Hmm can someone please edit this to remove the #comments hash from the URL? :D
I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
11–20 of 109 posts
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#12Also known as: This year will be the year of the linux desktop ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Linux#Year_of_Desktop_L... )
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#13I strongly disagree, and take exception to the fact that this "article" is 3 paragraphs long with zero information yet throws out the idea that Linux, even Ubuntu, is 1:1 competitive with Windows or OSX on the desktop. Contrary to the author, hardware is still a mess. Have a Lexmark wireless printer? Tough luck, there is no way to print to it from Linux. Have switchable graphics? Good luck there, too. Want your new l…
I mostly agree with you. I do recommend Linux to the more technical audience but stay away from recommending to non-tech friends and family.
I think part of the problem can be solved if there was some nice hardware that came with Linux preinstalled, with all the driver configuration work already done for you. That will still not solve the printer issue you described, but the "install graphics/sound/wifi driver" issue can be dealt with that way. Sure Linux is not properly compatible with every wifi device out there, but neither is, say, OSX. OSX gets around the problem by the fact that it only ships on Apple hardware. It would be great if we had Canonical computers for example.
edit: FWIW, I do commend companies like System76 and ZaReason that ship linux based systems but we need bigger players in the space to make a difference.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#14I strongly disagree, and take exception to the fact that this "article" is 3 paragraphs long with zero information yet throws out the idea that Linux, even Ubuntu, is 1:1 competitive with Windows or OSX on the desktop. Contrary to the author, hardware is still a mess. Have a Lexmark wireless printer? Tough luck, there is no way to print to it from Linux. Have switchable graphics? Good luck there, too. Want your new l…
I'm not getting into a religious war but:
I've had printer driver problems on OSX and on some Windows versions. The problem with printers is the evil practice of selling the machines at (or near) loss, and making money on ink / toner. Caveat Emptor applies.
Windows users (used to? Still do?) have problems with installing software. They wouldn't use the add software wizard; the software would install things in weird places; there were legacy problems. A common technique used by Windows users was to just reformat and reinstall. That's user ignorance, not a fault of the OS, but it still shows that simple app installs can cause problems.
And dropping to the command line to do stuff - well, you do that on any os, especially if you're a power user. Are there really simple tasks that can only be done on cli in Linux, that a typical user would come across?
I agree that Linux isn't ready for the masses; but then I think OS X and Windows are not really ready for the masses.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#15My dad has been using it for 3 years.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#16I strongly disagree, and take exception to the fact that this "article" is 3 paragraphs long with zero information yet throws out the idea that Linux, even Ubuntu, is 1:1 competitive with Windows or OSX on the desktop. Contrary to the author, hardware is still a mess. Have a Lexmark wireless printer? Tough luck, there is no way to print to it from Linux. Have switchable graphics? Good luck there, too. Want your new l…
I don't know. I don't have a problem with not being able to install stuff while updating stuff. Incidentally, the same is true for Windows and Windows Update enabled programs (think Office, Visual Studio) or OSX and the App Store.
Also, while I agree that the command line should never be necessary, it is often the most convenient way to solve problems on Windows and OSX, too.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#17I used to spend (i.e., waste) time reading linux blogs, each touting innovations in Ubuntu, et al. on the desktop. These "innovations" were anything but sorely needed or outdated features / programs (look at basically any media player).
The most absurd aspect of these blogs is the focus on the desktop/laptop (well, also on the whole free software aspect, as if the average person cares or is aware of such a concept). Canonical is pushing for a smart phone (and TV), but they don't seem to be in a great rush.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#18Some people (on this thread, too) seem to think that in order for Linux to be successful, it needs to become Windows. I think the exact opposite is true. Linux will never beat Windows at being Windows. But it may well be the superior operating system for many people.
If you ask me, this is what Linux should strive for, and incidentally, what it probably is striving for. Hardware compatibility is pretty good already. Usability is very good if you subscribe to the Linux way of doing things.
I don't think that Linux is particularly lacking in any way compared to Windows. It is simply different, serving different purposes and different people, optimizing for different use cases.
It is as ready as it ever was or will be. The question rather is, are people ready for Linux?
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#19I strongly disagree, and take exception to the fact that this "article" is 3 paragraphs long with zero information yet throws out the idea that Linux, even Ubuntu, is 1:1 competitive with Windows or OSX on the desktop. Contrary to the author, hardware is still a mess. Have a Lexmark wireless printer? Tough luck, there is no way to print to it from Linux. Have switchable graphics? Good luck there, too. Want your new l…
Switchable graphics do indeed suck. I returned a laptop because of it, despite being told specifically the model I ordered did not have Optimus hybrid graphics. But it's not unsolvable. It's problem with companies not supporting Linux. Nvidia just joined the Linux foundation and ways to accommodate switchable graphics are already being discussed. It rules out some of the newest hardware in the short term but I have no doubt it'll become a non-issue eventually.
>Linux won't be ready until you can download a file from the Internet, run it, and install it just with a couple clicks (and not "you need to set the 'exectuable' flag!" error).
The Software Center has long since solved that problem, as well things like apt links in pages and it's far better than what's available on Windows at the moment (download exe, allow exe to run, hopes it's not a virus/malware, manually update it often etc).
>Linux won't be ready until you never have to reconfigure the graphics driver from the command line upon boot.
For a lot of systems it's simply a matter of using the GUI in Ubuntu to check for and enable proprietary drivers. Again it's down to support from other companies and that appears to be growing.
>Linux won't be ready until you can run a system update and install a new program at the same time.
Installers can block each other on Windows as well. This point just seems like nit-picking.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#20I am unfortunately forced to disagree. I recently moved my home machine from Windows to Linux. After a little research, I picked Ubuntu 11.10 (with Unity). The installation went by pretty smoothly, everything seemed to work out of the box. The only manual configuration I had to do was to teach my Linux box to ping my Windows laptop. So far so good. Then, 2 weeks later, my disk went out of space. Turns out Ubuntu has…
>Turns out Ubuntu has a hidden log file that logs errors, with no sanity checks on size, and it hit 300+ GB. Uh, what is this hidden log?
Got to say, been using Ubuntu for 3+ years now, never encountered anything like this.