Featured
7 Problems that Keep Ubuntu 7.10 from Going Mainstream
Or: Why My Parents Will Be Sticking with Windows
So the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu is finally here. It’s been heralded as all kinds of things, but what I’ve been hearing the most about this open source operating system is that Gutsy will be THE operating system that will bring Linux into the mainstream. I figured with all of the buzz, I’d set up a little test.
My parents are average computer users. They shop online from time to time, are pretty proficient at navigating the internet, and can use programs like MS Word to accomplish basic tasks. In addition to their desktop, they also use a laptop from time to time that dates back to 2003 or so. To determine whether or not Ubuntu 7.10 is ready for the average computer user, like my parents, I reformatted the drive, gave an Ubuntu Live CD to my parents, and told them to have a go at installing and using the most popular Linux distro while I watched their progress.
The following is a list of the seven most prominent problems my parents faced during their impromptu exam.
Ubuntu (and Linux in general) is Finicky - Ubuntu’s finicky nature is the single biggest reason why it is still not ready for mainstream use. My parents loved the idea of using the Live CD to install the operating system–until it started giving them issues. Yes, sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t. For some time, I watched as my parents tried to get the CD to boot again and again. Although I had already set the BIOS to boot to CD before I started the test, my parents still couldn’t get the damn thing to run. Roughly 3 out of 4 Live CD boot-up attempts failed - and all of them decided to flake out at different times. Same CD, same hardware. It took about a half an hour before the Live CD decided to start.Another finicky issue they had was with the sound. Once again, sometimes it worked and other times it would be a no go. Maybe it’s because the computer is old. Maybe it’s because they were installing Ubuntu on a laptop. Whatever the reason, there would be no startup sound but Rhythmbox would work just fine. Or maybe there would be startup sound but the Totem Movie Player didn’t have a vocal track. It was a unique situation after every restart and I could tell it drove my dad nuts.Although Linux is world renowned for stability (even my dad couldn’t make it crash), there are still far too many little issues here and there that come and go at random. Fine for an already established operating system like Windows. Not good for an up and coming OS like Ubuntu.
Hardware Compatibility - This is not the fault of Linux itself, Ubuntu’s development team, or the community of enthusiasts. The blame rests solely on the shoulders of the hardware manufacturers. Once my parents got Ubuntu installed they hooked up a Canon scanner and an older HP printer. The scanner worked most of the time - which is fine because that’s about how well it works on my parents’ newer desktop computer running XP. However, the printer was a no go. As a side test, I hooked it up to my MacBook and I couldn’t make it work on there either, so I’ll let that slide. After all, even Mark Shuttleworth admits that some printers still have issues. Although hardware support is really incredible compared to only a couple of years ago, practically everything needs to work before Ubuntu can go mainstream. If it works in Windows - it has to work in Ubuntu too or there will never be any major market share gains.
Lack of Built In Fonts - My mom is somewhat of a font lover and she hated the default fonts that come with Ubuntu. How can Ubuntu expect to get anywhere when the default font set is nothing like those found on Windows or OS X? We need some kind of standardization. Although my parents couldn’t figure it out without consulting me, installing new fonts is pretty easy - but Ubuntu needs to come with the basics: Times New Roman, Helvetica, Courier, Lucinda Grande, and the like. My parents also complained that the default fonts were not allowing some of their favorite websites to display properly and the default Sans tended to give my father eyestrain.
Restricted Drivers - Downloading drivers is a snap thanks to the package management tools, but calling them restricted and popping up unnecessary warnings is a little much. My parents get nervous enough when the firewall on their Windows computer asks them to allow or deny a program’s access to the internet. Without me being there, they probably would have simply skipped the restricted drivers without a second thought simply because of their name. Just call it a driver and let the user click yes or no to download it. No need to induce unnecessary duress in people who don’t have as much computing knowledge as diehard Linux aficionados.
Reliance on the Terminal - You’ve all heard it before, and now you’re going to hear it again. Ubuntu is still too reliant on the terminal. There have been great strides made in this department over the past few releases, but it’s still not good enough. Make some more damned GUI interfaces and menu items. I don’t want to have to search the Ubuntu forums for the necessary command every time my parents call with some question about how to do what should be a simple task. Sure, using the command line provides a lot of amazing usability to the power users out there - but think of those who aren’t power users, people like my parents. Make it easier on them.
Ugly Interface - Adding Compiz to Gutsy makes it do some really awesome stuff - but GNOME itself is downright ugly. Functional but ugly. My parents hated the default look, likening it a less attractive version of the Windows operating systems in the 90’s. It does the job, but in this world of snazzy designs and cool GUIs, a person looking at screenshots of Ubuntu in comparison to Leopard and Vista is not going to be particularly impressed by Ubuntu’s default look. Although I’ve customized the look of my Ubuntu to something that looks more appealing, I don’t expect my parents or any average user to do the same. Ubuntu needs to be more attractive or more easily customizable right out of the box. Eye candy, unfortunately, is everything these days.
