linux for computer hobbyists
Monday, November 5th, 2007
Or should it be- “linux for computer hobbyists”
Contents
Problems with Linux (Ubuntu) 2
Hardware Support (or Lack thereof) 4
Application Installation and Package Management 6
Hardware Manufacturers Need to Get On Board 6
The Little Linuxes Need to Merge 6
Introduction
What is the deal with Linux? Why should I care?
“Linux for human beings” Ubuntu’s motto, but what does it really mean? It could mean that Ubuntu would be an operating system that all people should feel comfortable using. It could be that it’s talking about the relative difficulty getting started using Ubuntu compared to other Linux distributions. Or perhaps the motto is just nice marketing.
It’s true that Ubuntu is very easy for someone not accustomed to using Linux to browse the web It may also be true that they might feel comfortable using it. At times It’s the fact that Ubuntu is different that entices people to Ubuntu.
Linux, in general, is hard for an end user. Without in depth usability studies it is difficult to study exactly what it is that makes Linux as complicated as it is.
Problems with Linux (Ubuntu)
Stop It with the g-Something and the k-Something.
In Linux distributions you choose a Window Manager. The two most popular Window Managers are KDE (K Desktop Environment) and GNOME (GNU Object Model Environment). A common practice to differentiate which environment that an application was designed for is to prefix the name of the application with a “k” or a “g”. This is nicely obfuscated in Ubuntu but a visit to Synaptic reveals the complicated names.
Dialog Box Despair
Why are they different? That doesn’t make it any easier.
Dialog Boxes in Linux are arranged differently from in Windows. This in itself is not a terrible thing unless you’re not a careful Dialog Box reader. I have personally been witness to people who unconsciously click the OK Button as soon a Dialog Box comes up. Said user would be trained where to click and does so without reading. This can cause many problems.
This is an example of a typical dialog box on Windows Vista.
This is an example of the same dialog box on Ubuntu. Note the Cancel Button is on the left.
This final example is from Apple OSX. It is not the same dialog but resembles Ubuntu’s button layout.
One of these things is not like the other. It comes as no surprise that the Windows modal box is the different one. The concern is that a great majority of computer users are Windows users. Without going into human interaction statistics or any kind of formal data it would easy to say that the other operating systems should conform to Windows. I don’t like this proposition but it might be the most realistic at this point in time.
Hardware Support (or Lack thereof)
It is getting a lot lot lot better but…
A writer using Ubuntu describes it as, “… has a long way to go before a novice user can install it and get it working on the hardware we have today.” (Shea) I must agree. I personally run a computer that has pretty standard hardware. It should be completely supported by Ubuntu with minimal effort on my part. Unfortunately- it isn’t. Similar to the author of the previous article I too have a Dell 24″ monitor that is high resolution. When I load Ubuntu on my computer it is extremely distorted- essentially unusable. An even worse scenario is when I load Ubuntu on my laptop which has a video adapter which is known to have great issues with Ubuntu- the ATI Radeon Mobility x1400.
It is true that hardware support on Ubuntu is taking great strides. Since Ubuntu has new releases every six months the article the author wrote is a bit out of date. He also mentioned that Ubuntu should have support for NTFS (New Technology File System), the file system used by Windows. In this case Ubuntu was able to cater to their user’s needs.
People who purchase equipment altered to be sold under a different brand (i.e. Dell’s rebranding of Lexmark printers) are often out of luck. The hardware is modified just enough so generic drivers do not work.
What Can Be Done?
Linux is Spread Very Thin
As of November 1, 2007 distrowatch.com reports that there are currently 369 individual Linux distributions. Why? This is simply irrational. Pragmatically it’s extremely unrealistic to expect developers to write their software so that it’s compatible with such a wide variety of systems.
There are some factors that must be addressed:
Application Installation and Package Management
There are so many ways to do the same thing…
KDE, GNOME, Xfce, Fluxbox, etc. etc. There are too many Window Managers that can be used with Linux. Part of the problem is that with each Window Manager there is a different way to install applications. With many distributions there is even a different way to package applications. There are some standards that have been around for decades now but the most popular types are either supported or not. There should be a unified installation platform for Linux.
Hardware Manufacturers Need to Get On Board
A Computer is Only the Sum of its Parts
The major issue with hardware support for Linux is that it is almost required that the developers have to reverse engineer the hardware to write drivers. This is ludicrous and certainly stopping people from trying Linux. If they can’t use their favorite scanner, printer, mouse, etc to its full potential then why would they bother?
The Little Linuxes Need to Merge
Too Many Little Guys
I would recommend that the developers of this large orgy of Linux should group into subsets of distributions with similar goals and functionality. Without focus they will eventually lose support and disappear. That is wasted time and energy on the part of the developers. There doesn’t need to be hundreds of Linux distributions tailored to the same purpose. They should all team up and put their efforts toward a common goal.
Conclusion
The Future of Linux is in the User’s Hands
What Can Everyone Do?
