From a seasond linux user

[new-oldy]

I've been using linux in a number of flavours over recent years ; eg:
PC Linux, Mandriva 8,9, 9.5 and so far
besides a few teething problems that I created myself ; overall I am very impressed with this OS and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
:P :guitar: :)

[fatality_uk]

Cheers :)

[koolblue3]

*koolblue3 agrees with new-oldy.*:guitar:

[XubuRoxMySox]

I have heard some people describe Ubuntu, Mint, Mandriva, Mepis, PCLinuxOS, and others as "Linux with training wheels," as if experienced Linux users ought to feel ashamed somehow for using them instead of Gentoo, Linux-From-Scratch, Debian, or some other "elite" distro.

The fact is, when I finished configuring Debian (Lenny, Xfce) to my personal needs and tastes, guess what I ended up with? A mixture that was nearly identical to Xubuntu!

Since I use it on multiple machines and share it with friends, it's nice that all the work is done almost exactly the way I would do it myself anyway, except that it works on a much wider variety of hardware, it has these hyoooge, ginormous repositories, and of course, this awesome community of friendly people to support it (sorry, the same cannot be said for my beloved Debian because newbies are simply not really welcome there).

Even some of the geekiest techno-wizards use "beginner" distros for their own reasons. And their presence in communities like this one makes Linux possible and enjoyable for the rest of us "non-geeky, ordinary" desktop users.

Grateful for them,
Robin

[Paqman]

I have heard some people describe Ubuntu, Mint, Mandriva, Mepis, PCLinuxOS, and others as "Linux with training wheels," as if experienced Linux users ought to feel ashamed somehow for using them instead of Gentoo, Linux-From-Scratch, Debian, or some other "elite" distro.


Couldn't agree more. Ridiculous elitism. People have different ideas of what they want their computer to do. Some people want to rummage around in the innards of the OS, some just want it to get out of their way and run their apps so they can do other stuff. Neither is indicative of superior intellect or knowledge, it's just a matter of what interests you.

It's a bit like cars. Does being able tune up an engine make you techier than someone who can't? Techier when it comes to tuning up engines, maybe. There's plenty of "1337" Linux users who wouldn't know one end of a screwdriver from the other, because it doesn't interest them.

[RiceMonster]

It's a bit like cars. Does being able tune up an engine make you techier than someone who can't? Techier when it comes to tuning up engines, maybe. There's plenty of "1337" Linux users who wouldn't know one end of a screwdriver from the other, because it doesn't interest them.

It's not always that they can't do it though. Often times they can set up an "advanced" distro if they want, but they don't have any interest in doing it. Such is the case for me.

[BoneKracker]

I'm a fairly experienced Linux user who has sampled many distributions, as well as most of the BSDs. I have used Ubuntu periodically, and while I personally have settled on something else for my own use presently, I have Ubuntu on some of my machines and recommend Ubuntu to many people.

It is a well put-together distribution that strikes a good balance of performance, security, completeness, currency, stability, and ease of use. It's pretty easy to miss the mark in one of those areas or more, and Ubuntu achieves a nice middle-ground among the tradeoffs.

In addition to being immediately usable by new linux users, it's a good distribution in general with a well-organized and active community, and I know many very experienced users and developers who use it.

I occasionally participate in these forums because I believe Ubuntu is doing the overall Linux and Free Software communities a world of good by bringing new users into those worlds, and I'm more than happy to help new users.

I also think it's important for people to understand the degree to which the free software world benefits by different communities informatively trying different ways of doing things and then freely sharing with and borrowing from each other what works best (and to participate in that sharing).

[Sealbhach]

Ubuntu was my idea so I'm taking all the credit for this.

.

[BoneKracker]

ubuntu was my idea so i'm taking all the credit for this.
:p

[Paqman]

It's not always that they can't do it though. Often times they can set up an "advanced" distro if they want, but they don't have any interest in doing it. Such is the case for me.

Absolutely, horses for courses. Personally i'd rather bang nails into my face than install LFS. But i'm sure i'd make it work if I had to.

[toupeiro]

seasond? A daemon that periodically adds salt to your linux kernel?

[BoneKracker]

seasond? A daemon that periodically adds salt to your linux kernel?

seasond: A daemon that dynamically adjusts your CPU and bus frequency according to the time of year, enabling you to leverage your quad triple-testicle Intel CPUs and your Nvidia sphincter-blaster graphics card to warm your home in Winter.