Ubuntu for My Boss
For as long as I can remember, Linux was “marketed” and pushed towards the younger crowd—the computer-savvy, self-described “geeky” community that had no problem getting Linux to work on their system. But now, even my boss is running Ubuntu. Here’s our story.
This has typically involved a good amount of command-line interaction and tweaking to get your system working. Though this is a simplistic way to describe what is in actuality a complex situation, the above is a lot of the reason why Linux adoption in computer users as a whole has been slow compared to Windows.
But time has changed this once accepted reality. Improvements across the board throughout many distributions, led today by Ubuntu, have led us to a point where users across the spectrum can use it effectively with just a little curiosity and desire to learn something new.
It was that desire and the quality of Ubuntu that led me to recommend Linux to my “boss,” a gentleman mostly retired and about 60 years old. Here’s the story.
A Little History
Of course, my boss did not grow up with computers and did not use them from the age of six like myself and my peers. Instead, it was in his middle age that computers came about and into the home for users to compose documents and send email and reach out to friends a world away. For this user group, the far majority are now solid Windows users.
My boss, lets call him “Tom,” was exactly one of these: comfortable with computers, comfortable using and manipulating Windows, and on the more advanced side, even able to edit the registry when he needed to.
So when he walked into the office and saw me in the lounge with my Eee PC on the table, he immediately asked me what it was. As I explained it all (as I have many times when using my Eee PC in public), I mentioned that its lack of pre-installed Windows helped keep the price low. “But how does it work without Windows?” he asks me. Enter my explanation of Linux, the Open Source movement, what it means, and why it is important.
My Eee PC no longer has the stock Xandros distribution on it. I went through a number of distros (the stock Xandros, Backtrack 3 Beta, eeeDora, etc) before settling on eeeBuntu (xbuntu modified for use on the Eee).
Test Drive
So when he asked to give it a try, I explained the idea behind distributions and what was currently on my machine. His extreme pleasure and amazement with my Eee led to a greater discussion of Ubuntu in general. He was amazed to hear he could get it for free off the Internet and install it on his system…all free of charge.
He was shocked to see me answer his question of “will it work on my computer?”- I simply googled the name of his system and did five minutes worth of research to get him a 90% sure “yes” it will work.
Doing this quick research then led me to a more esoteric discussion about how Linux and Ubuntu are more of a community model when it comes to support versus the traditional vendor and paid tech support model he was more familiar with when using Windows.
I showed him the Ubuntu forums, Linux forums, and other websites that can provide help. I explained how instead of a phone call, he just needed how to learn to compose and use Google searches more effectively to find answers to problems.
And this, my friends, is how I transformed someone’s grandfather into a Ubuntu user. We downloaded and made a 7.10 Live CD which he took home with him, only to report the next day how much he liked it.
He was amazed at OpenOffice and that there is a free alternative to Microsoft Office. He was shocked at the idea of software repositories, and how he had found open-source equivalents for all his much-used Windows software. The next night, I helped him partition his hard drive so he can now dual-boot his machine between XP and Ubuntu 7.10. I figure I won’t dump 8.04 on him until both him and 8.04 are a bit more experienced.
Linux has and will become more popular with further adoption in the business world. It will make people more money, showing them that there is in fact a market for it. At the same time, the continued development of Ubuntu will allow further inroads into the desktop market, allowing all sorts of users to make the switch from Windows and try something new. My ability to convert Tom shows the impact that Ubuntu has had.
I would never had tried to covert him to Fedora or SuSE or any of the other popular distros. It only goes to show, once again, that Ubuntu is at the forefront of innovation in the Linux world.
