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Thread: Ubuntu is still too complicated

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Georgia, USA
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    Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

    Ubuntu is still too complicated

    This is not a rant, I am true to my OS of choise. But, I wanted to vent a little and ask an honest question. I realize that Canonical is a business with a business model and so forth. But, why is it that after all this time of Linux evolving... we still can't do simple tasks like watching a DVD or play a popular game without having to spend 12 hours researching how to tweek this or that.

    I am not ranting, but I am venting a little. I realize that a lot of "Linux users" are adept at coding and doing what they need to manipulate the OS, or software, to do whatever it is they need to do... but there is still a larger population of users that (like myself) lack that higher level of knowledge. So, my question is... is the reason that companies like Canonical or "whoever" has yet to make an OS that can actually do what the average user wants "out of the box" an issue of licensing? Or just being completely out of touch?

    I would PAY money (and I realize that's completely opposite of the Linux ideal), but I would pay for a version of Ubuntu that I didnt have to spend 15 freaking hours trying to "adjust it" just to watch a freaking DVD.

    Ok, flame away... but I needed to vent. I just spent a hour trying to.... never mind.
    "Only because the richest software company on the planet is utterly incompetent, and incapable of building a secure operating system. -- Carla Schroder

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    2

    Re: When are we...

    Because DVD's use proprietary formatting. Games are not programmed for linux. Steam is working on changing that and being very successful, recently 300+ games and counting. Apparently ~20% of new releases come to linux now.

    Partly licensing/legal issues, when it comes to mp3 playback and dvds. But that's why "ubuntu-restricted-extras" exists to solve virtually all those problems at once.

    And Canonical's trying to make Linux "out of the box" but they've got a lot of things to work on. There's a lot of areas that most of the linux community doesn't touch. They make difficult to understand solutions to things, and don't optimize it any further, because most sysadmins that contribute to linux code follow a "don't fix it if it's not broken" mentality, rather than most of the hackery types that think "fix it until it breaks". These people only started coming to the linux scene recently because of Ubuntu being easy to pick up.

    I'm not flaming you, you have legitimate concerns, and I can understand Linux is definitely a challenge.

    I suggest picking up a textbook about linux at a bookstore and studying that, you'd be amazed at the things you can do with this OS. I am not sure if I can reccomend anything, but try to find something Ubuntu-specific. And don't get a small book, get a big text book, and occassionally read it when you're bored, or in transit to work, etc. etc. and eventually you'll expand your understanding of Ubuntu very quickly.

    And keep using Linux, whatever distro you prefer, and keep sticking to those difficult studies. Enjoy the tweaking, learn to love the learning experience with Linux, and dive deeper than you need to when possible! In time, you'll be a wizard.

    If it takes you 12 hours of research to watch a DVD, try learning how to use google better: If you know how to ask the right questions, and how to phrase those questions for google, you'll have a much easier time.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Kubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: When are we...

    Quote Originally Posted by ExSuSEusr View Post
    I would PAY money (and I realize that's completely opposite of the Linux ideal), but I would pay for a version of Ubuntu that I didnt have to spend 15 freaking hours trying to "adjust it" just to watch a freaking DVD.
    .

    you can pay. there are a few distributins that offer that.

    you can also use Linux mint that comes with codecs and all out of the box.

    yes, playing DVD is a licensing and legal issue not a technical one. in some countries inclusion of such software it is not allowed while in others it is. in some countries the software can be there but you need to pay for the licence i believe. to satisfy them all and not to break any law the Ubuntu comes withouth this option. though it can easilly be installed if the user accepcts the licences.

    installing restricted extras package from the software center should solve most of your problems, furthermore this can be done during system install by ticking this option in installer. how much simpler should this be?
    Read the easy to understand, lots of pics Ubuntu manual.
    Do i need antivirus/firewall in linux?
    Full disk backup (newer kernel -> suitable for newer PC): Clonezilla
    User friendly full disk backup: Rescuezilla

  4. #4
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    Apr 2005
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    My dreams
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    Ubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus

    Re: When are we...

    Quote Originally Posted by ExSuSEusr View Post
    I would PAY money (and I realize that's completely opposite of the Linux ideal), but I would pay for a version of Ubuntu that I didnt have to spend 15 freaking hours trying to "adjust it" just to watch a freaking DVD.

    Ok, flame away... but I needed to vent. I just spent a hour trying to.... never mind.
    Unnecessary rant because you CAN buy a dvd player or a decoder from the software centre. The MPEG2 codec and the DVD encryption are still proprietary after all, that's the legal thing to do.

    If you are not willing to do that then you have to add the support yourself, the hard way.

    Gaming in linux is exploding at the moment, and graphics driver support has improved a lot and it will become even better in the following months.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    UK
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    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: When are we...

    As mastablasta says the newer installer has the option to install the restricted extras package now.

    However a simple net search of "ubuntu play dvd" means that can be sorted in seconds not hours.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    London, England
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    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: When are we...

