TheUbuntuSite.com - The site for Ubuntu switchers

[jamieh]

It's still a newborn, but I'm slowly adding useful content. Have a look:

http://www.theubuntusite.com/

Or on Digg (http://digg.com/linux_unix/The_Ubuntu_Site_The_site_for_Ubuntu_switchers)

[Flimm]

Do you have a trademark license (http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/trademarkpolicy) from Canonical?

[jamieh]

Do you have a trademark license (http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/trademarkpolicy) from Canonical?

I've submitted a request a couple days ago, I have yet to receive a response. I figure the chances of being denied are next to nothing anyway, many other sites use the word "ubuntu" in their domain.

[HavocXphere]

It appears non-commercial in nature & w/ good intentions. I'd suggest emailing cannonical nonetheless just to make sure.

Also, fix the image size on the Why page.

1440px × 900px (scaled to 559px × 348px)
^That is just not cool. Making ppl download a big image and then scaling it down. Esp if they are not on broadband.

Also, I'd suggest rephrasing this part: "it might not be worth your time to make the switch".

[4th guy]

It's still a newborn, but I'm slowly adding useful content. Have a look:

http://www.theubuntusite.com/

Or on Digg (http://digg.com/linux_unix/The_Ubuntu_Site_The_site_for_Ubuntu_switchers)

If you want success stories, go to the Testimonials and Experiences sub-forum and message the people with successful stories for permission to quote them on the website.

[Psicolonia]

hi, the site looks great. Looking forward to see it evolve. I would also advise a link to the fullcircle magazine.

http://fullcirclemagazine.org/

as a plus for the switching. Do you know any free windows magazine? I don't...

Great work. Looks nice colorwise too. Congrats.

[Psicolonia]

also, out of curiosity, what cms are you using there?

[wojox]

I would not lose much sleep over trademarks. I ordered the CD and it stated you are free to copy, modify, and redistribute. But it never hurts to ask. Maybe you should put a link to Canonical on the site.

[Sealbhach]

I would not lose much sleep over trademarks. I ordered the CD and it stated you are free to copy, modify, and redistribute. But it never hurts to ask. Maybe you should put a link to Canonical on the site.

I would say:

1. It's good manners.
2. Canonical have shut down the Ubuntu Satanic Edition T-Shirt store, so they do take some heed of how the Ubuntu trademark is perceived : http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1356954/ubuntu-shuts-satan

.

[wojox]

Sealbhach

I would say:

1. It's good manners.
2. Canonical have shut down the Ubuntu Satanic Edition T-Shirt store, so they do take some heed of how the Ubuntu trademark is perceived : http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...tu-shuts-satan

Key word is some heed. I think theres a big difference between a help website and satanic t-shirts.:confused:

[aeiah]

dont use the word 'bullshite'

run it through a spell checker (sacrofice isnt spelt that way for a start)

remove the bits where you repeat yourself

giving one of the main differences between windows and ubuntu as 'its better' isn't a difference, it's an opinion.



looks quite nice though :o

[jamieh]

I would not lose much sleep over trademarks. I ordered the CD and it stated you are free to copy, modify, and redistribute. But it never hurts to ask. Maybe you should put a link to Canonical on the site.

I shall link to them.


also, out of curiosity, what cms are you using there?

None, just pure HTML and CSS :)
I'm hosting with hamiltonhost.ca if that's what you meant.


Great work. Looks nice colorwise too. Congrats.

Thank you :)
My mom's interested in switching to Ubuntu. I was trying to find a site that makes it look easy and fun, but couldn't really, so I'm starting my own.


If you want success stories, go to the Testimonials and Experiences sub-forum and message the people with successful stories for permission to quote them on the website.

I shall look there.


It appears non-commercial in nature & w/ good intentions. I'd suggest emailing cannonical nonetheless just to make sure.

Also, fix the image size on the Why page.

1440px × 900px (scaled to 559px × 348px)
^That is just not cool. Making ppl download a big image and then scaling it down. Esp if they are not on broadband.

Also, I'd suggest rephrasing this part: "it might not be worth your time to make the switch".

