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Ubuntu 9.04 For the Windows Power User
crazipper writes "Know a Windows power user who is (honestly) good with technology, but hasn't yet warmed to Linux? Tom's Hardware just posted a guide to installing and using Ubuntu 9.04, written specifically for the MS crowd (in other words, it talks about file systems, mount points, app installation, etc). Hopefully, by the end, your 'friend' will realize just how easy Ubuntu can be to use and start down a long path of exploration with a new operating system."
Dr. Pepper is not a valid substitute for Mr. Pibb.
What I've found is that many Windows users are quite happy to try other operating systems, especially free systems like Linux. They download MS Virtual PC, install the distro, fiddle with it for a while, then return to their Windows world.
It's not so much that there is something wrong with Linux that makes them reject it. It's not even really rejecting Linux so much as simply not finding their needs satisfied on the system.
Maybe it's lack of apps. Maybe it's lack of quality. Maybe it's the pain of actually migrating over all their data.
Whatever it is, Windows users usually seem to find their way back to Windows because it just does what they need. Emulating the look and feel of Windows isn't going to change the fact that their needs aren't satisfied by Linux.
"Then your friend can start down a long path of exploration with a new operating system."
Gosh, the summary makes it sound so fun. As a technically proficient windows user, I can't wait to start relearning everything for no apparent reason.
When somebody is a "Windows power user":
a) he's really a Computer power user. You cannot be a "X power user" without knowing the internals, and of course all the explanation about filesystem and mountpoints is useless.
b) he doesn't need a "guide" to download an iso, burn it and follow a series of on-screen instructions to install anything.
Taking into account a) and b), probably your "windows power user" has already tasted some flavor of linux and decided to stay in Windows (inferred because he's a "Windows power user" and not a "linux power user"). If it wasn't the case, i.e. if he never tried a distro, it was probably because he heard some of the limitations of linux compared to windows (only a bunch of commercial games, no photoshop/whatever, etc.) and then no guide is going to convince him to change.
Or are we talking about another kind of "power user"? Maybe "average-but-no-stupid windows user" fits better with the TFA.
I purchased a bargain laptop not too long ago with Vista pre-installed, and I gotta say on a low spec computer it was a pretty painful experience. So my girlfriend convinced me to give Ubuntu a shot, and I gotta say I am really happy with it.
There has been a bit of a learning curve, and I honestly wished there was a built in tutorial explaining the OS better then just an on-line guide. Something that could directly compared the various tools directly to windows (Took me a while to figure out that you had to go to sessions to alter your startup) would have been EXTREMELY useful in my beginning days of Ubuntu.
I hardly see how this is a tutorial for "power users." The article makes out the terminal to be a big bad scary thing, but you'd think that most power users would at least be familiar with Start | Run | "cmd" | "ipconfig".
I've met plenty of Windows enthusiasts that are either uncomfortable or outright hostile towards the use of a command line. This despite Microsoft themselves coming to admit the usefulness in such a thing.
While I agree about not helping them install Linux for similar reasons, I don't think it has anything to do with your friend calling you up at 1AM. Only a total jackass would call you at 1AM for something that trivial unless they know you're awake.
Not really.
Ubuntu uses Debian as a base, and while they have a lot of similarities they also have a lot of differences (Ubuntu is more concerned with flashy new features and user accessibility than stability or security). CentOS on the other hand is basically RHEL minus Red Hat's trademarks and live support.
I say knowing several operating systems is better than knowing just one. In my life I used MS-DOS 3, Windows 3.1 for workgroups, AmigaOS, Windows 98 SE, Windows XP, BeOS, SuSE 9.1, OpenSuSE, and right now I'm using Xubuntu 9.04 (starting from version 6.10). I ran ReactOS from a livecd. I also emulate Haiku, Slackware, Debian and ReactOS. I'm 15 years old, and certainly going to try more operating systems in the future.
No ascii art.
It's mostly an age thing IMHO. Windows "power users" that never used anything pre-95 often don't know anything about the good old command prompt; even basic stuff like copying or renaming files.
As I read the negative posts, I just can't shake the feeling that many of them are professional astroturfers making sure the false FUD message "Linux isn't easy" gets spread thick and heavy. The tone and structure of the posts is just too... tidy.
So last weekend, I buy/build a new computer. My intentions are to use this as a Media PC for my basement. XBMC is awesome, and now runs on Linux. Great, let's get some practce using Linux.
Installation of Ubuntu is a breeze. So easy, very fast. (It's a good thing too). Ubuntu boots up fast, and even output it's video through the HDMI port on the back without any additional configuration. AWESOME!!
Cool, time to start installing apps. This is going to be running XBMC, so let's install. I go to xbmc.org click download, then choose Linux. Apperantly there is no download for linux, you use the package manager. Okay a little different than Windows, but sounds kinda fun. Sure.
So I learn about packages, and package managers, and adding third party software repositories, and signing keys. So far so good.
I follow the instructions, add some links to the third party source. I get key signing error messages (even though I followed the instructions 5[!] times trying to get it working). I give up on that, and just ignore the scary warning messages.
