Ubuntu Linux experiences?

[Scott Garman]

Has anyone on the list worked with the Ubuntu distribution yet? 

http://www.ubuntulinux.org/

I've been testing it in VMWare and I'm very impressed with what I've
seen. I've had very little luck with Debian in the past, particularly
getting it installed (I'm generally a RedHat/Fedora/Mandrake user).

The Ubuntu installer is simple and got me up and running very quickly.
It seems to offer the best of what Debian is good for while minimizing
or eliminating Debian's weaknesses. It looks like a major player in the
distro market if they can keep up with their commitments (new releases
every six months, and each release supported with security updates for
18 months).

This summary of the distribution on distrowatch.org also piqued my
curiosity:

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Ubuntu Linux has stormed the Linux distribution scene like no other
Linux project before. It has done so in a fashion resembling a highly
sophisticated player: it seems to have first observed all other major
distributions, learnt from their mistakes and combined the best features
of all of them into one superior product. A six-month's release cycle,
up-to-date package set, a clearly set product lifetime (at 18 months),
fast download mirrors, great documentation, even free CDs and free
shipment of CDs anywhere in the world to those interested in the
distribution. That's Ubuntu.

The project is funded by Mark Shuttleworth. Those who have never heard
the name, Mark is a South African entrepreneur who made a fortune when
he sold his company, Thawte Consulting, to Verisign, for US$575 million
in late 1999. He appears to be a generous person: after the sale, he
reportedly paid bonuses of one million Rand each (about US$163,000 at
the time) to every one of his employees. He also founded several
educational and open source initiatives around South Africa, including
Go Open Source. While it is not yet clear how Mark's Canonical Limited
intends to make money from Ubuntu, the distribution is certainly off to
a good start, at least in terms of getting the name into public
consciousness and offering a solid alternative to more established Linux
distributions.

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Regards,

Scott

-- 
Scott Garman
sgarman at iname dot com