Comments on: Types of desktop Linux adoption barriers

By: Aleajandro

Aleajandro — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 01:44:03 +0000

My belief is that most of these are consequences of a low market share. And I’m sure that some ARE more critical than others (for example, I don’t think the learning curve can get much lower… often Linux isn’t difficult, just different).

Finally, I think some PR is needed. Linux and OS X have a comparable market share (Linux is actually more widespread in Argentina than OS X), yet OS X gets more third-party support (for example, from ISPs). I think that has to do with an image problem: Linux is seen by companies (and not just potential users) as being for geeks, and “not ready for the desktop”, therefore they presume that any Linux user will troubleshoot him or herself. This is different from advertising, but related to usage share in general.

In any case, Ubuntu is doing the right thing, by enabling new users to switch easily.

Eugenio: está perfecto lo que hacés. Yo lo hice hace seis meses, y fue exactamente igual. Una vez que estuve cómodo con el Live CD, lo instalé en uno de mis discos rígidos. A los pocos meses borré mi partición de Windows, que jamás usaba.

By: Christopher Rios

Christopher Rios — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:56:02 +0000

Great article. I’m primarily a Mac user and when kids (I teach) ask me about what kind of laptop they should get for college I basically run down the same list you just posted. I basically tell them, “If you’re willing to commit and familiarize yourself with OS X then you’ll be fine, but if you just want a system like Windows, then stick with Windows.” Now I’m preparing to purchase a laptop and I’m going to load it up with Ubuntu so that my wife will have a system at home for email and the net. I’ve been digging into the terminal and using a lot more command line (for the fun of it) and I feel like I’m adequately prepared for any problems that may arise under Ubuntu. I’ve been messing around with a live CD to get accustomed to the OS. I’m really looking forward to the experience.

By: emvigo

emvigo — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:30:49 +0000

You’re right. I wish I could have done this earlier, but I don’t want to get a problem while having work to do with my laptop. Thanks for your support! Ah, I’ve used you website a lot and it was really helpful, specially about partition!

By: ubuntucat

ubuntucat — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:46:14 +0000

Eugenio, I think your concerns are valid. The most catastrophic mistake you can make, however, is accidentally erasing your personal data. If you back that up, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you somehow render installed Ubuntu unable to boot, you’ll always have the live CD to be able to research answers on the web… or reinstall, if necessary. I think you’ll be just fine. Everybody gets the jitters whenever a big day approaches.

By: emvigo

emvigo — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:49:02 +0000

Hi, I’m planning to do the step to Ubuntu when I get into holidays (next week!), have made mayself very familiar with it thanks to the Live CD, have written a “migration schedule” so I don’t miss anything, but now that “Day-D” is near, I’m beginning to feel a bit afraid. Sometimes I think: “What if it is a catastrophic mistake? What if it just don’t work?… Maybe wait for Gusty Gibbon?…”.

I know I’ll finally will do the migration, because I’m convinced Ubuntu is a far better OS than Windows (I know about computing a bit, so I can see the subtle differences), but if I have doubts, imagine how unsure “average” people surely are. (and this lead them to make terrible mistakes like quickly giving up when their encounter the first issue).

Cheers!
Eugenio

By: zodmaner

zodmaner — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 05:21:21 +0000

Nice article, you pretty much nailed it. Here in Thailand, 100% of computer sold come preinstalled with Windows. You’ve got no choice at all, but the worse part is: Acer is selling a laptop preinstalled with Linpus Linux, BUT! It is installed in such a way that it is unusable, there is no X Window System, no Gnome, KDE, Thai language supports, basically nothing but a kernel and a shell.

And what people here do after they brought these laptops? They deleted Linux and install a pirated copy of Windows XP on top (heck, some computer store would even install the ‘unlicensed’ copy of Windows XP for you, free of charge to boot!).

Whice is sad, really, because we have many Linux distributions that are made here in Thailad, with better support for Thai language and all of the features that you come to expect from full fledge Linux distribution. The fact that Acer ignores all these local distributions and went with Linpus Linux (which is a Taiwanese distribution) baffles me. Why won’t they just sell a blank machine, instate of giving Linux a bad reputation here by preinstalled a cripple version of it, is beyond me.