Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Ubuntu getting unprecedented raves at PC Mag

Just a quick note: I actually think this is a first for Linux in a mainstream PC media icon. No less than PC Magazine in it's online edition today has not one but two major raves about Ubuntu. Firstly, noted skeptic and curmudgeon John Dvorak has a headlining article that says everyone should go and try Ubuntu. He's running it on his latest machines (plural) and thinks it has fully arrived as an OS.

In a separate featured review by Nicole Price Fasig, a deluxe netbook from HP is lauded, both for the hardware and for it's custom Ubuntu build. "Providing a seamless, user-friendly Linux experience is exactly where the new Mi (Mobile Internet) edition of the HP Mini 1000 ($424.99 direct) excels." Also noteworthy to me is that this one of the most aesthetic, well designed - and expensive - netbooks on the market right now. Is Ubuntu really only appealing on the low end because of cost? Methinks not so much.

Now, remember that PC Mag started out and has continued to be mostly about Windows and all things Microsoft PC related. They occasionally have had token articles showing that they are aware of Apple and Linux, but really the focus has always been Windows. Dvorak himself, who is one of the most senior and well known computer commentators in the US, admits that he basically makes his living off Windows, which is his excuse for why he can't fully abandon it.

"I cannot wean myself off Windows altogether because, well, I write about Windows. But for ancillary machines that I put together where I need reliability and low price, I'm always going to see whether Ubuntu works. And if it does, that's what gets installed."

That's pretty amazing praise from a guy who has forgotten more about Windows than most people will ever know.


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