Ubuntu is for NOOBS!

[DestroyMicroshaft]

This is something I hear all the time, and I find it annoying! Every irc channel I go to, every forum and message board, I don't get it. Whats the problem with Ubuntu, it Debian with up to date packages. I always thought the underlying Linux/GNU system was the pretty much the same for every distro. Same commands, file system, etc. So my question is why all the criticisms, no distro is perfect including Ubuntu, I have just as much control of my system as any other distro Ive tried, and Ive tried a lot of them. I really just wanted to vent after hearing for the millionth time on the Slackware channel that Ubuntu sucks and linux for human beings means meant for noobs, and Ubuntu just isn't for real techies.

[-grubby]

I'm also getting sick of all the Microsoft bashing, speaking of your username..

[wannadumpwindows]

This is something I hear all the time, and I find it annoying! Every irc channel I go to, every forum and message board, I don't get it. Whats the problem with Ubuntu, it Debian with up to date packages. I always thought the underlying Linux/GNU system was the pretty much the same for every distro. Same commands, file system, etc. So my question is why all the criticisms, no distro is perfect including Ubuntu, I have just as much control of my system as any other distro Ive tried, and Ive tried a lot of them. I really just wanted to vent after hearing for the millionth time on the Slackware channel that Ubuntu sucks and linux for human beings means meant for noobs, and Ubuntu just isn't for real techies.

They need to talk trash about something so they feel "LEET". That, and I think they're just scared of us. LoL.

[wannadumpwindows]

I'm also getting sick of all the Microsoft bashing, speaking of your username..

Yeah, that's getting a little old too. There's as many posts here about that as there is asking for support it seems like some days.

[RebounD11]

Just 1 question... why is it so bad that it's for noobs? Isn't that the point: anyone can use it (noobs to techies)...

It's not nice from anyone to say this in an insulting manner, but it's not necessarily a bad thing imo.

[DestroyMicroshaft]

I'm also getting sick of all the Microsoft bashing, speaking of your username..

Im sorry did I offend you? :biggrin:

[RiceMonster]

Just 1 question... why is it so bad that it's for noobs? Isn't that the point: anyone can use it (noobs to techies)...

It's not nice from anyone to say this in an insulting manner, but it's not necessarily a bad thing imo.

That's what I was thinking. I'd say it's "for noobs" too, but in a nagative way. It's definitely one of the best distros for new Linux users. That doesn't mean you can't still want to use it if you've been using Linux for a while. The choice is up to you. People who bash Linux distributions are stupid.

[DestroyMicroshaft]

I agree, Ubuntu is without a doubt noob friendly, but to say Ubuntu is only for noobs is messed up. Stop inter-distro hate lol.

[DeadSuperHero]

I agree, Ubuntu is without a doubt noob friendly, but to say Ubuntu is only for noobs is messed up. Stop inter-distro hate lol.

To get people to think we're more than just noobs, how about that newfound "punctuation"?

[OUCaptain]

I still can't get my run on sentence filter to work.

[dudude]

It's mostly jealousy. It similar to how there is large amounts of Windows and/or Mac bashing.

It's the same with game consoles and cars n' stuff.

[gameryoshi600]

Whats so bad about that? It is supposed to be user friendly.

[Bubba64]

I still can't get my run on sentence filter to work.
+111111111111111111111111111111
The comments on structure usually come as a last attempt to save the ego, and booty. Kind of a bully pulpit on a forum filled with acronyms, and people posting with the evocation of spoken word, rather than a proper structure. Elitist I say, although I am not commenting on any post in this thread.:biggrin:

[Daggo]

for noobs? sure it is.
so is osx, so is windows.
Do I want to spend three days setting up a slack machine by making config files through vi? No.
Productivity comes from something that is efficient while utilizing the least amount of effort. Ubuntu falls under that category and I would rather just point and click to get the job done and save time.

Remember there are two types of Noobs.
Type 'A' Noob - New user, beginner, Novice, etc..
Type 'B' N00b - OMG,ROFLCOPTER*LMAOplAnE-UsuX,N00b/LOL I kant Tipe!!1

Ubuntu is for type 'A' Noob which is a new user being introduced to a new operating system.

