well, the 9.04 hasn't released yet but they already have the plan for 9.10. Very excited in this 9.10 version.

Go ubuntu !

Well, I just hope they fix the Intel chipset drivers, because it has been experiencing MAJOR slowness in 8.10 and 9.04

boy I really hope the HD4770 drives are a lot better

the question is why do u still try to use a system that tries to mimic windows ?
ubuntu 9.04 sound doesnt even come close to 40 % of what windows offers.
the sound is so low , even with all the fixes and playing around with alsa config. also the problems with video cards, another headache.

With windows 7 there is no reason to use these distros, windows 7 made a great improvement in memory management, and its faster than windows vista ,

so when ubuntu finally matches windows or macintosh performance in video and sound, windows and mac will be probably in the moon.

What a bold statement. Ubuntu/GNU/Linux is more then windows will ever be. Windows doesn't even have any real plug'n'play support. And please wake up, if you didn't know, we don't use Alsa anymore, PulseAudio is being used. Even when Alsa was used, we didn't have to edit config files for really good sound, stop spitting lies all over this place.

Even if Windows 7 is faster then Vista, it wont match the speed of any Linux/GNU distribution, just check benchmark performance and you will see.

Don't underestimate Linux/GNU distributions, even if some are more crap then others, the ideal is to give all users a choice of their own. Windows will only lock you up while distributions like Ubuntu offers you freedom.

Sure, Linux wont get any market shares on the desktop for a few years. No, not because it sucks, but because Windows locked their users in a dark cage and tossed away the key. But slowly Linux is growing, they have grown much more in the last few years then 20 years. Why do you think Windows is "opening" up some softwares, they can't compete to what is free.Look at the mobile market now when android is introduced. It will kick ass. just wait a year or two and it will dominate the market sooner or later.

As an amateur who isn't very good, my one wish for ubuntu is to simplify the installation of wifi cards.

I have been using Ubuntu since version 8.04 and all the while satisfying me a lot.
Testing on Ubuntu Karmic beta, it's amazing. A lot of impressions with this beta release.
Just can't wait the final release of this Karmic Koala.
Well done guys.

Hey, just another angle on this. If you take a person who has been using windows for some time and is used to the windows way of life. Set him down at a Mac or Linux system, ( out of the box install) they might feel like this FREE or Much more expensive (Mac) system just is not worth his/her time to learn a new and lesser system. Especially given how much time and money they have invested in windows!
Don't get me wrong. I disagree! Ubuntu, for example is NOT a lesser system, It is my favorite!
Now, show that same person a nicely setup Ubuntu, complete with lots of eye candy and examples of how to get more software, (without getting up or paying for it) how much more user friendly it can be, etc..
I have done this and converted many..
I think the main thing slowing the process of people changing to say Ubuntu, is they just don't know how good it is and how rewarding it can be!

That said, I do a quad boot.. Ubuntu / win xpmc / vista / win 7 rc
I use Ubuntu 98% of the time and feel safe using it.
Inside Ubuntu I also test other OS using Virtualbox. So far, Mandriva would be another great OS.

So, show people you know (don't just say it's better, as an opinion) how good it is and let them choose.
Don't forget the live cd / dvd / usb options. Thanks for reading, Dan

Sadly I have to agree with the first post as sound on Ubuntu simply sucks. Try getting HDMI audio working and you'll see just what I mean. Plus they're spot on in that the sound from Ubuntu is much lower than produced by Windows on thhe same hardware. PulseAudio is also just another layer in the broken, wretched sound stack on Linux. All of the sound systems (OSS, ALSA, Pulse) want throwing away and repalcing with something that actually works.

Sorry but I can't agree with that. I'm using Ubuntu for some years now and i never had any problems with the sound (ALSA or PulseAudio). Even if I plug in headphones or my hifi system the sound is clear and premium.

@ jc

"the question is why do u still try to use a system that tries to mimic windows ?
ubuntu 9.04 sound doesnt even come close to 40 % of what windows offers.
the sound is so low , even with all the fixes and playing around with alsa config. also the problems with video cards, another headache.

With windows 7 there is no reason to use these distros, windows 7 made a great improvement in memory management, and its faster than windows vista ,

so when ubuntu finally matches windows or macintosh performance in video and sound, windows and mac will be probably in the moon."

LOL. Ubuntu tries to mimic windows? Where did you read that? It's exactly the other way around. Why do you think Win7 is that fast? They copied alot from Linux systems to improve their own lame system. I would never buy any version of Microsoft OS. I even removed the pre-installed Vista from my system because it really sucks.

Sound : I NEVER had any sound issues with ubuntu. The sound is at least as good as on windows.

MS/MAC in the moon : Yeah, sure. Because nobody will use these systems in the near future. Why should we spend lots of money for an OS if we can get a better one for free?

PS

Excuse me for my english, it's not my native tongue.

Um I think people must remember why its open source and the word free is for freedom to choose what you like.

For the windows 7 junkies go have fun we will c you on the other side soon enough as most corporates are moving Linux based due to the major costs of upgrading systems, servers and desktops on the new windows platforms.

I was once a Windows user but now all i want to do is put pressure on game vendors to release games for both windows and linux systems.

btw i play wow with 275 fps and great sound on my ubuntu system. Windows i only got 56fps

Hope this helps you think before you write