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How did Ubuntu end up so popular?

ubuntucat.wordpress.com — How did this come to pass? Seriously. I was there … not from the very start but from very close to the beginning. The very first release was Ubuntu 4.10, nicknamed Warty Warthog. I started with the next release, Ubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog). My first experience with Ubuntu was not the best. But I came back to Ubuntu. Why?

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  • fatas, on 05/16/2008, -37/+5good article
  • schestowitz, on 05/16/2008, -10/+102Ubuntu made some compromises (binaries), but its base (Debian) was good as well. And then there's the hype.
    • oomfoofoo, on 05/16/2008, -54/+5And then there's you, shilling for ubuntu.
    • MrViklund, on 05/16/2008, -15/+5It's all about the hype.
    • blackhole82, on 05/16/2008, -4/+35well the hype has to come from something which is usually good
      • piesforyou, on 05/16/2008, -18/+11Not always. Just look at harry potter.
        • piesforyou, on 05/17/2008, -0/+5Uh oh, looks like I've offended all the 12 year olds.
      • MrViklund, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1No. It's just hype. And brown.
    • buddyw, on 05/16/2008, -1/+23I would say it's Debian + more up to date (less stable) repositories + hype.
      • tech42er, on 05/16/2008, -1/+20And the community. It's also got more structure than Debian, which is probably better for newbies.
        • fjf314, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2I agree that the community really helped out with Ubuntu. I started on Dapper Drake (6.06) and I was almost completely new to Linux. There were plenty of times I had to go running to the Ubuntu Forums for help and the users there were almost always able to handle whatever issues I was having with the system.
      • mrsteveman1, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1Stability and being up to date shouldn't be mutually exclusive, we should be able to do both, especially given the fact that anyone can submit fixes.
        • sishgupta, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1Stability isn't a yes no thing.

          There is time gained from using an older version that adds an assurance of stability.

          For a desktop user the level of stability needed doesn't have to be very high. But for servers or even workstations, where you don't really need the _latest_ features, stability is essential. Downtime for servers depending on what they are used for can cost an organization thousands of dollars.
        • mrsteveman1, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1Yea but you are trying to say things are only stable after theyve been used for 2+ years, this isn't the case.

          Given enough testers and developers you can find serious bugs that affect stability very quickly, within months at the MOST.
        • newwatch51, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1I don't think that's really possible honestly. Ubuntu's release cycle is too quick to be as stable as Debian Stable is. So while I'm loving the newer apps, I'm also experiencing more bugs.
      • typo180, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2I think it's the amusing name.

        Ooooh-boooon-toooo - teehee
    • rpgmaker, on 05/16/2008, -0/+92 and a half years ago I was using Debian Sarge, it was too old for my taste (I was relatively new to Linux back then and noticed it) but it wasn't as hard to install and configure as some people cracked it up to be. I started looking for an alternative more up to date and that was the moment when I stumbled upon Ubuntu. To me it was sold as a cutting edge Debian with the plus of being "easier" to install (to me all that easier to install crap was hype around ubuntu back then, not anymore tho).

      To some people the free of charge CD shipments made the difference, to me it was the "comfortable" release cycle.
    • MikeCerm, on 05/16/2008, -2/+16I wouldn't call it "hype". In the beginning, there was a "positive buzz" about a Linux distro that was rooted in the fact that regular people should be able to use it. I honestly believe that, with the exception of the failed Lindows, Ubuntu was really first in selling itself to the masses in a meaningful way. Even recently, Red Hat said that they have no interest in entering the non-enterprise market. Linux has been mired by the perception (reality?) that it's only for nerds and servers, and not for home users. Ubuntu actually had the idea to specifically target home users, and they had Mark Shuttleworth's money to get the message out there.

      That's how it started, but how it's maintained that edge is that it's been marketed well, and it really does have a larger support community than any other distro, and a lot of momentum to its growth. As far as I'm concerned, the best thing for the Linux market will be to coalesce around a single distro, and Ubuntu seems to be bringing a lot of people into the fold.
    • brundlefly76, on 05/17/2008, -1/+11I stuck with Ubuntu because Ubuntu seems dead serious about fixing the most difficult and important problems with Linux from a consumer standpoint.

