Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

This topic was created in the Miscellaneous forum by Ram416 on Monday, September 26, 2016 and has 16 replies.
Recently installed Ubuntu 16.04 LTS on a 2nd hand laptop and just wanted to know if anyone else uses Ubuntu and if you have any tips/tricks or applications suggestions for Ubuntu?

What are the long term advantages/disadvantages?

If all goes well, I may eventually install Ubuntu on my main desktop PC.
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Depends. This days, if you're to compare a Linux distribution to Windows - the main disadvantage could be the support for windows applications (for games in particular). You can use a compatibility layer like Wine - to run some of them but not all (and even those that run - can be more or less unstable), or you could use a version of Windows in VirtualBox - but that would beat the purpose of using a Linux distribution - as the main OS. The best option in this case is a dual boot - thus - you'll get the best of both worlds (just be careful while setting GRUB). ^^ Sometimes there's some driver issues - with the ones that come out of the box, so the next disadvantage (or at least - some people see it as disadvantage) - you'll need some basic knowledge of Linux - or you could do a bit of research - and i do mean "a bit (like a - google search)" - cause the Linux community is quite huge (and keeps growing) - and you might be able to find the answer in multiple places. Though, there's one thing you should remember - Ubuntu is based on Linux (more exactly on Debian package manager - which in turn - is based on the Linux kernel - the core distribution - if you will) - but Ubuntu is not Linux. It's just one Linux distribution out of many others - and since it's based on Debian - if you need some support or some extra tools - stick to Ubuntu community (there's a big forum - where you can find all you need) - or you could try some applications intended for Debian itself - but that might need some extra knowledge. I'm saying this because - the other Linux distributions are not compatible with Ubuntu or Debian, not even the ones that are based on Debian or Ubuntu itself (like Linux Mint). Cause the rest or based on other Core distributions: Slakware, Gentoo, OpenSuse, Fedora or the ones made from scratch intended for advance users. They all have a different pack manager (a different way of integrating their software). There's also BSD/FreeBSD - but that's another story (it's not Linux related).

Which reminds me, if you want install applications - don't look for them on the internet - cause you should have the stable releases - available with the internal install manager (there's two of them - there's a Package Manager and a GUI version - which kinda like Windows - uninstall manager - though, with one big difference - in Linux - that's also where you can find software to install).



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As for advantages, there's plenty - where a Linux distribution shines brighter than Windows. For one thing - the best free software out there - was made for Linux. In most cases - they forked a windows version, but obviously - it runs faster and it's more stable on Linux. Another bonus - there's multiple desktop environments to choose from - depending on your needs. Some are very low on resource usage (same goes for system requirements) - which makes them a perfect choice for older computers, others are prettier with extra options, though - more demanding or system resources. It's vastly more customizable - compared to Windows - which has just one desktop environment (the default). Even the themes are limited, you have to crack the theme manager to use some unofficial themes, or you could use a commercial software like - Stardock's Windows Blinds. Such customization options - are the basic for most desktop environments - that are integrated - as a GUI for Linux. While the heavier ones - can be customized to look this:



(above video is 6 years old - but Compiz was around since 2006 - it's what some smartphones brands used as inspiration for their GUI smile

Linux is basically the Kernel - the foundation and the internal structure of every Linux distribution that was build on top - though, each of them took an individual path - as defined by their creators - be it a company that was more focused on security - a distribution for severs like RedHat - or one that was focused on a user friendly distribution - like Canonical - the developers of Unbuntu. Ubuntu is actually - the first Linux distribution that became popular among home users (well, among the geeky ones - who had a better understanding of Windows - how to install/customize it - and such) - the distribution that changed everything (a pioneer that paved the way for a new era of - simplified Linux distributions). And it's not like they created a new GUI, Gnome - was around for quite awhile - but it had the simplest GUI installer (point and click like Windows), better support for the available software - and they also included some basic software - that could cover the needs of a basic home user. Not to mention - they used to ship free CD's all over the world and the Ubuntu community was also quite friendly and helpful - even with newbie questions (while the other communities - no so much... they hated user that knew about Linux as much as they knew about Windows - especially since newbies would stumble and complain - if they had to set something though - the command line interface - a limited GUI - where you'd type in a command line - to access a software or a setting/configuration). There's still some stuff - you might have to install/configure through the CLI (command line interface), but again - this days - you have step by step guides for almost everything you might stumble upon.