Marketing - This was an interesting point that my parents brought up. It’s not really a technical problem, but it does have to do with Ubuntu going mainstream. Had I not been such a computer junkie, my family would have never even heard of Ubuntu. I know we’re talking about free software here, but (almost) every computer sold to average consumers comes with Windows and it’s going to take a lot to get people to change away from the operating system they’ve grown accustomed to - without losing potential switchers to Apple. The average user will need some extremely valid reasons why they should switch to Ubuntu instead of sticking with their current operating system, Windows. Perhaps Canonical needs to take a cue from Mozilla or Apple in regards how to draw people away from the pre-installed software.
In the end, my parents have decided to stick with Ubuntu on their old laptop. It’s actually breathed new life into that dinosaur of a PC. However, they did admit to me that they will probably never use it for anything more than typing letters and browsing the internet. But that’s cool because even getting average users like my parents to TRY something totally different, like Ubuntu, is a step in the right direction.
Be sure to check out my other Ubuntu Series post: 10 Improvements that Will Boost Ubuntu 7.10’s Adoption Rate.
- Eric Norton
I’d really be interested to know what on Earth your parents would be doing that would require the use of terminal. If they think that gnome is ugly then why not switch to KDE? If they are having problems with the live CD, why not install it on the hard drive? If they have a printer with driver issues for more than one OS it might be time for a new printer. Don’t they pretty much give them away these days?
If they are using the live CD then they can’t use the restricted video drivers anyways because to install them requires a restart which with the live CD would render the installation …well uninstalled.
Fonts….really? Are you serious? There are ample fonts collections available.
Marketing…I’m not sure how this is even relevant. The fact is they do know about Ubuntu because you told them about it. Mission accomplished.
be configured to look better from the start - if you leave it as it is then fonts render horribly and the buttons are aliased (jagged) - you need to install new fonts and a new widget set - all of which should be done by default (IMO, unless there’s a very good reason to the contrary). Maybe one day…
4) Never thought of that… Maybe it would be nice to have more newbie friendly jargon, but compared to the horror messages that windows crops up I hardly thing this is cause for complaint…
5) True. That said, it is so much easier to cut and paste commands into the terminal then try to follow a guide to a GUI. But more GUI’s are needed. It has to be said though, what do you need it for anyway? I end up using it to meddle with GRUB and other than that everything else I need can be done graphically. I highly doubt your parents want to go mssing with GRUB, so what’s the problem. Even the graphical options can be graphically configured these days (as opposed to manually editing the text files). And don’t forget that the terminal is a very useful tool, GUI’s are appreciated, but the terminal will always have a place.
6) ‘GNOME is ugly’ is just an opinion - many many people like it, and it is very functional too. Luckily, for awkward people such as yourself there is a version of ubuntu knows as Kubuntu, which used KDE. Don’t like that, try Xubuntu (uses XFCE and should be easier on the hardware, especially if it’s older gear). Stil not convinced, then install ubuntu and then choose a window manager that you want. This is open source - choice is the name of the game…
But just for the record, while I was never sold on the brown theme before, it does grow on you and like I say, it’s very functional. Compiz-fusion comes installed, so there’s all the eyecandy you’ll ever need…
7) Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and you’ve already got 2 people sold. Marketing would be nice, but growth is happening without, so it’s not really a major issue at the moment. Are you really more likely to install linux because you saw a tv advert, or because you best friend said he’d set it all up for you? Though so…
SOOOO… to sum-up:
1) not a problem, just install it
2) less of a problem everyday, and not a major one anymore
3) Annoying, but fixable. Every OS has it’s quirks…
4) Really not a problem.
5) Not really a problem, unless you want to do fancy stuff… in which case you’ll need the terminal anyway.
6) Opinion, and there’s plenty of other window managers to try out - just try Kubuntu, it’s on a plate for you!
7) Not really as much of a problem as people like to believe.
1) Live CDs are not designed to be run as the system (at least not normally - there may be a few live CD’s that are designed to be standalone, but not the majority). They are there for you to test that your hardware works and get a feel for the OS before you install (try before you buy). They have problems on older hardware and sometimes they just don’t work - that’s what you get for running an eitire modern OS out of the RAM.
Simple fix, if they like ubuntu as much as you say they do, install it properly.
2) Yep, lack of compatability always sucks, but in general ubuntu is pretty good for this, most things do work. Maybe you need to write some strongly worded e-mails to the manufacturer. Generally it’s not a problem, it just sucks to be the guy for whom it is.
