CodingExperiments.com posted an interesting article by utilizing the Google Trends system to show the trends in the Linux ecosystem. While these trends don't mean "market share", they are interesting and pretty accurate in terms of what average users care about. According to it, "Ubuntu" might even overtake the word "linux" in Google's searches.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2007-08-29
You haven't mentioned kubuntu yet - given that a try?
My experience with ubuntu is that once you get things working, it's stable (I agree about the last few versions not being up to par, but 8.04 works perfectly for me). Except if you do something stupid... or if nautilus springs a memory leak. I really hate that.
The newbies you don't like just represent the average computer user. Look on the bright side: Using Ubuntu, they can do less damage.
Choice, now. I don't know much about that. I do know that I'm not stuck with gnome (and I don't use it), and that I can put together a custom DTE if I really want to. It's entirely configurable. You know your way around, so aside from philosophical objections does it really matter what the default setup is?
Edited 2008-07-04 12:15 UTC
Member since:2006-12-16
To me, yes, philosophically, it does matter (about choice). For years, we put up with Gnome users bitching about Suse being KDE centric. Even though these same people did not once complain about Redhat being Gnome centric. Pot calling the kettle black? I say include the 3 main desktop environments (Gnome, KDE, XFCE) and maybe fluxbox, blackbox, since they are both small in terms of footprint anyways. Give the end user choice to choose. Having to download later on is NOT choice. Evidence shows that people will very very RARELY change from whatever default comes with the system. Ubuntu's default Gnome is actually damaging the open source development system, by unfairly removing the opportuntity for the KDE [insert alternative desktop environment here] userbase to grow. This in turn effects development, and the number of developers that join that community. It kills competition, and is in fact, anti competitive imho. The proof in that is since Ubuntu has come around, KDE user numbers have severely dropped (last 3 desktop surveys if memory serves me correct). This isn't survival of the fittest, it's rigging the event to ensure Gnome finishes ahead at the distribution level. It goes against the very principles of open source. Open. Look the word up.
As to Kubuntu, I've tried it, albeit a few years ago, and a P.O.S it was. From what I read, it seems that it hasn't improved much, and I'm not gain to try it again. Maybe that's a bit unfair on my end, but...Ubuntu main has made it quite clear that its focus is on Ubuntu, and not Kubuntu, especially with the recent comments about dropping KDE from the LTS releases, because KDE is no longer supposedly actively developing the 3.x series and KDE 4 is not supposedly stable. That would mean no KDE basically for the next 5 years (by which time KDE 4 would be well and truly stable!).
Ubuntu is doing several things - shoving Gnome down your throat. And shoving sudo down your throat, which has a very sordid history of security related issues in the past. sudo is NO safer than su, in fact, I'd venture that it's less safe, since it has a file with usernames that have elevated priviledges. True, su defaults to the root user, which means that most crackers will target root, whereas with sudo, it could be any name, but I do not believe that that is a real enough issue to make the usage of sudo necessary.
Dave
Member since:
2006-12-16
I didn't start any flamewar - I simply prefer KDE. Ubuntu does not offer that *out of the box*. There is no real reason why Ubuntu cannot offer a DVD which has Gnome/KDE/XFCE on it.
My problems with their forum were related to asking a question about sudo - apparently it's deemed to be a good enough reason to ban someone for mentioning sudo, or su. The way to get people smarter is to educate them, not friggen dumb them down. Ubuntu (and Gnome imho) is doing things in the latter fashion. I prefer the former. Getting a PM warning from a Mod on their godforsaken forums, for your first post, is ridiculous. Especially when said rule is not clearly stated upon joining the forum (so, how the hell are you meant to know about it?). Especially when said rule is silly.
If a Linux newbie hoses their system because they use su rather than root (very unlikely, since said newbie would probably screw their system using sudo anyways), they will learn. If they don't learn, they shouldn't be using a computer imho. Period. We have far too many dumb users who don't want to learn using computers today, and that is the main reason why viruses and spyware run rampant, and why so much potential bandwidth on the net is bloody well lost. I'm well and truly sick and tired of having to put up with reduced bandwidth because of their brainless idiots. And these are the types of ex-Windows refugees that Ubuntu is attracting.
Each release of Ubuntu becomes more unstable (at least from my research), with more issues upon release, causing more problems for end users. People bitch about Debian releasing every 2 or so years, crikey, Microsoft does a release every 6 or so years, and Apple is about the same as Debian (on average), maybe slightly better.
Ubuntu looks plain ugly out of the box - of course, using Gnome doesn't help here - it's one of the ugliest looking desktop environments to have ever graced my eyes (even CDE looks better to be honest). I guess beauty is really in the eye of the beholder ;-)
For all those Linux nuts who say 'choice is great' - Ubuntu is doing *exactly* the opposite. Reduced choice at time of install, and Ubuntu itself has, and still continues to, kill off many distributions. You might argue survival of the fittest [distribution], and I'd personally agree with you on that point, but many diehard Linux users love choice. Personally, this "choice" is why so many Linux applications are so, well...let's just say not mature ;-)
Dave