Spreading the word of Linux

[blazemore]

Often people at school will come up and ask me about my laptop, which runs Ubuntu.

I'm getting a bit sick of having to explain every time.
Is there a leaflet or something I can print out to help explain to people what I'm using, and distribute with my Ubuntu distro (It's identical to base, but with ubuntu-restricted-extras installed, and accesibility removed).

[Metallion]

Why not just say "It's Linux."? Most people will have their curiousity satisfied by that.

If you want to spread the OS you can just direct the interested guys to the ubuntu webpage and forums.

[Paqman]

I'm getting a bit sick of having to explain every time.

Keep going! They're far better off talking to you than reading a leaflet. Person-to-person is the best way of dispelling people's misconceptions about linux.

[blazemore]

I actually recommend Linux Mint to most people, since I feel it offers the best OOTB experience to new users.

The main, and only real issue is the restricted codecs. If Flash, Java and mp3 don't work, who's going to want to use it? We live in the real world, not a theoretical universe based around Free Software principles.

[Arkenzor]

But they do work. If you're worried your friends will give up before trying to install them then just give them a text file or something with instructions on how to do basic stuff in their new environment.

[JackieChan]

Just simply say "It's Linux." and link them to the Ubuntu site so they can learn about what you're using. If I were you, I would probably recommend Mint to them though, it's better for new users.

[blazemore]

Just simply say "It's Linux." and link them to the Ubuntu site so they can learn about what you're using. If I were you, I would probably recommend Mint to them though, it's better for new users.

I already do. I think Ubuntu could learn a lot from Mint.

[pbpersson]

I already do. I think Ubuntu could learn a lot from Mint.

I think that Ubuntu does not have the restricted extras by default for two reasons:

1. Some people only want to use open source and do not want to touch anything proprietary
2. There is some legal mumbo-jumbo nonsense behind this as well

[LowSky]

I already do. I think Ubuntu could learn a lot from Mint.

The only thing Ubuntu can learn fomr Mint is making a better looking splash screen

Otherwise, it comes down to legality.

simply put Automatically including DVD, MP3, and other codec supports is not very legal in places like the US. Here you need to technically pay for them. for instance the Dell version of Ubuntu includes these things but its because they pay the license fees for the user (well the consumer really pays i the end).

Mint's inclusion of these codecs, is actually quite illegal in the US, sure it give simplicity to the user, but at the cost that at anytime some company that owns the patent to any of the preinstalled codecs could really ruin Mint's developer(s) by issuing cease and disist orders or even sue for damages, and the way these cases often go, Mint would cese to exist and its people out of work.

[pbpersson]

Mint's inclusion of these codecs, is actually quite illegal in the US, sure it give simplicity to the user, but at the cost that at anytime some company that owns the patent to any of the preinstalled codecs could really ruin Mint's developer(s) by issuing cease and disist orders or even sue for damages, and the way these cases often go, Mint would cese to exist and its people out of work.

Is someone working on open source codecs to do away with this problem?