3) Fonts are easy to install, but I agree that more fonts should come default, and firefox should be configured to look better from the start - if you leave it as it is then fonts render horribly and the buttons are aliased (jagged) - you need to install new fonts and a new widget set - all of which should be done by default (IMO, unless there’s a very good reason to the contrary). Maybe one day…
4) Never thought of that… Maybe it would be nice to have more newbie friendly jargon, but compared to the horror messages that windows crops up I hardly thing this is cause for complaint…
Your point about the font rendering is really weird …
I use Ubuntu (or Linux in general) because FreeType’s font rendering is superior to anything else out there. The default font is beautiful in my eyes, too.
Maybe your just too accustomed with Windows, so that everything different looks a bit ugly?
Of course it would be nice to have more fonts, but the CD can’t be bigger than 700 MB in the end.
But really, I outright refuse to read something in TNR. The font was designed for environments with strong space-constraints like newspaper columns. The misuse of TNR is comparable to MS Comic Sans in this regard.
Lucida is included in java’s font package, just install it.
Helvetica is not free, but try e. g. Liberation fonts instead.
Courier isn’t really worth downloading, it’s a type face designed for typewriters nothing else.
You might install the corefonts package, which includes most fonts installed on a Windows system.
In the end it’s the right of the specific font foundries to make fonts distributable by distros, nothing distros can do here. But of course Windows or Mac OS X can decide to use the free fonts shipped with most distros in their GUI.
You have so much choice, use it!
I wouldn’t argue that these things stop Ubuntu or another Linux distro to become mainstream. There are other more important factors.
1) Never, ever had a similar problem, and just because the newest version of ubuntu has errors doesn’t mean all distros does. Fedora Core and Mandriva are just as easy (or easier in Mandriva’s case) as Ubuntu
2) If you check the box of the hardware (like your printer) before you buy it you can see which operating systems are supported. If windows is the only one listed get some other.
3) Fonts have never been a problem with linux, and if you want you can use the update manager and search for “fonts”, and it will find packages with tons of fonts.
4) Try installing drivers in windows, let’s say omega-drivers for your graphics card. You’re guaranteed to get a warning message. Plus, as long as you don’t install any antivirus or firewall you’ll get popupbubbles from hell, trying to scare you into buying one for half a fortune. It’s actually a very good idea to warn people about the drivers, because that prevents the users from complaining if there’s something wrong with them.
5) If your parents are average users then I can’t imagine why they’d have to use the terminal. Everything has a gui, and if it doesn’t have it installed at default you can just use the update manager (which has a gui)
6) YOU downloaded Ubuntu, it was your choice. What would you say if I complained about win98 looking like crap? You have the choices of Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu if you really need a Debian based system. Otherwise you could install Mandriva, which looks pretty good, Fedora Core (no idea what it looks like though), or any other easy-linux.
7) We can’t do anything about your parents not being up to date. If you google for linux the first distro specific result is Ubuntu. If they were interested in trying something else then Ubuntu would be one of the first that would be suggested if they checked out small bulletin boards, encyclopedias, internet discussion forums, etc.
I absolutely agree with you.
It seems like whenever someone mention suggestions to make ubuntu appeal to non-linux users, they always get yelled the hell out by long time linux users.
In my opinion, when there comes suggestions from newbies, its very important to listen. If you are one of those disagrees, your problem is that you are too familiar with linux to understand (yes, you don’t understand) a newbie front of view.
1: The live cd issue: Jeez, don’t you commenters get it?? He is talking about the installing process of using the Live CD, and you nag about being stupid since he should install it instead.. That’s what they tried to do, but the Live CD wouldn’t work!
And you are right, by the evolution of Ubuntu/Linux, all of these “it doesn’t work” things have to get cleared away.
2: No one can really argue on this one. Things have to work, period! Of course, it is in almost every case the hardware distributors fault, but it is still a problem. And the only answer to it is time. But I hope manufactures speed up time now, as Linux is about to jump out of the OS underground.
3: Many disagree that this is a problem in any way. But when newcomers says it is an issue to them, well then it IS an issue to them. Of course, you cannot implement everything in the world on to a 700MB CD. But stuff like this should have been taken care of long before a user have to search the internet to get some answer (which always is answered: simply $sudo apt-get install whatever (too difficult for someone who is brand new to Linux))
5: Yup, more GUI. And to those who don’t understand why they would need the Terminal in the first place: Look at ubuntuforums.org count all the threads that has been posted there. Look for answer that tell them to type something in the terminal (and no, its not alway a apt-get install that could have been done from synaptic.)
6: Of course this is a matter of taste. But why does for example Apple ALWAYS succeed in design?? Well, they simply know what what appeal to crowd. Brown has now been proven to not appeal to the crowd. Yes, someone likes it, but someone isn’t good enough!
7:Here is a case which is very difficult to achieve. Personal, I don’t think it is time yet to go out and market Ubuntu too much due to (among other reasons) the list you have made here.
But marketing a product the way Apple and Microsoft do, demands a serious amount of money. And although there is lot of money involved in Ubuntu, I cannot believe Canonical can afford the same kind of marketing as Microsoft and Apple.
