N
NOT Alias - Thank GOD
Ubuntu is often hailed as the future for the GNU/Linux desktop and even for
the server. This page is dedicated to exploring the downsides to Ubuntu.
No established release policy
Once concerned with a production-ready release every 6 months, Ubuntu have
now decided that some releases will be "LTS" - long term supported. It's
hard to depend on a distribution with no set release policy.
You don't get the whole of Debian
Whilst the core packages are supported, this is only a few hundred of the
20,000 available in the Debian repositories. The rest are not guaranteed to
work, and indeed many don't.
Jumping the gun
You get a very hot off the press Gnome and Evolution suite with Ubuntu, even
in the LTS version. There are bugs that don't get fixed on the first Gnome
and Evolution major releases. You know the score, 2.00 some bugs, 2.01
getting better, 2.02 finally fixed. But with Ubuntu you get the 2.00 release
for it's cutting edge package. These don't get fixed up even in the LTS
releases.
Easy installer or working installer
The installer for Ubuntu is in a state that most projects would consider
experimental. Your mileage may vary.
Non-Free
Ubuntu have been toying with the idea of including non-free software. Whilst
other distributions like Debian do this, they have a very clear cut policy
of not having such software on their installers, and making the non-free
repositories a separate choice inclusion. There is no such division in
Ubuntu repositories.
Lack of Multimedia
So, you may be lumbered non-free stuff you don't want, but when it comes to
getting multimedia codecs (including those openly licensed but patent
encumbered in some countries), Ubuntu is not so well supported as Debian.
The repositories at http://debian-multimedia.org are a one stop shop for
Debian multimedia, but don't support Ubuntu.
the server. This page is dedicated to exploring the downsides to Ubuntu.
No established release policy
Once concerned with a production-ready release every 6 months, Ubuntu have
now decided that some releases will be "LTS" - long term supported. It's
hard to depend on a distribution with no set release policy.
You don't get the whole of Debian
Whilst the core packages are supported, this is only a few hundred of the
20,000 available in the Debian repositories. The rest are not guaranteed to
work, and indeed many don't.
Jumping the gun
You get a very hot off the press Gnome and Evolution suite with Ubuntu, even
in the LTS version. There are bugs that don't get fixed on the first Gnome
and Evolution major releases. You know the score, 2.00 some bugs, 2.01
getting better, 2.02 finally fixed. But with Ubuntu you get the 2.00 release
for it's cutting edge package. These don't get fixed up even in the LTS
releases.
Easy installer or working installer
The installer for Ubuntu is in a state that most projects would consider
experimental. Your mileage may vary.
Non-Free
Ubuntu have been toying with the idea of including non-free software. Whilst
other distributions like Debian do this, they have a very clear cut policy
of not having such software on their installers, and making the non-free
repositories a separate choice inclusion. There is no such division in
Ubuntu repositories.
Lack of Multimedia
So, you may be lumbered non-free stuff you don't want, but when it comes to
getting multimedia codecs (including those openly licensed but patent
encumbered in some countries), Ubuntu is not so well supported as Debian.
The repositories at http://debian-multimedia.org are a one stop shop for
Debian multimedia, but don't support Ubuntu.