*why* do new users come to ubuntu from windows?

[jaybee99]

I was just wondering what people think the most common motivations were for people switching from windows to something like ubuntu....I have a feeling that it's a question of convenience for many people (it's free, bags of software, stable, reliable), rather than idealistic reasons, or are people being won over to the GNU ideas about free software? I don't say this with any motive, just wondering what people here think. I write this after reading the most recent of many posts in the hardware section, threatening to go back to windows because they couldn't get their sound card working and couldn't be bothered to RTFM and, what the hell, why wasn't linux more usable? Is there something to be said for teaching them the values and the tools of their new community?

[matt]

I think a lot of new users - myself included - come out of curiousity. We've heard so much about Linux that we want to see what all the fuss is about. As for choosing Ubuntu specifically, it's received some really good online press coverage since its release, so people looking to try Linux, right now, are likely to consider it.
For me, I came to Ubuntu because I live in Japan, and a friend who was leaving Japan gave me a free computer. The main problem with it was it had Windows 2000 - in Japanese! My Japanese is...um...not so good. :-?
So I had to install a new OS anyway, and I thought, "I can install Windows, which I know, but always seem to have trouble with, or I can try Linux...." and started researching. I chose Ubuntu and never looked back.
Now, except when helping my fiancee on her laptop, I haven't used Windows in about five months. :grin:

[mark]

I would say it's a mixed bag. Some folks are lured by the idea of "it's FREE!", while others truly look at the ideology/philosophy of open software. Then there's another category - people that are fed up with the various insecurities and vulnerabilities of the Windows environment and want something on their computer that isn't going to get infected, spy'd and ad'd into unusability by the simple act of connecting to the Internet.

I encourage people to try Linux & offer assistance to that end - but I don't proselytize - that's not my style.

[HaloGray]

I came in because it was free, because I heard a lot of noise about it and got curious... and I was simply bored with Windows.

[Zundfolge]

I came to Linux for a few reasons.
(in no particular order)
I'm tired of the problems with virii, spyware, malware and all the other crap Windows users have to deal with.
I've been curious about Linux for years, but never had the time to mess with it.
I read a story a few years ago about a university (I think it was the University of North Carolina) that had a Linux server running for years, when they wanted to upgrade some of the hardware they couldn't find it ... turns out the closet it was in had accidentally been walled up ... so the darn thing ran for something like 4 years without being restarted or touched ... that would be impossible with Windows (on my Windows machine at work, if I leave it on overnight I find I have to reboot it in the morning)
I haven't actually paid for a copy of Windows since Windows 95 ... and thats only because it came with the computer I had bought (I've built every computer since then). So I kinda wanted to run a "legit" OS and I also expect that future versions of Windows will use some annoying form of authentication and be more difficult to install "bootleg" copies of so now's a good time to learn Linux.

[DJ_Max]

Well, I would think it's because Ubuntu is a very user friendly Linux distro. While others, such as Gentoo scare the common NT user away.

[CowPie]

I think a lot of new users - myself included - come out of curiousity. We've heard so much about Linux that we want to see what all the fuss is about. As for choosing Ubuntu specifically, it's received some really good online press coverage since its release, so people looking to try Linux, right now, are likely to consider it.
For me, I came to Ubuntu because I live in Japan, and a friend who was leaving Japan gave me a free computer. The main problem with it was it had Windows 2000 - in Japanese! My Japanese is...um...not so good. :-?
So I had to install a new OS anyway, and I thought, "I can install Windows, which I know, but always seem to have trouble with, or I can try Linux...." and started researching. I chose Ubuntu and never looked back.
Now, except when helping my fiancee on her laptop, I haven't used Windows in about five months. :grin:
Spyware, and curiosity.

Spyware is the pink elephant of the Windows world. My computer had to be reinstalled every few days due to the kids.

[jeremy]

Being free was, of course, a factor that helped me decide to switch from windows to ubuntu, but by far the major reason why I 'moved' was because, by using windows, I felt that I was not living by my principles.

