Ubuntu Syndrome
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| r_a_trip Feb 09, 2011 9:33 AM EDT |
The article suffers from Ubuntu syndrome. I've seen nothing Ubuntu specific in the commands described. Every GNU/Linux distro worth its salt, will carry these commands. It's a pity that so much generic stuff is placed under an Ubuntu label these days. I don't object to people using Ubuntu, but presenting everything as an Ubuntu thing just doesn't present the broad picture that there is a whole family of Operating Systems out there, that share a common heritage and for which you can use your gained knowledge interchangeably. Kudos to Canonical's marketing. They have really put Ubuntu center stage. The problem I see with the broader community just slapping an Ubuntu label on everything GNU/Linux related, is that it sketches the wrong picture. It is an easy picture, but a false one. It isn't Microsoft makes Windows, Apple makes Mac OS X and Canonical makes Ubuntu. It should be Microsoft makes Windows, Apple makes Mac OS X and GNU/Linux is made by many, where Ubuntu is just one of them. The most freeing aspect of switching to GNU/Linux, for me, was the availability of choice. Suddenly, I had as many options to choose from for my OS, as I had for cereal, cars, light fixtures, clothes etc. At first I had to get used to that, but now that I know better, I can't recommend to anyone to blindly cling to one vendor and one OS. It doesn't make things easier, or simpler, or better supported. It just sets you up for trouble later on, when a distributor decides to go a direction that isn't a good fit for you. You either end up with something that doesn't fit you anymore or you will have to make a switch to something else regardless. Why set yourself up, pshychologically, to being inflexible when it comes to your own OS? |
| ComputerBob Feb 09, 2011 10:05 AM EDT |
Upcoming articles: "How to Move the Mouse Pointer in Ubuntu" "The Ubuntu Secret to Typing Capital Letters" "Replacing Your PC's Power Supply the Ubuntu Way" |
| helios Feb 09, 2011 11:15 AM EDT |
There's no doubt, that with Canonical pushing deeper and deeper into the enterprise, they want people to recognize Ubuntu as an operating system, not Linux per se. From a marketing standpoint, I can understand the tactic. As a member of the Free Software Community, it chaps my backside a bit. Of course, with a couple million Ubuntu fans helping Canonical with this effort, it is sure to ultimately succeed. As to what level that success is, only time will tell. do a Google search for "Linux" and tell me what you see. Point made. |
| herzeleid Feb 09, 2011 1:51 PM EDT |
@ComputerBob - good one. Seriously, I've also seen "how to manage your disks with LVM in ubuntu". |
| hkwint Feb 09, 2011 1:56 PM EDT |
Google search, excellent idea! Linux turns up 409M results, Ubuntu 71M. So I think Ubuntu is doing pretty well! |
| cybergal Feb 09, 2011 2:03 PM EDT |
Similar to PC = Windows. Microsoft and MAC have done a good job there. How often we hear someone say they guess they'll have to by a MAC in order to get away from their Windows problems. And the look of shock/wonder/doubt when you tell them that Linux will run very well on their existing PC; no need to buy a new computer/laptop. But, <sigh> most will either continue to put up with Windows or purchase a MAC. |
| hkwint Feb 09, 2011 2:10 PM EDT |
Even better, Linux runs great on Macs! From what I heard, but it's probably not without reason lots of people at FOSDEM (free software developers) are carrying MacBooks. |
| mrider Feb 09, 2011 3:17 PM EDT |
Quoting:Even better, Linux runs great on Macs!From personal experience (I have a re-purposed MacBook), I would say that Macintosh makes nice hardware on which GNU/Linux runs acceptably well. * Macintoshes do not have a BIOS, and consequently one has to jump through some otherwise unaccustomed hoops to get the computer to see a non-OSX operating system. I use rEFIt, which works well. However, I must have accidentally nuked rEFIt about 10 or 15 times before I finally got the partitions how I wanted them. This will be a less of a problem for those that are smarter and/or less intrepid than I. The upshot is that I wound up leaving OSX on a 100 gig partition as nothing more than a rEFIt recovery tool. * The one button mouse is a real pain. I have a program that emulates the second and third mouse buttons that is bound to Meta+m and Meta+r keys to get around this. * The combined backspace and delete key is annoying. * The total lack of an insert key means pasting into a terminal doesn't work without a key rebind. * The requirement of the "fn" key along with other keys in weird places causes extreme muscle memory confusion. On a "regular" keyboard, Alt+F2 = run. On the Mac, fn+Alt+F2 does the same thing. * There are a number of other minor weirdnesses. All in all, I'm going to make sure I purchase a nice shiny new GNU/Linux only computer from someplace like ZaReason or System 76 next time instead of a "Craig's list special". |
| Steven_Rosenber Feb 09, 2011 3:32 PM EDT |
