What is Digg?121 Comments
- martalli, on 12/27/2007, -0/+46Actually, the original Economist article referred to the economic value of linux. They really came down on the side of lower cost hardware/better longevity of hardware, better security, and the variety, quality, and price of the software. They said that at some point corporate America will realize that a $500 computer running Linux can do most of the same tasks as a $1000 computer running Windows (with another $200 for MS Office).
The direct link to the Economist article is:
http://economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?stor ... - Stradenko, on 12/27/2007, -1/+30Linux is the source of Ubuntu's rise.
- m0zzie, on 12/27/2007, -4/+32That's a big call to make. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's the "source of Linux's rise", no way. It certainly played a key part, but there are so many factors that have come into play in the recent influx in consumer adoption of Linux
- rmd34, on 12/27/2007, -3/+25Ubuntu's main strength is that it has helped coalesce users around a single distribution. It helps Linux in general because it allows users coming from other OSes to get their feet wet with a distribution that's easy to use and well-supported. At some point, the Linux experience isn't so foreign and some users may opt to investigate other distros or not.
I always recommend Ubuntu to anyone asking about Linux and everyone who's tried it immediatedly sees just how popular it is on the web. A friend of mine even told me that it felt like a volcano that was about to explode - after seeing so many sites supporting this distro.
It also makes a great distro ( as do a host of others) for the soon to be abandoned XP Operating System - in cases where users don't see a need to upgrade their hardware. - doggscube, on 12/27/2007, -3/+25Just reformatted our machine to dual-boot XP/Ubuntu. I knew I had a victory when, while XP was running, my wife asked how to switch back to Ubuntu. Still isn't for complete novices, though.
- bowens44, on 12/27/2007, -0/+20Really? That's one more thing that Linux can do that XP/ Vista can't!!
- inactive, on 12/27/2007, -7/+26Please link to the original article, not this blogspam.
Buried as spam. - MWeather, on 12/27/2007, -0/+17So you tried Linux when, around 1995?
- repustech, on 12/27/2007, -0/+17Ubuntu is what got me over the Linux hump. I have dabbled before, but never used Linux full time. Now with the new Ubuntu out, I have 2 out of 3 systems running Ubuntu. It's great.
- GMorgan, on 12/27/2007, -2/+17It's removed a lot of road blocks. It has forced a few things to become standard, instead of years of saying 'we can do that easily enough' Ubuntu has actually done them.
The point is that what Ubuntu has done was always possible (for the most part) but it actually took the effort to cover that last few yards. - Pergunta, on 12/27/2007, -3/+15I like Linux Ubuntu very much, i use it and i think it awsome.
It best from XP or Vista, you don't need antivirus, antispy
and support software (repair). In ubuntu you just do what
you want without nagging from the system. - objectcode, on 12/27/2007, -4/+152008 the year of the linux desktop
- MWeather, on 12/27/2007, -3/+14At last count there were 9 million active daily users and 20 million installs. That's more than a few geeks.
And Ubuntu deserves 90% of the credit for that. Ubuntu is popular because it's easy, not because it's based on Debian. - williamdyer, on 12/27/2007, -1/+11Yeah, those Linux servers he has been working on for ten years are a big disappointment. Nobody uses them. Apache? Never heard of it.
- stann65, on 12/27/2007, -2/+12I would, I know a lot of people who had never heard of or used Linux, and all of a sudden Ubuntu has come along and people are noticing alternatives to windows and mac that don't cost and are user friendly.
- OneAndOnlySnob, on 12/27/2007, -0/+10*****, I've been wasting my time with Linux, which is apparently not a worthy replacement for Windows. Thanks for the heads-up, olbap. I didn't realize it was lame until you explained it so well for us.
- MWeather, on 12/27/2007, -0/+10It's hard to take constructive criticism over problems which were resolved years ago.
- stix213, on 12/27/2007, -0/+9Well.... The kernel is the most important piece of software. At any point you may or may not be running GNU software, but you are always running Linus's kernel.
- wigren, on 12/27/2007, -0/+9Every one has to start somewhere.
- balazsbela, on 12/27/2007, -0/+8Yeah but it took them 10 years to build a kernel.
- NinjaBoy, on 12/27/2007, -1/+9There is MAJOR advantage to having one main distro, RPM and DEB installers. (and if anyone tells me to just compile from source im going to tell them to suck my dick)
- theOster, on 12/27/2007, -0/+7i'm a complete computer idiot (also a sysadmin :) and ubuntu is the distro that popped up on the radar and made me re-think my stance on the GUI distros of a few years back. now i have a communal linux box in my loft that anyone can use (esp useful at parties when youtube always seems to rear its head, but you don't want joe jackass touching your personal computer). so i woudl agree that ubuntu has enabled the average joe to at least have seen teh word "linux"
- ileftfark, on 12/27/2007, -1/+7*Somebody* has to get it right one of these days...
- marx2k, on 12/27/2007, -0/+6"Not being able to using industry standard monitor calibration hardware and software via Linux"
Be careful of your use of "industry standard" when there is no industry standard monitor calibration software and I'm not even sure what you mean by industry standard monitor calibration hardware.
Also, I will never understand people's hatred for the command line. If this was translated to the artistic profession, people would never write books. They'd only make movies.
It's all about choice. I will only start complaining when I see a lack of it in my OS. - roboticelephant, on 12/27/2007, -0/+6Ubuntu didn't come out 10 years ago.
- cawfee, on 12/27/2007, -2/+8Oh noes, front page article war!
http://digg.com/linux_unix/There_s_more_to_Linux_t ... - Urusai, on 12/27/2007, -0/+6You're supposed to use old kit like that to set up a router/firewall/mail/NAS/finger/MOTD server, not run a desktop.