If you like Linux and would use it consider giving a donation to the developers. Since you didn’t pay for the licensing fees perhaps a small donation to encourage further development would be in order. Some other things you can do- spread the word about your favorite Linux, help new users with their troubles, contribute artwork or code, write a FAQ or other guide, and even write letters to hardware manufacturers about their lack of drive support. This is just some of things that can be done to help Linux adoption.
Computer Manufacturers
Ubuntu Needs Their Help
We’ve got Dell and HP supporting Ubuntu- what about Acer, Toshiba, Gateway, Lenovo, Emperex, ASUS, VIA, Shuttle, Sony, Fujitsu, WinBook, and all the other manufacturers? They exclusively sell Windows with their systems and that alone can keep Linux’s prevalence from expanding much further than the adventurous and the computer hobbyist/professional.
Ready for the Desktop?
The real question is: “Who’s desktop?”
Many people have been using Linux (or UNIX) for decades. For them, it has been ready for a long time. Today’s question, “Is it ready for everyone?” My opinion is that it’s not. If (and only if) Linux developers and their communities can team up for a united Linux goal then perhaps it could happen. Graphical glitches, hardware incompatibilities, program incompatibilities, and stability issues simply cannot happen. Uniting all those developers and communities might seem like an uphill battle but the future of all Linux depends on it.
Works Cited
Macworld. “http://edge.macworld.com/.” http://edge.macworld.com/. 1 11 2007 <http://edge.macworld.com/2007/01/images/content/mergeical.png>.
Rush, Kelly. “Ubuntu - Outside the Sandbox.” 2 11 2007. http://www.hexydes.com. 5 11 2007 <http://www.hexydes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=67&Itemid=9>.
Shea, Mike. “http://mikeshea.net.” Five Ways to Improve Ubuntu. 31 10 2007 <http://mikeshea.net/Five_Ways_to_Improve_Ubun.html>.
tipsoftheweekonline.com. “What Ubuntu Linux Needs to Go Prime Time.” http://www.tipsoftheweekonline.com. 31 10 2007 <http://www.tipsoftheweekonline.com/fixubuntu.html>.
UbuntuCat. 29 May 2007. http://ubuntucat.wordpress.com. 31 10 2007 <http://ubuntucat.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/practical-steps-to-make-ubuntu-better/>.
Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. “http://www.desktoplinux.com.” 17 5 2007. desktoplinux.com. 31 10 2007 <http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3542601509.html>.
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Ubuntu has a somewhat comprehensive list of hardware that it supports in a wiki format. 
Installing Ubuntu on a virtual machine is extremely slow. Upwards of two hours in my particular case. Installing it on a system natively is very quick. You can be up and running with Ubuntu in well under an hour. This assumes that you know exactly how to answer every question the installer has for you and you know precisely what to do if something goes wrong. To an inexperienced user it could be extremely daunting because the chance of data corruption or loss is very high.
Each piece of software that is installed on a Linux system is called a package. By default Linux distributions try to include all the software needed to perform all normal day to day tasks. On Ubuntu they do this quite well and give you software to write documents, make spreadsheets, listen to music, watch DVDs, browse the internet, and check email. Ubuntu has a system called Synaptic to install whatever packages you may be missing. The range of software freely available with Synaptic is extremely broad. From amateur radio to tools to help visualize biological macromolecules you can get a free package that will help you. While it has a lot of packages there is something extremely important missing- games.
Linux and games are two things that don’t really go together. This is the same story with Apple computers too. Unfortunately most games are developed for Direct X a programming interface that is exclusive to Windows. For Apple and Linux the games must be programmed with OpenGL. There are some major developers who develop games on OpenGL and only a few of them provide Apple binaries and even less provides Linux binaries. The answer is, unfortunately, emulating the win32 subsystem. This allows games to think they are running on Windows and can, on the fly, translate Direct X calls to OpenGL. It works ok but the best solution is Cedega and it’s not free.
There is an application that resembles iTunes and, in a lot of ways, is superior. With Rhythmbox you can listen to podcasts, mp3s, burn cds, sync your iPod, sync your other mp3 player, and listen to internet radio. This is much improved over Linux of the past where mp3 support did not exist it is a propriety audio codec.
There are even free applications that can be used to edit photos or draw vector artwork. They are the free equivalents of Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. The GIMP is the free Photoshop equivalent and it’s quite good. I’m not much of an artist and I was able to generate pleasant looking text rendering quickly.
Why doesn’t Ubuntu have a larger audience? The largest reason I’d say is the “grandma factor.” If you were to give your grandma a computer that was running Ubuntu would she be able to use it effectively on a daily basis? What happens if something goes wrong? She wouldn’t be able to take it to a local computer store or ask any of her friends at bingo. Ubuntu and Linux as a whole isn’t used by enough people for the support that is needed to exist. It is something of a chicken and the egg problem. If nobody starts using Ubuntu then there won’t be people to support others. Additionally, if something goes wrong it often goes seriously wrong. The entire graphical interface could break. This is a catastrophe for any amateur computer user. They may never be able to fix the computer on their own and will require support, which might not exist. While it is true that Ubuntu has a community of lots of very knowledgeable and friendly people willing to help users in need- it doesn’t do anything for the “grandma factor.”