      I think Linux has a long history of pundits brushing aside criticisms of some very unfriendly parts of Linux - its still happens.

      Ubuntu is more honest about what parts of Linux still are behind Windows and MacOS - stuff like wireless compatibility and configuration, network configuration dialogs, monitor identification and resolution settings, non-free but very important software, updates, etc.

      The one thing about Ubuntu I do not like is that it does not have automated repair tools on the cd like Suse. Bootloader failures are still a major issue with Linux, and you can't leave consumers hanging with a broken bootloader, because its way too complicated for consumers to be fiddling with.

    • digjam, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1"Nautilus can't be used now, due to an unexpected error from Bonobo when attempting to locate the factory. Killing bonobo-activation-server and restarting Nautilus may help fix the problem."

      Errors like these still make me nervous trying out linux!
      • Niten, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1Really, is this objectively any worse than a lot of the error messages commonly seen on Windows? I'd say the only reason Linux is perceived as harder to use at this point is that people are already familiar with Windows's quirks and errors. (Neglecting some real remaining deficiencies in the Linux desktop, of course, such as Bluetooth support.)
    • boicityboy, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2First, define for us what you mean by "so popular". Linux has a tiny market share overall, and Ubuntu even less. As an Ubuntu user, I wish it had a greater share, but as long as there are still areas where command line interaction is *required* to get something done (and it still occasionally is) and as long as hardware manufacturers hold out support causing Ubuntu's "just works" slogan to be more like "just works, as long as you have the right hardware", then it will probably never really be "so popular". If you're just talking about popularity over other linux distributions, then -- and if it is in fact more popular than any other distribution -- I would say it's likely because it requires the least amount of command line interaction to get something done, and things do "just work" with less effort than in other distributions. Most PC users, though, do not even know what an operating system is: For every windows user I try to convert their first question is "What is this 'Ubuntu' thing? What does it do?" When Ubuntu reaches the point that it truly is a completely transparent bridge between a user and the tasks they wish to perform -- a goal it seems to have and a goal it's not to far from reaching -- then it will be "so popular", and it will be so popular because *it's free*.
  • 0L1VER, on 05/16/2008, -5/+55Regular but stable releases with bleeding-edge features, as well as an incredible community and fantastic international localization and support. What more could you ask for?
    • knight666, on 05/16/2008, -3/+5Hell they finally translated "Force Quit" in Dutch!

      (Although "Geforceerd afsluiten" doesn't quite sound right. :\)
    • UltramegaOK, on 05/16/2008, -3/+11Games
    • LoganT, on 05/16/2008, -10/+5Not to sound condescending; but what bleeding-edge features are in Ubuntu? I also don't consider having to download a new OS every 6 months.
      • Tyr7BE, on 05/16/2008, -1/+18But at the same time, people are fine with having to download updates from Windows every few weeks.

