4 ms·

"I don’t think Linux is it, because there are a few good distributions that actually are user-friendly, but at its core it’s made by nerds for nerds. For people

by lambada 14y ago

"I don’t think Linux is it, because there are a few good distributions that actually are user-friendly, but at its core it’s made by nerds for nerds. For people who understand computers, it’s awesome, because you can control the entire computer. For corporations or families, it’s not really what they want. They just want to be able to use the computer in an easy way". This sums up my thoughts on Linux - yes, I consider myself a geek, but at the end of the day, for >90% of my computing needs I just want something that works. I find the idea of Linux awesome, and my web-dev work relies on it, but for my general computer it just isn't what's needed.

mhd 14y ago
I'm not saying that I disagree with the general assessment (right now), but the line of reasoning is a bit odd. "At its core"? Well, the GNOME people did get quite a bit flack for ignoring the nerdy needs. Or are we talking technical terms? OS X is based on unix underpinnings, too. I'd argue that even Windows isn't as un-nerdy as some people might think. Most people aren't too happy about using it beyond what their work required, and then to a very superficial degree (browsers + media). (His target demographic of gamers being one noticeable exception) That's one of the reason why mobile devices (phones/tablets) are so popular, they're basically the first un-nerdy computing devices.
lunarscape 14y ago
I don't understand this reasoning. No one forces you to compile from source or even use the terminal. Likewise no one needs to touch the Windows registry or firewall settings if they don't want to. There's a distro for almost everything and there's certainly one for the unassuming family PC - Ubuntu. It passes the "Mom test" for me and keeps my technology hesitant mother very happy. Email, web browsing, online banking, photo sharing, printing/scanning just works. If anything it's easier than "that Windows thing" (as she describes it). The Dash in Unity and the Launcher 'just work' and have made computing a much more pleasant experience for her. With the exception of very occasional hardware support issues (I change printers maybe every 2 years) it's more than convinced me Ubuntu is a very viable family OS.
- danieldk 14y ago
  There's a distro for almost everything and there's certainly one for the unassuming family PC - Ubuntu. It passes the "Mom test" for me and keeps my technology hesitant mother very happy. Email, web browsing, online banking, photo sharing, printing/scanning just works. If anything it's easier than "that Windows thing" (as she describes it). Even if that were true (which I dispute, even in recent weeks GRUB broke after an upgrade on my Linux machine, resulting in an unbootable machine). What is the incentive for the average user? They already have a computer that came with Windows for 'free'. Tablets are many times simpler than either Ubuntu or Windows.
  - biomechanica 14y ago
    Under which distro did your GRUB break? Anyway, Ubuntu has become the norm in my parents household. Yes, a new laptop or computer will come with Windows pre-installed, but what happens when you need to reinstall windows? This happens more than one may think. You have to worry about installing those darn drivers off the DVD that laptop came with (sometimes, it won't even come with a Windows DVD). For my Mother this is not going to go over too well. In fact this happened and she spent an afternoon trying to install her new system. Enter Ubuntu -> Stuck in the USB key, filled in user info, clicked on what timezone to use and everything else was smooth as butter. No driver install disks. Everything just worked. Sure, mileage may vary among the newest and greatest hardware. I'll grant that. However, those same new systems come with driver CD's coupled with a lot of useless software that just so happens to be checked for install by default.
    - ajanuary 14y ago
      What happens when you need to reinstall Windows? You use the restore disc that they give you with all the drivers installed. It comes with them more often than one may think. More seriously though, I don't know a huge bunch about drivers on Linux. What makes Ubuntu better than Windows and the array of drivers it comes with?
      - gizmo686 14y ago
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
vibrunazo 14y ago
I've had a lot of success forcing my parents to Linux. I used to waste a lot of time helping them with technical problems. It was usually viruses, anti viruses or sneak ware causing problem. After Linux they have no more need for me and do all they need. My last victim was my girlfriend, if you ask her what her OS is, she has no clue. But she still use face book, games and "the spread sheet thing" with no problem. I'm sure not only Linux has become user friendly enough for main stream. But it's actually the best option for it. Maybe losing to chrome books, I still have to try those out.
- MetaCosm 14y ago
  Well -- that ratio of systems to users to supportive personal is 1:2:1 in your house. That ratio is incredible, give me a company of 50 people with 25 PCs and 25 IT people and I could get them running on nearly anything. Now, start over and format your mothers computer hand her a Linux disk and refuse to help -- now you have a better idea what the "average" user would experience.
  - scanr 14y ago
    I agree with you regarding the support ratio but disagree with you that Windows is necessarily easier to install on a blank machine. I think that an uninformed user would probably struggle just as much with a blank computer and a Windows install disk as a blank computer and a Linux install disk. In fact, I'd argue that right now some distributions of Linux may even have the advantage since it gets used in that context far more often (most people have Windows pre-installed). I suspect we may need a scientific test to know for sure.
    - pooriaazimi 14y ago
      Certainly. But a user that's a tiny bit above average can (I hope) probably google around to find a screencast or article about how to isntall Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8. It's a million times easier, because the options are limited (just a few Windows versions are around). On the other hand, we have millions of Linux distros, with folks like Ubuntu giving out new versions on a quarterly basis and often change, move or tweak small things in the installation panels which makes it very hard for the non-geek user to install, say, 12.04 if they're watching a YouTube video about how to install Ubuntu 11.10. I absolutely hate Windows, but sadly it's much more user friendly than Linux. Thankfully, OS X is still around.

