Does it worry anyone that Ubuntu is becoming unpopular?

[MichealH]

no because ubuntu has never been popular

/me goes tho the ubuntu irc channel

OHAI! So what are all you 1345 people doing here?

[rtimai]

I'm glad that Ubuntu is not becoming too popular. May be my imagination, but I think Ubuntu forums seem increasingly flooded with new user cries for help. Wish the guidelines (below) in the Absolute Beginner Talk forum were made more conspicuous. Many posts are unanswered because readers don't have a clue to what they're trying to say.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1422475

[wilee-nilee]

Well, these findings are definitely conclusive. Time to go back to using manual typewriters.

Lol; Nothing like forum peer review to persuade a personal bias, now where is that damn typewriter?

[Robynsveil]

Ha ha, well put. I like Linux (and Ubuntu) because it does just what I want it to (most of the time) not so I can look down my nose at windows users.

Well put, yourself, Shepherd.

Linux isn't worried about popularity or market share. That's just the nature of the beast. I use it because it is safe, it is quick, it is stable, it is free and it does what i need to do in a reasonably reliable fashion ( recent GRUB SNAFU aside ). Yes, there are times I do have to use Windows just because Poser doesn't run *natively* in Ubuntu, but for 99% of my day-to-day PC activities Ubuntu Linux does it really well. I don't proselatise it much, because that would involve having to ultimately support it which with my time constraints i can't really do anymore, but who knows: I'm edging towards retirement, so an iCafe with a Linux server and cheapo-laptops sounds like a good business to get into.

[Belak]

http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2010/09...oad-not-taken/

That has an interesting few points. Really, it seems as though Ubuntu as of late has become more interested in eye candy and slightly less in stability. Why does almost the same system run "better" in Arch.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Ubuntu, but I've started using other distros because I think they run much more stable.

I am not a Linux guru. I think LFS is a bit pointless. I will also admit that I am typing this in Windows 7. Though I am tempted to go back to XP. This laptop does have a dual boot with Arch and my second laptop is running 100% arch.

Linux in general is an amazing piece of software that I sincerely doubt will be fading out any time soon. You can look at trends all you want. They don't matter. Communities like this one, and the Arch forums and the Arch, Gentoo, Ubuntu, etc IRC matter.

I wish packages in Ubuntu stayed up to date more. I'd rather see something crazy-stable than something crazy-shiny. And up to date is good.

Essentially, all I have to say, is that Linux, even with some shortcomings, and despite any trends, should not be going anywhere any time soon. And that makes me happy.

[Mazza558]

I'm shocked Mazza that you don't use Ubuntu anymore.

I have it, but yeah, I don't particularly use it any more. On my machine Windows 7 is actually faster than 10.04 and as I've got into music technology a bit more, I shifted to the Windows-only commercial programs from Linux. It is very difficult to get audio and MIDI up and running lag-free (or at least it was a year ago), so there that deterrent, too.

I'd like to get back into it all and help try to develop the community side of LMMS (which still has great functionality), but if the distro side keeps disappointing me, I get turned away.

What I think Linux needs, really desperately, is something flashy and user-friendly built upon a rock-solid Debian stable core, even if it is more than 3 years old. Who cares if the kernel has the latest and greatest if it causes so much pain for everyone? And surely it's more satisfactory to build features which every user will enjoy, rather than slightly shinier innards?

[kamaboko]

I won't lose sleep over the popularity of any OS.

[Belak]

I have it, but yeah, I don't particularly use it any more. On my machine Windows 7 is actually faster than 10.04 and as I've got into music technology a bit more, I shifted to the Windows-only commercial programs from Linux. It is very difficult to get audio and MIDI up and running lag-free (or at least it was a year ago), so there that deterrent, too.

I'd like to get back into it all and help try to develop the community side of LMMS (which still has great functionality), but if the distro side keeps disappointing me, I get turned away.

What I think Linux needs, really desperately, is something flashy and user-friendly built upon a rock-solid Debian stable core, even if it is more than 3 years old. Who cares if the kernel has the latest and greatest if it causes so much pain for everyone? And surely it's more satisfactory to build features which every user will enjoy, rather than slightly shinier innards?

I have to agree with this. K.mandla's blog post is a good read on this subject too.

[Ric_NYC]

Are Windows and Microsoft becoming unpopular?

[Cam42]

google trends =/= how popular an OS is...