First impressions
With a computer in “wait mode” on my desk, I decided to testdrive one of the newer Linux distributions today. Downloading the ISO image took about an hour, from a Canadian website, and the “burn” worked well once it chose “disc-at-once”.
The new version is Ubuntu 6.0.6, codenamed “Dapper Drake”. Installation was very straightforward, in full graphic mode. The detection of all hardware was clean, including the problem areas of sound and USB devices.
The system updated itself via the network, and the installed base of programs was sufficient to allow a person to work right away. The installation of an extra program (Sudoku) went as easily as the installation. Printing services were simple to configure. My lack of a codec for MP3 was solved by installing Real Player.
Compared to Windows XP Pro, Ubuntu is an easier install. No native root access was given to me as the user, so SU was used for maintenance.
First impressions are simple, but this looks like a keeper.