This vendor is mentioned at Debian.org: http://eracks.com/ They're in California, offer lots of options - all kinds of BSD in addition to many Linux distros - and the prices aren't bad, either. |
| mrider Feb 09, 2011 3:46 PM EDT |
My laptop previous to the MacBook was a Sager laptop with a 1400x1050 screen resolution on a honking big frame. It had a separate numeric keypad and everything. It probably weighed 10 pounds - everybody used to tease me, but man I loved that computer. It long since died, and as it has a PIII processor maxed out at 512 mb ram, it's not worth repairing. I bought the MacBook because the price was right and I thought I wanted something more portable. My next laptop is going to have decent resolution at a 4x3 pixel ratio if it kills me. Also, I've pretty much decided that I'll sacrifice the $$ in order to make sure Microsoft does not count me as a "customer". Thanks for the link SR! I'll check them out. |
| gus3 Feb 09, 2011 3:58 PM EDT |
Quoting:it has a PIII processor maxed out at 512 mb ramSounds like a high-performance firewall/proxy server. |
| mrider Feb 09, 2011 4:18 PM EDT |
Actually, it sounds like nothing at all - since it's dead as can be. :( |
| Steven_Rosenber Feb 09, 2011 4:21 PM EDT |
I've been exploring http://debian.org now that the site has received a much-needed redesign to coordinate with the release of Squeeze. Here is the entire list of vendors on the Debian list: http://www.debian.org/distrib/pre-installed Here are two more U.S.-based vendor that looked promising: http://www.swt.com/ http://laclinux.com/en/Start along with http://eracks.com/ they all offer not just Debian and Ubuntu but many distros. |
| Steven_Rosenber Feb 09, 2011 4:23 PM EDT |
p.s. I like the way LXer now shows the text of the link. Nice change! |
| herzeleid Feb 09, 2011 4:31 PM EDT |
Quoting:The one button mouse is a real pain. I have a program that emulates the second and third mouse buttons that is bound to Meta+m and Meta+r keys to get around this. Kensington and others make nice 3+ button mice which work fine on macs - first thing I replaced on our mac was that horrid 1 button gizmo. |
| dinotrac Feb 09, 2011 4:52 PM EDT |
@all - This ubuntu envy has got to stop. The truth is, most of the Ubuntu how-tos work equally well on Linux. For such an upstart OS, Linux is a remarkably capable Ubuntu clone. With some polish and persistence, it may one day challenge Ubuntu itself for a place in Data centers and desktops. Probably not, but you'd be surprised what those Linux guys have managed to do. If I didn't already have Ubuntu, I know that I'd consider Linux. |
| mrider Feb 09, 2011 4:58 PM EDT |
Quoting:Kensington and others make nice 3+ button mice which work fine on macs - first thing I replaced on our mac was that horrid 1 button gizmo.It's a replacement for the internal touchpad? |
| jimbauwens Feb 09, 2011 5:18 PM EDT |
@dino, and what about BSD's? Will you ever consider them? |
| dinotrac Feb 09, 2011 5:28 PM EDT |
I've heard that BSDs are pretty good at what they do, but that their developers have been less clever and successful at cloning Ubuntu. If Ubuntu is to be overtaken by some new upstart project, I would bet on Linux instead of BSD. Still, with determined developers, things can change radically. Just look what a new development team did for KDE. Or Plasma, or whatever it is. |
| Jeff91 Feb 09, 2011 6:54 PM EDT |
@Steven The prices on the eracks are much higher than places that sell PCs that come stock with Windows I am sorry to say :( (at least on their laptops which is all I care about) ~Jeff |
| herzeleid Feb 09, 2011 7:51 PM EDT |
Quoting:It's a replacement for the internal touchpad? It's not physically replacing the internal touchpad, more like replacing the apple single button mouse. |
| Steven_Rosenber Feb 10, 2011 2:03 AM EDT |
Quoting:The prices on the eracks are much higher than places that sell PCs that come stock with Windows I am sorry to say :( (at least on their laptops which is all I care about) I was only looking at desktops, but the prices seemed pretty good to me. Having hardware chosen for compatibility with open-source software, then assembled, probably using easily upgradeable off-the-shelf components, is probably worth something. This time around I bought cheap, but I'm going to be looking very closely at doing it "right" next time. |
| mrider Feb 10, 2011 12:01 PM EDT |
Quoting:It's not physically replacing the internal touchpad, more like replacing the apple single button mouse.From what I've seen, any USB corded mouse will work with the Macintosh in OSX or GNU/Linux. I've also had no troubles using the mouse wheel as the middle mouse button. No extra configuration required in either environment. The trick is that it's a laptop. Which means that at least some of the time I'm stuck with the native hardware. And for all that OSX is so revered, I personally think "meh". It's okay, but not stellar. It has a "real" bash prompt, but the differences between their tool chain and GNU are always distracting. I'm too used to GNU at this point to comfortably switch back and forth. OSX is prettier than XFCE, but I personally am not as comfortable in it. |
