This tutorial shows how you can set up an Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) desktop that is a full-fledged replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.
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lverona
14 years 48 weeks 4 hours 10 min ago
Problems in Karmic
I see that a lot of people on fsdaily speak boldly about the problems with Microsoft and how great Karmic Ubuntu is. However, nobody mentions that for many-many laptop users networking is off with no fix. I updated from 9.04 to 9.10 and my DSL Networking simply died off. Network manager doesn't allow to edit connections because of some "insufficient privileges" and then crashes.
I understand that everyone can have bugs. This is true. But several days passed and I see no solution to this problem - anywhere. I am now using pppoeconf. And this isn't a good solution, honestly. At work I'll be needing wireless. If that thing is not fixed now, I will have to uninstall the system.
I also had a lot of difficulties doing such a simple thing as turning off an ambient sensor on my Asus laptop. If you go online you'll see this problem was there for several years. There is a trick which you can do through the terminal. But couldn't it have been implemented - over these years? Additionally, on Karmic this fix does not work and for a non-technical user the only decision is to uninstall the system since he can barely see something on the screen.
I also had problems with sound - after the update the sound did not work and I had to update grub. Was there a problem in making this automatic?
And after the update I now have two (!) sound devices, although I always had only one. And to watch YouTube I need to turn on one and to listen music internally I have to choose another one.
And so there is great irony in reading how Karmic is "perfect" and a "replacement" for Windows. It is not a replacement since it cannot create a DSL Internet connection and it cannot work out of the box. An OS which after installation cannot connect to the Internet, play music and control screen brightness is not a replacement for Windows which does not have any such problems.