I fixed that.
I emailed the Big C a couple days ago, I await their reply.

[jamieh]

Quote: aeiah


dont use the word 'bullshite'

Shall remove.


run it through a spell checker (sacrofice isnt spelt that way for a start)

Shall do.


remove the bits where you repeat yourself

Example?


giving one of the main differences between windows and ubuntu as 'its better' isn't a difference, it's an opinion.

That's true.


[/QUOTE]

[ddrichardson]

Just had a quick look but in the FAQ (http://www.theubuntusite.com/faq.html), you have completely missed the point of free software. You continue this in your why (http://www.theubuntusite.com/why.html) page:

It's free. No need to worry about licensing issues.
Lots of free software to choose from.
Licensing issues, free software and free (as in beer) are separate.

Also, I know it redirects but its http://ubuntuforums.org not http://www.ubuntuforums.com and the forums are not the only source of support - IRC is live and the Wiki is full of articles.

[ddrichardson]

Oh I meant to say but forgot - you don't state the license you're using. Its not the end of the world but its common in the OSS world to state what license terms you're using so others know whether they can modify, use or even contribute to your effort.

[t0p]

I would say:

1. It's good manners.
2. Canonical have shut down the Ubuntu Satanic Edition T-Shirt store, so they do take some heed of how the Ubuntu trademark is perceived : http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1356954/ubuntu-shuts-satan

.

That was such an out of order thing for Canonical to do! I understand that Canonical feel a need to "protect" their trademark... but how was selling Ubuntu Satanic Edition tshirts 'n' stuff threatening it? I think most people recognize that Ubuntu Satanic Edition is a joke more than a real distro. And Satanic Ubuntu tshirts are clearly a niche market product. All Canonical have done is prove they have no sense of humour.

And what action has Canonical taken against Ubuntu Christian Edition? I'm guessing the answer is "none". Which just goes to show that Ubuntu are short on humour but well-stocked in hypocrisy.

[ddrichardson]

That was such an out of order thing for Canonical to do! I understand that Canonical feel a need to "protect" their trademark... but how was selling Ubuntu Satanic Edition tshirts 'n' stuff threatening it? I think most people recognize that Ubuntu Satanic Edition is a joke more than a real distro. And Satanic Ubuntu tshirts are clearly a niche market product. All Canonical have done is prove they have no sense of humour.

And what action has Canonical taken against Ubuntu Christian Edition? I'm guessing the answer is "none". Which just goes to show that Ubuntu are short on humour but well-stocked in hypocrisy.
Why do people read the Enquirer:




Jono Bacon (http://www.jonobacon.org/) Says:
June 19th, 2009 at 8:30 pm (http://ubuntusatanic.org/news/cananical-shut-down-ubuntu-se-store/#comment-54818) Heya everyone,
OK, I checked into it and I have managed to clear this up. Some kind of mistake occured and the Ubuntu Satanic Edition folks should not have got that letter. I spoke with our trademarks folks and they will be sending them an explicit trademark license as their merch is clearly under parady, which we are indeed cool about in the trademark license. Rock on!
Speaking of rock, can we change it to Ubuntu Metal Edition? I would install it… http://ubuntusatanic.org/news/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_razz.gif
Hope this clears things up, thanks folks!
Jono

For those who don't know him, Jono is the community manager at Canonical.

[t0p]

Why do people read the Enquirer

I don't much. I like BOFH, but I gave up believing all of their "news" after they gave a good write-up for a premium number cellphone-unlocking service that turned out to be a scam. The mistake I made today was believing what a fellow forum member said.

Sorry Canonical!
And damn you Sealbhach!

[Psicolonia]

I noticed you answered to what I said. So I will add this: what about the fullcircle magazine? did you see that on my comment? what do you think?

Also about the lack of a cms... use it. It will spare you a lot of the effort I think... :)

Good work.

[forrestcupp]

I would not lose much sleep over trademarks. I ordered the CD and it stated you are free to copy, modify, and redistribute. But it never hurts to ask. Maybe you should put a link to Canonical on the site.

