On Mar 25, 10:08=A0pm, Kcoc Syawedis wrote:
> On Mar 25, 12:06=A0pm, "Sam O'Var" wrote:
>
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> >http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/is-...
>
> > Linux is free, easy-to-use and is shedding its geeky image, thanks to
> > fans who prefer it to Microsoft's mighty operating systems. But is it
> > for everyone? Jamie Merrill asks four rookies to put it to the test
>
> > Wednesday, 25 March 2009
>
> > Once it was fair to say that Linux was the preserve of small coterie
> > of computer nerds typing away in their parents' basements and spare
> > rooms. This is no longer so, however, as the free and easy-to-use
> > operating system with a reputation for rock-solid reliability is
> > coming out of the shadows. It's shaking off its geeky reputation by
> > getting some computing street cred as a fast web browsing and music
> > platform.
>
> > Andrew Miller, technology journalist and founder of thinkabouttech.com
> > is a self-avowed Linux devotee and typical of its supporters. "For 97
> > per cent of computer users, Linux is perfect. Nowadays pretty much
> > everyone is living in the cloud =96 with all of our data storage based
> > online =96 and Linux offers you absolutely everything you need. For
> > work, you have OpenOffice, for music you have Spotify and for instant
> > messaging you have Pigeon. So it's not just a case of it being as good
> > as Windows, because for a large majority of things Linux is actually
> > better," he says.
>
> > "If you talk to a lot of Windows users and ask them what they use,
> > they say, 'I'm using Firefox and OpenOffice,' and if you boot up, say,
> > Linux Ubuntu, a community-developed, Linux-based operating system
> > created for laptops, desktops and servers, both those tools are there,
> > so it's familiar territory, totally safe and free. So the question
> > should 'why not use Linux?'".
> > Related articles
>
> > =A0 =A0 * Why are games so expensive?
>
> > Miller isn't alone in his enthusiasm. A recent survey of IT
> > professionals showed that in the midst of recession, free open-source
> > software such as Linux is gaining in popularity, especially with small
> > business users. And while still dwarfed by Microsoft, Linux is holding
> > its own in the netbook stakes, with some estimates suggesting that the
> > system is running on more than 10 per cent of all models.
>
> > Linux's popularity isn't confined to bloggers, netbook users and
> > software aficionados. In the past few years Ubuntu =96 one of Linux's
> > most popular versions =96 has been adopted as the operating system of
> > choice by institutions as varied as Google, Amazon, the French
> > National Assembly and paramilitary police force, the entire South
> > Korean government, DreamWorks film studio and the government of Mexico
> > City. Later this year, the Vietnamese government will be the latest to
> > ditch Microsoft in favour of a Linux-based operating system for all
> > its computers
>
> > The battle between Linux and Windows has been raging for almost as
> > long as there have been motherboards and wysiwig monitors, and even
> > now, Linux is still light years away from even beginning to challenge
> > Microsoft's software hegemony. But some computer experts are starting
> > to suggest Linux has reached a "critical mass" and that its day has
> > come.
>
> > So tech-savvy bloggers and IT professionals may be increasingly
> > convinced of the virtues of Linux, but what about the average Windows
> > user? To put Linux to the test, we set up four novices =96 from compute=
r
> > whizzes to self-confessed Luddities =96 with a new Toshiba netbook
> > running the latest version of Linux Ubuntu to find out what they
> > thought.
>
> > Merryl Lawrenson, 56
>
> > Community nurse from Ashford, Kent
>
> > I wouldn't say that I'm a big computer user as I generally only use
> > them for work. However, I do some quite complicated tasks at work like
> > writing on patients' records, so reliability is important to me.
>
> > The word processor and spreadsheet were all very similar to what I've
> > used before as our home laptop runs the same version of OpenOffice.
> > Menus were straightforward and the icons were very clear and easy to
> > use. The layout was also very clear, so perhaps Ubuntu is a little
> > easier for somebody like me when compared with a machine running
> > hundreds of programs on Windows.
>
> > One gripe was that the red cross to close pages and programs was stuck
> > away in a corner, but on the whole it all worked quite intuitively.