And you are and idiot if you think that telling your friends about it, is as effective marketing as all the commercials that MS and Apple floods the media with.
For the record, I use Ubuntu as my only OS, and is more than satisfied with it. But I like the to mess around to get things to work.
If I am to market Ubuntu to my noon-geek-in-any-way friends, I know that I will be a freaking live support service. And that is because all these little details a long-time-linux-user takes for granted, and a new user stops up scratching his/her head.
So I hope Hardy Heron will stop a bit to make new functions, and make what is already there to work (Yeah, I know that is the goal of a LTS version, but I just hope it actually work)
And I hope Hardy Heron puts an effort to think a bit different in the design part. Brown is brown, and you cannot make brown look other than brown. And for the majority, brown is not that pretty..
lame.
i can’t even believe that you think “marketing budget” has anything to do with operating system success… the fact is they wouldn’t have heard of “windows” either if their computer didn’t come with it. maybe they’d be happier with a mac, or good old “pen and paper”
everyone above made excellent points -
personally, I think that you and your parents are insane and we’d like you to give back your poorly burned live-CD and leave the Linux world entirely.
If gnome is an issue, try Kubuntu - KDE is much more friendly to people who are used to Windows - and most of the stuff is easy to find in the menu and is automatically added via the package manager, it behaves a lot like Windows. Plus it looks better than gnome Out-Of-The-Box
I Think the problem of it not booting right is the computer, as i have used it many times and it worked just fine for me. The hardware incompatibilties are quite a major problem but it will only be a matter of time before manufacturers start making drivers for linux. What are you on about ‘not enough fonts’ There are plenty!! The reliance on the terminal is ok if you are not a noob but it is quite an issue and is slowly being resolved with each new release of ubuntu. It really isnt ugly!!!! The glossy look and 3D effects make it look better than windows in my opinion, and like some of the other people said you can always use KDE if you dont like it.
Ubuntu may not be such a good choice for a primary OS YET…
There is a new release of ubuntu every 6 months so it is evolving a lot faster than windows and will soon be a lot more viable for everyday and office use.
Claiming that “Ubuntu is finicky” isn’t particularly helpful. On your system, for whatever reason, you had problems. On my system, and on the systems of many thousands of others, there were no problems. “Finicky”? Try running Vista and listening to a CD.
I wonder what the problem was with the Live CD. I installed Ubuntu on a 3-year-old laptop, and it went without a hitch. When I installed Windows on a laptop, it too me several hours - part of that time being spent removing a worm that got in there when I made the mistake of installing Windows while the computer was connected to the network.
Oh, and I installed Xubuntu (a lightweight version of Ubuntu) onto a very old laptop with 128 Meg of memory. That worked, too, though very slowly. That was just me trying to see if it could be done. Have fun trying that with Windows.
I had slight trouble with playing DVD’s on my Ubuntu computer. I had to get some drivers. Otherwise, it worked without any playing around.
Hardware capabilities? I work in a largish office where the network is run by a professional service (that is, not some geek in the office). They recommend we not accept Vista on our new computers until absolutely necessary, because even the Vista-approved hardware doesn’t reliably run with Vista. Windows is on the way to losing ground unless they fix this before making XP unavailable.
Fonts? Couldn’t say. The only problem I had was that I needed some Sanskrit capabilities, and had to track down Devanagari fonts. I had a somewhat similar problem with Windows. I’m OK with what comes with Ubuntu, otherwise.
“Restricted Drivers” is OK, in my opinion. First, Ubuntu is just letting you know when you’re moving beyond the truly free, open-source products into other types. This isn’t a matter of much concern to most users, but it is important to some. Trying to “protect” users from information is, in my opinion, a poor design choice. People should have a clue. If they prefer to remain in ignorance, yes, they can stick with Windows. Except Vista again pops up warning screens just about any time you move the mouse, so this disadvantage is nonexistent.
I’ve had Ubuntu 7.04 on my laptop since it came out in April. I don’t believe I’ve ever *had* to use the terminal for anything. Oh, to be sure, I use it all the time. It is a wonderful time-saver and I get to do all manner of fun things with it. But to my best recollection, I have never had a time when I was required to use the terminal to accomplish something. Without specific examples of when the terminal is *required*, it’s kind of hard to comment on this. When, exactly, did you need to use the terminal - what was it that you couldn’t do from the GUI?
The interface is “ugly”? That’s a technical issue? That’s subjective issue, a matter of taste. For any interface you’ll find fans and enemies, some who think it’s the most beautiful work of art, others who think it’s junk. I don’t much care for Gnome myself; I use KDE. Looks pretty good to me.
Marketing - again, not a technical issue.
This brings me to a point about “going mainstream”. Ubuntu already is mainstream. It’s not the most popular OS out there - Windows is, by far, and will likely remain there for some time to come. But Ubuntu does everything that is needed. It is sufficiently “mainstream” that I use it exclusively at home. I don’t dual-boot; it’s just Linux.
