Linux - T + 180 days

Let me take this opportunity to remind all that the prize drawing for some pretty cool computers is still running. This drawing gives us the funding to run The HeliOS Project. Come see us here to see what we are offering.

It's been something we've been needing to do for a while now.

Time, or the lack thereof has prevented it.

So here it goes.

We looked back 6 months and chose 10 of our Linux computer recipients and spoke with them individually. More to the point , we presented them with a series of questions.

See, none of the kids or parents that received HeliOS Project computers had ever heard of or used Linux. One of the screening questions we asked was: "did you use or do you now use windows outside of your home?"

In order to qualify the people, the answer had to be yes...although they did not know it.

Our goal was simple. Gather empirical data to indicate whether a Linux user of 6 months was comfortable with the system and how they saw it in relation to Microsoft Windows TM

This was no where near scientific of course. And as stated, the data collected is empirical at best but it gives us an idea of what we are working with and how we personally might be able to make it better.

So here is what we found.

The people queried ranged in age from 15 to 31. Of the ten people agreeing to talk to us, there were six female and four males. Not that it should make any real difference, I simply note it as a statistical fact.

Seven of these people either worked with Windows at school or at their place of employment. So is Linux vs. Windows equal to mixing oil and water?

Not even close.

What we found most surprising is the way our Linux Users adapted and researched in order to make things work between their machines. They actively sought answers to their problems. Spreadsheets via Excel transferred to Linux machines caused some problems in formatting but not enough to cause any real issues.

Reportedly, documents originating from Calc which contained inserted graphs, diagrams and graphics did not hold their formatting perfectly when saved as an Excel document and opened on the Windows end. But to be fair, neither did the same graphs, diagrams and graphics when sent from a 2003 Microsoft Office Excel document to a Microsoft Office 2007 user. In fact, some of the inserted graphics were completely absent between the two MS offerings. A bit of fiddling with the Calc-created spreadsheet rendered the document completely usable.

DocX continues to be a problem for many.

Three of the Linux Users found themselves in a position to install Windows Vista either at work or at school. In speaking to these users, it was a bit amusing to listen to their complaints about the install process. Six of the ten had installed Linux for friends and family, so they were somewhat versed in the installation of a Linux distribution.

In all three cases, none of the folks had driver CD's or internet access after installing Windows. They found themselves having to identify the specific hardware on the computer, find another computer with Internet access and slog through the Google process of finding the needed drivers. One of the biggest complaints in finding the needed drivers were the PITA redirects to sites for Driver Doctor and Driver Robot which puts a ton of spyware on your computer in the name of helping you automatically update your drivers.

What stuck us as most surprising is that every person who used Windows at work has inquired to their employer as to whether they would be allowed to use Linux at work. All but one were told no. The young Intern at an insurance company was given permission to dual boot her computer with Linux. An install she did without any tech support or help.

This brings us to the conversations where eight of our people commented that when they got home, they experienced relief or happiness that they could use a computer that "just worked". They noted that there were no 30 minute update procedures to tolerate, no warnings of virus threats and no having to reboot because their mouse wouldn't move correctly or that the current page showing was locked up.

While the comments and answers were largely positive, we also asked how Linux could be better in their opinion. Here is a list of comments or suggestions from some of the participants. Note some of them may seem like "old issues" to many of us, but also keep in mind that these are relatively new Linux Users. Keep in mind as well, these users have either Linux Mint or SuperOS installed on their computers...both derivatives of Ubuntu.

"The only decent program I've found for my ipod is Songbird but it crashes constantly. Can't the people making other Music apps like Banshee make ipod support easier?" Traci - undergrad UT

I do not own an ipod or any type of device like it so I could not comment on the question. Maybe someone here can address this.

"I have a USB storage device plugged in where I keep my music and movie collection. At any given time, a box pops up saying that a device has been detected that has pictures on it and wants to open F-spot for them. It happens a dozen times a day and is really annoying. How can I make this stop?" Mike - high school senior

This is a problem I have encountered often myself. It seems that 2 usb storage devices are constantly being "discovered" and announced. Annoying indeed, but personally not bothersome enough for me to investigate. Any ideas here?

"I want to install a couple KDE applications on my computer, one of them is Kstars but I am worried that mixing KDE stuff with Gnome is going to screw things up. It's happened before and I had to start all over. Is this ever going to be addressed?" Lisa - ACC student

Agreed, it is a crapshoot when you do this. I personally found that SuperOS comes with many of the KDE libraries already loaded so when you install a KDE app into this Gnome environment, all the knots are already worked out. YMMV however and I've found that mixing environmentally-specific apps can cause trouble down the line a bit. Long enough away so that you can't remember what you installed that is now causing the problems.

"When I have desktop effects enabled, there are times when I click something and the screen darkens for up to a minute before anything happens and after that my computer runs slow. When I turn off the effects it fixes itself. I have a one year old computer running two gigs of ram. This should not happen." Juanita - restaurant server

Noted this myself and not quite sure why this happens. I only run effects on my demonstration laptop...only so long I can tolerate wobbly windows and pretty sparkles before they get annoying or in the way of my work.

"I like the way you install applications in Linux. It is so much easier than in Windows but sometimes I cannot find specific programs that I need. I usually end up going onto the internet and searching for something that comes with a deb installer but they crash because something isn't in the deb that is needed. Is there ever going to be a time when all packages work on all Linux machines?" Amanda - freshman TSU

No, probably not and I feel your pain. We either have to learn how to compile our own or go to the forums and ask someone in the packaging threads to do it for us. Slashdot had a piece on someone working on universal binaries but I don't think the politics will allow it to happen.

The thing that stood out most in these meetings was the overall happiness with the stability of their systems. What made a big difference in the majority of the users was the fact that they did not have to do the reboot dance after an installation or regular machine update. Of further interest was the non-issue of virus protection. Every person spoken with that used Windows at work or school voiced annoyance over having to deal with it on the Windows machines.

When asked about the "learning curve" when they first started using Linux, all but one just shrugged and said it wasn't a big deal. Of course, we sat down with each of them when we installed the computers and spent an hour showing them the system. However, no one stated any real problems in acclimating to the new system.

No this is not all-inclusive by any stretch but this gives us some idea of what the new Linux User thinks and how they adapt to Linux. I am sure there are many that took the dive into Linux and ran back to the safety of Windows. We plan to speak with 10 more users as they mature to 6 months use in May.

Let's see how they differ from the above observations.

Those who insist on reiterating the same tired line that Linux isn't ready for the desktop may have axes to grind instead of opening their minds. When we have Professionals of many walks using Linux on a daily basis and as their only OS, then you have to question the motive or experience of those making such statements. Besides, we have 12 year olds using it on a daily basis.

Maybe these folks would appreciate one of our kids stopping by and giving them a hand.


All-Righty Then