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---
title: Ubuntu shows its true colors
date: 2011-02-17
layout: post
category: log
---
Before you start reading, let me point out that I haven't use [[http://www.ubuntu.com/][Ubuntu]]
since its early development, and by the time the first install images
came out, my interest on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_distro][distro]] rapidly banished. It came out as
something new, and it truly was; however, back then in late 2005, it
just felt like it was a reinvention of the wheel. Another distro based
on [[http://debian.org][Debian]], another philosophy that half-matched Debian's solid
policies.
By the time Ubuntu was a stable release, it was mastering the end-user
experience that they promised: The Linux Desktop Experience. So what
made me move away from it? the Desktop feeling; add-ons everywhere,
GNOME in here and there, GTK+ in that, and the icons Oh! The icons!
Those were my pet peeves on any GNU/Linux distro. I like to keep it
minimal, clean, and CLI friendly.
*Ubuntu shows off* \\
Last weekend, while my girlfriend was using her laptop, I found myself
intrigue by the fact that it fulfilled all the expectations of my
girlfriend's daily tasks with an OS. Before that, I vaguely remembered
that she told me, she was going to install Ubuntu, well this seemed
more of a testing phase than an actual full migration. By now, with
the help of her friends, she fully migrated from Windows, and she
couldn't be happier since her first remarks of Ubuntu were "Everything
is faster, and it feels more natural now."
#+CAPTION: I have a Totoro tattoo on my right arm.
#+ATTR_HTML: :alt Totoro and Mei image :title I have a Totoro tattoo on my right arm. :align center
[[file:../img/thumb-ubuntu-gf.png][file:../img/thumb-ubuntu-gf.png]]
After the full installation, my girlfriend didn't install anything,
until she needed several applications for her college courses. For
example, [[http://www.mono-project.com][Mono]] for C#/.Net, and Skype to talk to her Mom. For the
normal user tasks like writing and social media, she uses the default
installed applications. You know the basics: OpenOffice.org suite,
Empathy, Gwibber, Gnome Media Player, etc... You get the idea.
#+CAPTION: Enjoying Ubuntu's Desktop.
#+ATTR_HTML: :alt Enjoying Ubuntu's Desktop. :align center
[[file:../img/thumb-ubuntu-gf2.png][file:../img/thumb-ubuntu-gf2.png]]
What amazes me the most, is the feeling of everything working right
out of the box, and this includes the installation process. No further
configuration, everything well thought for the common user. I can't
stress how much GNU/Linux distros needed to take this route to be
attractive to the common user. Of course, there are other
distributions built for the Desktop user, yet they lack the convincing
Desktop features that Ubuntu offers. The spaces, the menu bar well
placed, the menus categories, and how everything works around the
Desktop; brings some comfort for everyone new to Ubuntu. The menu bar
placed in the top, is a natural feature to the Mac user, and for those
coming from a Windows environment, the speed captivates them.
*Continuous learning* \\
It never occurred to me that my girlfriend was using the
gnome-terminal to install different packages. "I use the Package
Manager to search for a program, grab the package short-name, and
after that I installed via =apt-get= in the Terminal."
#+CAPTION: My girlfriend's apt-get action in gnome-terminal.
#+ATTR_HTML: :alt My girlfriend's apt-get action in gnome-terminal. :align center
[[file:../img/thumb-ubuntu-gf3.png][file:../img/thumb-ubuntu-gf3.png]]
This is a good starting point for her, it shows that her interest in
the distro is still fresh. Like any new user, the disposition to learn
becomes a fun stage. The fun of learning turns into useful work, and
in the end, the user is gaining a new set of skills.
Any OS has its learning curve, specially, GNU/Linux distros. But
Ubuntu seems to take the best from both modern popular OS. This makes
the transition funner, and inspires to try new things. Recently, one
of my friends, told me about her girlfriend doing the Ubuntu to Debian
testing transition. Which is great, and proves the point of trying new
things.
I can't wait to see my girlfriend using Vim.
|