        Installing a new Ubuntu is like downloading a service pack in XP. Except without the license agreements. It asks you "do you want to upgrade?" You say "yes" and that's pretty much it.
        • peestandingup, on 05/17/2008, -6/+1Bleeding Edge = What's copied from the other guys.
      • fjf314, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2If you don't want to update to the next version every 6 months, then just use an LTS version. Problem solved.
    • poonaka, on 05/17/2008, -3/+1The latest release gives me a white screen of death. :(
    • justdbc, on 05/17/2008, -8/+1Ubuntu "bleeding edge"?? Hoo hoo ha ha.. *wipes* *eyes* heee *giggle* -- that's a good one. Got any more like that?
  • oobuntu, on 05/16/2008, -11/+57Fedora dropped the ball and ubuntu picked it up. I was one of many users who were cursing yum/rpm, fedora stability and slowness and found ubuntu to be a breath of fresh air. I hope ubuntu continues to be fresh and not stagnate, or they could find users switching en masse if they botch a release or two.
    • MrViklund, on 05/16/2008, -16/+5Do not agree at all.
      • dinostabOMG, on 05/16/2008, -3/+14care to support that?
        • init100, on 05/17/2008, -2/+1Fedora has been very stable all the time for me, while Ubuntu couldn't even boot properly on my systems.
      • D4rkDrago0n, on 05/16/2008, -6/+10no. he has spoken.
    • elipabst, on 05/16/2008, -1/+12Totally agree with that. Before Ubuntu, Fedora was by far the most common distro. After Fedora spun off of Redhat, the first few releases were unstable (remember the bug that blew away your windows dual boot partition because the cylinder head count was off) and the general focus became about beta testing features for the Enterprise edition (like SELinux). As a result of the lack of focus on the user, the desktop suffered and generally lacked useful graphical interfaces, plus the package management system (RPM) generally sucked. Then along comes Ubuntu...slick desktop, nice user tools, and for many people "it just worked" out of the box. Pretty soon it was the distro of choice for newbies.
    • docsarvis, on 05/17/2008, -0/+12I would extrapolate that to: Red Hat dropped the ball, Mandrake picked up the ball, Mandrake dropped the ball, Ubuntu picked up the ball. OpenSuSE and the now defunct Caldera never had the ball but were always in close proximity, as was Red Hat even after dropping the ball. Slackware and Debian have never had the ball and were off doing their own thing.
    • rohan1234, on 05/17/2008, -2/+2They almost dropped the ball with Hardy Heron... it's got more bugs in it than gutsy or feisty, and it's supposed to be LTS.
      • Tyr7BE, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4They'll release updates to stabilize the software. Just no new features.
      • Stonekeeper, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4Hardy had too many problems for my liking. I'm giving Fed9 a go for a bit. Hey Microsofties, this is why competition is good.
        • exspasticcomics, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2found that the upgrade from gutsy to hardy is pretty rough (lots of changes under the hood..) fresh install is pretty slick though...
  • whiteeagle131, on 05/16/2008, -3/+31Because of the community the most, I think.
    Ubuntu has a fantastic community which loved to help whenever I had any problems (primarily I asked at the #ubuntu IRC channel).
    I actually removed Windows the next day after I installed ubuntu. I did have certain problems in the past, but nothing that isn't fixed.
    • fuzzynyanko, on 05/16/2008, -2/+10I agree. Every time I need to use a *nix OS, I go straight to Ubuntu first. A long time ago, I wanted to installed an OS that let me compile using the gcc suite, and at that time, you would get a lot of "RTFM N00B!" when you asked a question. When Ubuntu came out, it was really refreshing. The people who used it were cool, and the forums were incredibly helpful.
  • Carpex, on 05/16/2008, -10/+123Its funny to say but my relationship with my computer has totally changed since I switched to Ubuntu. I used to get angry when something didn't work the way I wanted with Windows. Now, I feel its like a long standing relationship with my wife. She can screw up sometimes, but our relationship is strong and our love is genuine. Nothing can't be fixed with an upgrade.

    [/cheezy]
    • yetAnotherCroc, on 05/16/2008, -2/+29I agree. I think the anger at Windows stemmed from a feeling of powerlessness. If the software was flawed you couldn't do much about it other then throw a tantrum. In Linux on the other hand you know that someone else somewhere most likely figured out how to fix it so you either look up that person online or you get your hands dirty and do it yourself (if you have the knowhow). The difference is that with Linux You are in charge and you tell the system whats up, not the other way around.
      • Gizza, on 05/17/2008, -7/+1Yeah, when Windows stuffed up all you can do is throw a tanrtum. With Linux you can spend the next 6 hours on google and in forums, typing ***** in to the console, only to then finally give up and then throw a tantrum.
        • yetAnotherCroc, on 05/17/2008, -0/+5well in 99% of the cases youd actually solve the problem in that 6 hour session and would walk away feeling a lot better about yourself. The main difference is that with Linux you are in control.
      • skyshock1, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Not to mention the predictability of Linux. I've never had a linux system do something totally wonky on it's own accord like I have with Windows systems (knock on wood) . Everything just behaves the way it was intended. Nothing more, nothing less.
    • Lane, on 05/16/2008, -4/+36Your saving up to buy her implants aren't you?...
      • jsully, on 05/16/2008, -1/+17You're going to look so hot with this new monitor baby...
    • IllBeBack, on 05/16/2008, -15/+4So now whenever something goes wrong, you can drop to your cozy command line and start typing a bunch of cryptic, badly-named commands with huge numbers of parameters and switches.
      /sarcasm
      • tech42er, on 05/16/2008, -0/+18Better than not being able to do anything, right?
      • digitalarcanum, on 05/17/2008, -0/+6just like with women!
      • srg13, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3I've never had to resort to anything except a text editor to fix anything.... I don't know what your talking about - the only difficult command I can think of that you might need is the one to reconfigure the X server with dpkg - but I've never needed to do that...
    • coresnake, on 05/16/2008, -9/+2Get back in the kitchen bitch
    • jonjo, on 05/16/2008, -16/+1What doesn't work in windows? Seriously, what?
      • Biznarie, on 05/17/2008, -0/+9Windows has problems (bugs, incompatibilities etc) sometimes and does not work it happens with every OS, but in Linux anybody can fix the problem no need to wait for Microsoft
    • stizz, on 05/17/2008, -2/+4Final Cut Pro?

