Slight correction

Story: 10 Things That Make Ubuntu The Best Alternative Operating SystemTotal Replies: 4
Author Content
jrtokarz

May 20, 2011
12:06 PM EDT
'Ubuntu requires permission from the user before installing new software' - this is a half-truth.

While Ubuntu (or any other linux distro) requires a password to install software, this is only when installing software system wide.

It is completely possible to copy executables to the user's home directory without being asked for a password.
jdixon

May 20, 2011
2:03 PM EDT
With the default file system set up, yes. However, if you make the user directory a separate partition and mount it with the no-execute option, it should keep those files from being run.
Jeff91

May 20, 2011
4:24 PM EDT
@jdixon how many people actually do that though?

Also the recommended system requirements of Ubuntu are 1gb. While it can run on less (and runs on less better than Windows does), there are many other systems out there that run much better on low system specs.

Oh and as far as system upgrades go from Ubuntu version to version, if UbuntuForums.org is any testament, upgrades rarely go seamless.

~Jeff Hoogland
jrtokarz

May 20, 2011
5:38 PM EDT
@Jeff91:

There are many other systems that run much better on lower specs. Many of these other systems are linux distributions. I believe in the context of this article, Ubuntu is being used as an interchangeable term for linux.

As for system upgrades, personally, I haven't done a clean install of Ubuntu on my laptop since Dapper Drake (currently running Natty) and I can't remember having any issues upgrading (normally the issues come a week later after I fiddled with it :-)
Steven_Rosenber

May 20, 2011
6:24 PM EDT
Unfortunately, I haven't had a seamless upgrade in quite some time. Even in Debian, the one upgrade I've done from Lenny to Squeeze has worked great except for Grub2, which I can't seem to get working -- it can't find the kernel. But since Grub1 chainloads to Grub2, I still have a working system. I'm going to try a full reinstall to see how that goes.

I've done quite a few Ubuntu upgrades, and there have been problems more often than not. Same for Fedora and OpenBSD.

It would be great if in-place upgrades were more foolproof, but it's just not the case. For every person who says "I've never had a problem," there's another one who has had many.

There are just so many different hardware configurations and different choices of packages at play in any number of individual installations, the words "your mileage may vary" loom large.

Regarding the original article, I like Ubuntu well enough, but it hardly stands alone in every one of these attributes.

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