Poll: What’s Stopping You from Trying Ubuntu?
Ubuntu is like that strip mall that they put up near your old high school that you only drive past once every Thanksgiving. Maybe you’ve never pulled in and patronized it, but each time you see it, you notice something new: “Oh wow, they’ve got a Culver’s now.”
For me, that attitude towards Ubuntu has recently changed. Due to some technical difficulties with my main work computer, I’ve been using my Ubuntu netbook full-time for the past few days. So far, the experience has been very positive.
What is Ubuntu and How to Get Started
For those who aren’t familiar with Ubuntu, Ubuntu is just about the most user-friendly distribution of Linux that you’ll find. It’s maintained by a group called Canonical, and they release a new version of Ubuntu every six months. Ubuntu is by far the closest thing you’ll get to a Microsoft Windows-like experience without shelling out hundreds of dollars. That’s because it’s free.
Although you’ll often hear geeks and hackers extol the virtues of Linux, you don’t have to be a geek to use Linux. Ubuntu has a lot to do with that, and over the years, they’ve done an awe-inspiring job of getting Linux to work “out-of-the-box” for novice to intermediate users. After my recent re-evaluation of Ubuntu, I think Ubuntu is definitely ready for the mainstream. In fact, given the increasingly high costs of Windows and Mac software, I’m surprised more users aren’t fleeing to the land of the free (i.e., open-source).
So, I’m curious to hear from you: Why you haven’t tried Ubuntu?
Summing Up
For me, it was because I couldn’t live without certain programs. But in the interceding years since I last tried Ubuntu full-time, much of what I do for work or play has migrated onto the web. So now, it hardly matters what OS I’m using, as long as it supports the Chrome Browser.
I guess that your answers will likely be similar, and I’d like to devote a few groovyPosts to addressing those concerns. I believe that Ubuntu can achieve virtually anything that Windows or OS X can without an inordinate amount of hassle. So, tell me why you are reluctant or afraid to use Ubuntu–I’ll be using your feedback to cobble together a comprehensive groovy guide to Ubuntu that should get you up and running with Linux as your everyday operating system.
11 Comments
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
alexmvp
April 12, 2011 at 10:09 am
Great post. I have an old computer running Windows XP still because it’s not powerful enough to run Windows 7. Perhaps it’s time to run Ubuntu…???
My main reason for not switching (as I listed in the survey) is I’m worried all the hardware won’t be supported IE: my printer, my USB mouse and my video card etc…. I don’t play games on that small box but if I were to think about putting it on my MAIN box (Ubuntu) that would probably be why I don’t run it on my main box. Games :)
grooveDexter
April 12, 2011 at 11:25 am
I’d suggest trying a ubuntu build in a virtualbox. You can test it out risk free that way.
anon
April 12, 2011 at 11:24 am
No Trim support without jumping through loops for SSD’s. No PC Gaming, wine sux. No gfx card overclocking without jumping through loops. Driver problems for 5800 series gfx card. Gotta really jump through loops for Sensors for temp n voltage readings, apt-get install bunch of stuff then configuring with sudo gedit.
Monitor resolution problems, gotta edit xrandr & xorg, then if u mess up with those two, the OS can break easy not displaying screen”think they remove xorg in newer version and replaced with xrandr”.
Used ubuntu from Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog) to Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala). Messed with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) & Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) a couple times. At the time I was using 4.10 – 9.10, I had a Pentium 3. Now that I have a powerful system, its all about Windows7.
The only time I use or touch ubuntu nowadays is for v
netbootin with 10.10 on a USB stick to secure erase my SSD when needed, every 7 months or so.
groovinJackman
April 12, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Thanks for your feefback, anon — those are some very valid concerns and I’m glad to hear from someone who’s used Ubuntu extensively.
While I agree 100% that those frustrations would be a dealbreaker for me, I’m not sure that casual users would encounter those issues.
And that’s a very good point re: having a computer that’s powerful enough to run Windows 7. Perhaps some of our guides should be geared more towards people who want to rehabilitate/reinvigorate older machines, like your former Pentium 3. I’m noticing some sluggishness these days even on my EEEPC with a 1.6 GHZ ATOM N20
johnl
April 13, 2011 at 9:53 am
I tried Ubuntu and quite liked it but it never felt like an OS I could use every day as I always felt there were limitations on what I could do with it compared to Windows. I did try a comparison about three years ago and put XP on one computer and the most recent copy of Ubuntu on the other to see how much quicker it was only to find it was actually slower. The other thing I learned was never to follow the instructions to update the OS. It took over 18 hours. Just wipe it and start again, it is far faster.
The biggest turn off for me and it is a complete deal breaker is that Windows is far easier to use and Windows 7 is just so good. I am not a complete geek and get no pleasure at all from using and learning command lines when I really don’t think they are necessary. I should add that if I were a more basic user of computers, and forgetting the command line issues, then I would use Ubuntu. But I’m not and I won’t.
k singh
May 7, 2011 at 12:50 am
Well I did installed Ubuntu thrice. Twice besides XP and once besides win 7. It is great, No Doubt. But still Win OS is more easier to understand and run.
I can bet, if Ubuntu becomes more easier to install and technically easier to anybody/all Win OS will fail ultimately.
please try to make it easy going for one and all.
thanx.
John Lewis
May 14, 2020 at 5:35 am
Why would I want to install ubuntu when I’ve been using the distro ubuntu was derived from for the last 20+ years. Debian is just as easy to install, I happen to prefer the Gnome2 desktop to anything else so switched to Mate when the gnome developers moved from Gnome2 to Gnome3.
Daniel
May 25, 2020 at 7:56 pm
Lets get brutally real here guys:
1. Drivers
2. Apps
3. Usability
4. 2 other companies own the market and they don’t like to share.
I have tried them all over a 20 something year span and it all boils down to the same conclusions.
IF you need to go for a good long jog right away and have a choice of putting on the old comfy runners or break in a brand new pair, which do you choose?
Ubuntu would not be my choice of OS but I do love Linux and both of my kids have been using it on their home computers for years; which tells the old tale: “all behavior is learned”
Without billion dollar Bill and his Apple Nemesis, we would likely all be using Linux……
Will Holman
August 7, 2020 at 8:36 am
I’d love to switch to Ubuntu but two things are stopping me shifting from Mac OS X. Firstly, I have a massive iTunes library and hundreds of playlists that I’ve made over a period of many years. Whatever music player I used in Ubuntu, Rhythmbox for example, would have to be able to import these playlists intact, as they mean a lot to me.
Secondly, I have thousands of photos in Mac Photos, and again, many are grouped in folders. So I’d also need a photo manager that could import these and keep them intact.
Show me how to do these two things and I’m in!
John Mecham
December 21, 2020 at 6:29 am
I’m as far from being a techy as they come. The fact that I’m reading this article and making a comment at the bottom is strange. Oh how I hate distraction… But here I am, for one reason, I want an OS that will play nicely with iphones and android phones. It is looking like microsoft will be trying to answer that “call,” now that they have officially ditched any attempt to be a player in the smartphone market. Makes sense for them, with their huge user base, to be the middleman. They may be able to pull it off where I’m guessing any linux platform couldn’t
Perhaps too tall of an order, but if Ubuntu proves to be the OS most capable of playing nicely with both ios and android devices, then I would be in!
Liam Flint
January 3, 2022 at 4:18 am
Heyy,
Recently I planned to upgrade from spotify to apple music but I was in a fix as my playlists would vanish. But then I found this useful tool called MusConv.com which helped me in migration of playlists. I am grateful for it. Do check it out!