      /I keed, ok but seriously
  • MrViklund, on 05/16/2008, -78/+7Ubuntu is all about the hype. Right now it gets allot of free Inc from the media for all the time for almost nothing. I won't touch it Ubuntu. It's overrated.
    • str1fe, on 05/16/2008, -5/+53How can you know it's overrated if you won't touch it?
    • dinostabOMG, on 05/16/2008, -3/+17Oh please, there's no reason for this vitriol. If you have another distro you like, it's certainly benefiting from Ubuntu's attention. The desktop Linux market isn't saturated enough where one distro's popularity significantly detracts from another's userbase. I never touched Linux until Ubuntu 7.03 last year, and since then I've played with two or three other distros, including PCLinuxOS - I wouldn't have if Ubuntu hadn't gotten me interested. So enough pouting, this should be about collaboration; competition will come when there isn't enough elbow room.
      • s0m31john, on 05/16/2008, -0/+8Agreed, I installed Fedora 9 the other day, would not have even thought about it if I had not been introduced to Ubuntu first.
    • firstpost, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3Oh cool, we've already got an OS-war, now we have a distro war too?
  • brettalton, on 05/16/2008, -3/+43I installed Ubuntu 5.04 in VMware the other day (I can't get Ubuntu 4.10 to install) and it is absolutely amazing how far it has come (open source in general).
    • Dylson, on 05/16/2008, -12/+22That's a really old release. I would go to 8.04 if I was you. But whatever trips your trigger I suppose.
      • picpak, on 05/16/2008, -0/+40The point was he was seeing how far Ubuntu has come from 5.04.
      • cesclaveria, on 05/16/2008, -0/+7I guess he was just trying to see how the first couple of releases compare to the more recent release. That is why he complains about not being able to instal 4.10 (the very first one) and also, I guess, he is doing it just to see how it is, that is why he is doing it on a vmware.
      • Sairgem, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3I say go back even further. Go back to Red Hat 9 or Slackware 9 or earlier.. Those were the days. The days of wanting to smash my head into a giant knife after trying to get the smallest thing working, that is.
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/16/2008, -12/+5Seriously dude that's like 3 year old software. In Linux land, that's a lot like the difference between Windows 95 and Windows XP.

