K/Ubuntu is awesome - it's the distro I use - but it doesn't come with every ol' program under the sun. EasyUbuntu is an ... uh, easy way to add oodles of goodies to your K/Ubuntu installation, like Windows multimedia codecs, libs for playing DVDs, RAR support, a better repository list, and official ATI & nVidia drivers. It's all GUI-based, so it's realllll simple to use. Wanna add more to your K/Ubuntu? Check this one out. (Check out all of our posts on Ubuntu and Kubuntu.) ...

Russell Beattie is a guy whose writings & thoughts I respect. He's got a post on his blog titled "Ubuntu is Amazing" that - obviously - praises Ubuntu for its ease of use. It also explains why he's uncomfortable with his Mac OS X box, and why Linux may be a better choice for him. If you'd like a smart nerd's thoughts on Ubuntu, take a look at Russell's post. (Presumably what he says also applies to Kubuntu …) (Check out all my postings on Ubuntu and Kubuntu.) ...

Hey, I'm always looking for more cool blogs to subscribe to & read, & today I found one: The Ubuntu Blog. As regular readers know, I've switched over from Libranet to Kubuntu recently, & I really couldn't be happier. Now I have a cool, super-informative blog that will help me learn more about the distro I use, which is always a good thing. Anyone else got a good Linux blog they'd recommend? (Check out all of my posts on Ubuntu or Kubuntu.) ...

The old Ubuntu FAQ Guide was an essential - essential, dammit! - guide to our fave distro. Ya had to read it. A new K/Ubuntu is out - Breezy Badger - and … bom bom BOM! They've updated it for the new release, so now it's even more essential. Go read it. Learn it. Become it! (Check out all of my posts on Ubuntu & Kubuntu.) ...

Ubuntu is a really popular Linux distro, especially among those who like to stick to GNOME (not me). Why is Ubuntu so popular & well-liked? Well, "My workstation OS: Ubuntu", at OSNews, is a short paean to the joys of Ubuntu by a user. For other, longer reviews, keep reading. Warty Warthog OSNews has a review of the 1st release of Ubuntu titled "Review of Ubuntu 'Warty'" that focuses on a laptop install. As all of with laptops know, some tweaking is often required, and Ubuntu is no different. Fortunately, the author details some of this tweaks, which you may find handy. Even with all the tweaks, however, the reviewer still finds that it is "one of the best distributions available and one which I can unequivocally recommend to those wanting to switch from Windows". Hoary Hedgehog Live CD 2 reviews here. Ryan Thiessen's "Review of Ubuntu Hoary Array-5 LiveCD" focuses on the changes we can expect in the next release of GNOME 2.10, which Hoary includes, in beta form of course. He has ...

Man, Ubuntu is really hot in the Linux world. Buzz buzz buzz. One lil' problem: it doesn't support KDE out of the box. Sure, you can add it in, but let's be honest: Ubuntu is all about GNOME. It's GNOME through and through. That's fine for some folks, but not for me. If I can't use KDE, forget it. Well, guess what? Now there's Kubuntu, a version of Ubuntu with KDE. Yup. Very cool. And now we've got a beta release to play with. Read the press release. Download the Live CD ISO (Warning! 535 MB ISO!) or get it with BitTorrent. Or download it for non-i386 architectures. Or heck, try out the upcoming KDE 3.4 packages with Kubuntu! Wheeee! Wanna see what it is you're going to install? Then go to OSDir & check out the 43 screenshots of Kubuntu they have available. Finally, for a review of the original Ubuntu, read "Ubuntu 4.10 Warty Warthog; The Linux Desktop IS ready". It ain't long - heck, the user comments are waaay longer - but it's worth a quick read. ...

Ubuntu Linux 5.04, also known as "Hoary Hedgehog", is now available for download as a 500 MB ISO in either install or Live CD editions (& you can download via FTP or HTTP, or, better yet, use BitTorrent). Software includes GNOME 2.10.1, Firefox 1.0.2, OpenOffice.org, and X.org 6.8.2. If you want to do some reading, check out the announcement or the release notes (and I strongly encourage you to read the release notes!). Ubuntu, as you probably know, is a GNOME-based distro; for the KDE fans (I'm one), there's Kubuntu, also newly released at 5.04. It's also available for download as a 572 MB ISO in either install or Live CD editions (FTP, HTTP, or BitTorrent). Software includes KDE 3.4, that very nice Ubuntu-powered hardware config, OpenOffice.org, Gwenview for images, amaroK for music, K3b CD or DVD burner, and Kaffeine for videos & music. Read the announcement. I've actually installed Kubuntu, & it was pretty good, & I've played with Ubuntu as a Live CD, and it ...

Ub & Kub 5.10 - AKA "Breezy Badger" - is due veddy, veddy soon. Wanna see the future of your distro, oh (K)Ubuntuists? Then hie thee over to O'Reilly's OSDir, where you can see 45 shots of Ub & 22 shots of Kub. Ohhhh … shiny! (Check out all of my posts on Ubuntu & Kubuntu.) ...