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Ubuntu 16.04 uses Gnome - as a desktop environment - mixed with Unity, which is among the prettier GUI's, but more demanding on resources - which brings me to the next point... Right now, Ubuntu wouldn't be among my top picks for a Linux distribution. At least not Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, cause - Ubuntu MATE - might still be a good option for laptops. And same goes for Lubuntu - and older hardware. I don't know, maybe they took their success for granted - cause they stepped on path - which implied a lot of disappointments among its users (to much bloatware) - while the competition - tried to learn from Ubuntu's mistakes - and came up with better solutions. For one thing - all the major Linux distributions - have a simplified GUI now - so Ubuntu lost this advantage long ago. But they're also faster (more responsive) - better looking and more stable overall. Probably, one of the reason for this: Ubuntu is stretching in to many directions lately - they're taking the same path as Microsoft - with Windows 8, while the other distributions - are focusing on what they know - on what works.

Linux Mint for example - is actually based on Ubuntu - but they stripped down the bloatware. Which is probbaly - why it became more popular than Ubuntu (even though it's based on Ubuntu smile. It's definitely an option that's worth taking in consideration.

Though, depends. If this is your first trial with a Linux distro - you might find it acceptable. You seem to like so far. smile The LTS from its name stands - for Long term support - and it's a build from this year - so you'll have support for it till 2021. That's something good - i suppose. ^^

Me, i had my share of fun with multiple distributions - and was stuck on Arch Linux last time - i played with it. That's one of the cleanest distros - since it's made from scratch and you can add exactly what you need - and build it the way you want it. But i didn't have time for it at that time - and now - i see there's multiple versions based on Arch - which come with a GUI installer. So i might give one of those a try - like Manjaro:



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Lol, your posts answered all my questions and more.

Posted by neves
Depends. This days, if you're to compare a Linux distribution to Windows - the main disadvantage could be the support for windows applications (for games in particular). You can use a compatibility layer like Wine - to run some of them but not all (and even those that run - can be more or less unstable)...The best option in this case is a dual boot - thus - you'll get the best of both worlds (just be careful while setting GRUB). ^^ Sometimes there's some driver issues - with the ones that come out of the box, so the next disadvantage (or at least - some people see it as disadvantage) - you'll need some basic knowledge of Linux - or you could do a bit of research - ... if you need some support or some extra tools - stick to Ubuntu community (there's a big forum - where you can find all you need).

Which reminds me, if you want install applications - don't look for them on the internet - cause you should have the stable releases - available with the internal install manager (there's two of them - there's a Package Manager and a GUI version - which kinda like Windows - uninstall manager - though, with one big difference - in Linux - that's also where you can find software to install).

Fortunately I won't be using it for gaming, I think I will keep my PC for that, and even then a dual boot will be a high likelihood for my PC. The reason why I'm strongly considering Ubuntu is because of the smooth operation of this OS when I use my sound editing programme. I currently do video editing on my PC (Adobe PP), which runs on a Windows platform and it can be extremely frustrating sometimes, so I am thinking of transferring all my media editing programmes to Ubuntu. I did read somewhere about Ubuntu having an option purely for media editing-related programmes, so I am looking into that.

I do have some basic knowledge of Linux, but it's outdated since the last time I used a Linux platform was around 16 years ago lol. Time for some brushing up.


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Linux Mint actually does sound like a much better option for my desktop - I will look into it.
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Posted by Ram416

Fortunately I won't be using it for gaming, I think I will keep my PC for that, and even then a dual boot will be a high likelihood for my PC. The reason why I'm strongly considering Ubuntu is because of the smooth operation of this OS when I use my sound editing programme. I currently do video editing on my PC (Adobe PP), which runs on a Windows platform and it can be extremely frustrating sometimes, so I am thinking of transferring all my media editing programmes to Ubuntu. I did read somewhere about Ubuntu having an option purely for media editing-related programmes, so I am looking into that.

I do have some basic knowledge of Linux, but it's outdated since the last time I used a Linux platform was around 16 years ago lol. Time for some brushing up.


