Ubuntu 8.04 DVD | 
| From: Canonical
List Price: $12.99
Buy New: $0.98
You Save: $12.01 (92%)
New (3) from $0.98
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 42
Format: Dvd-rom
Platform: Linux
Media: DVD-ROM
Operating System: Linux
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.5
UPC: 890655001190
EAN: 0890655001190
ASIN: B0019KKM4O
Release Date: April 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Award-winning Linux operating system with complete set of open source applications for desktops, laptops, and servers | | • | Office productivity suite, Web browser, and email for your everyday needs | | • | Instant messaging, image editing, and various tools for accessing and managing your multimedia files | | • | Free security updates delivered via the Internet for 18 months on the desktop and server | | • | Comprehensive DVD with desktop and server installation, alternate installation (e.g., OEM install), plus all of the supported add-on software and translations for dozens of languages |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
An excellent alternative June 4, 2008
C. Petit (Northeastern US)
33 out of 36 found this review helpful
For non-technical users, the first thing to note is Ubuntu is not at all related to Microsoft Windows XP or Vista. This means you can't go to the local Best Buy and purchase, any piece of PC software, and expect it always to work with Ubuntu.
The good news is you may never need to. Ubuntu provides, free of charge, thousands of applications including many games, Office applications, email, Web browsing, chat, and the likes. If you have a high speed Internet connection, Ubuntu can install these applications.
Ubuntu also works well with older PCs, since its hardware requirements are much more modest than Windows Vista.
If you want to try out Ubuntu, you can install and run it from within Windows, so you can try it out before dedicating hard drive space to it.
In addition, Ubuntu provides a Windows emulation layer (called "WINE") which can run some Windows applications quite well even including some older Windows games.
Unfortunately, Ubuntu does not always work with newer hardware, because some drivers aren't available. Also, the emulation support is not 100% accurate, so some Windows applications won't work.
Ubuntu is ideal for the typical PC user, who needs to browse the Web, send email, store a music library and so on. It is also an excellent fit for someone who wants to develop software. However, Ubuntu is not a good fit for users who want to use the latest PC games.
Basically, Ubuntu provides an excellent alternative to the ever-increasing hardware requirements and licensing restrictions required to run Vista (since Microsoft is phasing out Windows XP). But it's not for everyone.
Finally, this DVD is excellent if you don't have a high speed Internet connection but want to try out Ubuntu, because it includes a lot of extra software which wouldn't fit on a standard CD.
A safer, faster, and reasonably priced alternative to Windows July 8, 2008
Tommy M. (Berkeley)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
I had to reinstall Windows XP recently, something I hadn't done in so long that I didn't know where the CD was anymore. I had to go buy a new copy at a local store, and I was shocked that it was $130 for an OEM copy (OEM means that it doesn't come with the retail box). Granted that the Windows operating system is continually updated, but it seemed ludicrous to still be paying so much for an OS that was released in 2001. It's the kind of thing a company can just *do* when it owns something like 90% of the desktop market, and I felt insulted and gouged.
So once I'd put XP back on my hard drive, I immediately went looking for alternatives. If only that local store had had a copy of Ubuntu. You know why? Because Windows didn't recognize the Ethernet controller on my motherboard. The motherboard that's been on the market for years and uses a widely popular chipset. And XP, which as I said has been out for seven years, didn't know what the heck it was. So I had no Internet access. I had to go to an Internet cafe, track down and download the driver onto a USB thumb drive, trudge back home, and install the driver.
So after all that business, I was finally able to get online, and I dived into Linux research. I'd used Mandrake Linux a few years before (now known as Mandriva), so I was familiar with the layout, so to speak. And my research led me to Ubuntu. It is based on Debian but has a much more accessible community, and its website is infinitely better designed, more intuitive, and more helpful (in my opinion) when you encounter a problem. Ubuntu also has arguably the largest desktop community in the world right now, so there are always plenty of people on the Internet, or IRC, who can help you with the quirks and tweaks. So while Ubuntu isn't really much different than Debian, it is ready for the Windows user in a way that the Debian community cannot even touch; the Debian website, for example, does not even had a forum. There's only a mailing list.