[-grubby]

Im sorry did I offend you? :biggrin:

erg...not really. It's just that it gets old after 8 or so months of it...

[shazbut]

It's the word noob that annoys me. It's just a dumb word, mostly used by dumb people, for whom novice has too many syllables.

[ugm6hr]

So what? Ubuntu is for me.

Does it bother you that other Linux users see you as a NOOB? Is so - why?

I don't use Ubuntu to impress anyone. I use it to get stuff done on my computer.

In that sense, it is a bit different to my appreciation of cars: my car gets me from A to B as well as the next, but I'd still like a Porsche.

[DestroyMicroshaft]

So what? Ubuntu is for me.

Does it bother you that other Linux users see you as a NOOB? Is so - why?

I don't use Ubuntu to impress anyone. I use it to get stuff done on my computer.

In that sense, it is a bit different to my appreciation of cars: my car gets me from A to B as well as the next, but I'd still like a Porsche.

Good point.

[muadnu]

I guess that more important than it being for noobs or not is what you can get out of it. I too want my OS mainly to get things done, and a user-friendly distro like Ubuntu is good in that sense. On the other hand, it could be the case that a less user-friendly, "less bloated" distro, while demanding more time to get working properly, allows you to get things done afterwards much faster. If that was the case, I'd think about switching, but after trying several other distros I still haven't found one which gets to work better for me. And, in all case, Ubuntu keeps being easier for me to get set up (though that might be because it's the distro I've used the most).

[Dr Small]

erg...not really. It's just that it gets old after 8 or so months of it...

8 months.. is that all? hrm.
Well, I personally don't like windows myself, but there is no real reason to be so derogatory all the time.

Yes, I agree. Ubuntu is built for n00bz.
But I use ArchLinux, so who cares.

[cardinals_fan]

Ubuntu is for 'n00bs' in that it is very friendly toward new users. I personally consider Slackware vastly superior for me, but I have a lot of gratitude toward Ubuntu for showing me the way to Linux (back with Dapper).

[original_jamingrit]

I probably wouldn't get into Linux at all if I didn't try Ubuntu. I was (and in many was still am) a noob.

And as far as I'm concerned, being called a noob isn't an insult, it's a challenge. Either accept, or decline, then move on.

[blithen]

I'm also getting sick of all the Microsoft bashing, speaking of your username..

Amen to that..without Microsoft Linux wouldn't be where it is today.

[Methuselah]

Urr, microsoft bashing never gets old.

The difference between microsoft bashing and other kinds of bashing is that microsoft deserves it.
That company should have been split up over a decade ago.

[macogw]

Just 1 question... why is it so bad that it's for noobs? Isn't that the point: anyone can use it (noobs to techies)...

It's not nice from anyone to say this in an insulting manner, but it's not necessarily a bad thing imo.
Well obviously none of us know anything about Linux because we use Ubuntu, and only noobs use Ubuntu. If we used Debian Sid, we'd be much 1337er, and then you know you could trust us because Debian users know Linux *really* well.


/sarcasm

[vexingmodstwo]

Paraphrasing the final scene of Revenge of the Nerds:

"I'm a noob. And I'm pretty proud of it."

/silliness

[Paqman]

Call me crazy, but I tend to be of the opinion that the sign of a good Operating System is that it requires the absolute minimum of input from the user. The user should spend their time interacting with their apps, not the OS.

[swoll1980]

[start sarcasm] Configuration tools make Ubuntu "bloated" and since storage is so expensive these days you wouldn't want 20 mb of configuration tools clogging up your valuable hard drive space. Would you?[end sarcasm]

[Methuselah]

So what's wrong with a n00bie distribution anyway.
Linux is either for geeks or for noobs.

Those opposites both carry a negative connotation so why care?
The things is, there is something for everyone's needs.

[swoll1980]

So what's wrong with a n00bie distribution anyway.
Linux is either for geeks or for noobs.

Those opposites both carry a negative connotation so why care?
The things is, there is something for everyone's needs.

The funny thing is Ubuntu is for both. You can do anything in Ubuntu that you can do in Debian. It's just easier to set up, but if you wanted to you could manually configure Ubuntu as well.

