Ubuntu 7.04 - Time to switch?

Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) arrived just a few days ago with promises of better hardware compatibility, included proprietary software and drivers, and more user friendliness. Was it worth the wait? And more importantly - Is it finally time to “Make the Switch”?

Each time there’s a new version of the Linux distribution Ubuntu I ask myself - is THIS the version which will make we want to switch. With both Dapper and Edgy the answer was clear to me: Yes, Ubuntu is great but NO - it’s not yet complete. Edgy, the previous version of Ubuntu (6.10) was in fact so broken I couldn’t even install it on my mainstream Fujitsu-Siemens laptop. Like… at all! The installer wouldn’t even run. Dapper (the older version) worked better, but support for graphics card, wireless LAN, Flash and even simple video and sound playback was horrific. I got some of the components to work after some serious fiddling around but it was very agonizing.

When I read that hardware and 3rd party proprietary software support would be in focus for version 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) I thought that maybe this could finally be it. Stuff like flashplayer for example, is proprietary software and is often greeted with great suspicion from the open source community. The Ubuntu team has, however, finally understood that allowing proprietary software ‘in’, like flash and ATI graphics driver, is a crucial part of making the Ubuntu solution tempting enough to make people want to “make the switch”.

With the great advancements that’s been made in the user friendliness in Ubuntu 7.04 - I believe I’m finally, after all these years, to at least make a partial switch to Linux. I don’t think I’ll install Vista on this laptop ever again. My hat is off to the Ubuntu team! Switch now and never regret it.

This version is a real competitor for Windows - everything simply works, I didn't have to download a single driver for any of my many periferals! Try it, and report back - you won't fail be be amazed that this is actually Linux