- plr4ever, on 12/27/2007, -2/+7gTerminal = The *****
DOS Command line = ***** - chedabob, on 12/27/2007, -2/+7I think Linux as a whole has come leaps and bounds in previous years, but in little segments. What Ubuntu did was take all those segments, and provide the user with the whole package. The Gnome devs have contributed massively to the UI (same goes for KDE and Kubuntu), the gstreamer guys for multimedia playback, and the community as a whole provided the support to iron out any issues that newcomers were having. Saying Ubuntu is the only reason for a sudden surge in Linux popularity is a little ignorant towards the developers, but Ubuntu certainly contributed massively to getting developers to create better software, and to make the whole system a lot easier to use.
- MWeather, on 12/27/2007, -1/+6I'll take crappy fonts over dealing with the devil any day. Besides, it's not like apt-get install msttcorefonts is that difficult. Hell just do apt-get install ubuntu-restricted extras and get flash, java, microsoft fonts, dvd playback and tons of codecs.
- archlich, on 12/27/2007, -0/+5Redhat, CentOS, SuSE, even Canonical offers support.
- Megatog615, on 12/27/2007, -0/+5Or you could use the alternate installers, which can use as low as 8MB of RAM.
- stix213, on 12/27/2007, -1/+6Canonical would have just picked a different distro to base Ubuntu off of if Debian wasn't available. There would still be Ubuntu without debian, just you would be stuck with that lame YUM program instead of apt-get. (yes I know, using YUM is like installing software off of 5 1/4" floppies, but we wouldn't know the difference)
- zebesian, on 12/27/2007, -0/+5Ummmm.... I think that Debian was mentioned...A few times...
- gmallard, on 12/27/2007, -0/+5My main box has been running an Ubuntu system for about 2 years now. No Win stuff there.
So I am clearly a fan of some sort.
But .... to say that it "works well on lowly machines" may even be true.
Problem is it generally will not install on them. 256M for installation is BS. Needs to be cut to 128M or better 64M.
My other machines run Fedora for exactly that reason. - loganm10, on 12/27/2007, -0/+5ports is too slow, as far as desktop users go, noone wants to compile from source, I see no need to either if the binary packages are available, aside from some minor tweaks you can preform
- tian2992, on 12/27/2007, -0/+5Well, i love SUSE but arguments like "the fonts are nicer" are quite lame
- turbodiesel, on 12/27/2007, -1/+6But what OS X can do that Linux can't is getting smaller everyday. Windows switchers looking for something else are seeing a $1000+ mac or a $300 Linux PC from Wal Mart, or a $500 Linux box from Dell.
There will be more low to mid end Linux users than Mac users, because Apple has never tried to serve that market. Mac will always be a niche player, especially on the high end, with under 10% of the market. - luckydog, on 12/28/2007, -1/+5ah, looks like digg doesn't have an ***** check either
- lysdexic, on 12/27/2007, -0/+4I ran Linux on and off for five years in the mid-90's before going back to Windows. I was spending way too much time installing, configuring, and troubleshooting, in some cases just to view one file type that had native support or a 2 minute install in Windows. Ubuntu is the first distribution to come out since that's made me even consider setting up a Linux box again. After playing with the CD demo, I saw that they took had taken care of the majority of my gripes with Linux as a desktop OS.
Despite being a tech head, I want to use my computer. Not spend unnecessary time configuring it. Ubuntu gives me the impression that I'll get exactly that experience. - jammrk, on 12/28/2007, -0/+4Here you go this is a great user manual for ubuntu, how to install flash and then some. Enjoy !
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Gutsy - stix213, on 12/27/2007, -3/+7You are a fool if you think "anyone" who just came from Windows is actually capable of building their own distro by starting at kernel.org or even building their own based on Debian. Maybe anyone who reads digg, but you need to get out of the house some time and take a look around. Most people aren't capable of building their own distro, and those are the people ubuntu is aimed at.
The advantage of having so many people using a single distro is support, support, support. It is very easy to find instructions for getthing things to work on Ubuntu. There are so many forums dedicated to the distro. Fedora's community support pales in comparison. Average joe grandma needs support more than the software. - cynicist, on 12/28/2007, -0/+4Windows isn't for complete novices either.
- inactive, on 12/28/2007, -0/+4Flash doesn't even come installed on XP or Vista. You install Flash when you a Flash site and FF tells you to install it by clicking this button. At that point, you'll be prompted to either install Adobe's Flash or GNU's Gnash. You'd have to not be using the browser to not get this pop-up.
- MWeather, on 12/28/2007, -0/+4Not really, at least from a software standpoint.
- scyon, on 12/27/2007, -0/+4You don't want to use XFCE on that old of a box, you'll want Fluxbox.
You may also want to use the alternate install CD to install in text mode. After that, you can install the packages you need individually. It's more effort, but if you're not afraid of the command line it makes a great computer that only does what you need it to when you need it to. - fr34k5h0w, on 12/27/2007, -1/+5For servers yes. For the common desktop? No way. At least not until the past few years.
- jdhore1, on 12/27/2007, -0/+4Do you have proof? (continuing the Wayne's World reference)
- martalli, on 12/27/2007, -1/+5Why not write the author of the story, so that the next time he is more correct in his article. The Economist takes journalism seriously. However, a disparaging tone will probably be reflected in the next linux article along the lines of "a sometimes unhelpful community".
- winmywii, on 12/27/2007, -2/+6The cost comes with the support for linux. I agree with you, but Corporate wants someone to blame.
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