| Steven_Rosenber Feb 10, 2011 12:42 PM EDT |
I've plugged plenty of generic USB mice into Macs, and they always work. Life without right-clicking is nasty and brutish (yet not short). I love showing Mac owners how they can use rsync from the console to back up their user files and (shock! horror!) not pay for a third-party application or service to do it. |
| hkwint Feb 10, 2011 6:19 PM EDT |
Oh darnit, shouldn't have started about Apple in first place! Now the whole thread is full of whoever sticked whatever in a Mac. |
| mrider Feb 10, 2011 7:28 PM EDT |
LOL. Well, to get slightly back on track - for laughs I tried putting Ubuntu on the MacBook I've been ranting about. The hardware might work, but I couldn't get the boot loader to work properly. I'm relatively sure that was one of the times I nuked rEFIt. |
| JaseP Feb 11, 2011 9:50 AM EDT |
I'll play "devil's advocate" for a second. If someone is looking to do something in Ubuntu, they will be just as likely to search with "Ubuntu" as one of the search terms. An article is then more likely to come up if it has the distro name in the title. Not that I disagree with the majority of the comments here... |
| helios Feb 11, 2011 9:57 AM EDT |
@ JaseP That was my point. It doesn't matter. The first Google search result for "Linux" IS Ubuntu. |
| tracyanne Feb 11, 2011 10:46 AM EDT |
IxQuick it's "Linux.com - The source for Linux information" |
| JaseP Feb 11, 2011 6:58 PM EDT |
Quoting: It doesn't matter. The first Google search result for "Linux" IS Ubuntu. That's a little ironic, you'd think it'd come up "Android." If it were a Bing search, it'd probably be, "X!wasNotiplexZZgrr." |
| hkwint Feb 12, 2011 9:00 AM EDT |
No, Bing also comes up with Linux.com, and second, the Chinese Ubuntu website it seems. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 12, 2011 7:49 PM EDT |
But what if I wrote an article actually _about_ Ubuntu? What else could I call it? |
| dinotrac Feb 12, 2011 11:47 PM EDT |
@BOb -- I suggest "Let's call the whole thing troff" I can hear the chorus now -- You say ubuntu, I say uboontu... |
| skelband Feb 12, 2011 11:53 PM EDT |
I don't understand all this antipathy towards Ubuntu. Do we criticise Linksys for not actively telling the world that their routers are running Linux? Nope. How about TiVO? Or a huge raft of appliance manufacturers that rely on some version of Linux under the covers. The only way that a company can make a name for themselves in the Open Source world is by creating a brand that people can be loyal to and making money from that. By confusing potential customer with different messages, they dilute the brand that they are putting forward. Recently, I had cause to look at the Ubuntu "about" documentation and they do not make any attempt to hide the fact that it is in fact Debian GNU/Linux + some extra bells and whistles. The history of Linux, GNU and Debian (with some handy links) are there for all to see. Ubuntu have done more than any other single entity to push the Linux and Open Source cause to the public. Sure, they are looking for a large piece of the action, but they are a business and they are betting on being able to make some money in the future off the back of it. I say good luck to them. |
| jdixon Feb 13, 2011 12:07 AM EDT |
> Do we criticise Linksys ... How about TiVO...Or a huge raft of appliance manufacturers... In a word, yes. |
| bigg Feb 13, 2011 7:14 AM EDT |
> Ubuntu have done more than any other single entity to push the Linux and Open Source cause to the public. That's a very questionable statement. If they were buying Super Bowl ads and things like that, I might agree. Personally, I think Firefox has been at least 100 times more important than Ubuntu. Everyone knows Firefox, it's very popular, and you rarely encounter notices that a website requires IE. That pushes FOSS to the public, and without it, Linux would not be an option for the vast majority of the population. Ubuntu marketing largely consists of fanbois flooding Linux websites with news about Ubuntu. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 13, 2011 9:18 AM EDT |
> I don't understand all this antipathy towards Ubuntu. Not antipathy, I just hadn't used it until three days ago, and apparently couldn't recognize the Unity Desktop if I tripped over it. http://tinyurl.com/4d4m4ds |
| helios Feb 13, 2011 10:14 AM EDT |
