Ubuntu 10.04 – Week Two

Apr 19

wstearnsTechnology , 1 Comment

Week two is going well with Ubuntu 10.04.  It appears for the most part to be a finished product.  The whole “close, min, max” buttons on the left feel proper now, so much for that debate going on over the theme changes.  I’m going to list out my likes and dislikes in this post, so stick with me.

Likes:

  • Boot up time – It’s incredibly fast to get to the login screen and then to the desktop.  Makes Windows and Mac feel painfully slow.  Can’t imagine how fast it would be on an SSD.
  • Stability – Even with so many packages changing leading up to release, it really amazes me how stable the overall platform is.
  • Drivers – Wow, everything works.  I’ve always had good luck with my hardware being supported, but this time everything works like a dream.  This includes one that I thought would not work at all, my Microsoft VX-5000 webcam/microphone.
    Webcam Snapshot of Moi

    Webcam Snapshot of Moi

  • Skype – With the previously mentioned driver goodness, Skype works excellently with proper echo handling.
  • Scanner Support – Something that I lost with Windows 7, the ability to use my old HP ScanJet 3300C for expense reports and other scanning needs.  Again, it just works.
  • Software – Endless supply of software, plus new stuff that I haven’t been able to get to work in Windows due to term issues…bpython!
    bpython

    bpython

Dislikes:

  • Chrome 5.0.342.9 beta – Ok, I love Chrome and still use it even though it’s in my dislikes.  Only reason why I mention it is that I can’t sync my bookmarks with my other Chrome.  Very annoying, and a known bug unfixed as far as the package repository shows.
  • Flash – Love it or hate it, a lot of good content is only delivered with it.  I mention my issues before with it, and for the most part it works.  Maybe I should just hate the poor implementations on the remote sites (i.e. Hulu, Netflix, etc.)?
  • DVD Playback – Maybe I haven’t gotten the right set of drivers or the right version of VLC, but I had “Up in the Air” at home from Netflix and I couldn’t get it to play no matter what.  So, that’s something for me to figure out, but it should just work.

So, there isn’t much to dislike as far as I’m concerned.  Next post I’ll try to touch on some tweaks, if any, that I’ve done to my setup.