out yet how to get it to mount my main Windows partition.  Any
suggestions?

Anyway, despite these problems my experience with Gutsy has been a
pleasant change from the drudgery of Windows.

-- 
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
thezorch at gmail.com
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