      Give 8.04 a go, you'll be amazed how far it's come.
      • tech42er, on 05/16/2008, -0/+16No, you see? He was doing the equivalent of trying to install Windows 3.x just to see how far it's come.
  • xutopia, on 05/16/2008, -3/+82For me it was the first Linux release that made it possible for me to do 95% of what I wanted without having to go to the command line and edit some file or recompile the kernel.
  • bincoder, on 05/16/2008, -13/+3I tried to put it on as a vmware a couple times but all it does is take hours to install then freezes the system. I do that with Debian and it cruises along smoothly taking only a few minutes to install without freezing or other issues. Debian may not be as polished looking otb as Ubuntu but it works much better for me anyway. Now installed as a dual boot with windows. The pretty stuff can be added later, but only if required.
  • nourkah, on 05/16/2008, -18/+7GENTOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • digitallysick, on 05/16/2008, -2/+22I think its becuse of the wonderful community. I know of several linux forums where no one really helped , or discussed issues in a friendly manner such as the ubuntu forums. The whole "human" idea behind it, is what drives ubuntu. The forum has excellent support, i have been posting/helping for many years. Ubuntu is "welcoming" instead of negative like some of the other distro forums *cough gentoo*
    • qwuinc, on 05/17/2008, -1/+3That's a bit double-edged blade. Ubuntu has loads of users who are very eager to help, but their knowledge isn't up to the task (think about all those howtos with dangerous advice). I guess one shouldn't really whine as having more users is generally a good thing, but I just hope the inflow of new users won't bring along windows world practices to Linux distros.
  • aajjcckk, on 05/16/2008, -19/+13
    • yingjai, on 05/16/2008, -1/+6I think when they ask "How did Ubuntu end up so popular?" they mean how did Ubuntu rise up above all the other linux distributions, not how Linux is becoming more popular due to Microsoft users switching. And oh please, OSX the last hope?
    • ruddy, on 05/16/2008, -7/+8***** osx. apple is a FOSS leech. they use FOSS out the ass and wont contribute *****. really, ***** apple, jobs and the rest of the apple bitches.
      • tian2992, on 05/16/2008, -3/+7Ooh, so evil, leeching KHTML and converting it to WebKit (which is the new HTML engine used by Nautilus) and turning BSD onto Darwin…
        They have done good, still nothing compared to Novell or Sun, but something still…
        • ruddy, on 05/17/2008, -2/+2First of all, wtf is darwin? If you mean Darwine, that has nothing to do with BSD - it's a wine port. Second, if you think all apple leeches is KHTML, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Everything on apple from it's UNIX core, to X11 is blatantly ripped off. Educate yourself kit
        • mrguitarmann, on 05/19/2008, -0/+1Darwin is as tian2992 said: see more at http://www.opensource.apple.com/darwinsource/
          Also Konqueror in KDE4 will have webkit, and finally the GPL allows software to be sold on - as long as the source for the GPL'd parts are available/included (can't remember which one)

          Apple have done nothing wrong in that respect. The thing that bothers me with apple is the CUPS printer kit which is a dual license meaning they may not need to give the alterations back to the community.
    • aelias, on 05/16/2008, -3/+490% market share. I'm sure they're quaking in their solid gold boots.
      • Adelie, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1Well they worked hard and sleazy to get there. If Microsoft was a whore, s/he would be one of those stuck of bitches that feels a lot like a bad night in a bar where you really think you get something, but you don't. On your birthday s/he will jerk you off in the bathroom, but doesn't like to cuddle. But she is a real winner cause s/he gave all the other hookers hookers herpes, and most of them AIDS. But s/he still tells you the ones s/he hasn't infected yet that they have AIDS anyway.

        The thing is Linux was vaccinated years ago, and Ubuntu has the Public Domain version of the Kama Sutra!
  • MaxMWood, on 05/16/2008, -25/+7Sorry to burst your bubble but Ubuntu isnt popular. Bury me fanboys!
    • WCL23, on 05/16/2008, -6/+13Indeed. Buried for stupidity, and not because i'm a fanboy. I actually use Microsoft software. Regardless of where you stand, Ubuntu is most certainly considered "popular"
      • IllBeBack, on 05/16/2008, -9/+2Stop 1,000 people on the street, and I bet you $100 that maybe one knows what it is, and none know for sure how to pronounce such a stupid-ass name as "Ubuntu."
        • samurimaster, on 05/16/2008, -4/+3Do you actually know what the Word Ubuntu means? If you dont it means humanity towards others how is that stupid?
    • Stomper622, on 05/16/2008, -5/+4You're right, it isn't popular. And it won't ever get popular until it's a viable alternative to Windows for the average user.
      • MaxMWood, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1Completely agree with you, good comment. +1
    • ruddy, on 05/16/2008, -3/+3don't feed the troll...
      • chambana, on 05/17/2008, -3/+1it's the things that aren't said or accepted here that bite you in the ass in the real world. pretend that ubuntu is popular but what does that even do for you
        • ruddy, on 05/17/2008, -1/+2i'm pointing out it isn't even a viable argument, but simply an attempt to start a flame war. "Popular" is a relative term - in the linux desktop world, ubuntu is very popular. but yeah, i personally don't care if you think ubuntu is popular or not..
  • deadbaby, on 05/16/2008, -3/+36Frequent updates. When Ubuntu first started getting popular it was really quite hard to get a cutting edge Linux install going. You had to work off an older version of Debian, Fedora, etc and manually hack on a lot of stuff. Ubuntu came along and offered most of this stuff out of the box with little or no extra work required.
  • mikem94590, on 05/16/2008, -1/+27I think the fact that they have a nice GUI (Gnome) and nice features, as well as the scale of their community sets them apart.
  • 8bit_Hero, on 05/16/2008, -8/+3I say it's a Conspiracy by Linux-heads
  • KaiUno, on 05/16/2008, -9/+27Can't have been all the software and games...
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/16/2008, -0/+18For me half of it was all the software. You simply can't get the selection you get on Ubuntu in any other OS.

