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I never realized how "soft" Ubuntu had made me until I tried switching to Fedora. You know, I’ve been with Ubuntu for a long time, ever since Breezy, back when you still had to configure your own drivers, back when it was more “plug and pray” than plug and play. Coming from Mandriva, I learned a lot about Linux back then when I switched to Ubuntu. I thought that once I started getting adept that was the last of my worries… Boy, was I wrong.
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You know, I’ve been with Ubuntu for a long time, ever since Breezy, back when you still had to configure your own drivers, back when it was more “plug and pray” than plug and play.
Coming from Mandriva, I learned a lot about Linux back then when I switched to Ubuntu. I thought that once I started getting adept that was the last of my worries…
Boy, was I wrong.
Ubuntu over the years has grown to be easier and easier, so easy that I would probably put anyone on it now days. Unfortunately for me as Ubuntu has grown easier I have grown softer. And I never realized how much Ubuntu had moved away from the standard Linux installation because the changes were implemented so slowly. A new installer here, some new GUI configuration tools there. Gradually I was point and clicking more than I was using CLI.
The move to Fedora has been an eye opener. Once again I’m on a true bleeding edge distribution, something that Ubuntu has grown rather soft and reluctant in pursuing (and I think Unity is proof of this – Ubuntu preferred to create it’s own desktop manager to risking the yet unfinished Gnome 3). Most of the configuration tools are gone and packages are installed as is with very little interference from Fedora in terms of configuration. I’ve been fortunate to find all my hardware worked out of the box unlike the Ubuntu days of old, but that’s about the most help I’ve gotten.
You would think this would really be getting on my nerves. And I have to admit the first day or so it did really get on my nerves. I found myself once again cursing my computer like the old Mandrake/Mandriva days of old. But I still remembered what it used to be like so it wasn’t long before I calmed down and just started RTFM.
I’m on my third day of using Fedora. My installation is configured to my liking. There’s a few bugs I have to work out – like Chrome not displaying text – but I have found workarounds to them and I’m comfortable. I’m dreading the next installation but I know it will get easier over time as my memory of how to do things with the original Linux becomes fresher.
I really appreciate the Fedora forums, which tend to be a lot more straightforward and in depth than the Ubuntu forums were. Additionally there seems to be a wealth of information on Fedora in Google, and something I’m really enjoying is how there seems to be a Fedora package for everything (while Ubuntu’s use is widespread, it’s not exactly default Debian package friendly the way Fedora is default Red Hat package friendly).
So even though there’s been some growing pains moving away from Ubuntu, ultimately I have been very happy with my choice to move to Fedora. Full Story |
