I'm a Linux newbie. Or should I say, an Ubuntu newbie. I don't know. I use this system for the same purpose as some people build things with Lego pieces. It's a therapy for me. I like the possibilities that the command line offers. Differently from clicking links (e.g on Windows' Control Panel) you just type what you want. I found it to be a more "precise" way to work. My only complain goes to the file structure and installation process. Whether in Windows you know things will end up in 'Program Files', there's no logic for me where apps are stored in Linux file system. Those three letter acronyms mean nothing to me. They remind me the old days when all data were abbreviated to fit small diskspaces and slow processors. That would be my only complain.
I like Linux/Ubuntu so much that I replaced my mom's Win Vista with it. She uses Gmail, Picasa and Skype, aside from browsing websites. She doesn't know the concept of "file" or "folder". For her, the program talks to the Internet and makes all the magic happen. Maybe there are other people just like my mother out there, either too old or too young, with a different view (thus expectation) of the computer screen. Maybe that's what define the "user" anyway. Using Tron's allegory, maybe we are the tech-minded "programs" looking at users with prejudice and thinking about all the points they are missing by being just "users". And I think Canonical is welcoming these people now, like Apple did a few years back.
I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
81–90 of 109 posts
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#82Funny. On my netbook, Ubuntu used to feel like it was finally ready about one major version ago. Today, 11.10 is so unusably slow it might actually make Windows Vista feel competitive. I thought it might be the outdated video card but then Unity 2D made no actual difference; any simple UI interaction still sucks CPU hard. Just for some icing on the cake, the Wi-Fi driver is now also causing random kernel panics on my…
My non-technical mom has been using 10.04 (Lucid) since 2010, I really thought it could have been The One Linux to Rule Them All because it did/does everything right. I even use it at work. (I use Gentoo at home. (Where I sometimes do work.)) I recommend Xfce4 to anyone who can't get Gnome 2, since it's Good Enough. I really think that moving away from Gnome 2 was a huge step backwards and I don't think it's recoverable until a new Gnome 2ish UI is built on top of Wayland.
Desktops shouldn't have an App structure, they should have a Windows (or tabs if you prefer, the task bar is just the tab dock) structure. Microsoft realized this way back in the 90s, which makes Windows 8 OS even more amusing. It all feels like just a bunch of circle-jerk after noticing the iPhone was praised by the commoners for its UI.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Have a Lexmark wireless printer? Tough luck, there is no way to print to it from Linux." Lexmark printer compatibility page for Ubuntu; https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HardwareSupportComponentsP... setting up a lexmark x4650 printer for wireless printing with 64 bit ubuntu; http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1692003
Do you really think a non-technical person is going to follow these steps? Excuse me while I LOL. http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?s=6ea2f28955ceeb4024e4f...
Not many, but that is vastly different from saying that there is no way of doing it.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#84I'm a Linux newbie. Or should I say, an Ubuntu newbie. I don't know. I use this system for the same purpose as some people build things with Lego pieces. It's a therapy for me. I like the possibilities that the command line offers. Differently from clicking links (e.g on Windows' Control Panel) you just type what you want. I found it to be a more "precise" way to work. My only complain goes to the file structure and…
I know that the comment is not liked by everyone, but I still think it is somewhat true: "It doesn't matter whether the program is installed into /usr/bin/, /usr/share/bin/, /bin/ or anything else", at least not for the "average user".
Linux puts all of those into a PATH-variable (if you'd like to see what it holds, type "echo $PATH" without the quotes into a terminal). Because of that, you really never have to give an absolute path to an executable (unless you installed it by hand after compiling, something that the fabled "average user" hardly does). Furthermore, since you usually install Programs via the Package Manager (Software Center in Ubuntu?), it gets deleted properly if you uninstall it. Instead, if you type for example "firefox" into a terminal, it looks through all the paths listed in the PATH-variable until it finds the executable called "firefox", then executes it.
Configuration files for individual programs usually reside in your /home folder, much like Windows' "Documents & Settings", only ideally on a different partition separate from the OS.
The only thing you really need as an everyday user is your own /home folder, and as far as I know, that is basically chosen by default for pretty much everything.
This is not so much Ubuntu specific, rather just trying to explain a bit to the parent about the "Program Files" analogue.
[edited for clarity regarding the function of $PATH]
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Open up a package manager, select two, or loads of, unrelated packages, apply. Is not a legitimate criticism.
Run an update of 60 packages, browse the internet while waiting for it to complete, find a .deb you're curious about and try to install it. You can't. Regardless of dependencies. Apt uses a global lock. That is bad UX, whether you acknowledge it or not.
How often, other than when you run the first large system update, is this a real issue?
I mean, I'm all for the *.deb to automatically queue when clicked, as that would be nice, but I do not see why I would particularly want it to mess with the system while the system is being messed with.
Also, I could always virtualise if I want the functionality of having an explicit split between system and userland.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#86I 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 totally concur. I recently tried an experiment - could my girlfriend use the Wubi installer and get Ubuntu going without any boyfriend tech-support? Results: The installer is far from perfect, but after a few tries and a few seemingly random glitches it repartitioned and installed flawlessly. She was able to boot into Oneric no problem. Once she was there, she liked everything. Thought it looked really "zoomy" and…
That sounds like good progress to me. Much better than what I had to go through to install Ubuntu for the first time not too long ago. I think the obvious solution here would be to replace those cryptic errors with clearer ones which explain the problem and solution much better. For example, how about a suggestion to plug your computer into a router during the WiFi driver download?
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 p…
My definition of competitiveness does not imply equivalence. For example, Windows and OSX are expensive, while Ubuntu is free. A free market would suggest that it should be slightly inferior since it is free. Each OS has strengths and weaknesses. The point of this article is to illuminate the fact that Ubuntu can be seriously considered as an alternative to Windows/OSX for the average person.
having spent countless nights to get all my laptop's devices work and sleep/hibernate - I have come to the conclusion that "free" is a bit wrong word to describe ubuntu, and that I'm in it only for "geek" cred. However, it certainly getting cheaper with each release. Now, I only need to edit grub once to enable hibernation.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The Software Center... [is] far better than what's available on Windows at the moment I agree on this, though not everything that can or should be installed on Ubuntu comes through the Software Center or even as a .deb or apt repo. For things outside of this, a .exe file on Windows has the upper hand. .exe (or .msi) is a Windows universal. .deb and .rpm are not Linux universals. > Installers can block each other on…
>And it's frustrating. Absolutely, on any system. I'll admit I swear every now and again when I get caught trying to run apt-get with synaptic open on another workspace. >You will notice I said "it has to be better than 'better than Windows'", because "better than Windows" still means "learning something other than Windows". I agree. I guess I'm guilty of accepting a limitation because it's commonplace. I assume over…
Chunk any overly long install queues and set the requested package to check for dependencies and add itself to the next chunk, after the current chunk is processed.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#89It probably should have been called Onanistic Ocelot. Ever tried installing it on a Mac (the best, if not the cheapest desktop hardware available today)?
I've used an ubuntu cd to rescue the data from a g4 laptop when all else failed.
Re: I’m calling it: Ubuntu is finally ready for the world.
#90Have you ever tried to resize a window in Ubuntu? You know what I'm talking about...