@Sean - I've been using Linux since 2005, though I didn't use it at all in 2008/early 2009. As stated before, these things don't stop ME from using Linux/Ubuntu/whatever app I use, but from my experience, they stop new users from using Linux/Ubuntu.
I'm not sure where you understand that I wanted to impose my views on how to make it user-friendly - the reason I posted this is to get a whole range of views, not to push my views. Also, it was inspired by an existing article - in fact, about half of the things on my list are in the original article too. As a community, Linux is both exciting and horribly frustrating - technical people don't always make for good communicators, devs quite often get offended if somebody suggests a different solution to a problem, many geeks are prone to patronising those they think of as ignorant, and in my opinion, Linux is suffering from this. For me, Linux users should also teach other computer users about the benefits of open source development and how a PC doesn't need Windows to run, but quite often, the feedback is "if you don't know how to do this in Linux, then you understand nothing about it and you should go back to Windows". Not helpful at all in the context of the open source vs closed source dev public debate. Yes, Linux complexity is great and I don't suggest to dumb it down. Most of the changes I would like to see are to do with presentation, not how Linux works deep down. Some changes also require devs/foundations to work together. None of this should be imposed by an outside force, it has got to come from the parties involved obviously. As stated before, I don't have a problem with using Linux, I have overcome whatever issues I have with it but this list was written with the mainstream user in mind. The list is based on my own experience, watching those around me trying to use Ubuntu on my desktops and netbook. Sometimes, when a new user points something out, you just have to admit the way Linux presents itself isn't the best way (for example, the names of apps in Ubuntu software centre, which in itself is a great idea by the way). Other times, you can explain why it works like this but when a user says "I don't really need to know all that" and you know that the distro you are using is meant to be user-friendly (it's not like I'm using Gentoo!), then again you have to admit that even though there is a reason why something is done a certain way, it might be useful to show fewer options, and allow for a way to show more options (for example, the bootloader). -- Next meeting: Crown Hotel, Blandford Forum, Tuesday 2010-11-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ How to Report Bugs Effectively: http://goo.gl/4Xue