Great article! I recently just got back from vacation. My wife and I visited family in Louisiana. One of my brother-in-laws asked me about my laptop. I run Ubuntu 7.10 on my think-pad. I gave him a demonstration of the desktop features that Ubuntu offers. He was so interested in what I was showing him, that I was even able to interest him to watch me create simple shell scripts in bash to demonstrate the power of the command line concept. He was really surprised and just blown away by the many things I could do in Linux that matches or even beats Microsoft Windows. My brother-in-law has been a Windows consumer most of his life and has never even heard of Linux; much less Ubuntu or any other type of Open source OS. I burned him a copy of Ubuntu 7.10 before we left for home in Sunny S. California. He emailed me last night about install instructions. LOL 🙂
I totally can relate to this article. Linux evangelization is so easy with Ubuntu. Awesome job everyone at Ubuntu amp; Canonical!
Sincerely,
Raul Ruiz
He’ll be amazed when he realizes that new releases are released every 6 months, he’ll not get another virus as long as he lives, his information is secure (assuming u secure your network).
I’ve had a similar situation, although i perhaps failed due to the fact that my cousin got bored quickly once i promised to show him the 3D effects, then remembering that my laptop isn’t good enough to do it 🙁 lol. However, i might succeed in making my whole house primary ubuntu users, with xp in virtual box.
Nice article, i never realized that people over 50 would use it for some reason. Very naive of me yeah, but the forums are full of (what i feel sad to admit) cool people in the knowledge that they have and the way they are able to implement this into linux as a whole.
You never would have tried to convert him to another distro, and that’s why you say ubuntu is at the forefront of innovation in the Linux world? What a crock. Congratulations, it’s been awhile since I’ve gagged while reading ubuntu spam, but reading yours made me do it. The whole article is non-standard ubuntu spam, I only say non-standard because you actually acknowledge the existence of other distros.
I expect one of the following thing to happen when after you read this:
1. That you don’t delete this comment
2. That you don’t respond with a standard hateful remark just because I don’t rave over your ubuntu spam.
#2 should be “That you DO respond with a hateful remark
and #1 should be “That you delete this comment”
Constructive criticism — when delivered in a professional manner — will always be welcome on this site. We realize there are other Linux distributions out there. While we aim to help Ubuntu users, we aren’t out to bash the alternatives. Freedom of choice is a wonderful problem in the software market.
Hehe Jonny,
gt; Nice article, i never realized that people over 50 would use it for some reason.
don’t forget that some people had to invent this all for you youngsters out there 😉 At least we weren’t born with mice in our hands, hehe.
I turned 51 this year. And you can read my community blog “The Debian User”, or buy machines pre-installed with, yes, Ubuntu and/or Debian at ZaReason Europe, which I founded this year, following the great example of Cathy Malmrose in the US of A. I’m also a Team member of LXer Linux News.
So beware when looking at us grandpas and grannies – not all of us know nothing except Redmond…
best wishes,
also to Joe amp; Amy for this new site,
wjl – also known as Wolfgang
Wolfgang: thanks for weighing in and good to meet you. We look forward to hearing more about your pursuits. Please keep us posted.
I have to thank you guys, Joe, because Allaboutubuntu was the page where I first read an interview with Cathy – and now we’re good friends and even partners, trying to work in the same direction. Cool content here, also on the Var Guy, which I follow through LXer since a while as well.
best,
Wolfgang
It’s too bad other distros don’t have the superior package management, and simplicity focus that Ubuntu does. This is why Ubuntu will probably be the real gateway for consumer acceptance of Linux. It’s also interesting that Red Hat and Suse make somewhat negative statements about desktop Linux popularity these days. And then we get these anti Ubuntu trolls. I thought the convicted monopolist in Redmond was the real problem.
An FYI for readers who are new to Ubuntu: Wolfgang is referring to Cathy Malmrose of ZaReason, definitely a key voice in the Ubuntu universe.
Wolfgang: Thanks again.
You’ve got ba11s man! Think about the outcome if your boss trashes his own computer (not with Ubuntu, but by doing something dumb) based on YOUR advise. But then there is the old saying that with great risk comes great reward. Either way, its great to see that baby boomers are able to appreciate Linux/Ubuntu.