> > Especially as it's free, I'd give serious thought to adopting Ubuntu
> > if I were in the market to buy a new computer.
>
> > Tony Messenger, 55
>
> > Music technician from Farningham, Kent
>
> > I'm a music technician, so should know my stuff, but to be honest I
> > really struggled with all the multimedia software that came as
> > standard with Ubuntu. For the life of me, I couldn't get any of the
> > sound or video elements to work online. I couldn't get it to play WAV
> > files, I couldn't get it to play MP3s and it wouldn't play animated
> > GIFs. I can only assume you have to download all the individual codecs
> > [A computer program that lets you stream multimedia content] for each
> > sound or video you want to run, which is a real pain. Nowadays, you
> > need a good half a dozen or so codecs just to browse the internet and
> > it didn't seem to come with any of these as standard.
>
> > This defeats the whole point of using Ubuntu as a fast web browser if
> > you have to spend ages setting it up and finding all the codecs, and
> > would almost certainly pose problems for a computer novice. Don't get
> > me wrong; I'm not a Windows devotee and the rest of the built-in
> > software and menu systems seemed fine, but once you've worked on a
> > system, any rival has to excel to be worth switching over to. Ubuntu
> > and Linux generally seem to be the domain of the real computer geeks
> > out there. Everyone that I know who uses Linux tends to be a computer
> > nerd or work in the industry. They enjoy playing around with the
> > system and I don't know if they actually do any work =96 whereas I'm
> > interested in actually getting things done.
>
> > Tim Blake, 23
>
> > Teaching assistant from Codicote, Hertfordshire
>
> > I'm a pretty dedicated Windows user so I wasn't necessarily expecting
> > great things from Linux, but my first impressions were very good. I
> > expected to struggle navigating the menu system, but found it pretty
> > functional and easy to use. All the information and programs were easy
> > to access and the layout was fairly intuitive. It also seemed fairly
> > robust when it comes to viruses and surfing the web. Internet safety
> > is always a concern, so that's certainly a good feature.
>
> > Personally, I'd prefer something a little more complex which allows me
> > a greater choice of software. It might be great for an older
> > generation of computer users who just want to browse the web easily
> > and safely.
>
> > I'm training to be a teacher and am on a tight budget at the moment,
> > so free software should be really attractive to me, but I'm just too
> > heavily reliant on Microsoft Office and Windows to consider switching
> > operating systems. I use Word and PowerPoint on a regular basis, both
> > on my laptop and on machines at school, so it doesn't make any sense
> > to switch to a system which won't run those programs. So I don't think
> > Bill Gates and co need to worry about losing my custom just yet.
>
> > Androulla Polydorou, 26
>
> > Sales manager from Greenwich, London
>
> > The first thing that struck me about Ubuntu was the interface. It's
> > just so bright, breezy and user-friendly. Everyone who's seen me using
> > it has been very impressed and has wanted to have a go. I had a few
> > problems at first, such as finding the right icon to turn up the
> > volume. I think perhaps I'm so used to Windows that I'm not used to
> > searching around for icons.
>
> > I don't have wireless internet and while I'm OK with computers I had
> > to give in and ask my computer whizz partner for help after 40 minutes
> > of trying to get a connection. That could have been more
> > straightforward.
>
> > Overall, I found Ubuntu pretty simple to use and a nice change from
> > Windows. It booted up very quickly and was speedy online. It had
> > versions of all the basic programs, such as a word processor, as well
> > as a really good selection of games. The Toshiba I tested it on had an
> > inbuilt camera, so I played around with the photo-editing software,
> > which was impressive. Being able to alter colour and lighting and move
> > things about and erase things was really cool for someone like me who
> > has no experience of photo editing but wants to have fun with their
> > pictures
>
> > I wouldn't necessarily trust Ubuntu for work, as I wouldn't want to
> > find I couldn't do everything I wanted to do. But as another system on
> > my laptop to browse and listen to music I'd think about adopting it.
ubuntu is nice and a bit safer than windows straight out of the box. |