Not Happy with ShipIt

[Al Gordon]

On 7/22/05, Mustafa Abbasi <lordverminard at gmail.com> wrote:
>  you said you want it for a install fest.
>  that means these ppl are clearly interested in linux and ubuntu.
>  so i think they would be happy with burned discs CD-Rs
>  also if the cowards aren't willing to take a risk then clearly linux is not
> for them.
>  using linux for the first time is no ride in the park.
>  i had used fedora and suse before using ubuntu yet a still had to install 
>  it 5 times in the first 2 days.
>  and besides if they are  

Hi, Mustafa.

>  that means these ppl are clearly interested in linux and ubuntu.

Interested in Linux: Very probably.  Interested in Ubuntu?  Maybe not.
 Where I live, a lot of people who are just starting to get involved
with Linux have heard names like "Red Hat", SuSE", and even...
"Linspire".  (shudder!)

My experiences with installfests have been that some people show up
with their PCs under their arm, wondering if they're making the right
decision to drop Windows and switch to Linux.  Probably 80% or more of
the new-to-Linux people I see at installfests tend to want their PCs
to dual-boot, since they want an easy escape route back to Windows,
"just in case".  So, even with people who seem to be interested in
trying out Linux, there's often still a little bit of "selling"
involved, to get them to let us install Linux on their PC.

I've seen people standing around, watching Linux get installed, making
their decisions based on other peoples' experience with the install. 
"Shiny" installers (like SuSE's last few editions, for example) tend
to put new users at ease with the thought of resizing their Windows
partition and making room for something else (something better!) on
their hard drives.  And, the fact that there is professionally
produced media floating around that people are installing from also
makes a certain impression.  Self-burned media, to someone who is not
as knowledgeable about Linux distros as most of the people on this
list, comes across as something that might be the current "flavor of
the month", rather than something that's going to be supported.

I have heard back from a member of the Ubuntu team, but I'm not sure
if he's actually directly involved with the ShipIt
process/people/whatever.  I was told that we'd have to be put on a
priority list, but that the list for Breezy doesn't exist yet. 
Hopefully my non-priority CDs for Hoary arrive before October. ;)

There is supposed to be an announcement when the priority list is
opening up.  I think that this is great news.  And, while I do
understand the sentiment of "don't comlain, it's free", I'm glad to
see that there seems to be some improvement going on with ShipIt.  To
me, that's awesome news.

Maybe I should change the subject line for further discussion on this
thread to "Slightly more happy with ShipIt."

-- 

  -- AL --