I’ve been using Ubuntu exclusively at home since Breezy Badger (release 5.10) and just set up my first Ubuntu LAMP server (with a Smoothwall counterpart) for my web page. I will say that my own efforts to “evangelize” Linux to my friends and family have convinced me that there is a significant segment of the population who are singularly disinterested in knowing ANYTHING about how their computer or software work. The bare fact is that this willfully stupid set will never appreciate the benefits of Linux and, by as a consequence, condemn themselves to expensive, substandard, and virus ridden software. Interestingly, I’ve seen people use Linux machines (at my community library) without ever realizing they weren’t using Windoze.
Good article. Thanks!!
[…] is too technical for everyday people. But I recently helped my boss make the move to Ubuntu Linux. Here#8217;s how. There’s a myth that Linux is too technical for everyday people. But I recently helped my boss make […]
Well Carl,
my brother is a psychologist, and mostly interested in machines which work – and he’s using Ubuntu since 6.06 LTS. One of our aunts (who is 68 btw) got a machine preinstalled with Debian Sarge some time ago. She happily just started using it, and loves all the games which come with the standard install. My son Jeremy (now 20) is a geek – running Kubuntu at home, and Debian on his internet server.
These days, Ubuntu is all the hype; yes. And that’s a good thing, not only for Debian, but also for other distros like Fedora, or OpenSuse. And mostly it starts with something like in this boss story – with an Eee PC or something of similar “sexiness” (sorry; don’t have a better word at the moment).
Lance, I think (and hope) that this “bashing” is over already. People who start using Linux (or even the BSDs) are the smarter ones after all.
best,
Wolfgang
Hi, @Jason Kichen…
you speak about a person of 62 years old…..
i did the same you did but… with a 72 years old woman … in south america recently
this grandma have never seen a computer at home and now with her first computer i showed her ubuntu.
people of 43 or 33 years old looks astonished how she use linux 😀
regards.
Just so you know, some us Linux users were using computers when mice were rodents in the walls, and serious computing was done with punchcards.
Well I did feel this was a little short on details. What does your boss use his PC for? What software is he using besides open office? How long has been using Linux now? How does he feel about it.
As the rant. The author’s statement the he would never try it with another distro is probably very true. It isn’t about being cutting edge it is all about ease of use. Ubuntu really is a nice easy to use distro. I have been using Linux for years and yet if I was going to set up a new Linux user Ubuntu would be my first choice as well.
Thanks everybody for the comments. I certainly want to respond as completely as I can.
I didn’t push Ubuntu because it is “better” than other distributions. Nor did I push it because I believe that Ubuntu is the best possible incarnation of Linux available. I did push it, though, because I believe it is the best distribution out there for those who are open to switching from Windows. I also showed him the distro watch website so he could get an idea that there are many different options available. As a side note, I am also a Slackware and a Fedora user, and I find these to be excellent distros. I simply consider neither to be right for his (my boss’) particular knowledge base. I do believe that it is hard to argue with the fact that in todays market, Ubuntu presents the easiest transition from Windows to Linux. That is why I recommended it.
As for what he specifically uses it for, pretty much the basics. He uses Firefox for browsing, I showed him Evolution for email (though not sure if he is using it), and Open Office to replace Micro Office (he was amazed that he could do spreadsheets without Excel!). I haven’t seen him in a few weeks, and I am not sure how the transition is going…but I will post an update when I do!
Finally, I certainly understand and want to acknowledge that there are “older” Linux users out there, and that I owe the very existence of this software to those older than me. But I also think that the vast majority of the current user base is my peer group. That is certainly nothing against any specific age group, I think its just the reality. All I can point to as evidence are my friends and colleagues, and with that, those at my age are much more open to trying new things with their computer, versus those older than us who are a bit more hesitant. Maybe that’s a smart move, but there is something good and exciting about being able to show someone (anyone!) something new about computers and what you can do with them…especially when it can save them so much money!
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Here is my ‘easy to use’ stories:
My dad is in his 70s and runs a dual boot PCLinuxOS/XP (games are important at all ages!) and xUbuntu on his old T21 laptop. He has been using computers for less than 7 years. He was easy to switch since he was the one who kept asking for it and he was already running full of free software like OO, Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, etc.