[KiwiNZ]

Many years ago using Win 3.11 or my Amiga it was fun computing . But with Windows 2000 and XP it got to dammed easy and the fun went out of it.
So I tried redhat 7 then an old Mandrake and I found that Linux could bring the fun back.
So my reason was simply to make computers fun again

[wallijonn]

The Linux floodgates will open wide when Longhorne comes out and everyone finds out that they need a 4G processor and 2G or memory to run it.

Now if Linux could only convert everyhting to 64 bit to push back the next wave due out later this year...

Why do newbies come here? Because it's highly regarded, has had positive press and because they don't want to pay the $90 for SUSE, et. al.

[adbak]

I actually didn't come from Windows to Ubuntu, but rather from Windows to Mandrake (which never installed on my computer for some reason) to Fedora Cores 1 and 2 and then to Ubuntu. Switching to GNU/Linux was mostly fueled by a desire to learn more about computers. After all, you can only visit the Control Panel in Windows so often. Not to mention there were oodles of programs for Windows but most required that you try it out for 30 days and then buy it, buy it straight up, or pay a monthly charge for it. Being a college student I didn't like parting with my money, so I never bought any programs. Not to mention the fact that almost every program required that you register the product so that the company can send you ads.

Other reasons for switching to Linux was the plethora of spyware/adware/malware and the general upkeep of Windows (running malware removal programs, virus checkers, disk cleanups, defragging, etc). Also, I believed in the open source philosophy.

These are the main reasons for me switching to GNU/Linux.

[eBopBob]

For me personally... I guess one reason would have to be that I'm very different, and like being different ( Does that mean I'll use something else if Linux becomes as popular as/more popular than Windows? Maybe... most likely probably. But we'll have to wait and see. ;) ). To be quite honest, I did not come to Linux due to the fact that it is free as in free beer, as I've paid for SuSE 9.1 Professional and would gladly purchase Ubuntu. It's not really either due to the viruses or spy-ware - As TBQH I never had any problems with that in Windows ( Hearing the amount of horror stories I just wonder what others do on the Internet - I've never had any viruses or spy-ware [in Windows] yet I'm on the Internet nearly all the time ). I've read the definition of Free Software (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) and one of the bits about it that I love is "``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in ``free beer.''" - Although I did not move to Linux due to its philosophy, as I do not believe all software should be GNU, however I must say I do like it.

So I guess then I don't fit into one of the currently listed categories then?

Overall as to why people in general move to Linux? I'd have to say firstly comes the price ( It's either free as in free beer or very cheap ), secondly comes the fact it's apparently more secure than Windows and also the fact you're less vulnerable to viruses. The majority of people who I have met are not interested in its philosophy though.

There are also people who are either anti-American or wish to support their own industry ( For example they'd rather use Mandrake because it's French and they are French and they'd prefer to support a French company over an American one - I actually know one company who is looking to use Ubuntu as it's the closest thing to a British Linux distro as Canonical Ltd is based on the Isle of Man which falls under the UK ).

[jaybee99]

I think Stallman is right when he says that people who come to Gnu/Linux because of convenience/stability/price etc gain *nothing* if their reasons for using it stay that way, and the minute something more convenient comes along, they'll be off. (I'm not saying ubuntu has more users of this type than any other distro) What they don't realise is that it wouldn't be available in the first place if it wasn't for his & others dogged idealism (so-called 'black and white' thinking) and willingness to work for years to get what they want...how about a distro that makes you read through a collection of rms' rambling wisdom (using console emacs) before it can be used :-) :wink:

[DirtDawg]

I came to Linux actually because my apple os9 crashed and burned. I didn't have the os9 disc to reinstall and I wasn't about to pay $$$ for osX (DirtDawg is DirtPoor). This was about the same time IBM was pushing Linux, so I started doing research (at first, I thought Linux would have no GUI). It's taken me a long time to get used to linux (I don't know a single other person who uses it), but it's been worth (almost) every minute.