But Linux isn’t for everyone. If you don’t care about who gets to control your computer; if you just want to play games, watch DVD’s, surf around or do e-mails, Windows is just fine. You’ll need to keep your security software up to date, but if you do that, you should avoid most problems. You’ll pay more for Windows, but if you’ve got the money, it’s no big deal. Many people would rather pay a few more dollars (or a few hundred more dollars) a year, than have to screw around with learning a new OS and such. Nothing wrong with that, if you’ve got the money. Let’s face it - if you’ve got money for a computer, you probably can squeeze out a few more bucks for the extra costs of Windows.
One problem might be the licenses for necessary software, such as office products. Microsoft Office costs hundreds of dollars for a new (non-upgrade) version. That could be a problem, but usually it isn’t. If you don’t have lots of cash, Open Office will get you through.
The point is that Ubuntu has its place, but that many people, those especially who just aren’t all that interested in their computers, will be glad to stick with Windows. It’s there; it’s easier to get; and it does enough to get by.
I am always disappointed to see Linux users immediately flame a guy who is just voicing his opinion. He did present a valid argument and he never really bashed the OS, he just commented on it. I appreciate people who take the time to document an experiment so others can make their own judgments. Overzealous Linux users aren’t helping the Linux cause by jumping down someones throat for documenting their try at bringing in some new Linux users.
Sugar tastes better than vinegar.
You mention that the computer is older hardware. I have often seen CD’s that have been burned on modern high-speed burners may not load well on older hardware. We have that issue often enough here at work. The older readers just sometimes have problems with this and it is not associated with any particular piece of software (i.e.: not a Linux-related problem). We find that burning the CD on a lower speed (say 4x) creates a CD that can be read by any hardware, no matter what its age.
on your 7 issues, I like to make this reply
1. Though, I have installed ubuntu/kubuntu on about 10 machines, and booted it on a live CD on 50 or 60 others, I have never ran into any problems expect maybe a video issue once or twice which was fixed by going to graphics safe mode. But I have heard others with many problems with the LiveCD boot, from loading times, to being asked for username and password, which could not be solved (though its possible some of these wear bad burns). Linux has always been a do-it-your-self OS, and yes, there are some issues with it. But with a bit of work, you can get around almost any non driver related issue. With windows, if you get a issue, its reinstall, fill a complaint, or **** it.
2. As you stated, hardware issues exist, suck, and not a damn thing the Linux community can do about other then write slow and crappy wrappers and hacks. You got a problem, with it, stop buying from the manufacture until they support your OS. Newer HP Products also normally have great Linux support, a long with Intel stuff, and a few other hardware manufactures. My suggestion, before you buy a PC that you want to install Linux on, do research and find out what will or will not work, and build your computer around that.
3. Lack of fonts - there are many issues that come with fonts, though I agree that the default fonts are not that great. Simply put, its illegal for ubuntu to ship the Times New Roman and many other fonts with their CD. Also the next issue is, they are having a hard time fitting all this stuff (mainly thanks to Firefox and openoffice) on one CD. I think Ubuntu will move to DVDs once more people have DVD functionality like burning and reading.
4. Restricted drivers are named so because they are not open source, and thus the ubuntu team can not say what they will do, how they will act, or if they will work. Since ubuntu *tries* to keep to the idea of a totally open source and free (as in freedom) operating system, they want to show this message to make people aware of this. Though I think maybe a equal resolution would be to call them something else or tell why they are restricted.
5. Reliance on the Terminal - can’t say I disagree with you. And work has been made on this, and will continue. But some problems can’t be solved without the aid of a terminal (YES EVEN ON WINDOWS!). But this goes back to the first topic, its a do-it-your-self OS, and creating solutions to problems often impossible without the aid of a terminal.
6. Gnome does look ulgy, I use KDE (kubuntu)
7. Marketing - if your not happy with it, why don’t you do something about it, like give the ubuntu team a donation to market with. Personal I think unlike other OSes, the Ubuntu team puts more money into making their OS better, then trying to prove their OS is better *cough*MS*cough*
OK! Time for my rant about #7
If I buy a windows OS, I expect all $1247238947 or how ever much it costs to go into making the damn thing good. But instead, Microsoft uses that money to sponsor often bias ads, polls, surveys, and research, which does not mean a damn thing since I have already bought their damn product!
Have a good day
I actually don’t use Linux on my workstations, for the most part. I do, on occasion. I mean, it’s really awesome. I can’t believe how easy Ubuntu was to install on a Dell notebook. Notebooks always gave me lots of problems! I installed Ubuntu on one of my workstations, and it was nearly as easy - even though I tri-boot MacOS, Windows Vista, and Ubuntu. It has better hardware support than VIsta.