My mom used a computer for the first time this winter and we also put her in a PCLinuxOS laptop. This is her first experience with a computer.
She loves to rock her Compiz powered desktop.
She has never used a command line.
As well I have installed the penguin on about 15 more computers for friends and family. LiveCD are amazing, KDE is the overwhelming choice but XCFE and Puppy is what impressed people when I make their old machines roar again.
My son is 6 and the other is younger. They know XP as the place where they go play FIFA2006 and NHL2007 and spend the rest on the Linux side.
My 6 year old knows how to add games from the repository. I know that because on he installed them ALL on our laptop.
Since Ubuntu 7.10/PCLinuxOS, Linux has been easy enough for grandmas and kids to use. Can we fine tune it more? of course.
But I see no difference teaching someone new how to use a Mac, Win or Linux box.
The days of my first experience with RedHat 6.1 is long behind us.
Oh, did I mention my mom loves to show off her Compiz?
70 years old, never used a computer and loves the eye candy. This was the perfect clientele for Apple a few years ago. Except we only spent 300$ on a 2nd hand laptop (dual core, 100G HD, 2G Ram, cam, wifi) and added cutting edge distro because its just that easy.
[…] Ubuntu for My Boss […]
Decent article spoiled by this:
“I would never had tried to covert him to Fedora or SuSE or any of the other popular distros. It only goes to show, once again, that Ubuntu is at the forefront of innovation in the Linux world.”
Sorry but this is just plain wrong. Mandriva is every bit as easy and – in some case with things like WiFi – easier than Ubuntu.
I’m willing to bet that there are other distros as well that I haven’t tried. Ubuntu is good, and one of the better ones for sure, but it’s just not true to say that it is only one he could have used as a noob.
I am *not* trying to bash Ubuntu, which is doing a fine job for Linux and I’m very happy this is the case – just that it is one of *several* excellent distributions that are very easy for noobs.
@Lance
gt;gt; It’s too bad other distros don’t have the superior package management, and simplicity focus that Ubuntu does. lt;gt; This is why Ubuntu will probably be the real gateway for consumer acceptance of Linux. It’s also interesting that Red Hat and Suse make somewhat negative statements about desktop Linux popularity these days. And then we get these anti Ubuntu trolls. I thought the convicted monopolist in Redmond was the real problem. lt;lt;
So your solution is to have only Ubuntu. If that’s not a monopoly what is?
Ubuntu, Schumuntu. When are you Ubuntu evangelists going to wise up and start using Linux Mint, everything Ubuntu should be, but better.
quote… I totally can relate to this article. Linux evangelization is so easy with Ubuntu. …quote
It’s just as easy with Mandriva. My primary market is Middle aged and elderly women. I set up Mandriva Systems for them, all based on Mandriva One, the Mandriva Live CD. Everything one can do with Ubuntu can be done with every other Linux, and in many cases much much easier.
In reply to those talking about Mandriva….
My direct experience with this particular distribution was years ago, and at that point the installation was pretty rough (even the French to English instructions were poor). I have read, though, that the new 2008 release is well polished, and as you said, well suited to a new user. Mandriva user forums look about as well suited for newbies as Ubuntu’s does. I might give this a run through over the weekend to see how it plays out against Ubuntu…perhaps a decent topic for a future post.
Jason, that must have been many years ago I’ve been using Mandriva since 2000, when it was Mandrake, it was then, and is now the easiest Linux to install and administer. Mandriva has installed without issue on every piece of hardware I’ve tried it on, I cannot say the same for Ubuntu’s performance on the same hardware.
‘I would never had tried to covert him to Fedora or SuSE or any of the other popular distros. ‘
How could you make a statement like this and not even give a reason why?
‘But we’re not here to blindly praise Ubuntu.’-workswithu.com
It looks they are with articles like this that blindly praise Ubuntu and don’t give a reason why. As well they blindly bash non-Ubuntu distros without giving a reason why.
