Ubuntu 7.10 Release Candidate

I recently tested out the release candidate for Ubuntu 7.10 codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon". Ubuntu is a distribution or "flavor" of Linux that is most suited for Windows/Mac switchers. I tested Ubuntu 7.4 in the past, which had many problems that prevented me from actually using my test computer for entertainment purposes. I use my desktop PC as a central server so that I can play content wirelessly from my notebook computer.

Using Ubuntu 7.4 on my notebook, I was unable to correctly play movie files without them being pixilated. The subtitles were also displayed incorrectly when full screened. This matters a great deal to me because 95% of my movie files are not in English. I also had a difficult time getting my wireless card to work due to the many different versions of instructions on the web of setting it up.

The great thing about Windows is every hardware manufacturer has drivers and supports it. This is not the case for Linux. Some hardware manufacturers refuse to release the information needed for the open source community to develop Linux drivers. Anyway, the new release of Ubuntu is slightly better than the previous one. For one thing, I was able to get my wireless card working with just a few clicks! Then I ran into some of the same problems. Video was pixilated once I installed ATI's Proprietary drivers. I couldn't play files over the network. I have almost solved both of these problems.

There was a minor tweak needed to the graphics card settings to produce smooth video playback with correct subtitle formatting. I have half-solved the network playback issue. I had to open a terminal window (similar to a command window in Windows) and manually mount a Windows network share. It was easier than I thought. However, when I do play back movie files over the network, they skip! I'm not quite sure if it is the wireless network or the player itself, because I never had problems in Windows. The thing that annoys me about Ubuntu is if you ever want to get stuff done or fixed, you have to register and post on the Ubuntu community forums. I feel like I'm in a battle with Ubuntu just to get it to work smoothly like Windows does. I hope to be using Ubuntu more in the future once I can figure out the remaining video skipping problem.