I just don’t understand why you have to make up this big long article that simply isn’t true. I mean, fuck. Why would I want to hand my mom an operating system CD and say “install this.” Most people are just as able to install Vista as Ubuntu: And that means they aren’t able to. Shit, it’s hard enough explaining what a CD Image is to somebody, never mind telling them how to download and install a program from one.
You were looking for reasons to hate your Linux experience, and so you did. FIne. Honestly, Linux isn’t here for you. The “Linux Community” has nothing to prove to you. If you hate it, so be it. THe people that like it will continue to use it without you, just as if you didn’t exist. That’s the beauty of the whole thing. People write the software for what they need it for, not for what YOU need it for. Some people try to make it easy to install, and it is. It’s easier then most operating system have ever been, and you’re still not happy.
Why do people insist that software work like a toaster or an automobile? Those things do ONE thing, and a computer’s software has to do a shit lot more.
Get over yourself. Use Windows. Use MacOS. We don’t care.
Good observation of the Linux geek strategy. They don’t even know that they are doing it and stand bewildered if confronted.
Never the less specially Ubuntu has come a long way since the early Linux distro’s. It worked for me once to install and get a lot working on an old laptop. I formatted again when it was too hard to get the wifi working. Still as long as it still is not on the same user friendliness level as the M$ products I will be using a slim Windows.
Ok, I am also too lazy to start learning a new OS but isn’t everybody so work on that!
Len
If you’re too lazy to learn a new OS then you’ll be sticking with Windows XP, then? I mean, Vista and Ubuntu probably have a similar number of differences to Windows XP. Vista changed around all the configuration options, added a whole slew of new toys, and made it incompatible with quite a number of applications.
I won’t say that Ubuntu or Linux is as easy as Windows, when you’ve been using Windows for 10 years. It won’t be. But it’s also not more difficult, if you didn’t have any experience either way. Modern Linux distributions also have a whole lot more to offer then a baseline Windows system, and almost every cool little peice of software written for GNU is available with two clicks of the mouse. Installed, done.
Why is it that some people are totally cool with editing boot.ini files or the jungle they call “the registry” in Windows, but when you have to *gasp* type a two command line item on Linux it’s “omgz what about grandmazzz!!!!111″ That might be a slight exaggeration but it’s not much.
I find that most people, right now, today - are happy running Windows because they can A) Do it for free and B) Use nearly every commercial app for Windows for free too. One day, though, this will no longer be the case. With the “always connected” Internet and strong encryption coupled with things like the TPM, I see the day of the pirated software slipping away. And then we’ll see who bitches about a couple command line parameters.
If I went out in the streets, caught a stray dog, put him in front of 2 computers, one with Ubuntu on it, and one with WinXP or Vista on it, and ask him to write about his experience the day after, he’s probably write an article 10 times better than the gibberish you wrote up there
1- your CDs are crap, or your drive is crap, or the burning software was crap. First time I hear about this issue, I’ve installed Ubuntu Gutsy on 35 PCs so far, not a SINGLE hitch
2- I’ll send you money through Western Union so you can get a new printer, but please please please, buy a printer that supports many OSes and don’t come back bitchin about it not working if you install [Insert generic OS name here]
3- hmmmmm, tough choice: buy Ms Vista for 300$ or install a fonts package in Ubuntu with 2 mouse clicks! Yeah, I can see how this can be very confusing, I mean, I simply can’t make up my mind. Besides: you nagging about default fonts is like a spoiled brat who’s whining why her daddy got her a black Ferrari instead of a red one… after all, red doesn’t go well with her nail polish!
4- tick a box: Warning, this driver is not free, click OK and never hear from it again. Try turning off your Windows Updates …. better yet, try turning off your Windows update and your Windows firewall … what? I can’t hear you well…. oooh, you were telling me you were deeply sorry … ok, apology accepted
5- your moma and papa actually needed the terminal? why? they don’t like to run firefox as standard users and wanted to sudo it? wtf? I’m seriously trying to think of ONE THING your parents would need to use the terminal for….If you’re not a granny and you actually use your linux box for more than some browsing and some mail sending, you will need to get acquainted a bit with the terminal, but don’t include such a point after saying that the lab rats were actually your parents
6- gnome ugly? ok, first that’s an opinion, and personally I like it better than Ms Window’s look. second, A BIG FUCKEN NO, setting up compiz fusion for some seriously jaw dropping eye candy doesn’t take much more than a couple of mouse clicks
7- You heard about it, your parents did… they’re gonna tell their friends “our son installed this new system on our computer, it’s called ubuntu” , next thing you know, your parents friends know about it, they’ll ask their son to install it for them ……. you get the picture? ok , STFU
Later
In fairness you should write about their experiences installing vista on the same hardware & yes next time try kubuntu. Thanks for the insights.
