It’s also given me a chance to play about with Ubuntu 8.10. Since the release of Ubuntu 8.04, I’ve been set on 8.10 being the definitive version and whilst it does feel a bit stronger and more capable than 8.04, I’m not so sure that it is what I had hoped. The UI is still ugly and OpenOffice is still lacklustre compared to the likes of Microsoft Office. In a nutshell, it needs to take a big step towards Windows in order for it to be a viable option for regular consumers. It is, however, definitively ready as a home server and I’ll definitively be incorporating it into a project. Details to follow…

First Impressions

Even from the first screenshots, I could tell 8.04 was going to be different. The previous version, 7.10, had installed Compiz Fusion, a 3D effects engine, by default which really made Ubuntu shine. It still needed more though.

Wow

In terms of “wow”, 8.04 really scores high. It comes installed with Firefox 3 (Beta 5) which is something in its own (especially as it feels so at home in Ubuntu) but what really grabs me is the fact that I really want to use it as a primary desktop and that I can feel that I can make it work. Strange, I know, but all the other Ubuntu versions just never had this. I’d try it in VMWare and delete the virtual machine a week later, subsequently reverting back to my trusty Windows XP. There’d always be problems with drivers, programs or some other major hassle. 8.04 seems to have all I need which makes it dynamite.

Compiz Fusion

Compiz Fusion is fantastic! Let me rephrase that, Compiz Fusion is the best! It’s able to just do the job with no hassle. I can barely hear the fans on my graphics card (256MB nVIDIA 7900 GS) which, compared to Vista, is an incredible achievement considering the immense work its doing to wobble windows and so forth. You’ll realise that most of the effects are utterly pointless but once you begin to use them, you’ll be mesmerized by them.

But, Oh Wait…

There are still problems I should add. It took several attempts to install Ubuntu and it’s still made a mess of my RAID array (I can only access one of the two 250GB hard drives), not to mention entering BIOS setup is a time-critical nightmare (the screen loads in literally milliseconds). I’ve got an Creative X-Fi sound card which I’ve found that many people have had problems with. After a good day of searching, the OSS driver is the only easy solution — but you’ll only get stereo sound (as opposed to the meaty 7.1 I had with Windows). Also part of my problem was my Logitech G15 which now is a normal lit-up keyboard, it’s extra buttons unable to facilitate. Having said that, most of my hardware was automatically picked up and configured without any bother.

Final Verdict

Ubuntu 8.04 has very good potential to use as a primary desktop but not if you’ve got incompatible hardware and you may find setting up to be a pain. Things are getting better all the time, though, and I dare say that 8.10 is the definite one to get, if not this one.

As for me, I’ll be reinstalling XP on one drive, with Ubuntu on another so I can switch between the two. I’ll be keeping a close eye on Ubuntu and I recommend that you do too because it can really revolutionize how you work.

The idea is to raise awareness to semantic design. Check out the official CSS Naked Day site.

IE8 at the Microsoft site.