Re: [tlug] What, no Perl programmers around here? ;-)

[<burlingk@example.com>]

Message: 6
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 06:48:37 +0900
From: "Josh Glover" <jmglov@example.com>
Subject: Re: [tlug] What, no Perl programmers around here? ;-)
To: "Tokyo Linux Users Group" <tlug@example.com>
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On 26/08/06, Shannon Jacobs (6881) <shannon.jacobs@example.com> wrote:

> My current impression is that the Ubuntu people are at an extreme 
> position, striving to make Linux even more 'user-friendly' than 
> Windows, but without the driving motivation of securing humongous 
> monopoly profits.

>Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of the Ubuntu Linux project, came to 
>Tokyo a while back, and a few of us met with him. As he described it, 
>Ubuntu's primary focus is to create a free alternative to Windows for 
>people in low-income situations. Obviously, the user and usability is 
>pretty central in Ubuntu's list of concerns, but I get the sense that 
>Ubuntu is primarily trying to compete with Windows on price.
>
>-Josh



I know that there are Ubuntu users among us. :P I use it myself. ^_^  In
my opinion the distro is awesome.  For the "common everyday user", it
offers a system that will install what they want, and barring video
problems, it pretty much "just works."

For those of us who are a little more into getting our hands dirty, at
it's core, it is still very much Debian.  You can still load the package
manager, and install all the semi-stable to unstable patches you want,
or you can opt for more stability. :)  You can get sources to everything
and muck about till your hearts content.  All the tools are there.

My desktop has been running last years version of Ubuntu since it came
out.  I picked up a copy of Dapper with a Linux mag I picked up when I
was in Perth.  :-) It detected the ATI video card in my lap top just
fine, so I am now running it on my HP laptop.  Yes, it is the 32 bit
version on a 64 bit processor, but I don't require the little extra push
I would get from the optimized software anyway.

On the plus side, it means I have a stable invironment to tinker with
code again!  Being at sea can suck. ^^;;

I personally feel that Ubuntu has a chance, even as it stands now.  It's
built on the shoulders of one of the world's most stable distrobutions,
and it is being driven by a team that loves what they are doing.  For
those who are not affraid of web and IRC based support, Debian and
Ubuntu both have awesome communities, and the two take care of eachother
quite often.  I used Debian for a long time before Ubuntu happened. :)
Yes, they have one or two "purists" that will go ape if you mention
proprietary software, but we mostly keep them in the corner and tell
them to be nice. ^_^

With Dapper, they introduced a few things that will make Ubuntu even
more likable to people with low end machines.  Gnome and KDE are still
the "default" configurations for the most part, but they also have
officially supported flavors geared towards server machines, as well as
a flavor that uses a light weight graphical interface that requires much
less ram.

Ubuntu can now run, with a sleak looking interface on machines with
256MB of ram. :P

I know that for most of us, that is not a big deal.  Most Distros have
the ability to configure whatever interface you want.  But for the
common user, for the every day guy that has used Windows all his life,
the concept of doing that yourself can be daunting.