PDA

View Full Version : In Soviet Russia, Linux finds YOU!



murderslastcrow
October 22nd, 2010, 12:23 AM
This discussion's purpose is to find the times where Linux found you outside of your personal use, whether in a computer lab, a conversation, a laptop, or even a book.

The reason I ask for your experiences is to see if it's anything like Utah's recent Ubuntu popularity, so to speak.

For example, at my school in the past month alone, I've noticed out of the corner of my eye several students running Ubuntu with Gnome on their laptops, one of which even had an Ubuntu symbol on the back. As my friend and I walked into class, he asked me "what's Ubuntu?" He had assumed that the person had a Mac and covered up the Apple sticker with an Ubuntu logo. I got into a short conversation about what Linux is, where you can find it, and why people tend to use it. He was very interested, and several other people chipped in on the conversation to ask me questions, to clarify if it was as hard as people say it is, and compatibility issues (these are the two main concerns of most consumers- is it hard, and can I run the programs I already have).

The very same day, another friend who has a Samsung Android phone told me, "so, how do you like Linux?," as if to catch me off guard. I didn't know she knew a thing about Linux, so I responded, "I love it, obviously- it kicks ***." It was nice to see the openly adoring attitude of Linux in public.

Also, today, my friends were talking about how to make their Vista laptops faster. I offered to help by installing Google Chrome/Firefox and cleaning things up to a minimal extent, but another student mentioned that she should try another OS, like Windows XP or Linux to speed it up. My friend responded, "eeww! I don't like Linux," to which I asked, "I didn't know you tried Linux before." Turns out she didn't, but an overzealous geek used to preach Linux to her and she got sick of it. After explaining a little bit about how most of her programs were open source and showing a screenshot of KDE, she seemed to be a bit less close-minded about it.

However, that brings us round circle as to why I don't talk about Linux in public, and how interesting it is that it finds me these days. In Utah, it's actually sort of odd to meet someone my age who hasn't heard 'Ubuntu'. Times seem to be changing, and it's nice that I don't have to feel cautious about telling people what OS I use. I think Ubuntu itself has helped change peoples' perception of Linux as a geeky thing into a chic, socially responsible kind of thing.

alexfish
October 22nd, 2010, 12:34 AM
New School

Uniforms

http://shop.canonical.com/index.php?cPath=14

MooPi
October 22nd, 2010, 12:40 AM
I believe this is a culmination of several factors. One the amazing popularity of Android and the attention it has brought to Linux. Two and this is only an opinion is that the tipping point of users to installed base of Linux and Ubuntu is starting to attract others by familiarity. Coupled with what I believe is two lackluster releases from Microsoft has only drawn more people to the alternative OS Linux. I too have seen an increased awareness of what Linux is and what it can do for the end user.

mikewhatever
October 22nd, 2010, 12:58 AM
In Soviet Russia, Linux finds YOU!

Are you high? Drunk? Bored?

murderslastcrow
October 22nd, 2010, 01:05 AM
Thank you for your awe-inspiring question, Mike. As no query is too small, I will take it into deep consideration.

Timmer1240
October 22nd, 2010, 02:34 AM
Ive been using Linux for about 9 months now My computer just works Finally!I fought the windows malware virus trojan worm wars for years before learning about and installing Ubuntu.Its a great OS I love it my friends dont really get it but once you try it and use open source software you can do everything windows can do without spending a lot of money!Great Operating system great community backing it love it!

phrostbyte
October 22nd, 2010, 02:44 AM
I work in an organization that heavily uses Linux on the desktop AND server (among other devices). :guitar:

murderslastcrow
October 22nd, 2010, 02:55 AM
Oh really? What kind of business is that, if you don't mind me asking? As I'm into Multimedia, there is an odd dichotomy among designers and the more advanced digital tinkerers about which platforms to use, and you find OS X and Linux commonly in the critical work. Pixar, LucasFilms, and Weta, for instance, all use Linux (not merely to render their artwork, but to create it as well). It was Weta, I believe, which actually uses Kubuntu with Maya.

Of course, in many fields it's suicide not to consider the technology you work with, and it would make little sense to work with Windows. For large 3d studios, Linux is just as much a necessity as MS Office is to a place that uses complex macros and databases in their company. However, unlike the Windows need, the need is based on the features of the OS itself, not necessarily only the programs that run on it.

Of course, we all already knew Linux is extremely common everywhere but the desktop. I'm quite interested to see what a company that uses Linux looks like.

Quadunit404
October 22nd, 2010, 04:09 AM
We all know that Linux has the largest presence on servers and mobile phones - servers due to companies like Red Hat (the server my site is hosted on runs on Linux, doesn't say which distro but according to the cPanel the kernel is Linux 2.6.29.5-grsec-hostnoc-4.2.0-i386-libata) and mobile phones due to companies like Google and Palm- err, I mean Hewlett-Packard.

One of my irl friends doesn't like Linux on the desktop, but he got a Palm Pre recently and even though its OS is a proprietary Linux distro, he loves it (he could tell it was Linux because the package manager it came with has a cartoonish penguin on it; y'know, the one you see everywhere on a Linux-related site.) He did complain about the three-minute boot time, though :lol:

Khakilang
October 22nd, 2010, 06:42 AM
Over here I have to hunt for Linux. Going through several bookstore and finally got one Ubuntu 8.10. No one talk to me on how to install, download drivers, setup firewall and the list goes on. Than I have to hunt on line to get help and end up here. I am practically alone surrounded by Windows and Mac. Lucky you! Lucid Lynx is a pretty rare species here and haven't found any Maverick meerkat yet.

Oxwivi
October 22nd, 2010, 07:24 AM
Over here, your regular people doesn't know what Linux is. Only the ones who fiddle with computer may know about it. But as long as there's internet, Linux is just in my reaches.

Prohibited
October 22nd, 2010, 07:34 AM
At my school I've never heard anyone talk about Linux although I saw this symbol on the wall of one of the Computer Science class rooms: (in black and white)

http://linuxcaffe.ca/files/ubuntu-easy.png

murderslastcrow
October 23rd, 2010, 05:48 PM
Hah, nifty. Yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky that I don't get looked at like I'm some sort of freak when I mention I use Ubuntu or Linux to students. In fact, the most common response I hear is, "I wish I could install it, but <insert reason here>." Most of the time it's someone who tried it more than 3 years ago, when it was still somewhat of a pain to get all the packages you want, what with manually installed PGP keys and the such. So I have to remind them that things have changed.

Others, they didn't really know about Wine or VirtualBox the first time around. For most people a good screenshot, mentioning it's faster and doesn't get viruses, and WineHQ's AppDB on hand will let you know if Linux will suit their needs. So long as people don't lose anything in the transition, they don't tend to look back- it's kind of creepy.