For the last 2-3 years, I've been in this on-again-off-again relationship with Ubuntu Linux. I started looking into various Linux distros back in early 2007 and will have to admit I was more than overwhelmed. I've been using computers since back in the day of the Commodore VIC-20, but when it came down to dealing with a computer's operating system - well, that was black magic to me. Shamefully, I was afraid to dig around too deeply for fear of 'breaking' something. We all know that individual that has a full awareness of where to put the ignition key and the gas pump hose into his car, right? That was me, when it came down to dealing with operating systems.
So in early 2007, I decided to start learning a bit more about what was under the hood of my computer and actually pulled off a Wubi install of Kubuntu Feisty Fawn. Shortly thereafter, I saw the obvious limitations of a Wubi install and decided to chance a real, honest-to-goodness dual-boot installation of Ubuntu Feisty. I progressed along and upgraded to Gutsy Gibbon and then to Hardy Heron. Life got in the way for a while and I fell out of the loop. I was still running Hardy, but I just couldn't devote the time to keep up with learning more about Ubuntu.
When Jaunty Jackalope was released, I upgraded to it (I missed Intrepid Ibex altogether), but time was still at a premium. In an effort to stay away from Windows, I purchased an iMac. And for whatever reason, I am not the typical Mac owner. From where I sit, OS X sucks. When Snow Leopard was released, I purchased a copy and upgraded. Waste of time and money. OS X just doesn't 'feel' right. (And now the Mac owners of the world are strapping on their weapons and firing up their black helicopters to eradicate me from the face of the earth.) So, I installed reFit and set up the iMac to dual boot Ubuntu Karmic Koala. No matter what I tried, I was never able to get sound working correctly, but I finally had an operating system running that didn't make me want to throw the iMac out the nearest window,
About 3 weeks ago, I decided to upgrade to the Beta 2 release of Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx. I set it up on the iMac first, with the hope I might be able to get around the sound issues. No hope there, but the Lynx 'felt' better than anything before it. I installed it on my PC as well and have been well-pleased with how well it is performing.
3 days ago, a new Dell Studio XPS 8100 arrived. Within hours, I was setting Lucid Lynx up on that system. And I'm happy to report the horror stories about 64-bit Ubuntu installations creating problems are all myths. I was very impressed with how well the 64-bit install went. As is typical, I needed to set up the restricted drivers and install Flash. I had to run a quick apt-get update before I could install Thunderbird 3.0.4, but that was it. Everything else just works, right out of the box. I can see where Ubuntu has taken a huge step forward and is now ready to run with the big dogs.
A lot of Linux users like to remind everyone Linux is not Windows and is not OS X. And that is true. But until the majority of computer users can install an alternative operating system without having to dig around to find commands to enter into the terminal, it's never going to take over its rightful share of the operating system market. Ubuntu is only one Linux distro and you may or may not like it. But a lot of people are working hard to make it a simple-to-use desktop distro and their efforts are paying off. And I have found it to be far superior to Windows and OS X.
If you're interested in test-driving Ubuntu, try a copy of the Live CD, which will allow you to run your system under Ubuntu without making any changes to your computer. You can grab your own free copy, or just learn more about how simple Ubuntu is to set up by visiting here. And if you have more questions about running Ubuntu Linux, be sure to visit the Ubuntu Community forums, located here. There are over 1 million members and 8 million posts on the forums, so it's likely someone has already asked the questions for you.
If Ubuntu doesn't have the right 'feel' for you, there are countless other Linux distros to investigate. Visit DistroWatch and take a look around. Maybe Fedora, Debian, Mint, openSUSE, MEPIS or Mandriva will have the features and functions you want. You can try any (or all) of them at your leisure. Yes, Aunt Polly, there are alternatives to OS X and Windows.
Carry on Ubuntu, you're definitely headed in the right direction.
Related posts:
- Lucid Lynx is due tomorrow
- Back to Ubuntu
- Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx is now available
- Moving the window buttons to the right in Lucid Lynx
- Living large with Linux
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Quote: “But until the majority of computer users can install an alternative operating system without having to dig around to find commands to enter into the terminal, it’s never going to take over its rightful share of the operating system market. ”
I like your article and can relate to it a great deal. I appreciate anyone willing to give more than the just mainstream a chance. However, I think the actual main reason why the Linux community isn’t as large as the Windows Community is mostly because PC Vendors haven’t got a motive for pushing it yet. If you go to buy a new computer…it’s probably going to have Windows on it.
Another thing to consider is taking two bare metal machines with No OS at all…give your Granny an Ubuntu Disk and a Win7 Disk. They will fail equally on trying to get them up and running more than likely. In many cases I’ve seen Linux installs go much easier because often you don’t have to go on the “Driver Scavenger Hunt” that you often do with Windows…but at times Linux can be a P.I.T.A. also, so I consider them pretty equal in this respect.
If you compare apples to apples I think you have a scenario where you buy two dell computers…both of which come with the OS installed and prepped so that flash player and adobe reader and all that jazz are prepped when you unbox it. The main reason you don’t see this is the Dell’s and Sony’s and Acers, and Toshibas, of the world aren’t pushing them.