Weizbox,
thanks for your comment. If you scroll up and read my replies to some of the other comments, you will see my reply to exactly the question you pose.
Jason K,
You gave the reasons that you didn’t supply in the article, but you still didn’t give the reason why you didn’t include them in the article.
You even admit that with concerning Mandriva ‘My direct experience with this particular distribution was years ago’, and yet you still say you wouldn’t have tried to to convert him to it, even if you don’t know how it currently installs and runs. Would you have tried to convert him to Ubuntu ‘years ago’ when it was still pretty rough around the edges? I wouldn’t think so…
If your going to make statements against other distros, make sure you actually have experience with the distros that your mentioning, or else it just looks like your full of BS. Obviously you do have some experience with Fedora and Slackware, but when you say ‘any of the other popular distros’, that’s a lot of distros your including.
Have you worked with PCLinuxOS or Mint lately? Both of those I think are just about on par with Ubuntu as far as easy transitions from Windows go… if not easier in a lot of ways. What specifically is not as good in those two distros that Ubuntu does better for people transitioning from Windows?
Weizboz @29: We met over on digg. You threw some constructive criticism my way about the initial Works With U site launch. Just wanted to say it’s good to have you on the site, and we do welcome constructive criticism from readers. Healthy debate is the key to continued progress for open source.
I’m busy working through some site enhancements, including a few that reflect your feedback.
Joe Panettieri
Editorial Director, Works With U
Joe Panettieri,
‘Healthy debate is the key to continued progress for open source.’ I completely agree, and I’m glad to see you guys putting in the effort to check some of the things out that I have mentioned.
Nice PR skills btw 😉
[…] Вольный перевод. Оригинал by Jason Kichen. […]
For all you folks harping on the author’s distro choice and touting your own, please, oh PLEASE, write up some true stories of how YOU (yes _YOU_) helped a Windows user convert to GNU/Linux using your distro of choice. Hmmm??? Any takers? Anyone already keeping a diary of such that wishes to publish?
–crickets–
Why would you want someone to push a distribution that they don’t use on a regular basis? Even if it’s better, the simple fact is that there will be differences that they might not be ready to handle. No matter what people recommend, someone always names some other distribution. Using Ubuntu? Use Mandriva! Using Mandriva? Use Mint! Who cares as long as it works? I know damn well that I wouldn’t recommend something to my boss that I wasn’t 100% comfortable with and have tried on many hardware configs.
As a long-time Windows user, I am fascinated by all the intramural “distro” bashing on every Linux forum. “Distro A is better than B.” “No it isn’t; you are crazy and demented to say that!” … ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
The important benefit of user-friendly distributions, whichever one is chosen, is that it’s user-friendly. Look, folks, Windows user don’t even know the Command Line exists. For Windows users, it disappeared with DOS. So why tout that as an advantage of Linux?? For the general [read “current Windows”] user, the command line is of no interest at all, and indeed, scares them away.
I’ve tried Ubuntu, on a modest laptop. Why Ubuntu? I could run it without altering my Windows installation – could give it a test drive!
And so I gave it the “Innocent Eye test” by surreptitiously switching my Sweet Bride from Windows XP to Ubuntu. Using equivalent or identical applications, and with no more tweaks that would be required in a Windows installation, Ubuntu is as usable and familiar as the Windows with which she was modestly capable. She does what 90% of users do: Internet, e-mail, documents. She does not actively use the operating system except to manipulate files. She does not care a fig about how the desktop looks, because she runs applications, not look at a desktop! Ubuntu [and I am sure many other distros] does that with ease and security.
We are very pleased with Linux Ubuntu. But it was the “Ubuntu” part, particularly the Wubi installer, that made it possible. Next computer I get will have Linux on it for sure!
Ubuntu sucks. I installed 7.07 on a friend’s laptop and couldn’t get audio and wifi to work. I like openSUSE better. Ubuntu is just hyped too much. As long as ppl stop using Windows, I’m fine with it.
