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10 Reasons Why You Need to Download Ubuntu Right Now

By EAN ⋅ November 12, 2007 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

Or: Why 7.10 May Boost Ubuntu’s Adoption Rates By a Couple Percentage Points

I’ve been using Ubuntu for some time now, and it’s really grown on me. At first, I booted into Vista more often than not, but since the release of 7.10, I’ve noticed a lot of major changes–most of them for the better. Needless to say, Ubuntu has quickly become my OS of choice over Vista (on my desktop). If you’re still on the fence about whether or not you should spend the time and effort to install a Linux operating system on your computer, I’ve compiled a list of the ten most compelling reasons why you should go out there and download that Ubuntu (or Kubuntu, or Xubuntu, or one of the other ‘buntus) Live CD right away.

1. NTFS Read/Write Straight Away: I don’t know a single person who is willing to just scrap their current operating system and go for Ubuntu in one mad, no holds barred, bum rush. Nope, if you’re installing Linux, it’s likely that you’re going to dual boot. And that’s great, because using the Grub boot loader is a snap. But until recently, there was no NTFS read/write support (built in, anyway) to Ubuntu or any of the other various Linux distros out there. You could read, but don’t even think about making any changes to a file on that NTFS partition or you’re going to be severely disappointed. Not anymore. Feel free to access files, listen to music, modify .doc files, whatever the hell you want, on any partition you choose. Without a doubt, of all the new features in Ubuntu 7.10, this was the most appealing. Now if only Windows would support read/write to my Linux partition…

2. GNOME + Compiz = One Beautiful GUI: Every time I look at Ubuntu, I think to myself how great it is that Mark Shuttleworth and the rest of the Ubuntu team decided to go with GNOME over KDE. *Waits for raving KDE fanboys to post mindless and hateful comments.* Yes, GNOME is fantastic with it’s simple style and obvious form follows function design. While the default “Human” theme with its oranges and browns is not exactly my preference (I use Black), the ease of customization is welcome compared to noticeable lack of stock options in XP, Vista, and OS X. Fire up Compiz and everything gets even better. Stylish, fun to use, the GUI is a real joy and the whole Linux community should really be proud of what they’ve created. I do have a couple of problems, however. Ubuntu needs to include Beryl’s Emerald tool and the Compiz control center as defaults. While it’s just a couple of clicks to install them, from an ease of use (read: laziness) standpoint, they need to be right there at the start. Also, some more varied themes for GNOME would be nice, as many of them really start blending together.

3. Package Manager: Whenever I switch back to OS X or Vista, this is the feature I miss the most. I mean, how handy is it to have one window that houses practically every program available for the operating system? Sure, there are third party options for the other operating systems, but the package manager just works so great, I can’t help but love it. You’ve got the massive repository of software, a decent description of each program, and a rating for how many people are using any given application. Well done, and a major point in Linux’s favor.

4. Wine and Thousands of Other Great Open Source Apps: What good is an operating system without software to run on it? Ubuntu comes with plenty of good programs from the start. You’ve got the best browser, a great open source office suite, a fairly decent mail program, and a couple of simplistic media applications. Most people won’t need any more. But if you do, there’s a massive world of open source applications out there for the choosing. And even if you don’t find a program to replace that favorite Windows application of yours, you can always install Wine, the “native” Windows emulator to run many Windows programs on Linux as though you were running them natively on Windows. A great way to wean diehard Windows fans away from the operating system they grew up with.

5. Huge Amount of Customization: I’m sort of a customization nut. When it comes to an operating system, everything has to be just the way I like it. I can get Windows to look and act like I want it to in about an hour, OS X takes about 10 minutes, and Linux takes around a half hour. However, I’m able to customize a hell of a lot more on my Linux install than I could ever hope to without a lot of third party applications on the other popular operating systems. From fonts to window style to the Compiz effects to the Avant Window Navigator to the way I want my folders displayed (and more), there’s practically nothing that I can’t tweak to my liking.

6. No Malware: To be honest, I rarely have a problem with malware on Windows. Maybe it’s because I’m a careful computer user. Maybe it’s because I tend to only use it for occasional gaming these days. But despite my lack of viruses and spyware, I know that plenty of Windows users are inundated with the stuff. Linux has “no” problems with malware to speak of. The reason is twofold: on one hand, it’s because Linux is (almost) entirely open source and on the other hand, it’s likely because Linux has such a small market share. But who cares what the reason is? No malware is no malware, which means I can save space by not installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software and I don’t have to waste CPU cycles running the aforementioned programs.

7. Ease of Use: Ubuntu 7.10 is, by far, the easiest Linux distro I’ve ever used. And I’ve used quite a few in the past six years since I first tried out Mandrake in 2001. Hell, I’d even say that, for the most part, it’s easier to use than Vista which I feel has molded my hands into the three fingered salute in the past year. On Ubuntu, programs open quickly, most everything is perfectly stable, the terminal is slowly starting to disappear (it’s 2007–shouldn’t everything have a GUI by now?), and even my parent’s can use it as well as XP.

8. Hardware Support Has Never Been Better: The blame for poor hardware support still solely rests on the shoulders of the hardware manufacturers, but hardware support in Ubuntu and Linux in general is now on par with that of Mac OS X. And as Linux’s popularity begins to grow, so too will the hardware support. So get to downloading so we can all enjoy better drivers for even our most obscure hardware.

9. It’s Free: Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard it before, but making something free is a great way to get people to download it. Although, it’s not like charging for something has ever stopped anyone from downloading it anyway. The only thing it costs you is an investment in time. A spare Saturday at the most. But what you get back is an operating system that will treat you well–an operating system that I guarantee you will enjoy using more than Windows Vista or XP.

10. Community Support + Tight Release Schedule: What’s most noticeably lacking from the Microsoft experience? Despite the masses of users, there’s no real community spirit. There’s just something about running Linux that makes you feel as though you’re a part of a tight knit team of people who are willing to branch out from the norm and explore their options. It’s a nice feeling. Plenty of people around to help you out, answer your questions, and guide you on the right path to get your computer running as it should. Furthermore, the tight release schedule that the Ubuntu team is faced with is a breath of fresh air to the user. No more waiting around, wondering when the next update or service pack is going to come around to freshen things up. Nope, with Ubuntu, you know exactly when the next big thing is going to come down the tubes and straight into your hard drive–and bug fixes and patches for the OS and third party applications come on an almost daily basis. There is certainly no other community or developer out there who can deliver service like that.

If you liked this, be sure to check out my other post in the Ubuntu 7.10 series: 7 Problems that Keep Ubuntu 7.10 from Going Mainstream

- Eric Norton