      And no, I'm not talking about "Dave's MP3 Ripper" that will work for the first 15 days and then cost you $9 to register. I only use free (as in beer) software, regardless of what OS I'm using, and there's no doubt that Ubuntu trumps both Windows and OS X.
      • coresnake, on 05/16/2008, -4/+1astalavista.box.sk
      • werries, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1knoppix has A LOT of software. i'd say a lot more with the live DVD than ubuntu. (but yes, that doesnt take into account the fact that its a dvd, and ubuntu is a cd.)
        for any linux disto you can get more.
    • mikem94590, on 05/17/2008, -0/+5The software was the "seller" for me. The fact that I can reimage a workstation and have all the software my end-users would need already be there was really important.
  • Dylson, on 05/16/2008, -10/+32Because of names like "Hairy Hardon" and "Gutsy Gibson" and "Feisty Flawn"
    • reddikilowatt, on 05/17/2008, -1/+8"Busty Blond"
      • Zephik, on 05/17/2008, -3/+3A male with large boobs... uh, no thank you. I'll take Busty Blonde though!
    • vardhaman2249, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2not to mention "Intrepid Ibex"
    • pauldoja, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1Hairy Hardon ?!
      WTF? Really?!
  • mikezs, on 05/16/2008, -12/+6For me, the "how to do xxx in ubuntu" blog articles and websites made me stay with it (at least until i got a MacBook :-) )
  • Dave1337, on 05/16/2008, -13/+0god im sick of hearing about linux bottom line its no where near "ready" just to do the most basic things take 20 mins more than it would in windows and its not popular its just the most well known linux distro.

    also i aint a fanboy i have ubuntu on my virtual pc just to learn stuff on it but cant stand it, its like written for personal use not distrubited use
    • ileftfark, on 05/16/2008, -2/+5Are you saying that this linux can run on a computer without windows underneath it, at all ? As in, without a boot disk, without any drivers, and without any services ?
      That sounds preposterous to me.

      If it were true (and I doubt it), then companies would be selling computers without a windows. This clearly is not happening, so there must be some error in your calculations. I hope you realise that windows is more than just Office ? Its a whole system that runs the computer from start to finish, and that is a very difficult thing to acheive. A lot of people dont realise this.

      Microsoft just spent $9 billion and many years to create Vista, so it does not sound reasonable that some new alternative could just snap into existence overnight like that. It would take billions of dollars and a massive effort to achieve. IBM tried, and spent a huge amount of money developing OS/2 but could never keep up with Windows. Apple tried to create their own system for years, but finally gave up recently and moved to Intel and Microsoft.

      ;)
      • DaemonNivas, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3Delicious Copy/Pasta
      • Dave1337, on 05/16/2008, -6/+0dont get me wrong linux has a place but its not ready for this main personal o/s in the home anytime soon, it needs a lot of work yet. even suse looked a lot better than ubuntu does. also for the record i have a lot of expericance in computing as a hobby and a carreer ;)
    • jaytek13, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I don't know how it would possibly take you 20 minutes to do something simple, unless you just don't know what you're doing. Does Linux have a learning curve? Of course it does. Everything does. People seem to forget that Windows has a pretty steep learning curve because everyone's been using it for many, many years, but you certainly didn't jump into Windows and know exactly how to do everything.
    • TheZorch, on 05/17/2008, -1/+5The ONLY reason why Windows is more popular is because Micro$oft forced the OS down PC manufacturer's throats for years and prevented them from using other operating systems by locking them into exclusive contracts. That is why Windows is so popular today. Ubuntu became popular because people want an alternative which is easier to use, fast, and is virtually almost hassle free. Is Ubuntu perfect, hell no, but Windows isn't the picture of perfection either by any stretch of the imagination. Ubuntu is the one Linux distro which got the user friendly part right the first time and has been improving upon that ever since then.
    • Adelie, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3Yeah, it is a real shame no one is getting paid to turn Linux into a piece of crap to add a bunch of useless and detrimental 'features' demanded by all the yuppies that refuse to take 5 seconds to read the documentation. I have given up. I have heard so many complaints from people that can't figure out how to get a DVD out of the case because they don't bother to read the button that says "push" in the middle. When I explain it to them (really, explain), they complain that they should make it easier for people.

