Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Linux, despite all of it's improvements over the last decade is not ready for mass use on the desktop. It's for one non-standardized which is a problem in itself. It's also still relatively difficult for the non-enthusiast to use. Most people do not want to have to deal with the Terminal. Plus many Windows programs have Mac versions but not Linux versions, so the user would be stuck with something tedious like WINE. As soon as Linux has the standardation, ease of use, and compatibilty of Mac OS X it may be viable but today it's nowhere close to that yet. Linux is great for servers but I can't see it being rolled out to users en masse who can't even seem to figure out Windows XP.
Maybe when they said Linux they meant a Linux release for the home user like Ubuntu?
Have you installed and used Ubuntu? If you can use Windows you can use Ubuntu....
You are correct command line Linux would be difficult for the average home user but Linux has come along way since the command line interface...
IMHO the switch from XP to Win7 is as difficult as switching from XP to Ubuntu.
Maybe when they said Linux they meant a Linux release for the home user like Ubuntu?
Have you installed and used Ubuntu? If you can use Windows you can use Ubuntu....
You are correct command line Linux would be difficult for the average home user but Linux has come along way since the command line interface...
IMHO the switch from XP to Win7 is as difficult as switching from XP to Ubuntu.
It has been a couple of years since I used ubuntu but last time I did you still had to use the command line to install programs. You still had to extract packages, compile, and install. That can be quite overwhelming for people who are not tech savvy or even unix savvy. If this has been changed perhaps ubuntu may be finally becoming viable for the average user. If not, it's still by and large a geek toy.
It is actually easier to install software in Ubuntu that it is in Windows, since over 99% of the software that you need is in the repositories. All you have to do is launch Synaptic, check on the software that you want, and click 'Apply'. The software is automatically downloaded and installed. OTOH, in Windows, you have to visit various websites to download the software, save the file to your HD, and then install. Visit the wrong website and you could end up with a nasty virus.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,089,277 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by bchris02
It has been a couple of years since I used ubuntu but last time I did you still had to use the command line to install programs. You still had to extract packages, compile, and install. That can be quite overwhelming for people who are not tech savvy or even unix savvy. If this has been changed perhaps ubuntu may be finally becoming viable for the average user. If not, it's still by and large a geek toy.
Wow. It's changed a lot since then. Even Ubuntu 7.10 (the first one I tried) shielded you from the command line completely (it had two different GUI front ends for apt-get -- one simple, and the other more comprehensive), and it's up to version 10.x now.
Heck, even smaller distros like Puppy 5.11 don't require a shell these days, though Puppy's GUI isn't quite as prettified. But the latest Puppy is built using Ubuntu packages. I just plopped it on a laptop with the latest Firefox, Opera, and Chrome, added the latest OpenOffice (LibreOffice?), and was off...
It has been a couple of years since I used ubuntu but last time I did you still had to use the command line to install programs. You still had to extract packages, compile, and install. That can be quite overwhelming for people who are not tech savvy or even unix savvy. If this has been changed perhaps ubuntu may be finally becoming viable for the average user. If not, it's still by and large a geek toy.
Wow, that must have been quite some time ago last time I dinked with Ubuntu was a few years ago and never had to go to the CLI for anything.
Was just like Windows (in some cases even easier)... point and click.
Well, I'm still using a free computer I received that runs XP Pro. - grateful for it because a family member had SOLD me for $$$ a computer that ONLY will run ME (it was configured for it, supposedly the I.T. people tried to change it, no go) - so I'm hoping XP will be around for awhile (until I can afford MAC).
Well, I'm still using a free computer I received that runs XP Pro. - grateful for it because a family member had SOLD me for $$$ a computer that ONLY will run ME (it was configured for it, supposedly the I.T. people tried to change it, no go) - so I'm hoping XP will be around for awhile (until I can afford MAC).
Patches and updates for XP will continue until 2014 I believe.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
