- Site menu:
- Latest Discussions
- Latest Newswire
- Archives
- Submit Story
- Story HOWTO
- Syndicate
- E-mail Alerts
Review: Ubuntu Popularity: Blessing or Curse?
|
|
|
Comments (17)
good as always
I agree that they do alot of things well, better than the Debian boys in some areas, worse in others. Hardware detection and configuration on initial install is light years better in Ubuntu. I cant agree that Upstart is an improvement nor the adoption of blkid which is seemingly spreading and 99% of the time worthless.
My biggest complaint about Ubuntu ... by the time it is released as "stable" and we all know it's not, it's also out of date by 4 to 6 months. If I want "Debian done right" as Ian called Ubuntu, I am more than capable of making it right all by myself.
In the overall scheme of things, PCLOS is easier to use for a new user, and Debian is much more versatile for the experienced user. Ubuntu is media hype, but at least its a recognizable name to the unwashed masses who are looking to switch away from windows.
My biggest complaint about Ubuntu ... by the time it is released as "stable" and we all know it's not, it's also out of date by 4 to 6 months. If I want "Debian done right" as Ian called Ubuntu, I am more than capable of making it right all by myself.
In the overall scheme of things, PCLOS is easier to use for a new user, and Debian is much more versatile for the experienced user. Ubuntu is media hype, but at least its a recognizable name to the unwashed masses who are looking to switch away from windows.
Unfortunately, Ubuntu is the one that newbies will likely end up trying out, and after they possibly have a bad experience with it, may well just abandon Linux in its entirety.
Quoting:Unfortunately, Ubuntu is the one that newbies will likely end up trying out, and after they possibly have a bad experience with it, may well just abandon Linux in its entirety.Makes sense, but as written, this is effectively a negative-feedback loop.
1. Windows users are already using MS-Windows (say, WIndows XP) and are stuck within the Microsoft lock-in cycle.
2. They hear about Ubuntu as one of the supposedly most-popular Linux Operating Systems. Tthey might or might not completely grasp the concepts of GNU/Linux "distributions" and F/OSS in general, even though such Windows users may have actually used or been exposed to RHEL or SLED in the business world. At the same time, every Windows user is definitely aware of viruses, other forms of malware and AV software, which taken together may serve as one of the top reasons for trying out Ubuntu.
3. Such Windows users then try Ubuntu out via its iveCD or by going through the challenge of installing Ubuntu to their hard-drives. They then may "possibly have a bad experience with it, may well just abandon Linux in its entirety" exactly as jacog writes. At the same time, it is likely that such Windows users have never heard about the non-commercialized Linux distro PCLOS, and even possible that they have never heard of Debian --- this even though Debian has been around for a longer time than Ubuntu and is the very basis for Ubuntu!
4. Such Windows users will then probably just go 100% with their tried-and-true Windows even with MS locking them in to upgrading to the lousy Vista and its eventual withdrawal of support for XP.
5. Such Windows Vista users may then try the "new-and-improved" Ubuntu versions of Gutsy Gibbon, Hoary Hedgehog, Illustrious Ibis(?),... etc, once their Windows Vista experience again appears too negative to endure (limitations, security/license issues, high expense, ... you-name-it). Maybe by this time more and more Windows users will have heard of PCLOS and perhaps other equally popular and effective Linux distros as well.
6. The same types of issues with Ubuntu that tuxchick, azertoth and others continue to bring up may just simply re-occur in one form or another regardless of the particular "improvements" each successive Ubuntu version espouses, and this then just perpetuates the negative-feedback loop right back down to MS Windows.
I was trying to do a Ubuntu install from the alternate disc, and while it was screwing up (I didn't manage to complete the install), I went backward in the process and was presented a screen that asked me whether I wanted to use sudo or a traditional root account.
So even Ubuntu can be run the "normal" way with a root account and password. But the text installer somehow skipped it -- I only got the screen by going backward.
That said, I'm OK with sudo.
So even Ubuntu can be run the "normal" way with a root account and password. But the text installer somehow skipped it -- I only got the screen by going backward.