by lambada 14y ago

mhd 14y ago

I'm not saying that I disagree with the general assessment (right now), but the line of reasoning is a bit odd. "At its core"? Well, the GNOME people did get quite a bit flack for ignoring the nerdy needs. Or are we talking technical terms? OS X is based on unix underpinnings, too. I'd argue that even Windows isn't as un-nerdy as some people might think. Most people aren't too happy about using it beyond what their work required, and then to a very superficial degree (browsers + media). (His target demographic of gamers being one noticeable exception) That's one of the reason why mobile devices (phones/tablets) are so popular, they're basically the first un-nerdy computing devices.

lunarscape 14y ago

I don't understand this reasoning. No one forces you to compile from source or even use the terminal. Likewise no one needs to touch the Windows registry or firewall settings if they don't want to. There's a distro for almost everything and there's certainly one for the unassuming family PC - Ubuntu. It passes the "Mom test" for me and keeps my technology hesitant mother very happy. Email, web browsing, online banking, photo sharing, printing/scanning just works. If anything it's easier than "that Windows thing" (as she describes it). The Dash in Unity and the Launcher 'just work' and have made computing a much more pleasant experience for her. With the exception of very occasional hardware support issues (I change printers maybe every 2 years) it's more than convinced me Ubuntu is a very viable family OS.

danieldk 14y ago
There's a distro for almost everything and there's certainly one for the unassuming family PC - Ubuntu. It passes the "Mom test" for me and keeps my technology hesitant mother very happy. Email, web browsing, online banking, photo sharing, printing/scanning just works. If anything it's easier than "that Windows thing" (as she describes it). Even if that were true (which I dispute, even in recent weeks GRUB broke after an upgrade on my Linux machine, resulting in an unbootable machine). What is the incentive for the average user? They already have a computer that came with Windows for 'free'. Tablets are many times simpler than either Ubuntu or Windows.
- biomechanica 14y ago
  Under which distro did your GRUB break? Anyway, Ubuntu has become the norm in my parents household. Yes, a new laptop or computer will come with Windows pre-installed, but what happens when you need to reinstall windows? This happens more than one may think. You have to worry about installing those darn drivers off the DVD that laptop came with (sometimes, it won't even come with a Windows DVD). For my Mother this is not going to go over too well. In fact this happened and she spent an afternoon trying to install her new system. Enter Ubuntu -> Stuck in the USB key, filled in user info, clicked on what timezone to use and everything else was smooth as butter. No driver install disks. Everything just worked. Sure, mileage may vary among the newest and greatest hardware. I'll grant that. However, those same new systems come with driver CD's coupled with a lot of useless software that just so happens to be checked for install by default.
  - ajanuary 14y ago
    What happens when you need to reinstall Windows? You use the restore disc that they give you with all the drivers installed. It comes with them more often than one may think. More seriously though, I don't know a huge bunch about drivers on Linux. What makes Ubuntu better than Windows and the array of drivers it comes with?
    - gizmo686 14y ago

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

vibrunazo 14y ago

I've had a lot of success forcing my parents to Linux. I used to waste a lot of time helping them with technical problems. It was usually viruses, anti viruses or sneak ware causing problem. After Linux they have no more need for me and do all they need. My last victim was my girlfriend, if you ask her what her OS is, she has no clue. But she still use face book, games and "the spread sheet thing" with no problem. I'm sure not only Linux has become user friendly enough for main stream. But it's actually the best option for it. Maybe losing to chrome books, I still have to try those out.

MetaCosm 14y ago
Well -- that ratio of systems to users to supportive personal is 1:2:1 in your house. That ratio is incredible, give me a company of 50 people with 25 PCs and 25 IT people and I could get them running on nearly anything. Now, start over and format your mothers computer hand her a Linux disk and refuse to help -- now you have a better idea what the "average" user would experience.
- scanr 14y ago
  I agree with you regarding the support ratio but disagree with you that Windows is necessarily easier to install on a blank machine. I think that an uninformed user would probably struggle just as much with a blank computer and a Windows install disk as a blank computer and a Linux install disk. In fact, I'd argue that right now some distributions of Linux may even have the advantage since it gets used in that context far more often (most people have Windows pre-installed). I suspect we may need a scientific test to know for sure.
  - pooriaazimi 14y ago
    Certainly. But a user that's a tiny bit above average can (I hope) probably google around to find a screencast or article about how to isntall Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8. It's a million times easier, because the options are limited (just a few Windows versions are around). On the other hand, we have millions of Linux distros, with folks like Ubuntu giving out new versions on a quarterly basis and often change, move or tweak small things in the installation panels which makes it very hard for the non-geek user to install, say, 12.04 if they're watching a YouTube video about how to install Ubuntu 11.10. I absolutely hate Windows, but sadly it's much more user friendly than Linux. Thankfully, OS X is still around.