[BurningShed]

Well, I was pretty happy with my XP install, and i know enough about my machine to keep it mostly clean, so, while the idea of using linux seemed intresting, there was no real motivation to switch. But having the free CDs arrive in my mailbox (most of which i gave away... all except the PPC ones, turns out i don't know a single mac user) is what finaly made me go ahead and try it. (so i would say, its the free CD mailing system combined with the good press the said system has gotten)

[ctt1wbw]

Many years ago using Win 3.11 or my Amiga it was fun computing . But with Windows 2000 and XP it got to dammed easy and the fun went out of it.
So I tried redhat 7 then an old Mandrake and I found that Linux could bring the fun back.
So my reason was simply to make computers fun again


Too easy? What planet are you living on? :-P :-P

OMG, XP is sooooo boring. All you can do is click on icons and play solitaire.

[KiwiNZ]

Too easy? What planet are you living on? :-P :-P

OMG, XP is sooooo boring. All you can do is click on icons and play solitaire.

Thats what I was saying WinXP and 2000 are just install click and run. No challenge.

[ctt1wbw]

I know. I had Ubuntu for three weeks and I learned more about computers in that three week period than I ever did with Windows. But the Windows partition decided to eat the drive for breakfast one day and I lost everything. I had to reinstall Windows XP over a two day period. Now I am going to wait for a few months before I erase it and install Ubuntu as my primary OS.

[cacofonix]

Too easy? What planet are you living on? :-P :-P

OMG, XP is sooooo boring. All you can do is click on icons and play solitaire.

I felt like this too. Some of the most fun times I have had on my computer where in DOS trying to get things to work. I felt proud when I finally got my cdrom working or getting the game to run.
In the last couple of years (Running Windows XP) I was geting annoyed with everything because it worked right away or if it didnt you just clicked on icons to fix it. It took the thrill out of getting things to work.


cacofonix

[Domhnull]

Freedom. That's one of the most important things which made me start looking at Linux. Just learning about the different distros available was interesting. I tried out several before deciding to stay with Ubuntu. Linux is a great example of how people can cooperate with one another. I've done some programming and am now figuring out what I can do with Linux. It's great to have the tools available. And sure, cost is a factor too.

[KiwiNZ]

Freedom. That's one of the most important things which made me start looking at Linux. Just learning about the different distros available was interesting. I tried out several before deciding to stay with Ubuntu. Linux is a great example of how people can cooperate with one another. I've done some programming and am now figuring out what I can do with Linux. It's great to have the tools available. And sure, cost is a factor too.

Freedom that is theword, freedm to customise, freedom to control YOUR computer.And does it not feel good to download a neww App and not feel like public enemy number one.
And by that I am not condoning illegal downloading , the real alternative to illegal downloading in the Windows world is to use Linux.

[lucus]

i came to start using linux because i recieved a laptop with win2000, and no passwords. i had the capability to reinstall windows, but instead i decided that owning a laptop (i never have prior to this) would be a new experience, and why not use a system. i wanted the challenge of learning a new way of thinking. and so far i have had only 3 problems with the laptop, and i am down to only 1 problem left (screen resolution). i used redhat a long time ago for a very short period of time, i switched back to windows then because i was a big gamer. i wanted to use the laptop mostly for the internet, CD player, writing.
and Gnome is well designed and very appealing to the eye.
i installed DebIan first, and then got a copy of Unbuntu, and reinstalled. i liked the installation process of Unbuntu a lot!!
i love the screen saver that i am using (cause it is really calming, and bright coloured)
the only downside i am finding, is also the biggest upside.
ubuntu is non-corporate, which is awesome because there is this great world-wide community where people are willing to help
ubuntu is non-corporate so, hardware and software are not always compatible with the OS.

honestly i think the lack of gaming is a good thing (i used to spend WAY too much time doing that), but there are a lot of good games for linux.
and i like the benefits of the non-corporate environment much much MUCH more than i dislike the lack of compatibility.

and that is my story...

[sunscape]

Free software that is updated consistently and the fact that my "questionable" XP software was starting to give me problems. Plus, I would appretiate the option of not paying for XP when I purhase a new computer. If my laptop had not come with XP, I would have paid, at least, $100 less.

