On Thu, 2007-08-16 at 12:34 -0400, Peter Todd wrote:
> > Who would have thought there would be a day where installing a new
> > device in Linux would be LESS work and bother then Windows?
> 
> I know! I've been using Linux for years now, Debian mainly, which never
> had that great a reputation for ease of use. The new Debian Etch release
> keeps on surprising me with how much stuff "just works"

For the longest time I've been a Redhat/Fedora user, mostly since that's
simply what I've used most, but also because that's what we use at work.

However, I finally got sick of the Windows issues I had on my laptop,
decided to buy a new hard drive and try putting linux on it. Past
experience told me Redhat/Fedora wasn't the greatest for laptops, so
based on some recommendations here, I tried Ubuntu.

My experience thus far with Ubuntu can be summed up with one word:
amazing. EVERYTHING just works. All the laptop's (a Dell 600M) devices
were detected and functioning with only ONE issue: the track pad
sensitivity wasn't adjustable in the GUI. A quick google resolved that. 

Aside from that, EVERYTHING else worked, the proper graphics driver was
chosen, the correct screen resolution was displayed, the ethernet chip
was correctly detected, sound works without a hitch, battery levels are
displayed properly, the CPU is speed stepping properly, etc.

However, the two things that REALLY blew me away were: the wireless
worked without ANY "prodding", and hibernate worked without an issue.

On the software side, the first time I tried to view an xvid video totem
started up. Immediately I got worried: totem under fedora is notorious
for not working right (in my experience), I always uninstall it, install
xine and then manually download and install the correct codecs. And,
right on cue, totem started up, and stopped with an error stating it
didn't have the right codec. 

Oh well I thought, guess I'll follow my "normal" path, so I clicked OK
on the error message. To my surprise another window popped up asking if
I wanted to download the correct codecs! I clicked yes, it downloaded
and installed the codecs, and 30 seconds later the video was playing!
With MP3s I didn't even have to get it to download the codec, it was
already there.

This is how windows USED to be, you try to watch a video, it collects
the right codec and plays it. These days though it never works, you
always have to go to the xvid, divx, or other codec's site, manually
download and install the codecs and hope you got the right one.

Anyways, I'd like to thank all here who recommended Ubuntu. It really is
a VERY good distro, and IMHO blows Fedora out of the water for a newer
linux person. Chances are on my next "update my software" cycle Ubuntu
will be replacing Fedora on my other machines as well.

TTYL

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