Many Linux users, including myself, are quite desperate to get people to switch to Linux, or at least use more open-source software.

Nothing wrong with that. The problem comes in when Linux users say the wrong things in an attempt to convert other users to Linux. The latest example of such a mistake is the tale of Abbie Schubert, a Wisconsin woman that dropped out of college due to troubles with Ubuntu. From the article, Woman blames Dell for missing online classes, describing this:

Schubert says she never heard of Ubuntu until learning that she accidentally bought it.  She called Dell the very next day and says the representative told her there was still time to change back to Windows.

But she says Dell discouraged her.

“The person I was talking to said Ubuntu was great, college students loved it, it was compatible with everything I needed,” said Schubert.

So she stuck with it.

Later, she discovered Ubuntu might look like Windows, but it doesn’t always act like it.

Her Verizon High-Speed Internet CD won’t load, so she can’t access the internet.  She also can’t install Microsoft Word, which she says is a requirement for MATC’s online classes.

This story is similar to so many other stories as it fits this general framework:

1. Average computer user gets a Linux computer, expecting a Windows one.
2. Average computer user is told that “Linux is just like Windows” (or some variation of the phrase). In the example story, the representative, by saying that “[Ubuntu] was compatible with everything [Schubert] needed,” implied that tasks could be completed on Ubuntu in the same manner as the task would be completed on Windows
3. Average computer user gives Linux a chance, and is disappointed because something went wrong.
4. Average computer user now does not trust Linux.

In this cycle, the second step is what really damages the reputation of Linux. Rather than saying “Linux is just like Windows,” what should be said is, “Linux can do everything Windows can, but a little differently. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll save time and money. Let me help you get started.”

Note: If you happen to be interested, read the followup article about Ubuntu, from the news organization that wrote the above article

I personally am not a huge fan of Windows, as I feel it has its fair share of problems. Though, what OS doesn’t? Mac, Linux, and Windows, they all have their problems. However, Windows is made by Microsoft, a huge company capable of doing great things (though you probably already knew that). So, it certainly can improve much quicker than other operating systems who don’t have quite so much available funding. Thats why I think its fair to have a million Windows 7 wish lists out there; We all know what we want, and we also know that there is some possibility of it actually happening with Microsoft behind the wheel. Many of my ideas aren’t all that new, some I think are. So, without further adieu, here it is:

A Built-in Office Suite – It seems like a no brainer, doesn’t it? I’m not asking for a full-fledged office suite like Microsoft Office; I just want a few applications that can act as a word processor, spread sheet, and slide show. I would of-course expect they could read and write Microsoft Office file types as well. Now, let me reiterate, I don’t expect it to be the real deal that you pay 200 dollars for, rather just something that gets the job done.

Better Foreign Support – What I mean by this is that I wish Windows 7 would support a greater deal of Linux and Mac concepts (for lack of a better word), such as media filetypes like Ogg Vorbis in Windows Media Player, complete read/write support for file-systems in the ballpark of HFS, ext3, and Resier4, and finally Open Document support in any fitting applications they do choose to include, such as WordPad (if they include nothing else).

Built-in Virus Protection – Its common knowledge that Windows has a big piece of the Virus pie. Yet, it still does not have built-in protection for them. Not only would this make people feel safer to use it, it would also cut down on the cost of third party products.

LiveDVD Version – I really would like to see both a non-installable Windows 7 Live DVD that is offered for free as well as the standard installation DVD having the ability to boot it into a “Test drive” mode like you often can various Linux distributions.

Customizable Aero Effects – It would be much easier and more satisfactory for both my eyes and be fingers to be able to control what Aero effects are used and which ones aren’t. This would also make it possible to include a wider variety of effects.

Multiple Desktops – Its been around in Linux for ages, hasn’t it? Well, I would really like to see it in Windows as well. It is very convenient, makes it much easier to stay organized, and can be a great way to add extra screen real estate.

Custom Safemode – Well, perhaps its not something everybody would want, but I would like to have the ability to go into a safe mode that fits my needs strait from the boot screen. This includes different options regarding drivers, graphics, network support, and other things like that.

Web-like Password Recovery – It is not uncommon for me to change my passwords every so often, and after a while I forget the old ones. Now, I would obvious not forget my main computer’s password, however I have several other computers I use for testing that go dormant for months at a time. So, to not have to worry about this problem, I would like to be able to recover a forgotten password by answering a series of questions regarding myself.

Custom Keyboard Shortcuts – I tend to like to personalize my keyboard shortcuts to what I can remember best. However, with Windows everything is set in stone; you can’t change them, yet when I go into KDE I have no such problem.

Everywhere Spell Checker – I use a spell-checker for everything. However, it isn’t always available for everything. Well, why can’t it be? I think it would be much easier to have a built-in spell-checker whenever you have to enter text through a form.

IM Safety – The Internet is an unsafe place for kids now-a-days. I think it would definitely be beneficial to add an artificial intelligence to IM programs like Live Messenger to make sure that things aren’t getting dangerous. Perhaps this could take a while to code, however it would be greatly appreciated feature for many parents.

Better CD Burning – Finally, one thing that has caused me enormous trouble is the lack of CD Image burning in Windows. I would really like to be able to get a new computer, then immediately upon unpacking it burn Linux and dual-boot, though I suppose that might be what Microsoft doesn’t want me to do.

Edibility – Oh yeah, I would really like to be able to eat my computer when I’m done with it like Seinfeld does.

A year or two ago, I dug out an old Compaq Presario 4508 with the task to get Ethernet working on it. After multiple failed attempts, I was successful. But my efforts were worthless, because I couldn’t find a decent browser for it.

Last week, I dug out the old Compaq Presario 4508 again to install Linux on it. I booted up the Slackware CD, and found that none of the kernels on the CD would work on the Presario. Rather than spending time debugging error messages or creating a custom kernel, I moved onto FreeBSD, which succesfully installed the first time around. Because of the very limited RAM that the Presario had, running xorg wasn’t, and still isn’t, an option. So I peacefully went to work trying to install Python and a terminal web browser.

Yesterday, when I successfully installed the web browser, the issue hit me. I sacrificed a somewhat ancient operating system with a working GUI for a more modern, stable, and secure operating system without a graphical user interface. Did I make the right choice? Most software that I care about is available or can be easily compiled on FreeBSD, but I cannot use anything that requires a GUI. With Windows 95, I had a graphical user interface, but a limited set of modern applications that still can be run on Windows 95.

So what choice would you make? Would you go with the old OS with a GUI or the modern, stable, secure, and graphics free OS?

Not counting this footnote, the blog post is exactly 248 words long.

This might have happened to some of you using Windows. If you double click on the empty gray area of the WIndows Task Manager goes from the normal mode:

( Source; Wikimedia )

To the "Tiny footprint" mode:

( Source: ImageShack )

To me, having such a feature that can be turned on accidentally like that without having any note of it in the application itself doesn’t seem that good of an idea to me. Of course, I should have checked Microsoft’s Help and Support much earlier.