Some thoughts on Ubuntu

[iamkuriouspurpleoranj]

For one thing, I like it very much.

However, after trying it out on a live usb on a machine from this year and finding the performance to be vastly better than on my Vaio from 2 years ago, I do wonder whether Ubuntu's marketing doesn't need to take more into account the fact that a lot of people are using Linux to work with older machines.

Ubuntu is stylish and a lot of fun when your machine is strong enough to throw it about a bit but like the other Gnome 3 DE's it feels heavy and awkward on lower spec machines.

Now, you will say "ah but there are lighter alternatives both within the Ubuntu family and without". And this is true. However, many new users still pass through Ubuntu and the Ubuntu concept and this forms their first impression. As the saying goes: you don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

It might increase the positive feedback about Ubuntu if potential Xubuntu or Lubuntu users were already directed towards one of those flavours at the moment of their initial contact with the Ubuntu concept (triaging).

Just a few thoughts.

[blackbird34]

Well, they're trying to get it preinstalled on new machines, so from that point of view, I don't think they have any problems as any machine being sold new will be ok for it.
But yes, they should put links at least to their official derivatives on their download page, I agree. However people who work out how powerful their machine is, or who are refurbishing old machines, would probably have heard of them anyway (I hope).

The thing is that Ubuntu's marketing is aiming to give ONE consistent image of the distro, without all the customization talk that is inherent to Linux. Unfortunately.

[iamkuriouspurpleoranj]

I hear what you're saying. However, often using Xubuntu or Lubuntu is hobson's choice and customisation is not always the motive. Maybe there should be Ubuntu and Ubuntu light (Xfce or LXDE - based, or even something like CrunchBang) that would share colour scheme and fonts with the Unity edition and then leave the other *buntus as they are today.

[Algus]

I'm somewhat inclined to agree. One of the things about Unity that annoys me is its greater need on system resources. When I first got started with Ubuntu back on 7.04, I did so with a laptop that was already several years old. Throughout the remainder of that laptop's life, I never had to look at Xubuntu as the GNOME2 environment was just fine. On the Chromebook I'm using now, after trying Unity 2D, I knew it was a mistake immediately.

Rather then think about "Ubuntu light" or something like that, I wonder if the way to go might not be to create some sort of "upgrade advisor" tool. This tool would check your system resources and suggest a flavor or configuration of Ubuntu to you. It probably wouldn't be a perfect solution but I don't think there is a perfect solution to helping teach people what kind of operating systems their equipment can run. There's always going to be an element of trial and error when installing a major software component like an operating system. For many here it is no big deal but for the kind of person who only ever gets a new OS because they buy a new computer, trying to figure out what they need can be very intimidating.

[iamkuriouspurpleoranj]

^That's a great idea. You could have information about Xubuntu/Lubuntu during installation. Something along the lines of:

Ubuntu is designed to give you the best possible computing experience on modern hardware. Given the rapid pace of technological change today, if you are running Ubuntu on an older machine you may not experience optimal performance. Please note that the Xubuntu and Lubuntu operating systems exist as lighter weight alternatives to Ubuntu and are internally identical and include the same software.