Backup Rant

[PaulInBHC]

Today I came home for lunch and saw an icon on the launcher. I hovered and it said backup. I clicked it and it suggested that I do backups. Ok, now it says setup backup, I did for home only. Ok, now it says log in to ubuntu one. U1 says username and password, easy way to set up account. No it wasn't but after clicking "forgot my password" I get an email and log in. I start backup and it pops up with not enough room to do the backup.

I have never used either one before. I can figure it out if I choose. How many new users just get confused and annoyed and just blow it off? Maybe leaving linux and going back to whatever.

[deadflowr]

If your running the default deja-dup backup program, then the default's default place to store the backup's is Ubuntu one. You can change it in the storage tab.
Ubuntu one will only store something like 5GB or less(then you have to buy more space). It's pointless for me in that sense as I have movies that take up more space.

To change settings, go to system settings > back up, and do your thing. It's pretty self-explanatory if you can read.

Edit: oops, I realized I never answered the basic question.
Sure, some people might freak out at the whole backup scenario, and some might even run from linux. But I think most people live with the odd things within the distro.

[Euroman]

Yes it might be annoying for new users who are not aware of the space limit of U1. On the other hand: users that drop Ubuntu just for that will leave Linux sooner or later anyway.

[Tamlynmac]

PaulInBHC
How many new users just get confused and annoyed and just blow it off?

I completely agree. I can envision how a new user would become confused. Especially, if the process was unexplained (no popup or on screen support). The only problem I have with this, is the concept that a new user doesn't feel the need to invest in the learning curve.

If there's a solution, I believe it's in on screen, extremely simple feedback. If new users have no desire to learn, the only alternative (assuming one wishes to attract) is to dumb it down. For example, point & click, extensive use of icons and very simple easy to use and understand processes that require zero user effort with substantial glitz & glitter. Plus, a completely autonomous setup and configuration procedure. Essentially, duplicate and expound upon Windows.

Just my $0.02

[PaulInBHC]

I assume that a lot of new users are not tech savvy and a friend has installed ubuntu for them. For $$$ the user would work it out but for free it is easier to tell the friend to take this off my computer.

The update manager pops up on the launcher. You click it and get a popup with updates. You click it and in general it works.

When something new pops up on the launcher, you would expect it to work as well without a lot of input. That's all I'm saying.

If the new user goes to U1 and finds the monthly fees, he may have a funny feeling about it.

[deadflowr]

My experience with new users on any OS(Linux, windows or otherwise), is that they don't notice things pop up until it takes over the middle of the screen.
Things on the peripherals tend to go unnoticed, and only the most curious of users venture into those realms. When they do they tend to have either enough common sense to figure out the basic workings of whatever they're messing with, or shouldn't be on a computer in the first place. I know that sounds bad, but the reality is some people should never use a computer.

[TheFu]

I assume that a lot of new users are not tech savvy and a friend has installed ubuntu for them. For $$$ the user would work it out but for free it is easier to tell the friend to take this off my computer.

These users should buy an Apple laptop for $2000 instead, then they can visit the "genius bar" for "free" help. However, my experience with a Mac was extremely unsatisfactory. Things that I expected to work simply didn't. It was a hassle and after a week, I returned it. It wasn't enough like UNIX for my tastes. It was dumbed down tooooooo much.

The main OS used by most of the world won't backup to any network location unless you buy the pro version. Try calling them for support. Good luck with that. I have. Only when I worked at a company with 100K+ desktop licenses did that work. At a company with 200 desktops, support was pay per-incident. The PC extremely well-know vendor was worthless.

I must admit that I don't have a clue about the built-in backup for Ubuntu or U1. I've been using rdiff-backup on my ubuntu systems for years, quite happily. Every few years, I take a look at a different backup method, but I know that storage is never free. There is always a price. TNSTAAFL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_...s_a_free_lunch

Mom uses something called Back-In-Time. She's completely clueless about it - but it just works for hourly snapshots. Of course, I set that up. Also, I pull a system backup every week to my server using rdiff-backup. I am not aware of a GUI for that tool, sorry.

Can Ubuntu be improved? Certainly.
Does explaining your issue help? Most definitely.
Should new users learn the shell interface? Most definitely.

Start by opening a terminal and typing $ man man to begin learning. Ubuntu is not Windows or OSX. It is different in many ways. Expecting it to be the same is a recipe for disaster.