Ubuntu is for everyone, not only for newbies (was: Delay auto-updates of software to reduce downtime)

[Jeff Waugh]

<quote who="Alexander Jacob Tsykin">

> Howeve,r they can use almost any system. Easy to use systems make their
> lives easier, but they don't need it the way newbies do. That is why I say
> that Ubuntu seems to be mainly targetted at new users.

It's *not*. Ubuntu is, if anything, "for human beings". That covers a pretty
wide range of skill levels.

> When you think of what a computer expert wants from his OS, you rate
> something like standards compliance quite highly, because he might need
> it. While he might appreciate ease of use features, it is not the only
> thing he will be looking for. By contrast, for the new user, it is. The
> operating system must have certain basic capabilities and be easy to use.
> That's it.

Inexpert (whether they're new or not) users don't know what they need from a
technology point of view. It turns out that things you put in the "expert"
category, such as standards compliance, are extremely important for inexpert
users too. They just won't ask for it.

"Ease of use" is of fundamental importance to *all* users. You unfortunately
call it "ease of use features", but that's not the right way to look at it.

Is a VPN GUI an "ease of use feature" or is sane distant menu triangulation
an "ease of use feature"? Both of them involve "ease of use", and both will
be useful to users of all skill levels. Inexpert users *will* be looking for
more than just "ease of user features" too: remember that they have a reason
for using the computer. It might be to sort their photos or email their mum,
rather than operate a particle accelerator or create textures for the next
Pixar [1] film, but they do care about functionality too.

Summary of what I'm saying: Don't put Ubuntu in the "inexpert/new user" bin,
and don't misplace the needs of inexpert/new users in the process. ;-)

- Jeff

[1] Happy GNOME users, btw.

-- 
linux.conf.au 2007: Sydney, Australia           http://lca2007.linux.org.au/
 
                Patches are like Free Software love letters.