Yes, they do have a dedicated linux distro - for that: Ubuntu studio

https://ubuntustudio.org/

I never tried it, though - i presume it was optimized to use the given editing tools more efficiently (they should be embed/included by default in this build). Or at least - they were tested to work as intended - shortly after install.
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Posted by OmniVirgoFlirt

Debian transforms into Ubuntu

Actually (LTS), Means it is not a Long Term Operating System, like they claim and never has been. No Stability, Updating it can get you in trouble very fast bc they fail very bad at that process (it will happen). Don't be a fool. Don't save or keep important things on it.

A LT *Nix OS has upwards of 16 years of support for critical vulnerabilities. Debian nor Ubuntu will never scale to that.

I've never seen a Deb or Ubu machine keep nine nines uptime, never.

---

You get what you get...a point and click environment vs the real deal. So your getting something like MS Windows.

In the end it's what you want and what you get. Use it as a learning experience only if you use it.

Dell actually uses Ubuntu on laptopsbtw....although many changes to the source code as they are not fools.

YMMV.

Everything can brake. Their claims - reflects their expectations and their beliefs in their abilities. There's always a chance for something to go wrong. But that's not something you'll see a company admitting, be it giants like - Apple, Sony, Samsung, Dell, HP and so on (as history goes to prove). They've all been complete fools and not just once. Nor did they learn from their mistakes, it's simply - not profitable to do so... In every major business - the losses are part of the deal (collateral damage). Their tests of quality - are not like the ones you see in the media (in commercials). ^^

He doesn't need an OS for a server, so - as long as he keeps the important files on a separate partition or an external HDD - i don't see what could go wrong - in terms of software. On Windows, yes - you might still get a virus that's not recognized by your antivirus (no definition or doesn't fit the profile - of a suspicious file) - one that could corrupt your files. But on Linux that's pretty rare. Worst case scenario - let's say - an update brakes something (so far i've never seen an update braking the whole OS - but maybe i was lucky) - even the whole OS. If it's saved on a different partition - you can use a Live CD - to access those files and save them on a USB stick or an external HDD. Reinstall the OS - and you're good to go. They used to offer 3 years support for their LTS now they offer 5. A lot can change in 5 years, but if you don't feel like making a change - you can go with the "if it ain't broke - don't fix it" approach - and play with it a little longer (especially if you don't like the new release). Or you could install a different distro. If you're aware of something so basic - as saving the sensitive data on a different partition - than the one where you installed the OS - there shouldn't be any room for paranoia.

There's also the possibility for a hardware issue - where the HHD could fail (shit happens). I've seen HDDs from all major brands - failing a month after their purchase.
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And WTF is a "LT *Nix" - (long term UNIX)? Confused

...or a "real deal"? Confused

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Posted by idgaf2

what do you plan on using it for mostly?

you can set up a dual boot if you don't want to completely dedicate a pc to linux.... i used a gparted livecd to set up the partitions whenever i had to rearrange things

90% media editing tools on my laptop.

I'm still undecided about installing linux on my PC, but if I do, a dual boot will definitely work for me.

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Posted by OmniVirgoFlirt
@ram416 You can look around where you live at for a LUG(linux user group) and join that.

Not only that, you can search out for female oriented linux software user groups also..They do exist and have valid info.



https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Women

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Already on it! Thanks!
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Posted by OmniVirgoFlirt
Posted by Ram416
Posted by OmniVirgoFlirt
@ram416 You can look around where you live at for a LUG(linux user group) and join that.

Not only that, you can search out for female oriented linux software user groups also..They do exist and have valid info.



https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Women

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Already on it! Thanks!
If you decide you go with something like fedora/rhel environment, do niot expect to get babied. It want happen. You will be expected to try and to learn on you own. You will be expected to read the man pages for the specific problem. You have to show some kind of effort. This is often a barrier to entry for a lot.

Many females that get into linux are not aware that there is female user groups around. Thus they end up going back to microsoft. Yes it is a lot harder but you could make it and do well.

The mutilmedia area of linux is suffering badly and in need of help. Fedora has multimedia packages but some will not write mp3 files unless you use a software repo that build that software with the capability.
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Yeah this actually happened to a friend of mine.
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Posted by OmniVirgoFlirt

She's basically a learner.

