I have used Linux regularly for about 4 years. I that time, I have, for the most part, used Ubuntu Linux, but I have on many occasions tried other flavours of Linux, including Fedora. So, how do the latest editions of Ubuntu and Fedora compare?
It is fair to say that Ubuntu generally has the edge on Fedora in my experience. I have tried Fedora Core 4 and Fedora Core 6 before, with little success, Fedora Core 4 suffered from dependency problems when installing programs, and Fedora Core 6 just wouldn't install. I also tried Fedora 9, which ran very nicely from a Live CD, but didn't install properly.
On the other hand, I have used every version of Ubuntu since the first, 4.10 (Warty Warhog). It is fair to say that I have generally been impressed with it - no installation problems at all. The early versions I used - 4.10 (Warty), 5.04 (Hoary) and 5.10 (Breezy) were solid, but unspectacular.
This changed with Dapper Drake, (6.06, LTS), the first long-term support release. It was accompanied with a much more integrated feel, and generally just worked out of the box, with few changes required. All the releases since then have carried on building upon this release, none of them being spectacular, but all solidly pushing forward. So, how would Fedora 10 and Ubuntu 8.10 fare?
The fairest test is to run a clean install of both. For both, I used a Live CD, with my desktop PC, which is a 2.8 Ghz Intel Processor with HT technology (the most over-rated technology of the last 5 years, if you ask me), 512Mb RAM and a 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6600GT. So, not slow, but not about to set the world on fire either. Hardware support shouldn't be an issue.
I tried Fedora 10 first. It booted without a problem, and quite quickly. It has quite a slick desktop, but I really wanted an installed system, so I installed the OS to the hard drive straight away. Everything was fine, and I re-booted. Now, in the past, Fedora has forgotten to add itself to the bootloader when installing, which is a fairly major error, but there were no major problems like that this time.
I selected Fedora 10 from the GRUB menu and watched as Fedora booted. It then came to a screen where I could finish the setup of my system. Error. My mouse didn't work. My keyboard didn't work. I tried using USB and PS/2, but neither worked. I was stuck.
I tried installing the whole system again (the Live CD recognises the keyboard and mouse without any problem), and booting again, but the problem re-appeared. Given my previous bad experiences with the Fedora installer, I cut my losses and gave up.
Next, I tried the Ubuntu 8.10 installer. I had previously upgraded an install from 8.04 to 8.10, but this test is for a clean install - and clean installs are generally better anyway. I booted the Live CD - no problems. I ran the installer - no problems. The graphical installer is very slick, and the partitioning tool that Ubuntu uses is very impressive - Ubuntu manages to make partioning a joy, whereas Fedora has, in my experience, made it a very complicated affair, despite using the same base package. Anyway, I answered a few questions, the whole thing installed and it asked me to reboot.
At this point, I would like to mention something. When Fedora finishes installing, it just gives you a button to press to reboot. This is fine, but it leaves the CD is the drive, and if you don't take it out, you can end up booting from CD again when you reboot. Ubuntu automatically rejects the CD from the drive, tells you to remove it from the drive and to then press the "enter" key, thus eliminating this annoyance. It's a very small matter, but it saves a lot of hassle. Big thumbs up to Ubuntu on that one.
I then rebooted and logged in. No problems. The desktop is very slick. The background wallpaper looks fabulous. I was quickly prompted to install my updates, which I always like. The user panel at the top of the screen has been integrated fantastically to enable you to lock the screen, log out and reboot with the minimum of hassle. You can even start a guest session within your own session, giving someone else access to your computer, but without giving them the ability to log you out or accidentally shut your computer down. It even saves where your music was in the middle of playing and starts playing it back instantly when you end the session to go back to your previous session.
There are many more neat touches that impress. Pidgin integrates fanastically into the user applet to set your availability status. The codec finder works wonderfully so you don't have to worry about having to download the correct codec yourself. You can even buy licenced codecs if you want.
Pulseaudio now seems to work fantastically. I can play music in Rhythmbox and watch videos in Firefox without then having to kill pulseaudio in a terminal afterwards. Olive - the GTK frontend to bzr, has now evolved into a much friendlier program. The only slight disappointment is that OpenOffice 3 isn't included by default, although it is easy enough to add. Overall, very impressive. So, what's the verdict?
Software: Ubuntu 8/10, Fedora 9/10. They have virtually identical programs, but Fedora includes OpenOffice 3, so it shades this area.
Desktop Integration: Ubuntu 9/10, Fedora 7/10. Fedora's looks good, but Ubuntu's integration of user sessions, Pidgin and hardware drivers puts it out ahead.
Speed: Ubuntu 8/10, Fedora 8/10. Both are nifty, even on a machine that's starting to struggle slightly for raw power in an age where RAM is key.
Installer: Ubuntu 10/10, Fedora 6/10. Fedora's installer is quite slow, whereas Ubuntu's is fast, asks very few questions and has the best partition editor I've seen anywhere, ever. I'd use it over proprietary software any day.
Overall: Strictly speaking, Ubuntu 35/40, Fedora 30/40. However, I think I have to disqualify Fedora and give it a big fat 0/40.
It might seem harsh, but at the end of the day, my Fedora installation isn't useable - and not for the first time. It's not like I'm using cutting edge hardware. The keyboard is a fricking Cheery Linux keyboard for goodness sake! There's clearly a problem with the Fedora installer somewhere. And yes, I know I could spend hours on the Fedora forums trying to find an answer, but I shouldn't have to - not when every other Linux distro has no such problems. Linux Format may have had Fedora 10 down as beating Ubuntu 8.10, but there's no such judgement here. Ubuntu wins an easy knockout.