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Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

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Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#21

Post by AndrewDucker »

hpaavola wrote: post #10
arkitaip wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, what kind of bizarro world is this where Android doesn't exist? You know, the Linux distro/interface that's leading the development on the consumer side? Smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices is the future for Linux and computing in general.

Usually when people talk about Linux, they don't mean the kernel. They mean the kernel and GNU, so Android does not count.

It's funny that it took the rise of Android to really underscore the difference between "Linux" and "Gnu/Linux"

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#22

Post by Shorel »

themstheones wrote: post #17
Mikeb85 wrote: post #3

Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux because he's the only one with vision, and the means to carry out that vision. He's making the tough, unpopular decisions that are advancing desktop Linux into the mainstream, and the only one with the balls to go at it alone. Despite its issues (and it has them), Ubuntu is by far the most usable Linux variety, both on the desktop and server...

Apparently you've never tried gentoo.

I have tried it, it just takes a week to install, while Ubuntu takes some hours (I test several configurations until I'm happy with one).

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#23

Post by Schiphol »

themstheones wrote: post #17
Mikeb85 wrote: post #3

Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux because he's the only one with vision, and the means to carry out that vision. He's making the tough, unpopular decisions that are advancing desktop Linux into the mainstream, and the only one with the balls to go at it alone. Despite its issues (and it has them), Ubuntu is by far the most usable Linux variety, both on the desktop and server...

Apparently you've never tried gentoo.

You should list your phone number as the support hotline for those users of Ubuntu that take your word for it, and change to Gentoo to improve in usability. :)

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#24

Post by Shorel »

Joeboy wrote: post #6

But, I don't particularly "want Linux to succeed". I want an OS to succeed that's free, and doesn't suck for my purposes. This article seems to assume that we "want Linux to succeed" simply because we're rooting for our home team. Edit: To clarify, I'm not saying I don't want Linux to succeed. I'm saying that if that success comes at the cost of making it suck more or be less Free, that will be a Pyrrhic victory.

Go Hurd!

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#25

Post by vacri »

hack_edu wrote: post #9

The most important thing he can do is railroad through a Nexus-style Ubuntu exemplar hardware platform. All you need is one or two devices. I'd pay 25% over a comparable Apple for a real Ubuntu-Debian laptop with Apple-quality build and a real software-hardware pairing. I'm tired of flimsy setups from a weekend configuration tutorial hack job or Dell's XPS empty gesture.

Thinkpads. Thinkpads have good build quality - they pass more military toughness tests than 'toughbooks' do, and they're generally 'just work' when it comes to linux (sometimes you'll need a broadcom driver or similar if you're using Debian)

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#26

Post by stinos »

davexunit wrote: post #12
stinos wrote: post #2

our superior operating system is only superior to computer savvy users who are able to fix what they break and configure what they buy and who have the patience to figure-out things like why a configuration made in the KDE UI disappears at reboot. Hint–it might be because that particular configuration in your particular distro must be made in the distro’s configuration panel which overwrites anything done in KDE’s pa…

There are many perfectly usable, free, desktop environments to choose from on GNU/Linux. I just can't take complaints like this seriously.

yes there are such environments. Never denied that. But as I said, I consider them only perfectly usable for computer savvy users who are able to fix what they break and configure what they buy and spend time on it. That last part kills it for me.

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#27

Post by stinos »

themstheones wrote: post #17
Mikeb85 wrote: post #3

Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux because he's the only one with vision, and the means to carry out that vision. He's making the tough, unpopular decisions that are advancing desktop Linux into the mainstream, and the only one with the balls to go at it alone. Despite its issues (and it has them), Ubuntu is by far the most usable Linux variety, both on the desktop and server...

Apparently you've never tried gentoo.

ugh, the emerge hell :] I'll take plain debian over that any day.

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#28

Post by venomsnake »

arkitaip wrote: post #8
Schiphol wrote: post #7

This article reads like it was written in 2006. The ideas that Linux distros lack polish, and that Ubuntu brought that to the table; that this is a capitalist world and Mark Shuttleworth understands capitalism, etc. are very, very trite.

Also, what kind of bizarro world is this where Android doesn't exist? You know, the Linux distro/interface that's leading the development on the consumer side? Smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices is the future for Linux and computing in general.

The same bizzaro world in which you cannot run sudo bash on the majority of Android devices.

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#29

Post by hpaavola »

StavrosK wrote: post #15
hack_edu wrote: post #9

The most important thing he can do is railroad through a Nexus-style Ubuntu exemplar hardware platform. All you need is one or two devices. I'd pay 25% over a comparable Apple for a real Ubuntu-Debian laptop with Apple-quality build and a real software-hardware pairing. I'm tired of flimsy setups from a weekend configuration tutorial hack job or Dell's XPS empty gesture.

I hate to recommend this, but my Macbook Air runs Ubuntu pretty much perfectly, and pretty much out of the box.

So does Asus Zenbook Prime and many models from Lenovo. I have Zenbook and it's almost perfect. Minor touchpad issues, ambien light sensor does not work and screen is always at max bright after reboot, that's about it. The problem of course is that this is fairly expensive machine and people won't tolerate those quirks when enough money is involved.

Re: Why Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux

#30

Post by keithpeter »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #3

Mark Shuttleworth is important to desktop Linux because he's the only one with vision, and the means to carry out that vision. He's making the tough, unpopular decisions that are advancing desktop Linux into the mainstream, and the only one with the balls to go at it alone. Despite its issues (and it has them), Ubuntu is by far the most usable Linux variety, both on the desktop and server...

I would say Canonical rather than Shuttleworth himself personally, but that is a minor nitpick. I have used and like Unity.

One issue I really hope gets sorted before 14.04 is the LibreOffice menu bug

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libreoffice/+bug/7...

That is definitely under the 'fit and finish' heading! Imagine a future version of Ubuntu with Unity with that bug landing on the desktops of a few thousand users doing office work...

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