ubuntu is my boyfriend.

[zcal]

You could place some of the blame on marketing. Seems to me that a lot of marketing directed towards women shuns any form of "tech". As a lot of girls begin to play into the image of what a woman "should" be in middle and high school, sometimes solely for the purpose of fitting in with their peers, it's possible that they're just not as likely to encounter something like Linux as an interest until they're over the phase (if they ever get over it). That being the case, it's often tough to take such an endeavor in the computing world when you've already entered the workforce and have other responsibilities to take care of. Who has time to mess around with another operating system, especially when your knowledge of computers is mostly limited to AIM and Windows Media Player. It's easier just to continue with what you've already gotten used to.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that a lot of people establish their interests as they're younger, and if you didn't really do anything with computers as a youngster, well then how are you going to learn now? Obviously this isn't a rule, but it seems reasonable to me.

Hey, I dunno about others' experiences, but for me, I'd say it was pretty taboo in high school for girls to be into computers unless they were talking with their friends on AIM. You can be sporty, sexy,or booky but computers are just another one of boys' toys. It keeps women out of the community, unfortunately. Too bad.

P.S.- I'm trying to convince my girlfriend to try Ubuntu, especially since Windows XP is completely gunked up on her laptop and I'd need to reinstall and tweak a lot of things to get her back on solid ground. She's especially terrified of Linux, thinking it's "too hard". Hey, all she wants is to surf the net, watch DVDs, and type papers. How hard can that be? Well, XP isn't handling it very well, so I'm trying to baby her in to Ubuntu with a Shipit CD so it looks more official, then I'll explain Synaptic to her and show her how she can customize Gnome and make it look just like she wants. Anyway, I keep thinking to myself that maybe I shouldn't do it and just fix Windows for her, but then I have to remember that her technical knowledge of Windows is zilch as well. So why should Ubuntu be any harder? It's not like she'll be comparing the innards of the filesystem or whining about the fact that she can't play games that work on Windows. Point is, I think she's in the same boat as a lot of young women. She's used the computer for years, typing things for school and using PowerPoint and AIM and whatnot, but that's where her interest has stopped. If it wasn't for me pointing it out to her, the only alternative to Windows would be buying a Mac.

[boredom_amused]

You could place some of the blame on marketing. Seems to me that a lot of marketing directed towards women shuns any form of "tech". As a lot of girls begin to play into the image of what a woman "should" be in middle and high school, sometimes solely for the purpose of fitting in with their peers, it's possible that they're just not as likely to encounter something like Linux as an interest until they're over the phase (if they ever get over it). That being the case, it's often tough to take such an endeavor in the computing world when you've already entered the workforce and have other responsibilities to take care of. Who has time to mess around with another operating system, especially when your knowledge of computers is mostly limited to AIM and Windows Media Player. It's easier just to continue with what you've already gotten used to.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that a lot of people establish their interests as they're younger, and if you didn't really do anything with computers as a youngster, well then how are you going to learn now? Obviously this isn't a rule, but it seems reasonable to me.

Hey, I dunno about others' experiences, but for me, I'd say it was pretty taboo in high school for girls to be into computers unless they were talking with their friends on AIM. You can be sporty, sexy,or booky but computers are just another one of boys' toys. It keeps women out of the community, unfortunately. Too bad.

P.S.- I'm trying to convince my girlfriend to try Ubuntu, especially since Windows XP is completely gunked up on her laptop and I'd need to reinstall and tweak a lot of things to get her back on solid ground. She's especially terrified of Linux, thinking it's "too hard". Hey, all she wants is to surf the net, watch DVDs, and type papers. How hard can that be? Well, XP isn't handling it very well, so I'm trying to baby her in to Ubuntu with a Shipit CD so it looks more official, then I'll explain Synaptic to her and show her how she can customize Gnome and make it look just like she wants. Anyway, I keep thinking to myself that maybe I shouldn't do it and just fix Windows for her, but then I have to remember that her technical knowledge of Windows is zilch as well. So why should Ubuntu be any harder? It's not like she'll be comparing the innards of the filesystem or whining about the fact that she can't play games that work on Windows. Point is, I think she's in the same boat as a lot of young women. She's used the computer for years, typing things for school and using PowerPoint and AIM and whatnot, but that's where her interest has stopped. If it wasn't for me pointing it out to her, the only alternative to Windows would be buying a Mac.

I've always had a computer in the house, so yes, I'v never been afraid of them (or afraid of breaking them). Ubuntu I've found to be super easy and with the step by steps in the forums, it's been easier for me to fix things in Ubuntu than in XP. Plus, it just looks and works and feels better for the necessities. XP and Mac I've found to be really crowded. I'm positive that your girlfriend will like Ubuntu much better because it really is the opposite of difficult and she has you to blame everything on.

[Henry Rayker]

My girlfriend uses Ubuntu just about all the time, now. She was worried about it being hard, but I did the installation. If things need compiled, I do it. She has to dual boot for a couple applications, but that's about all.

I figured I can teach her that stuff a little later. After about a week, she thanked me for encouraging her; she likes it better, it performs faster and she doesn't have to pay for software.

Another barrier to female adoption could have something to do with the kinds of webpages and forums that females tend to read. I know that, had it not been for forums and webpages and the like pointing me toward it, I wouldn't have found linux. The cause could be completely away from linux, in that respect.

[boredom_amused]

My girlfriend uses Ubuntu just about all the time, now. She was worried about it being hard, but I did the installation. If things need compiled, I do it. She has to dual boot for a couple applications, but that's about all.

I figured I can teach her that stuff a little later. After about a week, she thanked me for encouraging her; she likes it better, it performs faster and she doesn't have to pay for software.

Another barrier to female adoption could have something to do with the kinds of webpages and forums that females tend to read. I know that, had it not been for forums and webpages and the like pointing me toward it, I wouldn't have found linux. The cause could be completely away from linux, in that respect.

Yah, just getting the word out beyond the internet and into mainstream tv and print is pretty slow. But I heard that the French government is moving to Linux so that's a step in the right direction.

[zcal]

and she has you to blame everything on.

Ha, ain't that the truth! I'm making a bet with myself that she'll actually have less problems than with XP, as the updates are much easier to deal with in Ubuntu and I know it won't fall victim to spyware and viruses. It ought to be less maintenance and more usefulness.

[boredom_amused]

Ha, ain't that the truth! I'm making a bet with myself that she'll actually have less problems than with XP, as the updates are much easier to deal with in Ubuntu and I know it won't fall victim to spyware and viruses. It ought to be less maintenance and more usefulness.

it is for me!

[calx]

Try here for tshirts http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/ladies/. My girlfriend (also an ubuntress) has one that says "Talk nerdy to me".

[Kristen Lucas]

Before browsing this forum I had no idea that women made up such a small percentage of users and of those who do, most seem to be using it because of their partner. Is this a reflection of the larger trend of males dominating the computer world? Is this why it is so difficult to find funny science/tech-y shirts that will actually fit me and not look like a smock?

I came into Ubuntu as pretty much a total outsider and newbie. I set it all up and got everything working, no dual boot or anything I just took that leap of faith and have it on my desktop and laptop. Any problems I figured out with help from the forums and I'm proud of that. So why do I still feel uneasy that I'm suddenly in the minority? apparently a really tiny one?

I'm a woman a develper of KDE.

[Darrious]

Actually the first programmers were women.

[fatsheep]

Actually the first programmers were women.

Really? If you've got any more detailed info I would be interested.