Sooo… xyz
Where’d you get that Ubuntu 7.07?
And as far as nit picking, you are right… WHO CARES, as long as they stop using Windows. *THAT* is the whole idea.
Hi xyz: I’ve quad-booted Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu 7.10 with WinXP amp; am writing this through Xubuntu 8.04LTS; I’ve had some problems (fewer than XP), but most admittedly were my own ham-fisted fault (I’m a recovering XcessivelyPatchedSh*tPile2 WinLoser amp; sometime-geek wannabe). One Ubuntu/Xubuntu 7.10 problem which wasn’t a result of my Frankenstein School of Home Computing unauthorized field experiments was having the sound quit on me one day. Assuming Ubuntu “7.07” is/was 7.04 installed amp; updated in July ’07 (or a typo), I’ll take it as an invite to ask a silly question: Have you or your friend (or anyone with a similar problem) tried to execute the asoundconf(1) set-default-card macro in
a Terminal to refresh your user’s configuration presets?
You can do so by executing the following command in a Terminal:
asoundconf set-default-card
Wireless? Non se habla y ‘wireless’ – I still get my wannabegeek-tan the old-fashioned way: by leaning in to read the #8 font on my old 17″CRT monitor. Linux rules – given the security risk, amp; the many, many, many ethical problems of the M$ business ‘model’ (steal innovation amp; hold the monopolized market hostage while bloating the software so ruinously the latest iteration of Big Blue chokes when the GUI comes up) I’ll never commit any important data or work to Windohs ever again. Period. Glad you’ve had good luck with The Lizard – I may try SUSE in time, but I love X/K/Ubuntu! Peace.
@xyz
Ubuntu sucks. Well, it did for you, and it has for me, at times. However, when I run into suckage, I turn to Google, and useally find a solution to my problem.
In the case of my audio problem, it took a lot of looking before I found the “tweak” I needed to make to my Ubuntu system (as I recall, it involved loading another module at startup).
Wireless doesn’t always work the way I want, and some manufacturers seem to go out of their way to make life difficult for us Linux users. I’ve used ndiswrapper, and downloaded firmware, and it’s certainly no fun.
In the end, I managed to get my wireless working, but it did take a couple of days.
Now, I need to tell you, that I have had the exact same problems with Windows. Some systems, either brand new or very old, need drivers that XP doesn’t know about. Finding them for XP is just as hard as it is for Linux, sometimes even harder, as the manufacturers seem to delete the drivers for models they no longer sell.
My conclusion? Linux doesn’t suck any worse than Windows.
60 years old here. Been using Linux exclusively since 2000. I am about to try Ubuntu. From all the hype I am looking forward to the experience.
@xyz
You know, it’s obvious you have no idea what you’re talking about. There’s no such thing as Ubuntu 7.07. There was a 7.04 and a 7.10.
Makes me wonder how much time you really spent trying it out. You really shouldn’t go posting on discussion boards about how bad a product is when you obviously didn’t spend enough time with it to even know what version you were running.
-Jeremy
Today I was talking with a Symantec representative who tried to sell me an antivirus but after I told him that I use and install Linux for my customers he was so facinated to the fact that there was an OS without virus problems that we talked about it for an hour. After that I pointed him to the Ubuntu site where he can download it for free. He assured that tonight he will download it for home use.
I pointed him to Ubuntu even when I am an OpenSuSE user because I think is the simplest distro to try and with the broader hw support.
Sorry for my bad english but i live in Turin,Italy
[quote]
gt; Nice article, i never realized that people over 50 would use it for some reason.
[/quote]
I am 70 and use Ubuntu everyday. I only go to windows to keep it updated. Most of the people I have introduced Linux to are over 65 years of age and I even put it on one mans computer who is 86 years old.Our Lug is comprised of seniors none of them under 60.