The good news however:

There will always be hackers to break the next Microsoft authentication scheme. And people will continue to migrate to Linux since not even the evil empire can challenge a free product.

[gajeghst]

I came to Ubuntu for a few reasons.
First I really like the idea behind Open-Source.
The price is something that is sort of relative since I have to buy a new sound card and modem in order for it to work.
I also really despise Micro***t, for all the wrong that is done to their customers.
I chose Ubuntu because it was a new distro and I have read only good things.
So yeah, that as they say is that...(btw who are "they".)
john

[towner]

I left windows because using XP started to bore me.

I wanted computing to be fun again and had heard a lot about Linux. The people who used Linux seemed to be far better informed about the work that they achieved with the tools that they used. I installed Red Hat 8 and used that until I found Ubuntu in November.

Haven't looked back (oh yeah and computing is more fun now) \\:D/

[InsaneSith]

Well I got an old computer given to me.

I didn't feel like putting windows on it as it's rather clunky, and I've been curious to try linux. I've played with Ubuntu over at a friends house, got a feel for it and fell in love. I ordered some discs and when they came in I installed it. And loved it even more now that I own my own machine devoted to it.

[totalshredder]

I'll tell you the main reason I switched to ubuntu, was I was sick and tired of all my brothers downloading new spyware, installing "games" that were really viruses. :roll: Windows XP just completely annoyed me. I decided to make the switch to ubuntu (after I tried about 5 others) and I haven't looked back. The thing I really love about it, is that it's so simple. My brothers who had never used anything but windows caught right on to gnome, and like it more than windows already!

Cheers \\:D/

I must admit though, windows 2000 is a pretty darned good OS!

Luke

[MetalMusicAddict]

I came to linux to see what it was about. The idea of a free OS was neat. That was 5 years ago. I didnt like Linux. It wasnt ready for my desktop. I tried many distros through the years and found Ubuntu 2 months ago. I love it.

I dont hate my MS side. I split my time 1/2 between XP/Ubuntu. XP has been rock solid for me. Its the only MS thing I use. There are tons of freeware apps for win that I love. Thats the only reason I cant make a full switch now. Apps like GordianKnot, EAC, Audiograbber, Winamp and its plugins, Foobar and a number of others. ;) I am scared about the DRM that MS will put in future versions of XP. I dont pirate. I own all my media and dont wanna be told how to use it.

Though there are some things I would like on my Ubuntu side ie: Real transperency, the abillity to put the toolbars on 1 row in Gnome and a comprehensive CD ripper/encoder. Most of the things are small now and I look forward to Ubuntu's future.

I do wonder about the pace of Linux though. Can It be as good as OSX, XP? From a GUI, ease of use, game support point of view. I dont doubt its security. Since it all open source it seems that its slower to develop. Too many people can work on it. Less focus.

I dont know. Just throwin it out there. :)

[rufius]

I moved to linux by way of a friend's persuasion. I actually was looking at his PC and was confused when I saw his desktop (He had it skinned like the original OSX) and became fascinated when he began explaining how he'd done it. A lot of it also had to do because I was just starting to get into lower-level programming. I was never much of a gamer so the move to linux was relatively easy. Here i am 5 years later :).

[sard]

Well, I was pretty happy with my XP install, and i know enough about my machine to keep it mostly clean, so, while the idea of using linux seemed intresting, there was no real motivation to switch.

I was mostly curious how far Linux had come in the last few years since I last tried it.

After using Ubuntu for a week my Windows 2000 installation is still faster, more stable and easier to use.

apt-get is an amazing tool, but you only have to look (and work your way through like I have) the unofficial Ubuntu guide to realise how much gibberish you'll still have to paste into a command prompt to get things done that are a double click away in windows.

I suppose it's the lack of standards in many areas of Linux that means you have to use the command prompt to get certain things done.

Libranet and Mepis are next on my list to play with.

[king20878]

1. Wanted more control.
2. Love resurrecting old PCs.
3. Wanted to learn how computers really work.

Aside from that, my primary 'idealistic' motivation was a desire to see more competition on the desktop. I'm a dyed in the wool capitalist, so choice and competition are good things, monopolies are not.

