[Ubuntu-PH] The state of linux is it ready for the average user?

["Yosif ali" Roque Morales]

 The state of Linux - Is it ready for the "average"
user?<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4034>

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 9:15 am

*Categories:* Linux <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?cat=26>

*Tags:* Operating System<http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/Operating+System.html>,
Linux <http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/Linux.html>,
UNIX<http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/UNIX.html>,
Operating Systems <http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/Operating+Systems.html>, Open
Source <http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/Open+Source.html>......,
Software<http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/Software.html>,
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes<http://updates.zdnet.com/tags/Adrian+Kingsley-Hughes.html>
 127 TalkBacks <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4034#comments>

   -
      -
      -
      -
      -
      -
      -
      -
      -
      -
      -

   - Print <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4034#>
   - Email<?subject=The%20state%20of%20Linux%20-%20Is%20it%20ready%20for%20the%20%22average%22%20user%3F%20%7C%20Hardware%202.0%20%7C%20ZDNet.com&body=The%20state%20of%20Linux%20-%20Is%20it%20ready%20for%20the%20%22average%22%20user%3F%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fblogs.zdnet.com%2Fhardware%2F%3Fp%3D4034%0A>
   - Thumbs Up <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4034#>Thumbs
Down<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=4034#>
   - +33
   49

The other day I realized that it had been a long time since I’d talked about
Linux as a whole as opposed to looking at specific distros. Also, over the
past few weeks I’ve spent quite a lot of time discussing Windows, in
particular Windows 7, and Apple’s Mac OS X.

*UPDATE*: Links now fixed … not sure what went wrong there, Sorry!

I’ve written quite a lot about Linux in the past, but quite a lot has
changed since then. In fact, looking back at my “Five things the Linux
community doesn’t understand about the average computer
user<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=420>”
and the follow-on “Three more things the Linux community doesn’t
get<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=424>”
I can see that a lot has changed.

*1 - On the whole, users aren’t all that dissatisfied with Windows*
Hmmm, hello … Vista!

*2 - Too many distros*
Users that start with Ubuntu won’t go far wrong.

*3 - People want certainty that hardware and software will work
*Well, while I still think that Wine has a long way to go before it allows
people to use their Windows apps on a Linux distro, hardware support has
come along well. It’s been quite a while since I remember having any
hardware-related hassles while installing a Linux distro on a newish system.

*4 - As far as most people are concerned, the command line has gone the way
of the dinosaur
*While I still go back to the command window in Linux every so often, this
is really no different to the Windows command prompt, and it’s certainly
less daunting (and far less dangerous) for the average user than having to
mess in the Windows registry.

*5 - Linux is still too geeky*
Again, I don’t think that this is relevant any more. Ubuntu has put a
friendly face on Linux.

*6 - The Mac effect
*Thanks to the irresponsibility of the big financial institutions, which
resulted in a financial meltdown, not everyone will have enough free cash
(or space on their credit card) to take the Mac route. That said, I still
think that Apple represents a greater threat to Linux than Microsoft does.

*7 - Who provides the free tech support?
*For people relying on friends of co-workers for tech support, then shifting
to Linux could be a problem (at the very least they might have to find
different tech friends). But for those confident searching online and
reading forums and blog posts, it shouldn’t be a problem.

*8 - Chill out, it’s just an operating system!
*I still find it impossible to get anywhere near as worked up about an OS as
some of you folks can.

It’s now also easier for people to take a Linux distro for a spin. Not only
do they have the option of booting up their PC using a LiveCD and having an
opportunity to play with the new OS while keeping their existing OS intact,
you also have access to technologies such as umenu and Wubi that also you to
install a Linux distro such as Ubuntu alongside your existing Windows
OS<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1570>and set up a dual boot.
Problem is I just don’t see these cool new features
being pushed anywhere near as hard as they could be pushed.

That said, I don’t think that Linux will go
mainstream<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=18> any
time soon <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=140>. Why? Because it takes
big bucks to swing user opinion and a community-driven project doesn’t have
access to the millions of dollars that a campaign like that needs. And maybe
that’s for the best, because a massive influx of users might not be good for
Linux in the long run.

The more I use Linux, the happier I become with the OS. Sure, I can’t see a
Linux distro becoming my main daily use OS, but as far as I’m concerned,
that doesn’t matter. I’ve learned a lot from using Linux
distros<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=677>,
but I still stand behind an observation I made about eighteen months ago:

Using Linux gives me a satisfying sense of “sticking it to the man,”
although at times I get the feeling that the person I’m sticking it to ends
up being me.

*You have the floor.*


-- 
Yosif Roque Santos Morales
====================
School Administrator
Asian Academy of Business and Computers
Educational Management Consultant
Professor, Sociology, Strategic Studies and Islamology
Ubuntulinux user
Linux machine # 365046.
https://sites.google.com/a/ympn.org/memltd/Home
http://lamundofloss.blogspot.com/
http://mafatihulhikmah.blogspot.com/
http://strategicresearchinstitute.blogspot.com/
Mobile number +639275642816
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-ph/attachments/20090328/afaa9ad2/attachment.html>