Mel
Well, I’m in the age range of your boss and can’t get into Ubuntu at all, though unlike him I know all about Linux and open source and have installed Ubuntu a number times, only to uninstall it within less than a week. I can tweak along with the best of them, but when I was doing these installs, Ubuntu seemed to be a little ahead of itself, with the promises not matching up to the performance. I hope that’s changed with the current version.
I’m not sure which animal I started with (I think it was the badger), but I think I’ve tried out three different versions. The ones earlier than 8.04 (which I haven’t tried yet) were about average in the time they required to hunt in forums, use the command line to fix what a gui wasn’t getting straight, and so forth. So for the distro itself I have to say I’m only moderately impressed so far. On the other hand, what I do like is Mark Shuttleworth and his company’s approach, which is a nice combination of business smarts and humanity. For Linux to thrive you need both sides – a distro that works well, and a company that knows how to promote it both for individuals and for businesses – and make some money while doing it.
But I’m composing this on a non-Ubuntu, non-Windows machine, and probably will continue to do so for the forseeable future. I’m not going to mention any names, because I didn’t write this to flame anyone or to get into a shouting match. Just to voice a dissenting opinion.
Lovely article with interesting comments…its nice to confirm that I am not alone and pretty much average in my own outlook…I have around ten distros on four computers + five xp,s…I love them all even my 6.06 Ubuntu which I just can,t delete even though I have 8.04.I like trying whatever live CD and I have at least one BSD (desktop) on a hard drive.
Finally,Open Solaris Indiana wont boot up on any of my boxes and being a member of that collective for a while I am not surprised,pity because I really like the sound of Ian Murdock and Debian is a favourite…
I have 2 complete novices using openSUSE. One 68 year old and the other 80+. These guys are using their PC’s for digital camera work, burning CD’s and DVD’s, surfing the web, and in addition the 80+ year old heavily uses skype for international calls, OOo for wordprocessing and spreadsheets, kopete for Yahoo IM to one daughter and a few friends, thunderbird for email and lots of other stuff. When you consider the 68 year old only had a few months previous experience with W2K on an old P166 and the 80+ year old had never used a keyboard of any sort before and had to be shown the keys and what they did – I even had to explain the spacebar and backspace keys, that speaks volumes.
These guys have found out many things by themselves since.
People typically have no choice when they buy a new PC, Windows is what they get.
For the 68 year old, I put together a new PC with just openSUSE installed, for the 80+ year old, we collected a new PC, put in a 80G hard drive to replace the Windows drive, installed openSUSE and he was up and running.
I haven’t installed other than openSUSE and SimplyMEPIS for new users and they are at home with using these distros. Based on experience, I don’t see any reason why I would swap out openSUSE for Ubuntu on any of them. By the way, I have a laptop running Kubuntu and I have Kubuntu beta and 8.04 running under KVM and VirtualBox here, pity that it chooses to hide “Apply” under the task bar when trying to alter settings in KVM and VirtualBox.
The notion that only Ubuntu is usable for newbies, is a total falsehood.
Hi Sid,
Thanks for offering perspectives on openSUSE. Since Works With U is a relatively new web site (less than a week old, in fact) I just want to clarify the following for our readers:
While we are striving to help readers master Ubuntu, we are not suggesting that any “one” operating system is best for “all” users. I’ve covered Novell (SUSE’s owner) since 1992, and I continue to write about Red Hat and other distributions for our various sister Web sites (www.thevarguy.com, for one).
So, while Works With U is All Ubuntu, All the Time, I didn’t want readers to think that this site somehow believes Ubuntu is perfect for everyone.
It has become a sin to make Ubuntu your distro of choice. You can herald any other distro though…
Mandriva is great….*cheers*
Fedora is great….*cheers*
PCLinux is great….*cheers*
Ubuntu is…..SHUT UP!!! *^@^@amp; UBUNTU USER!!!
You got folk swearing up and down any and every other distro is better despite Ubuntu having more users. If something else works well for you the congrats. But don’t hate on the people that find Ubuntu as their best fit and want to talk about it.
