Re: GNU/Linux Advocacy

On 20/02/07, Amichai Rotman <amichaiiglu.org.il> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Just wanted to share something with ya'all:
>
> It seems since Micro$oft came out with they're new
Vista with the outrageous
> minimum requirements, I am getting more and more
inquires / questions and
> requests for information on making the switch to the
better option:
> GNU/Linux.
>
> Of course I gladly answer and give out the CDs kindly
provided by Canonical.
>
> So, finally, is there a reason to *thank* Mr. Bill
Gates?....
>
> 

Perhaps so, but I find that Ubuntu GNOME is no much less of
a memory
hog (on the low-end machines) than Windows XP, and, compared
to the
earlier stable versions of Windows (NT 4 SP 6, 2K) it
actually
requires more resources to run well. Of course, if you're
willing to
go with a crippled GUI you can manage with fewer computing
resources,
but, then you're also sacrificing desktop functionality.

And... of course, people complained about the outrageous
requirements
of Windows XP when it first came out .

I don't think this is going to make or break Ubuntu take-up.
Frankly,
I think Microsoft is starting to get the open source/Linux
"threat"
and are starting to respond appropriately (in terms of
retaining
market share). Most people don't really care about
"controlling" their
software -- they want stuff that does what they need and
want and
costs as little as possible.

I use Linux primarily because it is a great tool and it's
free ($). I
like that it's free (as in speech) but, if Windows Server
2003 could
meet my needs for the right price with the right free
use/installation
guarantees (that I could be guaranteed that my server(s)
would work,
even if I upgraded to a new OS/computer and that I could
configure and
setup multiple servers (all at the right price  I might
be using it
instead.

That said, my working knowledge is of Linux and not Windows
so I'd be
very unlikely to make the switch (unless Microsoft were to
come out
with their own Linux-based server OS .

Eric.

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On Tue, 2007-02-20 at 09:28 -0500, Eric Dunbar wrote:
> Perhaps so, but I find that Ubuntu GNOME is no much
less of a memory
> hog (on the low-end machines) than Windows XP, and,
compared to the
> earlier stable versions of Windows (NT 4 SP 6, 2K) it
actually
> requires more resources to run well. Of course, if
you're willing to
> go with a crippled GUI you can manage with fewer
computing resources,
> but, then you're also sacrificing desktop
functionality.

Am I right in thinking Vista requires 1GB of RAM? Or is that
only if you
have the new desktop effects turned on?

I volunteer at a free software lab that does many installs
of Ubuntu for
individuals and organisations on old reclaimed machines.
Hardware that
other people, usually Windows users, are throwing out
because it's of no
use to them anymore. We've found that standard Ubuntu/GNOME
will run
well on pretty much anything as long as you can boost it up
to 256MB
RAM.

I'm not sure how that compares to Windows XP. But the big
advantage of
putting Ubuntu on a machine like this is that it'll continue
to run as
well as it did on day one until the hardware fails. Even if
XP does run
OK on such a machine at first, it will have crippled it in a
few months.
So people really appreciate when we give them a stable,
long-term
solution using free hardware and software.

If a machine is really too low end to run Ubuntu/GNOME, I
still think
that with Ubuntu you're in a better position. We can setup
XUbuntu for
people, or if it's *really* low-end hardware do an Ubuntu
server install
and build them a custom desktop based on a lightweight
window manager
like Openbox. So there really is a solution for almost any
old hardware.
The advantage of using Ubuntu in this way compared to
installing Windows
95 or 98, is that the user still gets modern, up-to-date,
still-being-maintained software. They can run the latest web
browser,
etc.



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On Tue, 2007-02-20 at 09:28 -0500, Eric Dunbar wrote:
> Frankly,
> I think Microsoft is starting to get the open
source/Linux "threat"
> and are starting to respond appropriately (in terms of
retaining
> market share). Most people don't really care about
"controlling" their
> software -- they want stuff that does what they need
and want and
> costs as little as possible.

You think they're going to start giving Vista away for free?
Or make it
run on the cheapest available hardware?



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Le Mardi, 20. Février 2007, Eric Dunbar a écrit :
> On 20/02/07, Amichai Rotman <amichaiiglu.org.il> wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > Just wanted to share something with ya'all:
> >
> > It seems since Micro$oft came out with they're new
Vista with the
> > outrageous minimum requirements, I am getting more
and more inquires /
> > questions and requests for information on making
the switch to the better
> > option: GNU/Linux.
> >
> > Of course I gladly answer and give out the CDs
kindly provided by
> > Canonical.
> >
> > So, finally, is there a reason to *thank* Mr. Bill
Gates?....
> >
> > 
>
> Perhaps so, but I find that Ubuntu GNOME is no much
less of a memory
> hog (on the low-end machines) than Windows XP, and,
compared to the
> earlier stable versions of Windows (NT 4 SP 6, 2K) it
actually
> requires more resources to run well. Of course, if
you're willing to
> go with a crippled GUI you can manage with fewer
computing resources,
> but, then you're also sacrificing desktop
functionality.

On the Ubuntu side, you can use Xubuntu with the Xfce
windowmanager, this runs 
on very little RAM and is designe specially for older
hardware.  A very nice 
way to run Linux on old computers.

BTW, I installed Ubuntu / Kubuntu / Xubuntu on my laptop
which allows me to 
show various desktops to people interested before installing
on their 
computer. With enough RAM and HD space I bluntly install
these three desktop 
managers and leave it to the users what they prefer.
Something I always 
wanted to do is get some feedback from these people, I'm
planing it right now 
so expect a post about it on this list soon 

Greets, Myriam

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