[EndersGame]

I just installed Ubuntu a few days ago after being a Windows user for years. I think my interest in Linux started when I found Firefox, and that showed me just how good open-source can be. After that, I tried to switch using Debian, and got completely lost installing it. Ubuntu fit on one nice CD and worked flawlessly. I'm loving it so far.

[wallijonn]

Thats what I was saying WinXP and 2000 are just install click and run. No challenge.

The challenge in W2KP is in securing it - like creating a limited / restricted account then removing all write access to the C: drive save the 'My Documents' folder. That and gaming (especially the older stuff that won't work on WXP) and trying to install Window Blinds. I found it, Window Blinds, to be a resource hog and it didn't work too well with a restricted / limited account.

W2KP ran really slow on my P1.5 (423) and Ubuntu gave it a speed boost.

[wapowell]

I had tried several linux distros in the past. Redhat (dating back to the 7.x), SuSE, and the latest being Ubuntu. It was mentioned to me by a coworker whose opinion I respect.

Hmmmm,...why Linux? I guess several reasons.

Certainly the cost plays a part in the decision. Yes, ethics debate aside, windows can get acquired for free as can the apps to run on it. But it certainly feels much better to know that the apps/os you are running really was free and not simply stolen copy. ummm,...I mean.... a copy that you acquired for "evaluation purposes".
Windows has become (IMHO) far too much of a resource hog for its own good. While I am able to run XP just fine on my laptop, Linux has given me so much better performance and responsiveness on the same hardware.
Linux has given me more control over the environment. Linux, like Windows, give you a good starting point for a desktop (regardless of your choice of KDE or Gnome). But where Linux opens doors, MS closes them. I can take the default desktop environment in Linux and keep it as is, change it to have the look and feel that I like, or do away with it if I am feeling froggy. With Windows I could do what.... change the background, toolbar color and font (without buying or "evaluating" a third party product which only then eats MORE resources)?
Security. Can you secure a Windows install? Sure. By doing so are you in for one of the most prohibitive experiences (as a desktop user) at best? Absolutely! I worry far less about viruses, spyware, unauthorized access, etc on my Linux machine then I ever did/could on my windows machines I have had. One thing I used to demonstrate the "convenience" factor (as it applies to security) to a couple friends of minewas this: Create a user in windows and give that user no administrative access. S/he can't install most software. Now, try to install the software in question using the "Run As..." option. Does it install? Sure sometimes. And other times the install will as flaky as you can imagine. i.e., we tried this with something simple like Winamp. That thing crashed more times than WinME EVER dreamed of crashing (unless we ran Winamp while logged in as administrator. Then it was fine). ](*,) Now in Ubuntu, as the default user try to install software that would require root access or try to browse certain directories. Yeah, no luck there. Now try sudo. Night and day my friend, night and day.
the list goes on and on...


What's holding me back from being a total convert? That's an easy question. My lack of certain knowledge. Just being honest here. One example would be my wireless card. In windows, just insert the driver cd (if XP didn't already have the driver in the cab files), a click here and a click there and now I have 802.11g. In Linux? Oh, no where near as intuitive. However, on another mchine it took only maybe 10 minutes at most of browsing the Ubuntu forums and I had all the answers I needed to get this card working in Ubuntu, with no reboot even!
I don't say that to in any way bash Linux at all! I only mention that to acknowledge the learning curve that one faces if Windows has been their only experience. And while that learning curve certainly does exist, if one is up to facing that learning challenge there is a vast and highly knowledgeable community available to walk with them through every step of the way. That for me is right up there on the list of reasons why I chose Linux...specifically Ubuntu.