Have you seen how people on these forums react when they find a site that uses a trademark that even slightly resembles Ubuntu's trademark? They go crazy and let Canonical know right away. I think people go out of their way to find trademark violations for Canonical.

We've seen several web sites that were forced to change their somewhat similar logos just as a result of uptight people on these forums. And I'm talking about logos that weren't exact; they were just similar. Don't tell him to not worry about it; they go crazy about that stuff. Just because the software is free definitely doesn't mean they think of their trademark that way.

With that being said, if you have a reasonable web site that is beneficial, it should probably be easy to get permission.

[ddrichardson]

I would not lose much sleep over trademarks. I ordered the CD and it stated you are free to copy, modify, and redistribute. But it never hurts to ask. Maybe you should put a link to Canonical on the site.
Or maybe you could just follow the policy document here (http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/trademarkpolicy). The paragraph that you need to worry about is this one:


Restricted use that requires a trademark license

Permission from us is necessary to use any of the Trademarks under any circumstances other than those specifically permitted above. These include:


Any commercial use.
Use on or in relation to a software product that includes or is built on top of a product supplied by us, if there is any commercial intent associated with that product.
Use in a domain name or URL

You can contact them here (http://www.ubuntu.com/contact/trademark).

[sharathpaps]

Hey, I think I'd be a good idea to have a nice favicon for your website. It's a small thing but I feel it adds to the overall impression.

[HavocXphere]

@OP
The "Take the plunge" page needs a bit more detail. People who are at that stage need a lot of reassurance & guidance. Most people get that blank look when one talks about burning CD images....and they invariably sport that look a second time when it comes to changing the boot order.


Start ubuntu without harming your computer"
That word really needs to go.:shock: Replace it with modifying or something.

And maybe mention wubi too.


Have you seen how people on these forums react when they find a site that uses a trademark that even slightly resembles Ubuntu's trademark? They go crazy
Yes thats true...but that mostly happens when its a completely unrelated operation that has *nothing* to do with the OS. Mostly I think its because the community feels a sense of ownership. I doubt anyone will throw a tantrum over a site that is clearly meant to support the ubuntu community.

[swoll1980]

I doubt anyone will throw a tantrum over a site that is clearly meant to support the ubuntu community.

I sure Canonical has already gotten 100 emails about this.

[wojox]

Your right forrestcup there are some real uptight mofo's on this forum.
Their making mountains out of ant hills. For the record nobody is allowed to reference my user name wojox. It's a copyright, trademark, monopolised, bogarted, locked up, managed, owned exclusively, patented, sat on, possesed, syndicated, and utilized word. Thank you for your support.

[gregh7470]

so I was 'clicking-around' the site like you suggested and seen this:
http://www.cantwindowsjustdiealready.info/
and have not stopped laughing yet - the site looks pretty good - thanks

[dragos240]

so I was 'clicking-around' the site like you suggested and seen this:
http://www.cantwindowsjustdiealready.info/
and have not stopped laughing yet - the site looks pretty good - thanks

It's all bashing.

[RiceMonster]

Linux does stuff that site accused windows of, like asking if you really want to empy the trash, or having apps that go in the system tray. The first time you close amarok 1.4 (haven't used 2) it warns you that you didn't really close it (s/he was complaining that msn messenger does that). I'm willing to bet there are other programs that do that too. I wonder if s/he's checked his/her home directory lately either? Linux doesn't remove absolutely everything when you uninstal either. Check your home directory; unless you always delete them, you'll find config files from uninstalled apps there.

[pbpersson]

The first time you close amarok 1.4 (haven't used 2) it warns you that you didn't really close it (s/he was complaining that msn messenger does that). I'm willing to bet there are other programs that do that too.

I know for a fact that KFTPGrabber does that and it DRIVES ME UP THE WALL.

I think Smb4K does it also.....wait, let me look ;)

Oh yes....it does.....at least these applications have the decency to say, "I know you meant to close me, but I am going to keep running just to toy with you" :confused:

[starcannon]

First, be very professional, correct your punctuation, grammar and spellin'. While I personally have no problem with slang and rough speech, many do; so try to make it accessible to everyone's sensibilities. For instance, one does not see a bagless vacuum cleaner advertisement where the pitch says, "There is no dusty bag bullshite"; there is a good reason they don't do that, they do not want to alienate a portion of their market.