But of course, what's more important is how Ubuntu compares to Windows. In a nutshell, there really isn't a whole lot that belongs to Windows anymore. Videogames? WINE has very impressive compatibility, and its website has an extensive, easily readable database. WINE also lets you run many other programs, like Photoshop. Word processing? Open Office. Email and Web browsing? Evolution and Firefox. And all of these come with Ubuntu, free of charge -- forever. Because you *own* your copy of the software, not just a commercial license to use it. The difference is that a commercial license can expire, be revoked, and have limitations on the number of installations that you are "allowed" to do.
Meanwhile, you can install Ubuntu as many times as you like, on as many computers as you like, you can change your hardware all you like, and it will never demand that you prove you're not a thief.
There are also pretty much no viruses to deal with, because Linux uses a completely different architecture than Windows, and one that can be viewed and changed by anyone in the world. All they have to do is download the source code, which is also available for free. Thousands of people pore over the Linux programming code every day, so it is exceedingly difficult to take advantage of a hidden vulnerability. In fact, so reliable is its security that it's used heavily by the National Security Agency to safeguard sensitive information and systems.
I won't lie, though. As awesome as Linux is, the current version of Ubuntu has pretty flaky support for wireless cards, and getting sound to work can be equally frustrating. As these are pretty important elements of the experience, I can't in good conscience give the OS a full five stars. You can work around both of these flaws, but sometimes, for some reason, nothing will work, and you're left with a computer that can't connect to the Internet or play any music. I'd hate for anyone to buy Ubuntu on the basis of my review and get stuck with potentially nasty surprises, so these things have to be mentioned.
Ultimately, at this price, it's at least worth a look, in my opinion. You can keep both Windows and Ubuntu on your computer, and remove Ubuntu if it doesn't work out for you. Personally, I had problems with sound, but I refused to give up until I got it to work, because I was so irritated by Microsoft. Now everything works swimmingly, and I think my effort has been rewarded. My computer feels more secure with Ubuntu, it feels faster, and I save money. What's not to like?
 Great alternative to Windows, for 100% less than buying a Mac. July 5, 2008
J. Zglinicki (S.E. Pennsylvania, USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Have used various flavors of Unix for work in the past. Rather than update to something newer than Windows 2000, I looked at switching to Linux for home use. Ubuntu has their 8.04 distribution polished well enough for family use. My 9 and 7-1/2 year old girls have no problem using the Gnome desktop. Running on a Dell Dimension 2400, with a 2.8 GHz P4 and 256 MB RAM, it's running circles around Win2K on the same machine. XP would be even slower, and Vista requires at least another 256 MB of RAM just to meet its minimum requirements. The O/S immediately was able to read NTFS volumes, access the local Windows network, and browse shared directories and print to devices connected to other systems running Windows. OpenOffice reads my existing MS Office documents and is able to write MS Office docs as well, for sharing with others. Online support has been excellent. I haven't had to do more than check the online help sections (help.ubuntu.com) to get my answers quickly. Very well done!
Terrific Ubuntu! June 5, 2008
Alex Vox (Winetka, IL)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
t is great set of ubuntu and kubuntu and the library is top notch. I first installed ubuntu, then decided to try kubuntu and came across this set Kubuntu, Ubuntu and Linux Training Library 2DVDs+CD I use ubuntu for second year and it is by far my most loved Linux distro. Now I try out kubuntu that also great but different. This particular one comes with complete training library for all levels of users! Here's smooth installation and hour of fun! Awesome!
 Not the product, just the price... July 31, 2008
William Hoffknecht (Fernley, NV)
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
Unless you are unaware, this is a free product. If anyone is playing 13 dollars for it, you you are getting so ripped. Even the disc is only like .50-2.00 on most online vendors, but even that is kind of ridiculous because you can download it for free or request the disc for free from the Ubuntu website.
Linux is Open-Sourse people! That means you do not have to pay for it! =)As much as I love Amazon, this is dumb. The vendor is probably giving them to Amazon for next to nothing, or even if they are giving them to Amazon for three dollars a piece, both ends are making a killing whenever they sell one! Free!
Free!
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu
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