I expected to get some heat from posting this article, but I honestly never expected for people to resort to personal attacks against me–especially without reading the entirety of the post. But that’s the state of the internet it seems, and the slanderous fanboy comments some of you stuck up here are downright hilarious. Nothing like a comment that makes the commenter look like a raving lunatic to get a good laugh out of me. Anyway, I appreciate those of you who politely disagreed. And now for some rebuttals to everyone’s “suggestions”.
“Your hardware sucks.” - Um, no it doesn’t. It’s probably better than what those of you who bitched about it are running. And besides, isn’t one of the goals of Ubuntu to allow it to be used on hardware that may be past its prime?
“Your CD burner/CD doesn’t work properly.” or “You burned the disc at too high of a speed.” - The speed issue is an excellent point, but moot in this case. I burn every important disc at 4x, and I’ve used this particular Ubuntu Live CD flawlessly on no less than 10 different computers of all different ages.
“Your parents have no Linux skill.” - Isn’t that the point? You shouldn’t need any more than the most basic computing skills to install and use an operating system.
“Go back to Windows, fanboy!” - Actually, I love Ubuntu. You’d know that if you read more than the print in bold. Hell, I use it about five times more than Windows.
“Installing Ubuntu is easy.” - Yep, when it works. Is it perfect every time? Nope. Does Windows install perfectly every time? Nope. Then why complain? Windows is already the dominant operating system on the market–Linux has a long way to go, which means it has to be at least twice as good as the market leader.
“I’ve never had a problem with Linux.” - Good for you. I haven’t had many problems in the 70 (or so) Linux installs I’ve done, the hundreds of Windows installs I’ve done, and the dozens of OS X installs I’ve done either.
“Kubuntu, KDE, Kubuntu, KDE…” - I would have given my parents a Kubuntu install disc if it were the dominant operating system in the Ubuntu family–but it’s not. And besides, can you not read the title. It clearly says this article is about Ubuntu. That, and KDE’s current state (3.5.8) looks like some five year old tried to recreate Windows 95 in MS Paint. Yes, I’m a GNOME fan. Don’t bring up KDE or Kubuntu again.
“Why do your parents need to use the terminal.” - Another excellent point. My dad’s eyesight is not what it used to be, so he hooks the laptop up to an external monitor. Does Ubuntu automatically detect that monitor? Nope. Gotta access the Nvidia control panel from the terminal.
“The fonts are fine.” or “It takes one click to install new fonts.” - No, the default fonts are free for a reason. Un-hiding the hidden folders, creating a new hidden folder, and dragging and dropping new fonts into that folder is a bit more work than one click.
“Installing restricted drivers just takes one click.” - Yes, it does, but imagine you’re not the technical genius of most Linux users. I know it’s hard to think about someone other than yourself, but picture a man in his sixties who didn’t grow up with computers and has only basic skills. He’s got a brand new computer with Ubuntu pre-installed when he sees the alarming restricted driver dialog box. As it is now, to the novice computer user, it looks like clicking the install button will make your computer self destruct.
“Marketing means nothing.” - Are you daft? The world thrives on marketing. How do you think Windows, Intel, Nvidia, Apple, and millions of other companies got to where they are today? It certainly wasn’t luck.
“Word of mouth is where it’s at.” - Once again, you’d have to be moronic to believe that. Word of mouth is great for programs like Firefox that require a quick download and ten minutes tops to set up. An operating system? You’d better have something amazing built in if you want to get people to change from what comes with their computer.
“Some of your points aren’t technical issues.” - Does the name of the post have anything to do with technical issues? Might want to check that glasses prescription of yours.
“Why not try the same installation experiment with Vista?” - You thought this post portrayed Ubuntu in a bad light. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
“But, but, Ubuntu’s free and Vista costs $######! Microsoft sucks! You suck! *whine*” - Yawn. Come up with something new to razz me about.
It’s odd you should mention this because I have been playing with Gutsy myself to put friends and family who are much like your parents on. I figure I’ll save so much time not cleaning spyware off their machines I’ll gain years.
You’re comparing apples to oranges. If your parents had to INSTALL XP, or Vista, they’d do no better. I plan to do all the installing. You can buy a box with Ubuntu preinstalled from Dell as well. As to restricted drivers–tomayto, tomahto. I had only one restricted driver on my older laptop–the dreaded Broadcom wireless card. It was definately non-trivial to extract the firmware from the Windows driver and install this restricted driver, but so was every Windows install I’ve ever done. I’m a Windows sys admin whose only previous Linux experience was limited to using a Puppy LiveCD as a Windows rescue disk.
Hardware support? You got it right–blame the hardware manufacturers, not the Ubuntu community. I found it, not surprisingly, about as supported as Mac, with the exception of the Broadcom wireless card, of course.
Much like you stated in your recent comment, I found the default Gnome desktop in Ubuntu absolutely gorgeous. The first time I saw XP I thought, “Geeze, it’s the “Fisher-Price” GUI.” Vista is marginally better than XP, though not much, and only if your hardware supports Aero. Will your parent’s circa 2003 laptop run Aero?
