This post will get me flamed no doubt, but I've never been accused of not having an opinion. 
As I updated my kernel this morning - and then removed my older kernel, verified dkms worked properly - and prepared for a re-boot it occurred to me that there are still some fairly large things in the way of linux (Kubuntu) really taking over the "home" market. I realize this has been discussed a ba-zillion times but I wanted to hear some solid ideas on what should or should not be changed.
I believe most of us have used Windows of one iteration or another in the past and many, like me, still use it daily because of work or some other reason. So we all know (see note #1) that Windows does some things right - even very right.
I thought it might be useful to share thoughts on what Windows does very well that Kubuntu needs to or could improve on to be more generally accepted as the OS of choice.
I make some bold assumptions:
So, answering my own question: What Kubuntu needs is to appeal to the larger, more common group of computer users.
Why care about this? Well because a lot of the things we (linux users) lack - driver/hardware vendor support, really good current main stream games, commercially usable software - will come to linux when the userbase is large enough to support the development costs of these things.
Linux already has some great "selling" points: It's free, it doesn't get viruses, it's free, it's open so the user can freely change anything they have the desire to fiddle with, it's free, scale-ability, security, I could go on and on...
So what needs to be added to the Kubuntu (see note #2) functionality? Keep in mind I'm thinking of the very basic user, not a linux experienced user.
Kernel/Driver management: The function that brought this question to my mind was the kernel update. Installing a new kernel doesn't remove the previous version. If the user doesn't know to remove kernels no longer needed, one could easily have 30 kernels or more installed in an LTS release. A simple setting and a check to verify how many kernels were available or how long since any particular kernel had been booted would be a great feature. A notice at boot time with a removal option could solve this. Add to this a system check to verify kernel drivers (like nVidia or vboxhost for example) had properly installed and activated and a notice or warning about same after a new kernel was installed would make my three step upgrade into a single step action, and prevent possible problems for those less capable than myself.
Data Backups: This is one area where we suffer from too many choices and none of them easy. We really need a clean, GUI driven, widely functioning backup menu. An everyday simple user should be able to open a window with a Dolphin-like view, select directories to backup, select target locations, enter a schedule, and save. Period. This could be done very easily I think.
Roll-Back of the OS installation: This is a bit more complicated. However, if you use btrfs file system it's not. This should (IMO) be a default feature when btrfs is being used for the OS. While btrfs is still considered experimental, soon it will not be and ext4 was always intend as a stop-gap file system anyway. An automatic number of roll-backs could happen without any user input and might help recover from a unintended gaff.
That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure there's a hundred more ideas out there. For instance; I have never even tried to use the guided install method for Kubuntu. Does it work well enough?
I would like to be able to hand anyone a Kubuntu CD, and know they'll be able to handle the install and setup as easily as Windows XP. Are we there yet?
I'd like to hear your thoughts.
NOTE #1: The "we" means those of us who aren't total mindless Redmond haters. I know you're out there.
NOTE #2: I'm using linux and Kubuntu interchangeably. Insert the name of your favorite distro anywhere you like.
As I updated my kernel this morning - and then removed my older kernel, verified dkms worked properly - and prepared for a re-boot it occurred to me that there are still some fairly large things in the way of linux (Kubuntu) really taking over the "home" market. I realize this has been discussed a ba-zillion times but I wanted to hear some solid ideas on what should or should not be changed.
I believe most of us have used Windows of one iteration or another in the past and many, like me, still use it daily because of work or some other reason. So we all know (see note #1) that Windows does some things right - even very right.
I thought it might be useful to share thoughts on what Windows does very well that Kubuntu needs to or could improve on to be more generally accepted as the OS of choice.
I make some bold assumptions:
- Most computer users only consume and do not create with their computers. Internet browsers, email clients and solitaire are likely 60-70% of what most computers are used for. These people don't want to know why something works on their PC, just that it does.
- These comments don't really apply to most of us here because we have the knowledge to make our Kubuntu machines do everything we want them to do already and could care less if it were even a little easier.
So, answering my own question: What Kubuntu needs is to appeal to the larger, more common group of computer users.
Why care about this? Well because a lot of the things we (linux users) lack - driver/hardware vendor support, really good current main stream games, commercially usable software - will come to linux when the userbase is large enough to support the development costs of these things.
Linux already has some great "selling" points: It's free, it doesn't get viruses, it's free, it's open so the user can freely change anything they have the desire to fiddle with, it's free, scale-ability, security, I could go on and on...
So what needs to be added to the Kubuntu (see note #2) functionality? Keep in mind I'm thinking of the very basic user, not a linux experienced user.
Kernel/Driver management: The function that brought this question to my mind was the kernel update. Installing a new kernel doesn't remove the previous version. If the user doesn't know to remove kernels no longer needed, one could easily have 30 kernels or more installed in an LTS release. A simple setting and a check to verify how many kernels were available or how long since any particular kernel had been booted would be a great feature. A notice at boot time with a removal option could solve this. Add to this a system check to verify kernel drivers (like nVidia or vboxhost for example) had properly installed and activated and a notice or warning about same after a new kernel was installed would make my three step upgrade into a single step action, and prevent possible problems for those less capable than myself.
Data Backups: This is one area where we suffer from too many choices and none of them easy. We really need a clean, GUI driven, widely functioning backup menu. An everyday simple user should be able to open a window with a Dolphin-like view, select directories to backup, select target locations, enter a schedule, and save. Period. This could be done very easily I think.
Roll-Back of the OS installation: This is a bit more complicated. However, if you use btrfs file system it's not. This should (IMO) be a default feature when btrfs is being used for the OS. While btrfs is still considered experimental, soon it will not be and ext4 was always intend as a stop-gap file system anyway. An automatic number of roll-backs could happen without any user input and might help recover from a unintended gaff.
That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure there's a hundred more ideas out there. For instance; I have never even tried to use the guided install method for Kubuntu. Does it work well enough?
I would like to be able to hand anyone a Kubuntu CD, and know they'll be able to handle the install and setup as easily as Windows XP. Are we there yet?
I'd like to hear your thoughts.
NOTE #1: The "we" means those of us who aren't total mindless Redmond haters. I know you're out there.
NOTE #2: I'm using linux and Kubuntu interchangeably. Insert the name of your favorite distro anywhere you like.
).
. And I do recognize that canonical/ubuntu do utterly amazing and tremendous work in acknowledging, recognizing, and appreciating their community).
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