Second, test the site; I'm having some font rendering issues with your site here on my end. Here is a screen shot of what I see:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8020/sreenshrink.png

[days_of_ruin]

You need to talk about how ubuntu gives the user added value solutions...


























:lolflag:

[monsterstack]

Why take out the word bullshite? Have you ever looked at some of the kernel source code? It's chock full of swearwords. Swearing for the sake of it is silly, sure, but please don't butcher your articles to be all professional and bland. People get bored with bland. Be crude if you want, be funny, be light-hearted. Ubuntu is a community effort, and the people who use it are real people; eschew corporate blandness in all its forms. The last thing you want is the site looking some horrific Wikipedia article. People have opinions. Don't be scared to include them in all their biased glory.

[DeadSuperHero]

Hey man, I like to do video editing in KDEnlive. If you'd like, I can try putting together some example videos of some of the benefits of using Ubuntu.

[paul_be]

Why take out the word bullshite? Have you ever looked at some of the kernel source code? It's chock full of swearwords. Swearing for the sake of it is silly, sure, but please don't butcher your articles to be all professional and bland. People get bored with bland. Be crude if you want, be funny, be light-hearted. Ubuntu is a community effort, and the people who use it are real people; eschew corporate blandness in all its forms. The last thing you want is the site looking some horrific Wikipedia article. People have opinions. Don't be scared to include them in all their biased glory.

I would say professionalism. The devs may have a sense of humor that a manager/teacher/end user may not.

[jamieh]

First, be very professional, correct your punctuation, grammar and spellin'. While I personally have no problem with slang and rough speech, many do; so try to make it accessible to everyone's sensibilities. For instance, one does not see a bagless vacuum cleaner advertisement where the pitch says, "There is no dusty bag bullshite"; there is a good reason they don't do that, they do not want to alienate a portion of their market.

Second, test the site; I'm having some font rendering issues with your site here on my end. Here is a screen shot of what I see:

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8020/sreenshrink.png

Which browser? I tested it in FF3 in Jaunty and it looked fine.

[magmon]

It's still a newborn, but I'm slowly adding useful content.

Not bad, but it certainly could use some more features. Looks like it's coming along well though.

[montini]

Just a notice: too many spelling errors in the text on that site.

[magmon]

Just a notice: too many spelling errors in the text on that site.

+1, I noticed that aswell.

[phantom232]

very nice site. keep it up

[starcannon]

Which browser? I tested it in FF3 in Jaunty and it looked fine.

Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.9.0.11) Gecko/2009060309 Ubuntu/8.04 (hardy) Firefox/3.0.11

Revisited and refreshed, and the text rendering problem has improved, it looks much better. The character spacing is still pretty tight in the body of the document though, the headers look much better.

It's your site, but I would say that the current attitude of the site will definitely attract one crowd, drive another away, and be tolerated by the rest as long as you can get some good solid information up. As it sits, its a bit hard to take seriously, especially with the "cantwindowsjustdie" link. What-ever-floats-your-boat though; have a good time no matter what your doing.

An aside, your site has already attracted the attention of a linsux.org member, that is a bit of a dubious distinction; keep an eye on your success stories page, hopefully they will be cool, but sometimes they are quite a bit less than cool; just a heads up.

GLAHF

[jamieh]

Thanks


An aside, your site has already attracted the attention of a linsux.org member

Which? I did a search and got nothing.

Also, has that forum any moderation?

[koleoptero]

I can't believe that there are comments about Arch in the success stories of this site. I mean, it's an ubuntu beginners site. It's trying to promote ubuntu. And ppl comment about Arch?

I'm starting to feel like Arch users are trying to convert us all to their OS.

BTW nice site. Keep up the good work.

[-grubby]

An aside, your site has already attracted the attention of a linsux.org member


And this one too.

As for the site, it seems like you're trying to stuff as many ads as you can on each page. For example, the main page has another ad on it (besides the usual ones). I don't mind the sidebar and the ads on the bottom, but anything more than that is a bit too much, IMO.