The killer for me, on my older laptop, is that my XP preinstall took up 19GB of the 40GB HD. (HP ‘helpfully’ gave me 2 complete installations–bloatware included–instead of an OS disk to reinstall or repair.) Ubuntu occupies less than 1GB. Add to that no more AV, spyware and trojan removers….
The fact is, I currently use mostly Windows. But I am aware that open source is by it’s very nature more secure than closed source. The more eyes that look at the code, the harder it is to hide anything. Free (as in free speech) is better than proprietary, and free (as in free beer) is better than costly.
BTW, MS isn’t very good at supporting “legacy hardware” either. So far, I’m liking what I’m seeing.
Hah! Thanks for the excellent comment, Spooky. That’s what I like to see–someone who actually took the time to read the article and post a thought out comment that isn’t loaded with flamebait and fanboy rhetoric.
And I get to find out this weekend just how well Vista runs on that old laptop as I conduct the same experiment. Should be fascinating.
I’d like to see the outcome of that.
[…] If you liked this, be sure to check out my other post in the Ubuntu 7.10 series: 7 Problems that Keep Ubuntu 7.10 from Going Mainstream […]
Hey Eric - I’m a tad late but, better late than never. Your article has induced the usual mean spirited, head in the sand responses from the die hard Linux community. Like many long term Windows users I was recently tempted to test run a Linux distro and coincidently chose Ubuntu. I didn’t trust myself to install on the existing hard drive as a dual boot system so I purchased a USB external drive specifically for the purpose. I proceeded with the install and got to the part where the selection of the destination drive was requested, Ubuntu didn’t recognise my drives as C, D, E, etc. but as a long string of numbers and letters that meant absolutely nothing to me, so, off to the forums for help. Not much assistance there, most of the posts were loaded with Linuxspeak, which to the uninitiated like me was so much gobbeldygook….I did glean an elementary understanding however. The consensus was that something called Grub would try and install itself on the primary drive (by default) regardless of where you told it to go and the safest way to avoid that was to open the tower and disconnect the main drive altogether…..they must be kidding! Needless to say, I do not have Ubuntu installed anywhere and my external drive is now used for data back up.
It seems to me that Linux has many problems to overcome before it can ever be rated a serious contender for OS of the masses. It starts immediately when the first decision has to be made….which distro? There are sooo many, far too many, there are even distros within distros, and each one seems to have at least one problematic feature which works better in another.
Your comments on marketing are spot on……..a marketing strategy does not necessarily mean a serious $$$$$ outlay. The first step towards success would be for the publishers of all the different distros to get their heads together and come up with a single general release incorporating the best from the best……3 or 4 ‘add-on’ packages could be made available for more specific use.
Secondly, the publishers would need to convince the major hardware manufacturers of the necessity to bundle Linux supported software with their products.
Most importantly the community of Linux users need to get their heads out of the sand and regard criticism as a constructive means of making their OS more palatable to the masses. Remember guys, just because you find it all easy to understand doesn’t make it so for everyone.
Some of the posts here are a disgrace….you bag the cr*p out of any Windows OS and then resort to insults and vilification if someone dares to be mildly critical of Linux. Did any of you bother to read Eric’s “10 Reasons Why You Need to Download Ubuntu Right Now?”
Good on ya Eric and thanks for an interesting read….regards…JIMBO
@ Jimbo
Ok, not gonna flame wars at you like I did at author (to whom I apologize by the way for my previous post. Wasn’t my best day)
But if /dev/hda1 doesn’t make sense to you, it’s not linux’s fault. You see, you understand that C, D, E are partitions because you were TOLD that these are representations for partitions.
Personally, to me, /dev/hda1 makes more sense than C. C is just a letter that could represent the “third of anything”. Why not the third CD-ROM is called C?
/dev/hda1 does give the “impression” at least, even for linux newbies, that it’s partition 1 of the hard disk ( doesn’t it look a lot like /device /hard disk 1 ?)
As for installing the OS on an external USB hard disk. This is something not common, as Operating Systems are not meant to be installed on external USB hard disk drives and taken around from PC to PC, since each has a different list of hardware. But I do believe that, if this is done, it is better implemented in linux rather than in windows. I mean think of it:
hardware drivers in linux are (for most of them) built inside the kernel. so nothing extra to be installed. As for windows, every device you have, you have to have a CD with the driver. So imagine this scenario. OS on a USB external hard disk taken from PC to PC. Chances are, linux will recognize most (if not all) of the hardware of the new PC. Windows will see a different set of drivers, so you have to remove the ones previously installed and install new drivers specific to this machine.
If you want to better test what I’m saying, I guess you could try it yourself. You have tried installing linux on an external USB hard disk, and failed/was too complicated. Why not be fair and try doing the same with windows xp/vista?
I hope my post was clear. And once again, my apologies to the author.