If you want more popularity for your distro (I hate the idea of “your distro”…I use multiple) then I’ll tell you how to get it. Start putting together some quality forums and blogs and start answering questions. I should not end up finding the answer to a Fefora question on an Ubuntu related forum 7 times out of 10. Thats what lead me to Ubuntu from Fedora in the first place. If I was going to be on their forums researching then I might as well run what they’re running. And as it turns out it worked out better for me on my computers. I had less problems. If you want the people then help the people…thats a start.
The next step is to quit bickering as if market share matters between distros. It was a big turnoff to be on the Fedora website and end up in a blog where someone was taking a shot at Canonical over not having major kernel contributions. Maybe Canonical is more focused on polishing the end product and aiding the user so that these major kernel contributions are worthwhile to more users. Maybe thats why their in the position to be receiving shots instead of taking them.
Nobody if forgetting that Debian is putting the real work into Ubuntu or that Fedora is pushing the cutting edge and advancing the technology. Some folk are just more concerned with ease of use and availability of support…nothing more nothing less.
It never ceases to amaze me how fellow Linux users get into these stupid “My distribution is better than your distribution” arguments. The article was a great example of yet another PC user brought into the Linux fold, and it’s a shame to have it tarnished by a few idiots. Different users have different needs, and as far as I’m concerned having so many wonderful distros to choose from simply makes the Linux experience all the better.
For Linux to grow in popularity it’s going to need at least one distro that people can start to really appreciate in large numbers. The strongest things about Ubuntu are it’s package management,excellent forums,commercial backing,and focus on polished simplicity. Ubuntu is free software so how can anyone call it a monopoly? Sure other distro’s are great and very suitable. But often they seem to miss the mark such as with SuSE’s behmoth Yast manager and Fedora’s slow repositories. I’ve used and tried them all since 1997. To me Linux is ideal as an internet workstation and ease for update/installation is very important. People can use what distro they like but don’t knock quality.
I needed an OS for my dedicated BOINC machines, so I got books on a variety of distros from the library, and tried various distros.
The reason I’m using Ubuntu 6.06 LTS is that it installed virtually without a hitch. No such luck with 7.10 (it hangs during install), nor several other distros I tried. I think I may try the new LTS (8.04?) and see if that is worth the upgrade. Or maybe that high performance timer (or whatever) needs to be turned off. I found out about that much later.
Anyway, my adoption of Ubuntu was not accidental, but incidental. I’ve since worked with some of the preinstalled apps, and added Audacity. Despite a few quirks, I find OpenOffice, GIMP, etc. to be very useful and highly powerful tools.
Yes, Ubuntu isn’t as intuitive as Windows in some ways (though a lot of that must be my familiarity with Windows), nor are software installations always as simple as Windows.
That being said, the Ubuntu box is considerably more reliable than my Windows box (even though the latter has much better/newer hardware), and I can open literally dozens of browser windows and my Ubuntu box doesn’t even blink.
Contrast this with my Windows box that needs rebooting every couple of days and locks up IE if you open too many browser windows (because of an artificial limit imposed on TCP/IP connections starting with XP SP2).
As for distro wars, I think that’s just plain silly. Different distros suit different people for whatever reason, not to mention different tasks, etc.
I came across a distro called “Puppy” that runs in a RAM drive (and on a very minimal amount of RAM at that), and saves its current state to a multi-session DVD (or CD, though the DVD is more efficient) every time you shut it down.
Is that cool, or what?
Of course, this kind of functionality probably won’t ever be available on other distros (especially Ubuntu). Who cares? That’s what makes having so much choice so wonderful.
I just moved to a new place, when the cable guy came to hook up the internet he asked what kind of OS I was running, apparently he was impressed. I told him (Ubuntu) and of course he had never heard of Linux before. He asked a few questions. Luckily before he left I was able to find the 9.04 disc I had burned not to long ago and gave it to him. He was really grateful. He kept asking me, “are you sure it’s free?” Hopefully he’ll be another Linux convert.
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