Anyone running the latest release of Ubuntu? I'm really digging Unity right now vs Gnome. http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/whats-new http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/canonicals-ubuntu-puts-users-first-with-unity-interface-27914
Biggest upside to Linux for the common user, IMO, is running it on an old machine, cost (free) and the lack of viruses. Good for kids and grandparents- hard for them to wreck it.
but its also hard for them to install applications and do basic things that they used to be able to do on XP
In a way, that's kind of the point. It's a gun lock on the gun. But with a full compliment of software, they won't really need anything else. You can work with Office files (OpenOffice), edit photos(Gimp) and surf the web (Javascript and Flash). It's obviously something you would have to support every now and then, but long term, probably less once everything is fine tuned (no viruses/malware).
XP aint that easy for the unwashed masses. Also gotta love the 100+ security updates for XP. For the novices, Mac OS may be a more appropriate choice than either Windows or Linux. Edit: iPad actually may be the answer to most novice users needs for a PC.
Why does the mouse feel so "clicky" under Linux? Even changing the mouse preferences doesn't quite make it feel like Win or Mac. I haven't had much luck with the last several Linux installs I've done. My hard drives were killed during the installs.
Agree completely. I replaced our two oldest computers a few years ago and haven't bothered with Ubuntu since.
I have a real old laptop 2001, It runs ubuntu fine but i had trouble with the wrieless network previously. I will see if it works now, all I want to do is surf the net with it.
It's a free, modern OS: metadata search, graphics accelerated desktop and better hardware compatibility.