[jdodson]

i think my movement to gnu/linux has been up and down for various reasons at different times.

in the beginning, i was attracted to gnu/linux because of its rampant coolness. what i mean is that you could do so much more than dos or win95(at the time i started fiddling with gnu/linux win95 was king). i wanted to get into servers and i did not have the money to shell out for the latest microsoft server. so in the beginning it was a marriage of convenience. gnu/linux was there, it was functional and it was cheap, i.e. cost==$0.

later on i began to switch away from pay software as i realized that most of was pirated. windows ME, office 2000, windows 2000 and most of my games and music. it started to occur to me that i was stealing and i decided to start the long trek to becoming "legit." the first steps were to install star office(5.2 at the time, which SUCKED) which was slower than a dog and mozilla. staroffice was SO SLOW, but it allowed me to purge myself of stolen office products. i dumped my stolen mp3s and games and started purchasing games i actually played. i started to realize that if i wanted to continue the windows path i had to shell out some serious cash for the OS. i am cheapskate and personally think paying for an OS is silly. i got a laptop from my school in 2002 that came with xp so i could continue on in the windows world with few problems. after adding more machines to my home mix i realized i needed to do something. i started to realize that i just used windows to run free software like firefox, openoffice, putty, winscp, filezilla and other GPL tools. so i decided to make the switch. why not? i wasn't using windows for any windows specific programs anyway. so on my main computer i installed fedora core 2 and use it soley. i began to read more and more stallman and decided(at the time) that my freedom was more important than convenience. i started to advocated gnu/linux and became a real GPL fiend. i got into a few heated discussions with friends on the matter and became an overall ******* about software. i think that is the rub sometimes with GPL zealots. freedom was never and is not a bad thing. the bad thing in my opinion is when people get so hardcore about something they forget that most people might not agree. so the person who does not agree is slighted and written off as an enemy to freedom or someone who "obviously does not care about freedom." lately i have been trying to balance freedom with pragmatism. am i free because i run unreal tournament 2004? well according to stallman i am not. but i bought the game when i did not care so do i have to throw it away? is the GPL really free anyway? well in a sense yes and in a sense no. is the bsd license more free? in a sense yes and in a sense no. i still prefer the GPL however not everything is GPL licensed i use. i use gnu/linux exclusively as an OS. does that mean i am only running free software? no. dammit, i want to play my DVDS! a purist would trash his DVD collection(because of the non-free libraries and codecs surrounding dvd playback and encoding), i have realized i am not a purist. i do ogg and flac my songs from cd, i would only publish a document as a .txt or .sxw or another free format. i am starting to publish movies as .ogg format too. i am attempting to purge myself of non-free software, but i just am not sure when i am going to dump warcraft 3(i run it in ubuntu btw with no problems) or realplayer.

so the reasons i use gnu/linux now are now as follows. it is both free as in cost and freedom, however not everything i use is “free”. it is also inherently more tweakable and god love me that i am a dork who tweaks. the community that surrounds ubuntu is one of the coolest things i have been a part of. i have choice of desktop/browser/office suite and many other things which is like water in the desert of microsoft-no-choice-land. in the end gnu/linux just "feels right" in an unexplainable way that just is. i don't try to intellectualize this point because i can not. computers are a important part of my life, from the first time i used debian to now, gnu/linux just makes the most sense. will it always make the most sense? who knows, but it seems to fill the void well.

for more information on my first experiences with gnu/linux see this i wrote for ubuntu traffic, check it out here (http://people.ubuntulinux.org/~mako/jon_dodson-what_i_owe_gnulinux.txt) .

[ezeze5000]

Hi everybody!

I just got my "Ubuntu" PC up and running, and am writing
this message on it right now!

I have several PC's running windows 98,ME,XP
and also Linux redhat, Knoppix, Mandrake,Fedora,and now
Ubuntu :smile:
What I was looking for was an operating system that would run on low end machines. Like 64MB of ram, 500mhz processor, 2gb HD, etc.......

Looks like I found it!

[poofyhairguy]

Hi everybody!

I just got my "Ubuntu" PC up and running, and am writing
this message on it right now!

I have several PC's running windows 98,ME,XP
and also Linux redhat, Knoppix, Mandrake,Fedora,and now
Ubuntu :smile:
What I was looking for was an operating system that would run on low end machines. Like 64MB of ram, 500mhz processor, 2gb HD, etc.......

Looks like I found it!

I recommend XFCE. It flies with Hoary!