Tip #1: "sudo means superuser do. sudo will prompt for Password:. Please specify your user password" (found at Unofficial Ubuntu 5.04 Starter Guide, which is excellent). In other words, if Ubuntu or Kubuntu asks for the root password, enter your user password first. That should work most of the time. Tip #2: "If you are tired of typing sudo all the time, switch to root user by issuing sudo -s -H followed by your user password" (found at Unofficial Ubuntu 5.04 Starter Guide, which is excellent). Tip #3: If you try to login as Administrator to the KDE Control Center, you will find that it doesn't work. Here's a workaround: first enter kcmshell --list, then, when you find the module you wish to edit, enter sudo kcmshell moduleyouwanttochange. This is SUPER annoying, and I really hope they fix it in Kubuntu. Tip #4: If you need a root user, enter the following: sudo passwd root. Enter a root password, and you've now got a root user. To disable the root user, use the following: sudo passwd ...

The word I'm getting is that Ubuntu is really good. Really, really, really good. But - and this is a big but - it's currently GNOME only, and since I don't do much GNOME, and in fact rely on several KDE apps, I can't do Ubuntu. Nonetheless, I've downloaded it, & I'm going to give it a whirl soon. In the meantime, some folks have gotten together & started the Kubuntu project, to create "a great integrated distro with all the great features of Ubuntu, but based on the KDE desktop". It's a young project, and there's a ton to do, so if you are interested & willing to help, jump in. I'm looking forward to this one! ...

Fedora Core 3: an RPM-based distro centered on GNOME & based on the 2.6.8 kernel. Ubuntu: a Debian-based (& therefore DEB) distro centered on GNOME (centered? hell, that's all you can run!) & based on the 2.6.8 kernel. So which is better? Which handles networking more smoothly? Which makes it easier to install & update packages? Which has better multimedia capabilities? Which should you run? Welllllll, OSNews has a nice lil' review that attempts to answer those questions - and more! - & if you're a GNOME-usin', 2.6.8-kernel-upgradin', up-to-date distro installin' kinda person, you really oughta read "Review: Fedora Core 3 Vs Ubuntu Warty Warhog". You'll learn somethin'. Now, if you're already using Ubuntu, you're more than likely using 4.1, the Warty Warthog release. Coming up in April 2005 is the next release, code-named Hoary Hedgehog. If you're super-impatient & just HAVE to be on the bleeding edge, then read "Ubuntu: From Warty to Hoary" & learn how to update ...

As I've remarked a couple of times in this blog, I'm now a Kubuntu user, & I'm totally digging it. Debian-based, well-designed, totally up-to-date … what's not to like? CNET ran a good article examining the K/Ubuntu phenomenon, "Ubuntu carves niche in Linux landscape". It explains why K/Ubuntu is different, looks at the astonishingly rapid growth the distro has seen, & even covers some of the controversy it's generated. Wanna know why folks are getting worked up about K/Ubuntu? Read this article. (Check out all of my posts on Ubuntu or Kubuntu.) ...

So there's a new version of K/Ubuntu out, and it's awesome, but it could still be better. To help you get all the nifty little goodies on your brand spanking new Breezy Badger, arnieboy has created Automatix, a nifty lil' script that will install multimedia codecs, install Skype & Acrobat & Mplayer & Opera, enable prelinking, wash your car, & feed your cat. Check it out if you're interested in pimping out your K/Ubuntu - it's pretty awesome. (Check out all of my posts on Ubuntu & Kubuntu.) ...

I'm on this listserv for web developers, & someone asked what version of Linux he should install on an 8GB partition on his hard drive. He's a newbie, so he needs an easy-to-use Linux. Someone suggested Ubuntu, so I wrote the following: Except that there's no KDE for Ubuntu at all, which means you're missing out on an enormous amount of great software. Ubuntu is GNOME-only, which severely limits it in my book. I'd look at SUSE 9.2 Professional, which you can get from free from anyone who has the software, or Xandros 3, which will cost you $$$ but is probably the easiest to use of any Linux distro I've seen. Then, eventually, you'll move on to Libranet & Debian. :) One person responded by agreeing that I'd made a good point, since it's a good idea to have both KDE & GNOME on a machine. The original recommender of Ubuntu pointed out that it IS in fact possible to install KDE on Ubuntu by enabling the "universe" package repository, but that the reason Ubuntu doesn't ...

This is one of the most informative, inspiring videos I've ever seen. It's a 1 hr 10 min. talk by Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu, about the project, his goals, and more. It's about 140 MB in size if you download the OGG Theora video, & over 200 MB if you instead get the MPEG video. I highly recommend it. Hell, after watching it, I was ready to sign up & work for the guy! (I still am - Mark, if you're reading this, email me & let's talk!) Not to mention, we watched it at the last meeting of the Central West End Linux Users Group, & everyone found it to be really interesting. Afterwards, we had a good discussion about Shuttleworth, Ubuntu, & open source. Maybe you should try it at your next LUG meeting? (Check out all of our posts on Ubuntu & Kubuntu.) ...