J_K9 @ Linux

Converting Geeks

April 18, 2007 on 8:32 pm | In Linux, Realistic Ideas |

Many technology-orientated users, particularly the geekier ones, have heard of Linux. However, the vast majority of these users have never tried it because they have not felt the need to - if Windows suits their needs so (apparently) perfectly, why change?

When I was selected as one of the people to go on the trip to Seattle, one of our designated tasks was to think of and possibly prototype an application which Microsoft might consider investing in. I was placed in a group with three others and, together, we had to develop an idea and a presentation around that idea to take to Microsoft. Before the trip, not one of the three had tried Linux and only one of them was slightly inclined to. Now, two weeks after the trip has ended, two of them are running Linux and are seriously considering running it as their primary OS and the remaining one is going to run Linux soon (if he is not already - I haven’t spoken to him since the trip). I don’t think that’s too bad an effort on my part

So, what happened? Why did these three guys change their minds about Linux and two then go on to try it and enjoy using it? There isn’t a single, specific answer to that, except that they learnt over the trip that Linux is a much more powerful and capable OS than they had believed.

I quote one of them:

Subject: Installing Ubuntu

7.04 beta. It’s gotta be one of the sexiest OS’s I’ve ever seen. I love the default brown, so refreshing after Windows. And such an easy install (so far).

Well, the User Interface and clean design certainly seems to have played a major part in his decision to try Linux and, more specifically, the new (beta) version of Ubuntu. Yes, yes it did:

Subject: Ubuntu!

Screenshot attached. Oh so nice looking.

Well it is very pretty, but it has other advantages as well:

Subject: Ubuntu is genius

It looks amazing. And the GAIM [in] 7.04 is so good. Easy MSN and Google Talk. I’m switchin my desktop. Just need to figure out WINE.

It is also consistently user-friendly across all of the main applications, making it easy to use and configure according to your personal preferences. Not only that, but the APT package management system allows for centralised updates distribution and software installation which surpasses its Windows counterpart (Automatic Updates, which is hardly comparable in terms of functionality):

Subject: Convert?!

I think you may well have converted me to Ubuntu. Can’t really get enough of it!

I just love how easy it is to install stuff using terminal apt-get etc. Having a central place where you can get stuff from = genius!

The other person in my group who recently tried Ubuntu said:

him: does evolution sync with google calendar then?
me: yes
him: OOh
another reason to switch

The “implement support to scratch an itch” principle is one of the reasons that Open Source and Linux were first started, and it’s good to see that this continues to be true today and is appreciated by users.

As these examples show - and there are more - it is misinformation more than anything else that prevents many people, such as power users, from trying Linux. They think of Linux as “that other Operating System” because they have never experienced it. If more people were made aware of Linux’s advantages - even the subtle, minor, less-noticed ones which might be considered irrelevant - the number of downloads of the mainstream Linux distributions would increase drastically.