While searching Demonoid (torrent website) for linux distros (after all the hackers know the best stuff), I came across this interesting torrent that said "Ubuntu Ultimate Edition". Well, I read up on it, visited the official website, and eventually decided to download and install it. I must say I'm impressed. It seemed that the guy who created it was asked to break off from the Linux community because he had broken so many fundamental principles. Well, most of these principles are the things that keep Linux from becoming a decent Operating System, so I wasn't too upset with that.
For one, he's striving for greater compatibility with Microsoft software. The only way to do that is to break many laws. He's recoded driver's without permission from hardware manufacturers and has taken a lot of MS code and integrated it into his OS. I must say, it's a DEFINITE improvement over the real versions of Ubuntu (or any other versions of linux for that matter). I didn't even have 1 missing driver when I installed it on my test machine. My test machine has the following specs:
*Intel Celeron 3.33ghz Processor
*512mb DDR2 5300 Ram
*120gb Hard Drive
*Ultimate Edition 2.2 x32
I must say Ultimate Edition takes much more resources than the standard Ubuntu it was derived from. I could use a gig of ram. I'm always on the brink of eating it all up. Right now (I'm typing this on the test machine), all I have is Firefox open and I only have 110mb of ram left.
I'm sorry about the blurry snapshot, but GIMP doesn't resize it very well. But here's how the main desktop looks:
View Image In New WindowIt's pretty sweet, but geeze is it different. It's going to take some time to get used to this. There's no official support for this OS, but the creator does have a forum where you can report bugs and ask questions. The current version has a slight bug, but it's not worth wiping it all out and restoring it to the new version. He forgot to close the Name element so any time there's an apostrophe, it's replaced with a weird looking function key.
I LOVE the login screen. To be honest, you can go ahead and Google Ultimate Edition and look at some screenshots, but it really doesn't do it justice. Once version 2.3 comes out, I recommend people go download it. It's a great OS and I believe it has potential. We might be seeing an entirely new breed of OS as this guy goes further and further away from Linux. He's got to think of a new name for it though. Just "Ultimate Edition" seems incomplete.