Re: OT Ubuntu?

On Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:58:44 -0500, Andrew In Alabama wrote:

To run it as a day-to-day OS, you would need to be very comfortable
with computers and the "guts" of how they run.

It is more of a geek thing than ready for the mainstream at the
moment, but it does hold great potential.

Well... maybe.

I'm a huge fan of Ubuntu and it is my main OS these days, has been for
many months now. Stella is asking to have it installed on her laptop as
well, but sadly we have to keep an XP machine alive for the time being.

There is a real catch 22 with Ubuntu and other Linux distros. Developers
develop for the two biggie platforms primarily and the resultant mess
tends to get interpreted as their being something wrong with the Linux OS.
However, there are very few apps that don't have an equal or better native
Linux version available. But the development of apps is obviously going to
be relative to the number of desktops running a particular OS. Thus the
vicious cycle. The disaster that is Vista may do more for Linux than
anything else. Apple is certainly exploiting the situation with good
results.

Even though I am a slam-bang wizard when it comes to computing, I still
see Ubuntu as very user friendly, especially given the number of users who
are basically just browsing the web and sending emails. The big advantage
of Ubuntu is that when you install it you actually wind up with a fully
functioning machine. Email client, web browser, office suite, very robust
graphics and video editing programs are installed at the outset.

Windows is notorious for immediately degrading in performance if you do
something stupid like, I don't know, install software and try to use your
computer. I believe you have to experience a decent OS for a significant
period of time to truly appreciate the difference. I switched to Linux for
the same reason that many people stay away from it. I was tired of
tinkering with my computer and wanted to actually USE it.

No viruses, no constant freezes, no daily reboots (several a day). The
multiple desktop scheme is a lifesaver. I believe that an Ubuntu install
straight out of the box will serve the average computer users needs quite
nicely, and they may also discover that their computer is pretty good and
it was just their OS that sucked.
.

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