I want a new OS, is Ubuntu for me??

[slacker]

the problem I have had with introducing people to ubuntu is that they are unwilling to change their ways, which makes them not enjoy the experience. I guess friendly is a relative term wither operating systems. In linux sometimes problems can only be resolved with a little tinkering at the terminal, in windows sometimes you need to dive into the registry.

On either you can click the same firefox icon and get online and check your email. I guess it really depends on what you want to be doing with your computer. I have been using Mac's and Linux exclusivly for about 2 years now, but I have tinkered with vista and xp just to keep my skills current since that is what I do for a living.

 

[pdg45acp]

I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) in a VM so I can say I'm running Ubuntu.

Where do they get those names for Ubuntu versions?

Anyway, to make a long story even more painful, I actually had a "Ubuntu" service call from a place called "Markland and Park" here in town 3 weeks ago.

Apparently Klings Computer had set them up with a computer a couple years ago and when they finally got around to needing it last month they found out it had an old version of Ubuntu on it. Talk about panic.

They wanted their work system to to look just like their home computers which have XP on them.

I deleted the LINUX partition using some of the tools on Hiren's BootCD 9.5 and set up XP for them.

And that's my work related linux adventure.

Bottom line, Linux is fine until it's time to ship product out the door and you find out Grandma is used to what she has home.

 

[Episcopus]

Bottom line, Linux is fine until it's time to ship product out the door and you find out Grandma is used to what she has home.

Instead of installing windows and the various anti-virus, -spyware, and -adware programs, then spending the time to periodically check the system to make sure it is running properly and not infected by more things than Paris Hilton, you could just tell grandma that things have changed and this is just the way it is now. Or, you could keep ignoring and not using linux, but insisting that it isn't ready, or people don't understand it, or whatever.

 

[Bubbajms]

+1 - if I put Grandma in a car with a manual transmission when she's always driven an automatic, of course she wouldn't get it right of the box. She wouldn't understand a Mac, either ("Where's the Start Button?? This isn't Internet Explorer..")

Linux is fine, but it's not for everyone. Neither is Mac. Neither is Windows. So on and so forth. Tried Google's OS yet??

Don't get me wrong, Linux isn't perfect. Not one operating system that works 100% for everybody. Lots of folks dislike Windows for their upgrade process. Lots of folks dislike Mac because they charge a metric ton for their products, and they're not compatable with others. If OSX was $150 and could be installed on just about anything, Microsoft would have a serious issue to contend with.

I like linux because it's extremely stable, completely customizable and hardware versatile. I've had one freezeup thanks to doing something I shouldn't have been doing, and I corrected that and haven't had a problem that wasn't cat related since. (PS, cats walking on surge protector buttons will shut down any computer out there). I can make linux look/feel/work however I want. I've got computers that were abandoned years ago by Bill Gates and his Microsoft Machine, and they run just fine with a good linux setup. That old PII computer that wasn't good for anything, according to Microsoft, now runs well enough for Grandma to check out the weather and soap opera synopsis website..

Of course, everybody's different. I've got a CD with Vista around here someplace, and once I feel the need to get a new computer I might drop Vista on the old one to see what it's like. For now, though, Linux is doing just fine for me..

 

[indyjoe]

I put my mom (a grandma) on Ubuntu. She loves how it doesn't crash like Windows did. She had to learn a couple things, but now it always works. The only issue is currently web developers using Shockwave or whatever the latest gee whiz incompatible thing they need now.

It is also nice to be able to remote SSH in to fix anything that she needs. Tried that with Windows with varied success.

 

[pdg45acp]

Instead of installing windows and the various anti-virus, -spyware, and -adware programs, then spending the time to periodically check the system to make sure it is running properly and not infected by more things than Paris Hilton, you could just tell grandma that things have changed and this is just the way it is now. Or, you could keep ignoring and not using linux, but insisting that it isn't ready, or people don't understand it, or whatever.

If I would have pulled that stunt I wouldn't have been paid and they would have called my competition to do the job.

The customer is always right .

Edited to add: She wanted the Avery Wizard for Microsoft Office for her new mailing list, that pretty much means something Microsoft is going to get installed.

 

[Episcopus]

If I would have pulled that stunt I wouldn't have been paid and they would have called my competition to do the job.

The customer is always right .

Edited to add: She wanted the Avery Wizard for Microsoft Office for her new mailing list, that pretty much means something Microsoft is going to get installed.

Of course. I didn't mean you shouldn't do what a customer wants. I was responding more to the part about it being to weird for grandma. If I am doing mom's, or dad's or grandma's tech support, they will be running what I want to support, rather than me supporting what they want to run.

I understand that there is no convincing
some people though, especially in a business/customer relationship. You just aren't in a position to influence in that relationship.