Ubuntu Linux 9.10 (Karmic Koala) is the latest and recently released version of the bright spark in Linux desktops. I've slapped the desktop installation onto the old Toshie to see how it handles in comparison to other less desirable operating systems.
Installation is a doddle. About the most difficult part was getting the wily old Toshie to boot from the cd-rom drive. Everything is smooth, apparent and very clickable, great for anyone who's sick of text based interfaces. A minimum of questions are asked during installation... like 'Where in the world are you?' so the clock is right and 'Who do you want to login as?' and 'Can we just go ahead and wipe the entire drive?' rather than demanding specific partition formatting options. Installation was simple and only stopped once to ask questions. From that perspective, who cares how long it took? But for the pundits, I think it came down to about 45 minutes.
Having not looked at Ubuntu for some time, I'd have to say that I still dislike Gnome as a desktop interface. It's done very well, a completely clear desktop, minimum of menu options and yet still clear and easy to use. But there's something about the way the Gnome menu options lay off the left side of the menu bars that just smacks of incongruity. Secondly, the thoughtful pauses of the Gnome GUI allow the user far too long to remember how comparably fast KDE really is. Well, I can at least be thankful for the lack of gaudy graphical embellishments.
Will the Gnome spoil this as my operating system of choice? In all likelihood. Ever since Redhat 5.2 I've not found an answer to that infernal question, "What were they thinking?".
But perhaps in this case, the desktop will just remain a place to park the icons in between programming sessions. Gnome will get the benefit of the doubt in hopes that Ubuntu contains graphical system configuration controls that work, responsive applications, software installation that doesn't require prior training in martial arts and perhaps even a neat substitute for Expose which being missing has left such a large hole in my love life.
Watch this space.
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