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Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)Posted Jan 16, 2007 20:09 UTC (Tue) by macson_g (subscriber, #12717)In reply to: Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia) by hathawsh Parent article: Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia)
Really. I love the (K)ubuntu's admin tools, they provide user with possibility to do _almost_ everything without touching terminal
I'm using my girlfriend as guinea pig, and she is doing quite well, but still there were times where i had to step in and use shell or edit config file:
1. adding new repositories require shell or editing command line. This is well documented, but still scary. Besides
2. documentation is mostly in english (we ae using polish i18n). The admin tools (kde control center, adept) are ot translated or translated partially with few BROKEN_TRNALATIONs
3. Adding repositories is required to add software like Kadu( gadu-gadu IM cient, must-have here in poland), multimedia codecs, Flash or Sun-Java.
4. Few times I had to use lsof to seek'n'destroy process blocking dvd drive , preventing it from ejecting.
Please don't tell me about using ogg, gnash, Flash-less browsing etc. I have no desire to ignite flamewar. I'm just trying to point that there are still small but important problems that make users like my girlfriend or my sister turn back to Windows(TM)
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Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia) Posted Jan 16, 2007 23:08 UTC (Tue) by hathawsh (subscriber, #11289) [Link] Well...
#1: Adding repositories isn't an end-user activity, it's administrative. I don't expect desktop users to do much administration. For my family, I enabled the "multiverse" repository, and now they can choose non-free software if they desire. Also, Synaptic does indeed have GUI dialog for selecting or adding new repositories, but I haven't bothered telling anyone about Synaptic, since it's an administrative tool.
#2: I haven't tested languages other than English, although my perception is that i18n is very important to the Ubuntu developers. Sorry you haven't had much luck with your language, but good translation generally must be done by a native speaker of the target language, so please help.
https://translations.launchpad.net/
#3: Not a problem once you've set up her computer.
#4: Yes, occasionally things freeze or crash, but my family has observed much worse breakage on other operating systems, so they're tolerant.
I've given up on the idea that end users should successfully install their own operating system. Even with Ubuntu, you still have to be quite computer literate to succeed in all aspects of installation. The more reasonable goal is usability and maintainability by end users, and I believe Ubuntu meets that goal.
Vista launch will boost desktop Linux (ZDNet Australia) Posted Jan 18, 2007 10:14 UTC (Thu) by gnb (subscriber, #5132) [Link] #1 is a fair point for office users, but many or most home users aretheir own admins (all the ones who don't have a friend or family member willing/able to do this for them). That's a lot of people.
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