That said, I'm OK with sudo.
And here's another round of applause for Bruce Byfield. He's written many great articles in the recent past.
Uncritical acceptance
Well, Ubuntu's users are in large numbers Windows converts, right? Windows users' leading characteristic is uncritical acceptance... right? Is it me, or is there a connection there? ;)
> "Ubuntu's own unique contributions to the software selection have always been sleight compared to a distribution like Fedora."
It's a shame that's almost certainly a typo. The putdown would have been classic otherwise.
It's a shame that's almost certainly a typo. The putdown would have been classic otherwise.
Linux ... it's like peeling an onion. Mine started with Knoppix, then Puppy, Damn Small Linux, Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Mepis, Vector, ZenWalk, Debian, CentOS and Slackware.
Mine?...Red Hat, SuSE, Debian, Knoppix, DSL and now PCLinuxOS..
Mine? ... Red Hat (trial), Suse (5 years), Kubuntu (6 month), PCLinuxOS (over 1year). In between all of these I was testing various distros. It is nice to see recently so many giving PCLinuxOS a try.
Mine - Debian.......... Debian ;)
Not counting try outs less than a week ...
Suse, Debian, Xandros OC, Mepis, (K,X)Ubuntu, White Box, PClinuxOS and now Sabayon.
Not counting that between every one of those there was Debian, and I carry DSL with me on a thumbdrive everywhere I go. Bluewhite64 went in multiboot at the same time as Sabayon, I didn't give that one the chance I should have because in my mind it just didnt stack up against Sab very well.
Suse, Debian, Xandros OC, Mepis, (K,X)Ubuntu, White Box, PClinuxOS and now Sabayon.
Not counting that between every one of those there was Debian, and I carry DSL with me on a thumbdrive everywhere I go. Bluewhite64 went in multiboot at the same time as Sabayon, I didn't give that one the chance I should have because in my mind it just didnt stack up against Sab very well.
Debian...my first install from disc one (and only disc one) of Woody, coming to a command prompt that would not allow me to use any of the few DOS commands that I knew...I went screaming back to XP!! Oy, what a n00b!
Then to Fedora Core 3. I discovered Ubuntu then for the first time...didn't care for it then, I think it's better now but still not my cup-o-tea, although Gutsy is looking pretty good. Then it was SuSE 9.1 Professional, purchased from Amazon.com. I didn't understand that I didn't have to purchase Linux. I drove myself crazy because I couldn't play my music, I couldn't watch my DVDs, I could barely do anything at all. Somewhere along the way I got my hands on The OpenCD and starting using Firefox, then Open Office, then Blender, and then I discovered Mepis. Ah, Mepis, the distro that made everything just so darn easy. I could watch movies, listen to music, surf the web, etc, etc. Great stuff. Curious about Red Hat, I found CentOS and installed version 4 on my machine. I liked it but I found it more difficult to use as a "jukebox" because it seemed to be made to be used as a workstation and a server instead. Then about a year and a half ago, I discovered PCLOS and that's been the main distro since.
Along the way, I also used at one time or another Debian, Zenwalk, Knoppix, Damn Small, StartCom, Foresight, Xandros, Yoper, and probably several more than I can't remember. I've given Gentoo and Lunar a try, but it went a little ugly and I don't have the time to spend taking care of a source distro...although I have spent enough time installing and reinstalling others that I probably get along with one just fine, LOL!
I used to dual boot. I don't remember what it was exactly that made me throw Windows to the side...I can spout dozens of reason why I don't like it now...but Linux was simply better, faster, had better apps and was far more convenient than Windows.