Recently, I had cause to look at the Ubuntu "about" documentation and they do not make any attempt to hide the fact that it is in fact Debian GNU/Linux + some extra bells and whistles. The history of Linux, GNU and Debian (with some handy links) are there for all to see. That's fine, but some would argue that you shouldn't have to dig that deep to find Ubuntu's Linux roots. I get it, and I've even written about it in the past. While it's tough to get anyone at Canonical to admit it, there's probably an even money chance that their focus groups have told them to distance themselves from the "Linux" brand as quickly as they can. It might be mentioned in the help documentation, but nowhere on the front page of Ubuntu's web site will you find any mention of Linux. http://tinyurl.com/y7cksed And from a pure marketing standpoint, I can't fault them. I've seen the furled brows and the wrinkled noses when I tell some people that we've put Linux on their computers. Not often, but often enough to correlate the experiences. Ubuntu in the public view does not immediately bring to mind Linux just as Android in the public view does not immediately bring to mind Linux. Personally, if that's what it takes to get Free Software on people's devices, I can live with that, although I've only recently found peace with it. |
| ComputerBob Feb 13, 2011 10:31 AM EDT |
Quoting:Recently, I had cause to look at the Ubuntu "about" documentation... How long has it been since Ubuntu was first released? And now, after all these years, one experienced Linux user has finally read the Ubuntu "about" page. If we're lucky, then maybe, in another 5-10 years or so, a new Ubuntu user will accidentaly read it, too, and learn that Ubuntu is based on Debian Linux. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 13, 2011 4:52 PM EDT |
> Personally, if that's what it takes to get Free Software on people's devices, I can live with that, although I've only recently found peace with it. Having finally tried Ubuntu, I can see why people would be happy using it. I just don't grasp why the word "Linux" has to be so carefully hidden. It remains a fact that applications are what count for a user, and if that user can be introduced to F/OSS by simply never mentioning Linux, then that's something I can live with. Just not sure I'll ever find "peace" with it. |
| herzeleid Feb 13, 2011 5:08 PM EDT |
Quoting:Having finally tried Ubuntu, I can see why people would be happy using it. I just don't grasp why the word "Linux" has to be so carefully hidden.Interesting thought, but it didn't seem hidden to me. On boot the linux kernel clearly announced itself for all to see. For those who miss the startup messages, a quick uname command will spill the beans. It doesn't appear that any effort was made to hide the linux base. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 13, 2011 5:36 PM EDT |
> It doesn't appear that any effort was made to hide the linux base. Maybe us Linux penguinistas are just so accustomed to randomly bringing up Linux in polite company that anyone who just uses their brand name instead seems like they're hiding something when they're not. |
| ComputerBob Feb 13, 2011 5:53 PM EDT |
Quoting:For those who miss the startup messages, a quick uname command will spill the beans... If someone isn't already familiar with Linux commands, and they don't already know that Ubuntu is based on Linux, then how would they know that they could issue a uname command to find out which version of Debian Linux it is running? |
| tracyanne Feb 13, 2011 6:38 PM EDT |
Quoting:I just don't grasp why the word "Linux" has to be so carefully hidden. I don't think it is. In fact I don't see what the problem is. Where it actually matters it's clearly spelled out that Ubuntu is a Linux based Desktop Operating System, there's no attempt to hide that fact. The rest of it is just branding, to differentiate this commercial Linux OS from any other like Mandriva and Red Hat and etc. If not telling people up front that it's Linux increases the adoption of Linux who cares, it's certainly pretty clear that it is, and it's certainly splashed all over the web.... same goes for Android. |
| herzeleid Feb 13, 2011 10:34 PM EDT |
Quoting:If someone isn't already familiar with Linux commands, and they don't already know that Ubuntu is based on Linux, then how would they know that they could issue a uname commandAw shucks, any old unix cowpoke would know to do that. |
| henke54 Feb 13, 2011 10:42 PM EDT |
huh? Is there linux also besides Ubuntu ? .... ;-P |
| JaseP Feb 14, 2011 11:12 AM EDT |
Quoting: No, Bing also comes up with Linux.com, and second, the Chinese Ubuntu website it seems. @ hkwint; I think my little joke went over your head... Think Google's "Bing Sting"... |
| hkwint Feb 14, 2011 4:31 PM EDT |
Quoting:huh? Is there linux also besides Ubuntu ? .... ;-P What? Is there Linux in Ubuntu??? |
| dinotrac Feb 14, 2011 5:14 PM EDT |
@hans Quoting:Is there Linux in Ubuntu??? Good catch. Don't these people ever learn? First SCO tries to accuse the Linux people of trying to steal their stuff. Now Linux people are trying to accuse Ubuntu of taking their stuff? Is there no shame? |
| helios Feb 14, 2011 5:48 PM EDT |
Is there no Shame? Shame and remorse are generally displayed only when one is caught. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 14, 2011 9:45 PM EDT |
> Shame and remorse are generally displayed only when one is caught. Having ethics is sometimes not easy, which is why it's so rare to see it when it matters. |
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