If after installing a new operating system on my computer I lost all audio and had to endure a bug which resulted in a persistent pop-up window, I would not normally be writing a glowing review of that OS.
I am for Ubuntu 9.04, code named “Jaunty Jackalope”.
Those things did happen to me when I upgraded from Ubuntu 8.10 to Ubuntu 9.04. It took me several days reading all sorts of cryptic crap on several sites to fix the afforementioned problems.
However, I have no regrets.
I have seen two “taking it to the next level” end user spectacles with computers. The first was the slickness of Windows 95 when it first came out. The next was seeing my friend plugging in somebody else’s video camera into his Mac laptop and having playback instantly work.
Now, the third.
Ubuntu 9.04 boots in 15 seconds on my computer.
You read that right, 15 seconds. Fifteen seconds from the time I turn my computer on until I am prompted for my password.
After more than a decade of enduring agonizingly long computer start up times this is truly an amazing innovation.
The bugs I experienced aren’t guaranteed for everyone. If you are comfortable with futzing you can fix these bugs yourself with only a modicum of pain. I highly encourage you to try out the latest Ubuntu. The lightening fast boot-up time is amazing.