7 Reasons Why I Stopped Using Ubuntu

January 19, 2009 by Jack · 33 Comments
Filed under: Tech 

I have been using Ubuntu Linux as my main operating system for the past three years. I switched to it because I liked that it was more secure, it ran great, and I could do everything I needed to do quicker and easier than under Windows XP. A bonus was that Ubuntu Linux was free.

That began to change a few months ago and a couple of weeks ago, I finally made the switch over to Windows Vista. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with Windows Vista and how well it performs and handles. I think Vista has gotten a bad rap(maybe deservedly so). I’ve been testing Windows 7 and it improves upon Vista and looks to be the OS of the future.

So why did I drop Ubuntu Linux? If you look at the Dapper Drake 6.06 LTS version of Ubuntu, you see a well crafted OS that was entirely focused on bringing Linux to the desktop. It was a huge success. It recognized most standard hardware and other programs just worked with it.

When Feisty Fawn 7.04 came out, Ubuntu solidified its place on the desktop as a quality alternative OS. I recommended Feisty to anyone and everyone. It ran Skype flawlessly, OpenOffice worked great, Flash, Java and Javascript played nice with Firefox, I could surf webpages quickly and easily, I could play all of my music and movies, and I could finish my work in less time. It’s no wonder that I fell in love with Ubuntu.

That started to change with Gutsy Gibon 7.10. It just wasn’t as polished, but still it was ok. Things really took a turn worse with Hardy Heron 8.04 and now Intrepid Ibex 8.10. In fact, I think Intrepid Ibex has to be a bad joke. Let me just talk about some of the problems I have with Ubuntu Linux now. Before you say anything, these are problems I’ve encountered both on a machine upgrade to Intrepid Ibex and a machine with a fresh install of Intrepid Ibex.

1. Skype doesn’t work out of the box with Intrepid Ibex 8.10. Sure, you can do some hacking to make it work, but then you mess up other things. I don’t know why Pulse Audio is being forced down our throats prematurely. It doesn’t work as promised and doesn’t play well with Skype, at all.

2. About 20% of the websites I visit use java, javascript or flash that sends my computer down to a crawl. I got a 1.6 ghz dual core with 1 gb of ram, but I surf slower than my kids do using a Celeron 700 with 192mb of ram under Windows 2000. This is a new problem, it only happened rarely under Feisty Fawn. If I can’t surf the web, then what good is an OS?
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