Just installed Ubuntu 8.04

[DimensionDude]

As the title says, I just installed Ubuntu on my AMD 64 3200+ with GeForce 6200 video.

It supports all the onboard devices (NIC, audio, usb) and my firewire card. The only thing that I've found that it didn't support is the S/PDIF output on my audio.

I really like the "add/remove programs" feature that downloads and installs painlessly.

This is actually a dual boot with Windows XP Pro since I do some video editing and play some online games.

I've found that it doesn't really support my C-Media USB headset, but since I use that only during online gaming it's not a big deal.

I'm posting this from Firefox on Ubuntu.

I'll relay more impressions as time goes on.

Kent

[NathanAllan]

I'm interested. I havea box with Kubuntu 7 on it and it's running flawlessly. I'd like to build another box, and so far Ubuntu 8 as you describe it sounds pretty nice. The add/remove programs feature sounds really nice.

Looking forward to your findings!

Nathan

[im_an_alien]

Did you get the correct drivers for your video card? If you decide to play any games in ubuntu (there are some pretty good multiplayer FPS's), it'll boot your FPS a ton. Even with my pathetic GeForce2 it brought my FPS in a few games from ~5 to ~30. Just google "nvidia drivers ubuntu", or something like that.

[DimensionDude]

Hmm...the install did say something about a "restricted" video driver, not supported by the Ubuntu team. I let it install, may remove it and see if I can get a better refresh rate. On any screen with a lot of white I can see a bit of flicker. The next step above this 22" CRT is rather expensive.

I've installed Alien Arena and played a bit of the single player mode. Framerate seems adequate. Gameplay is ok, aiming is a bit difficult as the crosshair doesn't indicate (by changing) when you're on target like other games do.

Gaming aside, I'm liking Ubuntu so far. Since I'm not versed in Linux at all, customizing can be a bit cryptic. I was trying to mount a troublesome hard drive in a USB external case and had to Google for half an hour before I found the "sudo" command.

Kent

[im_an_alien]

The "restricted" driver is the correct one. I didn't know the newer installs installed it automatically; I had to install mine manually on 6.10...

[DimensionDude]

The "restricted" driver is the correct one. I didn't know the newer installs installed it automatically; I had to install mine manually on 6.10...




After the base install, it said the restricted driver was available and asked if I wanted to install it. The problem is, when I try to go higher than a 60Hz refresh, odd things happen such as weird interlacing, a "wiggly" screen, etc.

At the moment I'm in WinXP with an 85Hz refresh.

Kent

[Bungo Pony]

I've been running Ubuntu for 1 1/2 years now. Welcome to the club!

At home, I use it 90% of the time, Windows only 10% of the time. 8.04 has proven to be incredibly stable for me. Be thankful you missed out on Gutsy and Edgy. Those were horrible releases.

Do yourself a favor and install WINE. You can get many Windows programs running under it. Most of my must-haves are running in it (except for Nero which is the only reason I still use Windows)

[NathanAllan]

Sounds like Ubuntu is the way to go. I have read several success stories on installing and running it.

Bungo, how is it for file recovery as far as a Windows system is concerned? I have this happen quite often, people losing passwords and they'll format but they want to get their files off first. Is Ubuntu's live cd good for that?

I gave a co-worker a Kubuntu CD so he could do the same thing, but I htink he has gotten distracted by finally being able to get back online, and he hasn't gotten back with me about his files yet.

Nathan

[Bungo Pony]

Bungo, how is it for file recovery as far as a Windows system is concerned?

It would probably work quite well, although I haven't used it for that purpose. NTFS is now supported by default in Ubuntu (you had to install it before) and you could probably just transfer everything onto a USB flash drive or over the network. Not sure if you would have to manually mount the drives or not, which can be a pain if you have no clue how to do it in the command line.

However, I have used the PartedMagic live CD (http://partedmagic.com/wiki/PartedMagic.php) for pulling files. It works pretty much the same way and takes less time to boot. Mounting drives is also quite easy. It comes with partitioning tools, file managers, and even has firefox installed.

[DimensionDude]

I seem to have found a workaround for the refresh problem. The refresh rate selected from the list is not what you get. For example, I prefer 1024x768 resolution with at least a 70Hz refresh. Selecting this from the list gives me a 59Hz refresh. However, the 74Hz selection gives me an 85Hz refresh. So, no flicker, I'm happy.

Another issue that has cropped up is Firefox. On initial launch, the window covers the system bars at the top and bottom of the screen. I don't even get the title bar with the Minimize, Maximize and Close buttons. If I go to File>Open New Window the second window works correctly, I just close the first one.

Kent

[im_an_alien]

Maybe, if you're using Firefox 3.0, you should try rolling back to 2.0. 3.0 is rather buggy at this stage.

Right now I'm using XP mainly, but I keep a PuTTY window open full-time, logged into my ubuntu machine, so I can configure stuff, check email and such. It's an HTTP/SMTP server, I actually use it to recieve email, and I haven't bothered to set up POP3/IMAP or webmail yet, so I have to log in to check my email. Not really a problem though, I'm fine using alpine...

Also, I feel like bragging, so I'll also mention that it has OpenSSH installed, as well as PHP5 and MySQL and phpmyadmin. :P