    You are forgetting philosophy or misunderstanding it. Free and Open Source Software (F.O.S.S) is not a principle of working hard and giving the software away for nothing. Open Source software can be sold but the source code must be provided as well or made available as well.

    The Ubuntu developers stick to the principles of F.O.S.S. and so do not provide a distribution that "works out of the box," as you call it, because that would mean including code that was not open source and whose source code they could not provide. It might possibly mean including code that it was not legal to distribute. Now, some people do not worry about things like that but Canonical, the supporter of Ubuntu, does think being legal is important.

    But you might say, "it should be my choice." And Canonical gives us that choice but not as part of a default installation of Ubuntu until we accept responsibility by ticking the box. Ubuntu makes it easy for us to install proprietary and legal software. But not out of the box. The Additional Drivers utility will install a proprietary video driver. The Restricted Extras package will install proprietary audio and video codecs. The Ubuntu Software Centre will install an installer that will install an Adobe Flash plugin for Firefox. See how complicated it gets to remain legal.

    We must allow others to live by their principles.

    http://www.ubuntu.com/about/about-ubuntu/our-philosophy

    Install Ubuntu and you can rest assured that all our software meets these ideals. Plus, we are continually working to ensure that every piece of software you could possibly need is available under a licence that gives you those freedoms.
    Regards.
    Last edited by grahammechanical; October 7th, 2013 at 02:06 PM.
    It is a machine. It is more stupid than we are. It will not stop us from doing stupid things.
    Ubuntu user #33,200. Linux user #530,530


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    2,336
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    Ubuntu

    Re: When are we...

    It's a combination of licensing and the widely held opinion that Linux is an unprofitable market.

    Vendors of devices and their drivers are not going to open either their hardware or their code. To do so would simply open the door for competitors to sell cheaper duplicates. They are not going to tell other people how to put them out of business.

    FOSS licensing is incompatible with that reality. And vice versa.

    Paying for Linux, then, would not change that state of affairs. Conceivably, though, that revenue might support the licensing of binary drivers that are provided without source and used by distributions who do not completely adhere to FOSS principles.

    Selling Linux does not violate the GPL, etc. (Otherwise, the FSF would not run an online store.). Getting something without paying is a cultural expectation that has developed in the Linux community.

    (Various unsuccessful attempts have been made to sell desktop Linux on the retail market. The most prominent example is Red Hat, which moved to its present model after several years of trying to sell shrinkwrapped Linux.)

  8. #8
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    Nov 2010
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    Madras, India
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    201

    Re: When are we...

    Quote Originally Posted by ExSuSEusr View Post
    This is not a rant, I am true to my OS of choise. But, I wanted to vent a little and ask an honest question. I realize that Canonical is a business with a business model and so forth. But, why is it that after all this time of Linux evolving... we still can't do simple tasks like watching a DVD or play a popular game without having to spend 12 hours researching how to tweek this or that.

    I am not ranting, but I am venting a little. I realize that a lot of "Linux users" are adept at coding and doing what they need to manipulate the OS, or software, to do whatever it is they need to do... but there is still a larger population of users that (like myself) lack that higher level of knowledge. So, my question is... is the reason that companies like Canonical or "whoever" has yet to make an OS that can actually do what the average user wants "out of the box" an issue of licensing? Or just being completely out of touch?

    I would PAY money (and I realize that's completely opposite of the Linux ideal), but I would pay for a version of Ubuntu that I didnt have to spend 15 freaking hours trying to "adjust it" just to watch a freaking DVD.

    Ok, flame away... but I needed to vent. I just spent a hour trying to.... never mind.
    Short but not entirely accurate answer: blame the hardware manufacturers and game developers, both of whom have till recently tried their best to ignore the uprising of Linux. Also many Linux software may not be as polished as Windows equivalents since most developers code them on a voluntary and unpaid basis, although critical components like the kernel etc do have many companies and paid employees grokking them. Conversely there are a lot of Linux software which are more stable and polished than their Windows equivalents too.

    For playing certain content silly copyright/patent restrictions also come into play. Certain things are illegal in the US like using libdvdcss. Again not something the developer/distributor community can do a whole lot about, although the user community can, by choosing to use and recommend patent-free alternatives.

    Monetising is not against the 'Linux ideal', if ever there's any such simple thing in the first place. The community is vast and varied with different groups motivated by different things, but nearly all do agree on one thing, i.e., the superiority of the open source development model (which implies community development as well)... This has nothing to do with making or not making money out of the software.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
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    87
    Distro
    Ubuntu Mate 16.04 Xenial Xerus

    Re: Ubuntu is still too complicated

    I don't see the point of this discussion - "Ubuntu is still too complicated" ?
    How is it complicated? You install it - you run it - what else is there?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Reykjavík, Ísland
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    13,647
    Distro
    Xubuntu

    Re: Ubuntu is still too complicated

    The title was chosen by me.
    Bringing old hardware back to life. About problems due to upgrading.
    Please visit Quick Links -> Unanswered Posts.
    Don't use this space for a list of your hardware. It only creates false hits in the search engines.

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