[jamieh]

And this one too.

As for the site, it seems like you're trying to stuff as many ads as you can on each page. For example, the main page has another ad on it (besides the usual ones). I don't mind the sidebar and the ads on the bottom, but anything more than that is a bit too much, IMO.

I removed the front-page box ad. I just wanted to fill that space with something because it looked a bit plain. It's an Ubuntu logo now.

[billgoldberg]

The screen "real-estate" is very badly used.

I see more brown background than content.

[RiceMonster]

I can't believe that there are comments about Arch in the success stories of this site. I mean, it's an ubuntu beginners site. It's trying to promote ubuntu. And ppl comment about Arch?

I'm starting to feel like Arch users are trying to convert us all to their OS.

BTW nice site. Keep up the good work.

So are you going to switch to Arch or not?









PS: I'm joking

[jamieh]

Okay, updates.

1) www.theubuntusite.com/forums
Now, you're probably thinking "oh god not ANOTHER random Ubuntu forum started by some **** with too much time on his hands". Much like the rest of the site, this forum is targeted at beginners who might get overwhelmed by all the Terminal, sudo, uplash, etc jargin people talk about over here. So the rule of my forum, KEEP IT SIMPLE.

2) The ads
The licensing dude told me to remove the Google ads. I'll get to that as soon as I can find use for the sidebars.

3) The tutorials
Still working up a collection of those - will get them up soon.

That's all for now.

[keithpeter]

Hello Jameih

Nice design, I agree with another poster, you will get pretty busy soon and might want to get a CMS going for the main pages :-)

The approach/language you are using seems to me likely to appeal to the 19 to 25 year age range. I work as a teacher and my students always seem to be having computer trouble (especially near assignment deadlines :).

I'd suggest (when you have some of the rest of the content finished) that you add a kind of 'half way house' page with information on...


Installing and using OpenOffice, GIMP and Firefox on your windows laptop (thus showing what FOSS is about)
Making and booting a USB stick live system to use on your laptop
Using the Ubuntu Live stick or a live CD to copy files from the Windows hard drive to an external hard drive in case of problems
The easiest instructions you can find/devise to get Ubuntu working with YouTube, and managing music all on the live USB stick


My thinking here is that readers could build a complete Ubuntu system and see what it can do before installing it on their laptop/PC. They could use this bootable USB to take their stuff around with them.

My personal 'success story': I just use Ubuntu most of the time and none of my colleagues at College have noticed anything different. The word files I send them work, as do the power point presentations, the mp3 files, the spreadsheets (we don't use macros), and the screen casts. I did have to do a bit of work to get all the media stuff working.

[jamieh]

Hello Jameih

Nice design, I agree with another poster, you will get pretty busy soon and might want to get a CMS going for the main pages :-)

The approach/language you are using seems to me likely to appeal to the 19 to 25 year age range. I work as a teacher and my students always seem to be having computer trouble (especially near assignment deadlines :).

I'd suggest (when you have some of the rest of the content finished) that you add a kind of 'half way house' page with information on...


Installing and using OpenOffice, GIMP and Firefox on your windows laptop (thus showing what FOSS is about)
Making and booting a USB stick live system to use on your laptop
Using the Ubuntu Live stick or a live CD to copy files from the Windows hard drive to an external hard drive in case of problems
The easiest instructions you can find/devise to get Ubuntu working with YouTube, and managing music all on the live USB stick


My thinking here is that readers could build a complete Ubuntu system and see what it can do before installing it on their laptop/PC. They could use this bootable USB to take their stuff around with them.

My personal 'success story': I just use Ubuntu most of the time and none of my colleagues at College have noticed anything different. The word files I send them work, as do the power point presentations, the mp3 files, the spreadsheets (we don't use macros), and the screen casts. I did have to do a bit of work to get all the media stuff working.

Okay, I've combined the entire site into the Simple Machines CMS. I've also added a couple tutorials. "From Taskbar to Gnome Panel" and "A taste of Linux - Installing open-source software on your Windows computer". The tutorials page is part of the forum, so the community can add to it, just keep it noob-friendly ;)