Which 'Buntu is right for you?

June 19, 2007

Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu and even Edubuntu or Ubuntu Studio — all of these distributions have one thing in common: the Ubuntu/Debian base they were built from. Each has its own set of strengths, however; here is a rundown of features and the sorts of machines, people, and purposes they are best suited to.

Please note that these are guidelines, not hard and fast rules. There are always exceptions and preferences to be taken into account. With that said, let’s move on!

If you’re ready to take the plunge into Linux or are looking to switch distributions, Ubuntu and its cousins are certainly the right place to be looking. Ubuntu is known for its relative user friendliness, polish, ease of installation, and its great user community. You may be wondering why there are all these versions of it out there, and I admit, it can be dizzying! This is a great strength of Linux though — choice. The freedom to choose what is best for you and the freedom to mold it to suit your own specific needs. Change it, pass it around, and give it a new name (as long as you adhere to the GPL). Hence, Ubuntu’s brethren are born.

We’ll start with the original. Ubuntu uses Gnome as its desktop environment, and as such, is relatively heavy in its resource requirements. However, with Gnome comes a wealth of useful software all with a consistent look and feel. From its office applications to its web browser and media player, most aspects of every day computing have been painstakingly integrated with each other to provide a smooth experience. Expect OpenOffice.org for word processing, spreadsheet work and the like, Totem for media playing, and Firefox for your default browser. Evolution is provided as an email client and Gaim is included out of the box for instant messaging; Rhythmbox provides a music player and library management as well as an interface to iPods.

With Ubuntu, it’s easy to jump right in and start working with apps that behave in a familiar manner. Everything is relatively self explanatory and this makes it perfect for newbies to Linux. However, power users can open a terminal and dig as deeply as they like on their own. Ubuntu has appeal to users at all levels of Linux expertise.

Gnome’s interface is similar to a mix between Windows XP and Mac OS — Windows users will be thrown by the application bar at the top, but most will not have trouble getting used to this model. Usability and consistency receive high marks.
As for eye candy, fancy windowing effects can be turned on through the preferences menu, making your friends with Windows Vista jealous. This feature requires a compatible 3D graphics card.

Because of its heavy user environment, a somewhat beefy machine is recommended for vanilla Ubuntu. Reasonable minimum specs are a Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon class CPU @ 1GHZ or faster, and 512MB of RAM. Ubuntu will install comfortably in as little as 4GB of HDD space, but you’ll want more for user files and added applications.

This distribution sprang forth mainly because of a difference in preference — Kubuntu is built off the same base as Ubuntu, but uses the K Desktop Environment (KDE) and integrates its associated applications. Instead of Firefox, Nautilus, and Gaim, you’ll find Konqueror to browse the web and manage files and Kopete to chat with friends.
KDE traditionally has the reputation of being more customizable and Windows-like than Gnome — opinions differ, as always, but I’ve found this to be generally true. Those coming straight off the Microsoft boat seem to be more at home with Kubuntu/KDE’s default layout and Start menu like interface. Those more apt to tinker with the layout of menus and toolbars might also feel more at home with Kubuntu. Nothing stands in your way of having a desktop that looks and functions how you like. With special plugins and toolbars, even the look and feel of Mac OS X can be approximated.
Kubuntu is well polished and very customizable, but is just as heavy as Ubuntu and Gnome. Therefore, the minimum system requirements that I would give are the same as listed above for Ubuntu.

XFCE is a lesser known desktop environment, but don’t let that fool you — it’s quite useful, and lightning quick! That’s where Xubuntu really shines. The lighter interface allows Xubuntu to run on more modest hardware without sacrificing much in the way of usability or features. Xubuntu’s default installation of XFCE mimics that of Gnome and Ubuntu, with a different color scheme; the layout is similar, with taskbar and menu bar at both the top and bottom of the screen.
Xubuntu uses Abiword instead of the OpenOffice.org suite and Thunderbird instead of Evolution or Kontact. Expect to find lighter, less feature rich applications all around by default with this distribution. Most are adequate, but fast. If you need features of a particular application, it’s easy to install the required piece of software a piece at a time. This makes Xubuntu a great base to build off of for lesser or older machines. We’ll call them horsepower
challenged.
Xubuntu is user friendly, but less feature rich — there are always trade-offs involved. A good candidate for Xubuntu should have at least 64MB of ram, but 128MB is recommended. To install from the Live-CD, you’ll need at least 192MB; those with less than that will have to use the text mode installer included on the alternate CD.

Round-Down

Any version of Ubuntu will fit for the power user, since one can easily transform into the other with a simple aptitude or apt-get command — but each has its strengths, as outlined above. Many of the differences are cosmetic, but some are functional as well. The fact that each version of Ubuntu comes as a Live CD adds to the ease of trying it out and deciding for yourself. Hopefully, with these guidelines, you’ll be ready to take the plunge and give any of these versions of Ubuntu a shot.
Watch this space; I’ll be giving an overview of Ubuntu Studio and Edubuntu in the near future!

Posted in stories