Defending Linux

tuttle88

After listening to the "How to buy a computer" episode and doing some more research I've decided to get a new computer and stop renting. I'm going to switch to Linux and use Ubuntu. I told my mother and she mentioned it to the computer guy at the school where she works. He told me that Linux was fiddly and hard to use and only for hard core computer people and that I should hold out because Windows Vista is coming out soon. The tech guy is interested in having a chat to me about the subject. Now I know that what he's saying is rubbish, I've played with the Live Ubuntu CD and managed to cope without needing serious therapy (well I do need serious therapy but that isn't Ubuntu's fault).

Anyways, if I am going to talk to this man I need to have some ammunition for my defence of Ubuntu and I am not above using your ideas to best him shamelessly.

Cremlian

To really easy ones. it's not a resourse hog and it's free ^_^

navelfluff

The "Windows Vista is coming out soon" argument against Linux is just stupid. The first release of Vista will probably be full of rather annoying bugs, new Windows versions always are. Vista will probably be a stable alternative after a service pack release in a year or so.

The computer guy at the school has probably never tested Ubuntu, or any other new releases. Linux was quite fiddly for normal users when I first tested it 5 years ago. Today it's a different story.

EsonLinji

I recently installed Ubuntu on a virtual machine after trying a few other distros, and I can quite confidently state that installing Ubuntu is as technically challenging as installing Windows.

Apreche

Don't think of yourself as defending Linux, think of yourself as selling Linux. Rememeber, it's free, stable, secure, no-long hard to use, etc. If it's in relation to school make sure you pimp Edubuntu and not just Ubuntu. Also for a school make sure to show how it's so much better for school since kids can't install or run games and it becomes much harder for them to do things they shouldn't be doing. If you are looking for specific ammunition just go onto the Internet and search for reasons to switch to Linux, and go into the discussion with a list. And of course, pack CDs.

tuttle88

Hmm...props, good idea.

HMTKSteve

I tried getting my town's school system to avoid a costly windows upgrade path and instead move over to Linux. I offered to take the list of their existing equipment and set them up with a distributed network allowing for the purchase of a few high speed application servers and the re-use of their existing "work stations" as diskless terminals.

There was one big hurdle that I could not jump... The existing user base.

The current staff is very resistant to change, and since the IT costs do not come from "their" pocket they do not care... They know Word/Excel/Outlook and it works good enough for them.

Funny thing is that my school system has a Gigabit backbone in place and could greatly benefit from reusing existing PCs as terminals and host all data and applications on a server in the town hall!

Oh well... They are just going to drop a couple million on new PCs...

dutopia

I installed Ubuntu on my Laptop (bye bye WIndows 2000) and am having a lot of fun with it.
Although i must admit it's fairly tricky in some ways, like even the way i had to enter console commands to download a string of plugins so i could play DVD's.
Most normal users would not have a clue about that..

Apreche

I installed Ubuntu on my Laptop (bye bye WIndows 2000) and am having a lot of fun with it.
Although i must admit it's fairly tricky in some ways, like even the way i had to enter console commands to download a string of plugins so i could play DVD's.
Most normal users would not have a clue about that..

You wouldn't have to do that if it weren't for evil laws like the DMCA.

HMTKSteve

Yeah, that chaps my ass that the same machine loaded with Windows will let you play DVDs but once you cross over to the free realm you have to "break the law" to use the same machine for the same purpose...