Ubuntu - the OS of the people?
I've recently bought a laptop with the intention of trying out a Microsoft-free zone. It came with the unwanted Basic version of Vista pre-installed with a lot of advertising gunk that took up 20GB of the disk. I cleaned it off, reformatted the disk, then installed Ubuntu 7.04, a remarkable version of Linux that runs from a CD so you can explore it first before installing it on your machine.
This is my first exploration of Linux despite having been developing software for a very long time and although the installation goes well, you are quickly brought home to the fact that Linux is an OS largely for developers, despite the hype. As an open source product, the support you get is from the open source community and consequently there is an unlimited amount of really helpful people giving uncoordinated and sometimes contradictory advice. This is particularly apparent when you discover something isn't working and appeal to the web for information.
It must be said that an incredible amount works straight away - the OS is after all completely free. But some things almost inevitably don't work. In my case it was the wireless connection to a router. Cable connection, fine. Wireless, nada.
Now for those who don't know about drivers... they are bits of software that allow the operating system to talk to the hardware you have in your machine, such as the keyboard, mouse, network cards, and so on. The hardware manufacturers provide drivers for the popular operating systems, and there's the problem. Until Linux is popular enough for manufacturers to make the drivers available (as they do by default for Windows), the job is left to enthusiasts who do it for nothing. Each time a device comes out, there is a hole until some group of developers provides a driver for Linux.
In my case, the wireless card built into my laptop isn't quite compatible so there are various steps required and that's where you take the plunge. In a very short time, you are typing arcane commands into a terminal window, opening configuration files and modifying various settings on the advice on members of the excellent Ubuntu forum, downloading new versions of drivers, unpacking tar files, compiling drivers, installing prerequisites, and generally getting very frustrated. If you enjoy the challenge, it can be fun.
For the novice with a bee in their bonnet about a piece of hardware that's not working, the task can quickly become very daunting and it's not because any of the steps are particularly difficult. It's simply that you cannot get a clear starting picture quickly enough to address your problems. The advice you get is often very detailed - but may not work, and you then don't know the consequences of what you've just done, making further diagnosis a bit more difficult.
So you have a steep learning curve. If you like that, it's fun because you find out a lot about how your system works. If you don't want to be bothered with it, you can easily just use what's there. No wireless? OK, use a cable.
What is most remarkable about the Linux community, from my very brief acquaintance with it, is that it is overwhelmingly well-meaning and helpful. I haven't come across any back-biting or snide comments, and even complete beginners are treated with the greatest respect and consideration. You actually feel welcome. It's not just the source that's open - the whole community seems to be.
I still haven't got my wireless working properly, but I'm enjoying finding out and communicating about the problem. And the prospect of a powerful OS that really is free is quite liberating. More on this in future blogs.
