Converting people to Ubuntu is easier than you think!

[Mazza558]

I started by installing a copy of Feisty on my PC. A friend of mine had been interested in FOSS and Ubuntu for a while know. He recently saw a video of Beryl I made and decided to go ahead and install it on his laptop. First major hurdle was Vista preventing him resizing the disk. He was already on his last straw with Vista and willingly gave it up last Tuesday. The next day, he showed it to my friends, showing off Ubuntu and its features. 2 people were interested in it, with comments like "I might just have to get this for my laptop...". :)

Come on people, this is less than 24 hours after he was installing it on his own laptop!

Fast forward just over a week, and my friend has already installed Ubuntu on his brother's Windows 98 desktop (with no internet access due to drivers). Guess what? Perfect install, including internet access. I'm sure his brother will show Ubuntu to his friends, too.

On my side, I've given out 2 more Ubuntu CDs, with another of my friends having ordered the 64-bit CDs to try on his PC.

To summarise:

No of people who now have an Ubuntu installation through me: 2
No of people who are going to try it within the next week: 3
No of people who are at least interested: 8

Another thing I've learnt is that it's WAY easier to talk about Ubuntu when you have a way of demonstrating it.

Overall, this is a pretty awesome success story :)

One person with too much free time and a good persuasion technique = 13 potential Ubuntu users!

[johnwlittle]

1. Fire up your notebook
2. Spin the beryl cube
3. Hand out CDs

It's getting too easy really.

[mech7]

if it would work. compiz freezes every 15 minutes or so i can almost set my watch to it :)

[prizrak]

if it would work. compiz freezes every 15 minutes or so i can almost set my watch to it :)

Wonder what hardware you running, I have been able to run compiz/beryl since Herd 2 of Feisty.

[Iceni]

I agree! After getting ubuntu nicely up and running for myself, my gf wanted it. She told her mother about the security features, so that is my next install.

Actually a weird story about my mother-in-law and her computer. I gave her my old one when I built a new one, set it up nicely with good antivirus and good malware protection. She is pretty smart about it, but the problem is the "knowledgeable" visitors who wants to download music etc, and install the usual malware-infested crap every single time, giving me the headache of getting rid of it. So Ubuntu's main appeal for her is the fact that other people can't install software :)

[strabes]

You mean like that obscure niche music player? I think it's called iTunes or something.

[Sparky Jim]

Not sure how this counts, but I installed Fiesty (Ubuntu 7.04) on this machine today, and as a result of this experience I have installed it on four others I have, and plan on the remaining 4 tomorrow.

I'm building a machine for my 74 year old mother, who is less computer literate than the average house brick and I see Ubuntu as perfect. It has a lovely interface, is simple to use and it will stop my mother and my sisters from interferring in ways they shouldn't..

Bear in mind that I have NEVER used Linux before today!!

[karellen]

yes, an image makes more than a thousand words...
:)
that's how I managed to convert my girlfriend :D

[pirothezero]

Great Story. I myself am looking at a few weeks of almost the same thing. Last time I went back home to my mom's place I installed 7.04 so I am looking forward to going back and seeing if her friends said anything about it.

[dasunst3r]

I would be interested to know how many people keep their installations within the upcoming months. Here's how I convert people:
1. Sit down with them to see what they do with their computers
2. Check hardware compatibility
3. Give them a LiveCD to try out for a while
4. If all checks out, back up data and start install
5. Follow-up.

[DoctorMO]

Sparky Jim: Welcome to Linux


if it would work. compiz freezes every 15 minutes or so i can almost set my watch to it

Unfortunate, I myself find it doesn't display the title bars (window decorations) and I like to play a few 3D games too which wort of messes it up. other than that it's not important.

[mech7]

Wonder what hardware you running, I have been able to run compiz/beryl since Herd 2 of Feisty.

Acer 4102 WLMI i suspect it would have something to do with Ati x600 radeon mobility but not sure :(