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Linux should be something you have to do yourself
by Narhem 2y ago
Linux should be something you have to do yourself
- sholladay 2y agoSo I guess screw the non-techies, then? No on-ramp for them means they can’t learn very easily.
- tocs3 2y agoI have been using an Ubuntu favor for more than a decade and find it easier than Windows when installing an OS. The user interface is about the same a Windows. It is not as easy as buying a computer with the OS installed but is not technically difficult to follow the installation instructions. If you are wondering what it is like you can install it on an inexpensive USB stick and try it without installing anything.
- lotsoweiners 2y agoI know plenty of people who have no idea an OS can be installed/reinstalled.
- sholladay 2y agoJust the fact that you aware of a particular Linux distro indicates that you are a techie. Most people haven’t even heard of Ubuntu. Among those that have, many of them are convinced that using Linux means using the command line, which they consider either scary or confusing. It’s an uphill battle. I’m kind of surprised Canonical hasn’t done more consumer education / marketing. But it’s not entirely untrue, either, albeit the Ubuntu GUI can take you pretty far. I like Ubuntu and I agree that it has a pretty good install UX. But I’ve still had driver issues even with common hardware, as most Linux users have at one point or another. Updates aren’t quite as straightforward compared to Windows/macOS, as it involves using `apt` to properly prepare for an update, etc. It’s a technical operating system, optimized for people who understand technology. It’s very good at that, let’s just be honest about it. For non-techies to adopt Ubuntu, various changes will be needed. One of them is for Ubuntu to be an easy and advertised option on a new computer that a non-techie would buy (meaning, custom rigs or niche manufacturers don’t count). They need an on-ramp.
- fragmede 2y agoTo my surprise, you can actually get Linux Mint laptops from HP and Lenovo off Amazon these days. So the remaining question is how to get users to buy them instead of Windows computers.
- sholladay 2y agoApple ran macOS ads for years, with good reason. Canonical needs to get their priorities straight. “Build it and they will come” works to some degree for enthusiasts, but not for the masses.
- kjkjadksj 2y agoSomehow people figure out how to install linux today on their own, seems easy enough. 40 million people managed to install ubuntu.
- sholladay 2y ago40 million is a drop in the bucket in the computing world. That’s barely 10% of the United States’ population. Maybe that number could be higher if people were told about it and given an option when buying their computer.
- kjkjadksj 2y agoStill if 40 million people managed to do something, I would not call that insurmountable.
- Narhem 2y agoYou are on a site meant for tech webs. Please side.
- kube-system 2y agoMake computers kits again
- Narhem 2y agoHonestly would be pretty awesome. With the harassment of cheaters though I barely have time to work on my own stuff.