bpickel
October 25th, 2007, 06:04 PM
I have been noticing lots of positive articles recently about 7.10 and these things are always nice to hear but with those testaments often come ones with an opposing view. When I was new to the Linux game I used to find these articles, blogs, etc very disheartening. As I spend more time and read more more my opinion has changed.
Let's concentrate on Ubuntu. I have been using Ubuntu since 6.06 not long I know but sometimes we stick with what we know and it took me a little while to wave bye bye to Fedora. Ubuntu is wildly popular for a Linux distro and as such garners a lot of attention (not all of it good). While it may cause a rise in blood pressure for those of us who understand the untapped awesomeness of Open Source not to mention the developers and community members who toil tirelessly, often for nothing, to bring us these outstanding products. It isn't all bad even when it's bad. Let me explain.
When people are nit picky (which most issues with a new Ubuntu distro are ) they are that way because they have a level of expectation that is high. Ubuntu has set the bar very high and that in no way is a bad thing.
As the project progresses no one can argue that it doesn't get better. With every new release there comes a lot things that need attention but also many improvements. Message boards are rife with people siting at their PCs excited about an OS release, they are excited because they won't be excluded because they bought their machine a year ago or because they can't fork over $400. These releases come every 6 months which is magic in and of it's self. The developers are great about responding to the wishes of the community and truly realize and what a resource it is. Compare that to "That other OS" and hands down... it's better. We get an MS product as beta and then we troubleshoot what MS has decided to include and do without what is excluded. Windows is developed in a closed circle and many folks have to pay to be beta testers, ala MSDN or Technet. Software developers have to pay to get tools to write software. In the Linux community all options are open and free, if you want to, try it. So is Linux developing faster than Windows ? Hell Yes ! How long did it take to get the lipstick on the Vista pig ? If there had been an involved community not only finding bugs but fixing bugs then how different would that have been ?
So let's keep pushing the bar higher and if that causes a few hard locks for a few folks, we WILL fix their problems, all they have to do is ask for help.
The next thing I have noticed is that articles singing the praises and cajoling the problems of Ubuntu are cropping up more and more in non Linux-centric mediums. Cnet, The Register, Fox News...the list goes on. This is proof positive that Ubuntu is relevant. It proves that people know about it. They spend time critiquing it. It is worth a writers time because people ARE interested. If no one cared then reviewers wouldn't care. Ubuntu has arrived and I will be right here to see where it is in a few more years.
So the next time you see someone dogging Ubuntu, sit back and have a chuckle. All you have to do is remind yourself that, in order for the article to be written, it was important enough, to enough people to get the attention. There is a strong Army behind this front and anyone who thinks a few whines about a network card is going to gain ground is mistaken. Any competitor who doesn't see it soon won't be a competitor for long.
So let them sling mud, turn on the wipers..wipe it off and thank them for the free press. We are the winners here, now and in the future.
Let's concentrate on Ubuntu. I have been using Ubuntu since 6.06 not long I know but sometimes we stick with what we know and it took me a little while to wave bye bye to Fedora. Ubuntu is wildly popular for a Linux distro and as such garners a lot of attention (not all of it good). While it may cause a rise in blood pressure for those of us who understand the untapped awesomeness of Open Source not to mention the developers and community members who toil tirelessly, often for nothing, to bring us these outstanding products. It isn't all bad even when it's bad. Let me explain.
When people are nit picky (which most issues with a new Ubuntu distro are ) they are that way because they have a level of expectation that is high. Ubuntu has set the bar very high and that in no way is a bad thing.
As the project progresses no one can argue that it doesn't get better. With every new release there comes a lot things that need attention but also many improvements. Message boards are rife with people siting at their PCs excited about an OS release, they are excited because they won't be excluded because they bought their machine a year ago or because they can't fork over $400. These releases come every 6 months which is magic in and of it's self. The developers are great about responding to the wishes of the community and truly realize and what a resource it is. Compare that to "That other OS" and hands down... it's better. We get an MS product as beta and then we troubleshoot what MS has decided to include and do without what is excluded. Windows is developed in a closed circle and many folks have to pay to be beta testers, ala MSDN or Technet. Software developers have to pay to get tools to write software. In the Linux community all options are open and free, if you want to, try it. So is Linux developing faster than Windows ? Hell Yes ! How long did it take to get the lipstick on the Vista pig ? If there had been an involved community not only finding bugs but fixing bugs then how different would that have been ?
So let's keep pushing the bar higher and if that causes a few hard locks for a few folks, we WILL fix their problems, all they have to do is ask for help.
The next thing I have noticed is that articles singing the praises and cajoling the problems of Ubuntu are cropping up more and more in non Linux-centric mediums. Cnet, The Register, Fox News...the list goes on. This is proof positive that Ubuntu is relevant. It proves that people know about it. They spend time critiquing it. It is worth a writers time because people ARE interested. If no one cared then reviewers wouldn't care. Ubuntu has arrived and I will be right here to see where it is in a few more years.
So the next time you see someone dogging Ubuntu, sit back and have a chuckle. All you have to do is remind yourself that, in order for the article to be written, it was important enough, to enough people to get the attention. There is a strong Army behind this front and anyone who thinks a few whines about a network card is going to gain ground is mistaken. Any competitor who doesn't see it soon won't be a competitor for long.
So let them sling mud, turn on the wipers..wipe it off and thank them for the free press. We are the winners here, now and in the future.