So I open the synaptic package manager and install the xbmc core. Everything goes great. A new entry is added to the "start menu" and all! It launches first try!
Cool, let's get some skins, from another thrird party source. I add it to the software sources again and reopen SPM to download. Download some skins but I guess I selected something wrong, because at next reboot, the computer will not boot to a windowed environment. All I get is the command line login and my password/user combo does not work. Lame.
Reinstall Ubuntu. Re add software sources. Can't find XBMC anymore! WTF?!?! It was worked last time. Reinstall ubuntu, still not working. GRR. Reinstall Ubuntu. No dice. anyways on the 5th time I got it working again. Still not sure where I went wrong.
Here are my thoughts on Ubuntu:
1) Installation is awesome.
2) Adding third party software is a MAJOR PAIN IN THE ASS!!! Following instrustions meant for a noob, I screwed it up 3/5 times. I swear I can follow instructions. I earn a living on fixing comptuer problems and following instructions.
3) Why do Linux programs close themselves? I dont' think they are crashing. Like I add a software source then hit close, it updates, gives me an error about my key not working, then terminates! So I have to reopen it.
4) Step 3 gave me an error, so naturally, I copied it to the clipboard. I click on okay and the error dissapears, terminating the program. My error, that WAS in the clipboard is now gone... Awesome.
5) Key signing for software packages is a pain in the ass & comlpicated. Surely there can be an easier way to get this working. How about downloading a file that contains the software source, and the key togeather and then import the file? I still can't get this thing working...
6) Synaptic Software manager's sorting is crappy. I open it up search for xbmc and see packages availalbe for installation. I can click the column headers and sort, but for some reason, when I select a package, the list unsorts! This makes it hard to select packages of similar type (skins in this case).
Overall, I think that Ubuntu is pretty cool, and I can't wait to learn more. However, given the issues that I came across, this is still not ready for the masses. Software installation is too convoluted and hard. I want to click to download, then click to install. Clipboard should not kill your data if the host program has been terminated. Programs should not terminate with no warning. Sorted lists should not unsort for no reason. Installs that will make your computer unusable should come with a warning.
I don't want to sound like Ubuntu is a POS, because that is not the case. I am impressed with a number of aspects, but there are sill a number of usability issues, IMO.
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By coincidence, a friend's Vista computer stopped booting after a series of power blackouts. Recovery disk didn't work. It was the straw that broke the Vista's camel's back. I suggested Linux, not expecting to be taken up on it. She said bring it on. I burned the latest version of Knoppix and Ubuntu and brought them to her. As it turned out, I didn't get a chance to explain what the point was of those two disks and she ended up taking them home and using them absolutely cold. Incredibly, between her and her son, also not a power user, they ended up installing and using Ubuntu. She got on FaceBook last night declaring she will never go back to Vista. She "shouted" it because her caps lock was stuck "on". As I posted a lengthy description of how to troubleshoot it, she fixed it herself. She says she really likes it, but she leaves open the possibility of going back to Windows 7. Incidentally, I use Gentoo, so I have little idea what she went through in the install. My impression is that Ubuntu Linux is ready for the Desktop.
Take what you said about 1am and switch Linux with Windows XP, add a scanner and email, and change friend to mother. There you have my situation, she also has games she does not want to part with.
I REALLY don't want to think what it will be like to switch my mother off XP to Vista or Windows 7. I learned this lesson the hard way when I switched her from 98 to XP. Whole new ball game for her, I may as well put Linux on there at that point.
I'm not sure her games will work in Vista or 7 either. She won't settle for some other implementation, it has to be the one's she plays which work on XP.
** Free sample **
From Mother: Why do I have to load XP if I have Windows 7?
From Me: Because it doesn't work in Windows 7, they gave you Windows XP on top of that to do this.
From Mother: Why doesn't it just work? Why do I have to go through all this to get XP running and then run my game?
From Me: Because they want to get you off XP.
From Mother: Why? I paid for it!
From Me: *sigh*
From Mother: What a racket!
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
1) Who needs Microsoft Office? The answer is: unless you're in a corporate environment, almost no one. OpenOffice.org works just fine for Aunt Tillie who needs to write letters and keep her recipes on the computer. And even those in a corporate environment have gotten by with out it.
I wouldn't be so sure of that. I agree that OO okay for people that just need to type something and print it, but EVERYBODY ELSE uses MS Office. It's become the standard whether people like it or not and OO doesn't handle the formatting well enough to be a replacement yet. If you need to share electronic documents of any real complexity with anybody else, it's just not good enough.
2) Photoshop is not needed by nearly as many people as you might think. Unless you're a professional photographer or a serious amateur, Photoshop is simply overkill. Krita and GIMP will meet the needs of 99% of anybody who needs photo editing, including a lot of those professionals and prosumers.
Agreed, but it's hard to convince people of that when Photoshop has become a verb.
3) iTunes is reported to run under Wine.
