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I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

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Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#51

Post by demallien »

Derbasti wrote: post #18

Some 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.…

Well, just remember that when you say "Some people (on this thread, too) seem to think that in order for Linux to be successful, it needs to become Windows. ", you are including Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Ubuntu...

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#53

Post by Jach »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #22
icebraining wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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). We're talking about Ubuntu , not all Linux distributions. And in Ubuntu, that works fine: try downloading any .deb and double clicking it.

It's a legitimate criticism that you can't install software while updating your system.

This is one reason I moved away from Ubuntu, other package managers don't have this problem. Is it unsolvable for Ubuntu/Debian? I don't know. I don't think it matters to most users. At least the users who have put up with "You must restart now" and "Make sure to close all other programs before continuing" for all these years.

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#54

Post by ktizo »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #22
icebraining wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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). We're talking about Ubuntu , not all Linux distributions. And in Ubuntu, that works fine: try downloading any .deb and double clicking it.

It's a legitimate criticism that you can't install software while updating your system.

You can install software while updating your system, just not by using the same process that is currently updating your system and there is no particular distinction between software and system anyway.

A better apt queuing system might be nice admittedly, but if apt is installing software/updates with dependencies, then letting it complete before other software with their own dependencies are added, might be a good idea.

But you can always use one of the other myriad of ways to install software other than apt, while apt is running.

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#55

Post by user2459 »

JeanPierre wrote: post #6

The main problem with the distros available today is their lack of non-free software. No matter how much you or I like free software, Minecraft can't run as good on OpenJDK as on Sun JDK, and I automatically install the proprietary Flash version because the other one's just way too laggy to use. I also always run smxi to get the best graphics drivers and compability with the least amount of work. And even then I stru…

I see your frustration, but let's try to work it into optimism. Ubuntu itself can't control those things and without out support from vendors it can never have them. What Ubuntu can do is provide a rock solid OS with a simple user experience that will hopefully attract enough users to garner the attention of more vendors. This is mostly the critical mass problem and is a function of economics for vendors. If we give them a large enough economic incentive to support ubuntu, they will come rushing to do it. So for early adopters not everything you're expecting will be there, but if you can pain through or dual boot you'd be helping to ensure it is there for future users.

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#56

Post by trotsky »

Making Linux usable by the “general public” was eschewed by the Linux community for years.

I've been part of the linux community since 1994, and I have never once heard anyone express a desire to prevent mainstream adoption. Quite the contrary - many, many people have been strident evangelists over the years (to the point that it could be quite annoying; whatever the question the answer was linux) and many, many people have spent large amounts of time coding tools and programs to make it more accessible. The problem hasn't been a lack of desire, it's been that it's been quite hard - the open source model of scratch your own itch doesn't lend itself particularly well to the level of polish that's needed.

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#57

Post by trotsky »

Making Linux usable by the “general public” was eschewed by the Linux community for years.

I've been part of the linux community since 1994, and I have never once heard anyone express a desire to prevent mainstream adoption. Quite the contrary - many, many people have been strident evangelists over the years (to the point that it could be quite annoying; whatever the question the answer was linux) and many, many people have spent large amounts of time coding tools and programs to make it more accessible.

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#58

Post by ktizo »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #34
spurgu wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please, don't get me started on installing software on Windows or OS X. Linux package managers are the nuts!

See my above post. Not being able to install 2 unrelated packages at once is a legit criticism. The merits of Windows/OSX installation are irrelevant to that point.

Open up a package manager, select two, or loads of, unrelated packages, apply.

Is not a legitimate criticism.

Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.

#60

Post by peeters »

Am I missing something in this article? It seems to be broken down as follows:

1) Before Ubuntu, you were expected to be a kernel expert to use Linux.

2) Ubuntu is released to make Linux accessible to average users. Authors herald each version as the version to bring Linux into the hands of the general public. But every version of Ubuntu fails to live up to that promise.

3) An author now heralds version 11.10 as the version to bring Linux into the hands of the general public.

What distinguishes this proclamation from all those that go before it?

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