Yea million possibilities...I had seven machines get hit by lightning at one time....(emi flux). These were in a faraday cage.

What's gonna happen when glibc fails to update and corrupts on update with her? Kernel update fails but /boot runs out of space? All of this matters when your just beginning and know nothing. Yes it matters in a Debain Ubuntu world when they have a know bad rep for giving bad advice on their forums and mailing lists. However, some of that has changed in the years gone by.

She can actually spend 175.00 and get a subscription to a PNALV and at least get email support for one cpu/socket and use their mailing list and not get bad advice. OR buy a laptop from Dell.

I totally get what your saying...but my world thirty seconds of downtime is bad for business
There's something that's been bugging me about - your post, something that has to do with Debian... since you make it sound - as if it's a poor alternative in terms of stability. When in reality - stability was always among Debian's strongest points. Ever since i started using Linux - Debian was always praised and recommended as a stable distro. The Debian devs - always took their time with testing - and the release of an update. Same goes for upgrades and kernel updates. By the time they would finally decide - that their upcoming release is stable enough under a given Kernel, Linux already had available a newer version (if not two) - which promised better support for newer hardware. This was actually the reason - why i didn't find Debian fitting for my needs (at least not the stable release - cause Sid was different story - and yet, even Sid was pretty stable compared to other distros - whom were so called stable). For one thing - i was an ATI user (and still am) - so i always kept an eye on every new kernel release, Which seemed like - waiting for a miracle - if we're to take in consideration the poor support for ATI drivers (Linux and Ati were always in bad terms). Xorg was always my safest bet - since the ATI proprietary drivers used to be kinda glitchy.

As mentioned above - if you keep your sensitive data on a different partition (or an external HDD) - i don't see what could go wrong. With this idea in mind - i actually used bleeding edge distros as the main OS - while testing every new kernel release. I even fucked-up with Arch on first trial - but it's not like that could affect any of the sensitive data - from the other partitions. Which reminds me, Ubuntu has their own modified Kernels - you can't even access the mainline builds (unmodified) - by default.

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Also, i see - you're recommending Fedora! ^^ But that's a bleeding edge distro! I wouldn't call it a good recommendation for a beginner (for someone who's learning linux). It's quite the opposite of Debian (or Ubuntu) - the Fedora devs like to playground with the latest releases - and as a Fedora users - they expect to know what your doing. So if there's a chance for a fuck-up on an update - Fedora could be a strong bet for that. No biggie for an advanced Fedora user - but beginner might have some trouble, especially since their community - is not that friendly with beginners (or at least - it didn't used to be, some would get really pissed at you - if you'd ask newbie questions).

Oh, and did you say something about - glibc failing to update? Big Grin

https://access.redhat.com/discussions/1417853

https://access.redhat.com/discussions/1552253

It's one thing to fuck-up your desktop with Fedora, and another - to fuck-up your server with the enterprise version.

Wasn't this suppose to be the real deal (at those prices):

https://www.redhat.com/wapps/store/catalog.html

It can happen even at bigger houses. And Dell isn't any better. Same shit - in a shiner package. Though, personally - i can't complain - cause i was paid to solve their problems. But when somebody asks me for laptop recommendation, this days - i don't give a fuck about - brand names. As long as it's a brand - i'm familiar with, it's good enough for me. All products can brake. I'm more interested in - what they have to offer. Even Acer and Fujitsu Siemens - whom used to be low-end brands, this days - can compete with the giants of the old days.


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@OmniVirgoFlirt

Yeah I am reading everything you guys post and learning a lot in the process.

Thanks!

And let's not fight, keep this purely an exchange of ideas so we all can learn from one another. smile
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Posted by OmniVirgoFlirt

I would like to know the multimedia apps your using...all of them that you use or need. Im sure the other dude will agree it is an area lacking in linux but catching up fast.

If you dont know the name of the app just descibe what it does or what you need it do. I think me or him can figure it out.


Mixx for audio editing, Adobe Creative suite (Adobe PP and the rest), just to start. I actually tried installing Mixx on a Windows platform laptop - what happened was the laptop wasn't speaking to my dj console and the response time was terrible.

Ubuntu didn't give me those issues, and even spoke to the dj console - but I did notice it crashed a couple of times.
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