[p_quarles]

Well obviously none of us know anything about Linux because we use Ubuntu, and only noobs use Ubuntu. If we used Debian Sid, we'd be much 1337er, and then you know you could trust us because Debian users know Linux *really* well.
Debian's for n00bs too, though. 1337 h4xx0rs use Gentoo.


The funny thing is Ubuntu is for both. You can do anything in Ubuntu that you can do in Debian. It's just easier to set up, but if you wanted to you could manually configure Ubuntu as well.
That is true. The difference between Ubuntu and Debian is really not in capability but in the way it is put together. A great deal more testing goes on before a version of Debian is released -- too much for many users. The current release of Debian came out around the time that Ubuntu 7.04 did, and the feature freeze was around the time of Ubuntu 6.10. The current version of Ubuntu has a lot of features that Debian 4 doesn't, but the latter is certainly much more battle-proven.

There are a few other differences as well -- Debian ships many more kernel builds, and essentially offers a much more customizable initial installation procedure, among other things.

[lswest]

I'd generally say Ubuntu is great for new Linux Users, since it pre-configures most of the trickier system settings at first, and offers good hardware detection, etc. However, I used it (and was very happy with it) for about 5 years, and I'd like to think I've gotten pretty experienced with Linux in general. Anyways, I recently changed over to Arch (well, installed it as a third OS) because I felt like configuring my own system, why? just because. It was a challenge I felt like taking, nothing more.

Ubuntu is, from the install perspective, a lot more user-friendly, which some people might take to think of as "for noobs" but essentially once Ubuntu is installed, you can configure the whole system from scratch (install a minimal system with the alternate CD for example). I really don't see what the problem is that some people have with Ubuntu being "for noobs". If it were, these forums wouldn't get as many solved problems, because people just wouldn't know how ;) It's a choice you make, and nothing can be said against it if you choose to use Ubuntu (because it recognized your wireless, or has best out of the box support for your PC, etc.) over Debian or Arch, or Red Hat. It really doesn't matter, they all are based off upstream kernels, which give you full support for customization. They all have the same potential, it's just the base configuration that varies, and that is easily changed.

[FuturePilot]

Ubuntu is for n00bs, so what. If someone wants to make themselves feel superior to you because of the OS you use, let them. Who cares? Although I do like to play around with the system, sometimes I just want things to work. And I know Ubuntu is good at that. From what I've found through experience is that Ubuntu is one of the best at hardware detection. You can still do all those really advanced things in Ubuntu if you wanted to. It's not like they removed all advanced features.

[FFighter]

Ubuntu is for anyone who likes the power of linux and wants to get things done without the hassle of assembling its own system. Not everyone wants to be an OS architect, bash guru, C wizard and alikes.

[SteveNorman]

Id rather be a noob at linux than not use it at all, seems like bringing in new linux users is better than scaring them off.

[FFighter]

Id rather be a noob at linux than not use it at all, seems like bringing in new linux users is better than scaring them off.

Exactly.

[Riffer]

What a sad commentary that people are so lacking in their lives that they have to put down others choice in OS in order to feel superior.

[RebounD11]

After recently installing 4 Linux OSes (Ubuntu, Mandriva, Fedora and openSUSE) on 4 similar laptops (each was the owner's choice after visiting the distros homepage) I realised that Ubuntu is either less noob-friendly (newbie, novice call it what you want, I'll stick to the thread title) than any of the other distros (including Fedora), either I have big problems with Debian based distros (because I can screw them up the fastest, and none lasts more than 2-3 computer restart and that's roughly 4-6 months with me :D).

[regomodo]

But it is. What is wrong with that? Experienced users can use it if they want but if they want overall control of configuration they shouldn't.

I would say it's the most noob-friendly. I'd say, out of those that i've tried, opensuse or Fedora are probably better candidates.

[Tomatz]

That's what I was thinking. I'd say it's "for noobs" too, but in a nagative way. It's definitely one of the best distros for new Linux users. That doesn't mean you can't still want to use it if you've been using Linux for a while. The choice is up to you. People who bash Linux distributions are stupid.

I don't like Xandros for obvious reasions. Am i stupid?

[Wobedraggled]

I started out on redhat 5.2 and slack 4 total noob here.