Then to Fedora Core 3. I discovered Ubuntu then for the first time...didn't care for it then, I think it's better now but still not my cup-o-tea, although Gutsy is looking pretty good. Then it was SuSE 9.1 Professional, purchased from Amazon.com. I didn't understand that I didn't have to purchase Linux. I drove myself crazy because I couldn't play my music, I couldn't watch my DVDs, I could barely do anything at all. Somewhere along the way I got my hands on The OpenCD and starting using Firefox, then Open Office, then Blender, and then I discovered Mepis. Ah, Mepis, the distro that made everything just so darn easy. I could watch movies, listen to music, surf the web, etc, etc. Great stuff. Curious about Red Hat, I found CentOS and installed version 4 on my machine. I liked it but I found it more difficult to use as a "jukebox" because it seemed to be made to be used as a workstation and a server instead. Then about a year and a half ago, I discovered PCLOS and that's been the main distro since.
Along the way, I also used at one time or another Debian, Zenwalk, Knoppix, Damn Small, StartCom, Foresight, Xandros, Yoper, and probably several more than I can't remember. I've given Gentoo and Lunar a try, but it went a little ugly and I don't have the time to spend taking care of a source distro...although I have spent enough time installing and reinstalling others that I probably get along with one just fine, LOL!
I used to dual boot. I don't remember what it was exactly that made me throw Windows to the side...I can spout dozens of reason why I don't like it now...but Linux was simply better, faster, had better apps and was far more convenient than Windows.
I believe my sequence for serious use was Slackware, Mandrake, Gentoo.
I almost switched to primarily Suse after Mandrake, but Gentoo became stable enough for me to install when I was considering the switch.
Most of my boxes run Gentoo.
I also have a box with Debian and virtual machine with Freebsd serving specific functions.
I want to get a box or virtual machine setup with slack again to see how it is these days.
Mom is my typical desktop user testbed. She basically does word processing, email, and web surfing. Her box currently runs Vector but I think I'm gonna switch it to SAM and see how that goes. I started with PCLOS on her box, but KDE was a bit pokey, so I switched to Vector. Vector is fairly quick,but I don't like it as much and she seems to need help more often with it. So SAM looks like it might be a good choice to try next since it's based on PCLOS but runs XFCE by default. :)
My work laptop dual boots Gentoo and XP. I'm mainly in Gentoo on it thankfully, but do need windows around for the occasional research of "how do I do this in windows?" or editing the stupid proprietary program generated menu for our web site (the site was recently redone by a local company, and while nice overall, the menu system they used is awful to edit). And it gives me a place to play my old windows games that won't run in wine easily. :)
Mom is my typical desktop user testbed. She basically does word processing, email, and web surfing. Her box currently runs Vector but I think I'm gonna switch it to SAM and see how that goes. I started with PCLOS on her box, but KDE was a bit pokey, so I switched to Vector. Vector is fairly quick,but I don't like it as much and she seems to need help more often with it. So SAM looks like it might be a good choice to try next since it's based on PCLOS but runs XFCE by default. :)
My work laptop dual boots Gentoo and XP. I'm mainly in Gentoo on it thankfully, but do need windows around for the occasional research of "how do I do this in windows?" or editing the stupid proprietary program generated menu for our web site (the site was recently redone by a local company, and while nice overall, the menu system they used is awful to edit). And it gives me a place to play my old windows games that won't run in wine easily. :)
>Is it me, or is there a connection there? ;)
It's just you. Most Linux users are Windows converts.
It's just you. Most Linux users are Windows converts.
Quoting:Most Linux users are Windows converts.
Indeed, I tried Red Hat, Lycoris (which I purchased), SuSE, and Mandrake. Mandrake (now Mandriva) worked, and has done so on every piece of hardware I've thrown at it. I try other Distros all the time, but none of them give me anything I don't already have with Mandriva, and many fall short.
Post a comment
A free account is needed to post. Write your comment here first: your text is kept in this browser while you sign up or log in, and is waiting for you when you come back.
Your message:Markdown: **bold**, *italic*, [text](https://link), - lists, > quotes, $x^2$ for math. Formatting help
Sign up and post (it is free) or Log in and post
They do a lot of things right, like the nice clean customized KDE and Gnome implementations, pioneering new things like Upstart, and the easy install. But I definitely agree there is way too much unquestioning acceptance of flaws and poor practices.