Really? Most of the contributers on it's WineHQ AppDB page are BRONZE or GARBAGE. Maybe it runs for some people, but that's hardly the same as WORKING. That's not a solution for a typical user.
4) I don't stream Netflix, but have heard that you can do it under Linux.
No recent knowledge of this one, but I tried a few months back and it was a futile exercise. Where'd you hear that?
5) Playing what games? There are plenty of native Linux games. Oh, you mean playing the latest-and-greatest RTS/MMORPG/FPS/etc.? Well, if that's your bag, then you need Windows. BTW--you're still in the minority of computer users.
Native games aren't Windows games. People want to play the game their friends are playing or that they saw on TV.
6) There are ways of playing Blu-Rays on Linux....
I have no direct knowledge of this one, but your typical user is most likely not going to get it working.
The confidence of ignorance will always overcome the indecision of knowledge.
Add Plan 9, OS/2, Solaris, and a BSD to your list.
I used andlinux at work when i needed those linux apps. It runs a fully functional install of ubuntu (running the colinux kernel) with full access to the ubuntu repositories. Granted it doesn't get rid of the non-unified file structure of windows, but the unified file system of linux is something that I find just as annoying and apparently enough people do that debian's file system icon takes you to a separated view with individual drives. NMAP and other network tools worked with some fiddling, and I could still use the windows only apps at full speed without emulation or wine.
Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
people don't use computers for their operating systems, they use them for the apps.
Somebody please mod the parent comment up, if only for this insightful and completely accurate comment. I am anonymous, and a coward, but this to me highlights the second-greatest stumbling block that Linux systems face in the MS-centric apps world. (FYI, the greatest stumbling block is the GUI-centric focus of MS users, who would in all places prefer to see a radio button or a checkbox than a command-line switch. Several platforms such as Ubuntu and Fedora have been actively working on this, to great success I might add...)
The most unfortunate conundrum that MS users who want to 'make the leap' to Linux face is that, once they do, the majority of their legacy programs and games will not 'just work' as they did on MS. Much fiddling, tweaking and messing about is required, and while Wine has helped greatly with this, the usage list is limited, and setting up a 'new' application to run under it (or troubleshooting an 'established' application, for that matter) is not very intuitive to non-Linux users.
True, for *almost* every MS-based app there is an equivalent open source Linux-based app that works just as well if not better, but not so for games and the lesser-known applications that some people have come to love. I am a big fan of the PortableApps suite, for instance, because of the small and portable footprints of several well-loved programs. I understand some people are working on a Linux version, but I highly doubt the final product would have the polish and ease-of-use as the Windows-based portable apps. (Yes, I know that the bulk of the PortableApps are based on opensource Linux projects that have been ported to Windows, but the portability is the key...I can't install the normal distro of OpenOffice, for example, move it to a thumb drive and then have it work on other computers that I plug my thumb drive into...)
Perhaps what would help propagate Linux the most would be an actual emulator service (instead of 'Wine Is NOT an Emulator') that runs on startup, detects when an application is trying to install 'in a Windows fashion' (i.e., registry mods, trying to add dll's to Windows directories, etc.) and actually emulates the required components of the Windows platform to suit? I have no idea what would be involved in that, not being a programmer, but as an end user if I had reasonable confidence that all my little helper windows apps would be able to 'just work' on a particular Linux distro, without having to tweak and primp and mod endless system or program variables, I'd so be there.
(of course, the down side to that would be potentially opening Linux distros up to every little Windows virus and exploit out there...no such thing as perfection, I guess...)
...have you seen the Windows command line?
cmd.exe deserves nothing less than open hostility.
There's always Powershell... Pretty smartly designed, IMO.
Bow-ties are cool.
And how is that different then friends running windows calling you at 2am?
Because:
I had promised to help him whenever he had problems.
I was young, naive and did the "switch to Linux! It's easy! I'll help you with any problems you have!" thing.
I think he still uses Fedora as his primary desktop now, many years later. It worked out in the end but it was far more work than I expected, so think twice about converting your non-techie friends to Linux!
n.b. "Windows Power Users" are non-techie. Real nerds convert themselves to Unix!
Nick
What advantages does it have over, let's say, Windows XP?
Virtual desktops that don't suck. A command line that doesn't suck. KIOslaves. Windowshading. sshd. Screen. Apt-get.
It's not so much the apps, but the workflow is so much nicer in Linux.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
It's like knowing multiple languages, or multiple cultures, or multiple cuisines. You can see how different things got made in ways different ways. It also encourages to find out interesting things about the operating systems you are already familiar with, and gives new ideas when solving problems. I always try to expand my knowledge and keep an open mind, knowing that there are many interesting things out there.
No ascii art.
You say that like it's a bad thing. If you know what you're doing, there's loads of useless crap in the Windows directory.
This is modded funny, but it's no joke. The windows directory has a ton of stuff which hardly anybody ever uses. Nlite can help a lot with this issue — basically, it lets you customize your windows installation CD, remove all of the components which you don't need, and while you're at it, slipstream the latest service pack, updates, and any settings you want preconfigured. Pretty nifty.