Ubuntu 13.1 – A Look After Several Weeks

Image from pcworld.com

I reviewed Ubuntu 13.1 when it came out, and gave it a pretty good review. I did this because I thought(and still do) think that it really is a great operating system. It shows how far Linux has come. Especially in usability. After several weeks of it being my main operating system, and having no Windows installation to go back to, I have noticed some problems though.

When it comes to day to day tasks such as writing up documents, spreadsheets, emailing, and surfing the web Ubuntu 13.1 has proven to be a perfectly viable solution for my computing needs. It’s snappy, intuitive and easy to use. I have been asked to do some work that needs some more professional, industry specific programs, as well as wanting to play some games that aren’t java based arcade games. While this operating system offers enough resources for the average user on a home based machine, for those of us who have careers and hobbies on the PC, Linux is still somewhat limiting. This is frustrating as I would love to be a Linux only user, but if I can’t have access to anything that matches the quality of programs like those provided Adobe, or play some of the more popular games on PC, then it really doesn’t offer viable solutions.

If you are just looking for a basic OS to use and don’t have a lot of demanding software needs, then I highly suggest Ubuntu 13.1, but as it stands I couldn’t really suggest it to games or professionals.

Ubuntu 13.1 Review

Ubuntu 13.1 was released today, and provides a boost to the Ubuntu world.

Although there are still many touch screen/mobile features that have been pushed to the 14.04 launch in April, I am putting that aside to review what is out now.

I am running Ubuntu 13.1 on a computer with a 320GB HD, 3GB of ram with Intels Core 2 Duo T8100 processor. A computer that’s a bit long in the tooth now, I imagine it is the same speed a lot of people are running, and shows what Linux can do on an older system.

The installation is simple, I run OpenSuse 12.3 that I just reviewed as well, and was interested to see if they would play nice in partitioning on installation. To my amaze, and pleasant surprise, Ubuntu automatically split the hard drive 50/50 with OpenSuse. This is probably a good division for most people, and the installation wizard allows you to customize it further as well. A few more basic inputs were in the installation, but it was generally an easy and pain free process.

Once installation was done, the computer was restarted, prompted me which Linux I wanted to go into and we were off to the races in Ubuntu. The layout is quite nice, with a list of common applications in the default left sidebar. This puts any windows just to the right of the sidebar, which works really well when you’re looking at the screen. It seems natural. When you expand any windows, the sidebar isn’t covered, which makes it easy to launch applications.

All of the drivers worked right off the bat. I didn’t have to find any extra drivers like I did with OpenSuse the other day, and connecting to my wireless was a piece of cake. The operating system is easy to use, snappy, and visually appealing. I used to hate the layout of Ubuntu, but this version is one of my favourite operating systems to use.

Installing software was easy to use. I instantly installed Netbeans and a few other applications I use for various work projects. The latest Thunderbird and Firefox were already installed, along with the latest Libre Office. It even gave me the option to install a quick launch of Youtube, Facebook, and WordPress as  I visited the sites, which was nice.

The general experience has been pleasant, and it makes me think that Linux is finally a viable alternative to Windows and Mac. If they can knock the mobile version out of the park with 14.04 in April, Ubuntu could easily contend to be a great operating system for everyone’s devices.

I give Ubuntu 13.1 five crushed beer cans out of six.