      And those people helped design Vista!
    • firstpost, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2You can actually use punctuation inside a paragraph. It would make your comment a lot easier to read.
  • yingjai, on 05/16/2008, -2/+12I'd have to say because of hardware compatability. Although not perfect, Ubuntu has supported more hardware that I ran it on than other distros (Fedora, Gentoo, etc). The user community is also large, therefore finding help with any problem won't take long. I am still a Windows user because of the games.
  • SmurfSlut, on 05/16/2008, -10/+29Because its not made by microsoft
  • DaemonNivas, on 05/16/2008, -15/+3Ubuntu popular? You need to check Personal Computing OS statistics. Ubuntu is massive in server and admin tools, but in small office / home use it is around 0.
    • Adelie, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3Yeah, Linux would be so much better if there was a central authority like the MPAA, RIAA, Homeland Security, and the NSA to monitor what everything was doing, then we would actually know how many people were using it. I think that is what Linux is really missing and keeping it from becoming popular / mainstream. Stupid Ubuntu.
    • init100, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4"Ubuntu is massive in server and admin tools"

      Ubuntu is not massive in server installations around the world. There, Red Hat and Novell are far ahead.
  • Tyr7BE, on 05/16/2008, -1/+46It's all about attention to detail. I'm constantly being surprised by little things that I wouldn't expect. For example, when I inserted a CD that had deb packages on it, a little window popped up and said "hey, that CD has packages on it. If you'd like, I can add them to your software sources so you can install them with one click. Do you want me to make this happen?". Another time I wanted to close a browser and a little window popped up saying "Ahem, you have a text field in one of these tabs that hasn't been submitted. You sure about this?" (this was long before this feature made its way into mainstream browsers, but ubu included it). This happens all the time - I'm constantly surprised by the attention to detail that people have put into the default install. Little things that make you say "oh yeah...computer, you're probably right on this one. Nice catch."

    This is the sort of thing that keeps me coming back. I've ditched windows and I've ditched OS X in favor of Ubu - it just feels very well put together.
    • skyshock1, on 05/22/2008, -0/+1Except for that blasted network manager applet. nm-applet is the devil.
  • mathwizkid, on 05/16/2008, -1/+11For me there were two reasons:
    1) the marketing: it was hyped and made me want to look what the fuzz was all about
    2) when I tried it ubuntu was better than all others I tried (which means that for my hardware and software needs there were the least problems)
  • jaytek13, on 05/16/2008, -1/+16It all comes down to the community and the ideas that Ubuntu was founded upon... casting aside the typical elitist Linux user, barring the "rtfm" responses, and building up a community of Linux users who are quite happy helping nubs is how Ubuntu got to where it is today, and why for the foreseeable future it will remain the top Linux distro.
  • kesam, on 05/16/2008, -1/+11That's a simple question to answer. Ubuntu is popular because it actually gives users what they want. Does that sound too obvious? Well, 95% of open source projects (if not more...) are created to scratch a programmers personal itch, or to fulfill some creation fantasy (gee, wouldn't it be cool to write _my_own_ 3d engine!?). There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but nobody is going to use your software unless you are willing to focus on the needs and wishes of others above your own personal fancies. And that is exactly what the Ubuntu team does, in my experience.
  • YMBwithVD, on 05/16/2008, -1/+23I recently switched over to Ubuntu. I love it. There really isn't anything I can't do in Ubuntu that I can do in Windows. I don't play too many pc games, so that's not an issue for me. Tetravex is good enough to occupy my time in Ubuntu. And if I can't figure something out....Ubuntu forums is a really nice place.
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/16/2008, -0/+7The forums are indeed amazing.
    • Ademan, on 05/17/2008, -1/+3Tetravex RULES! It beats the hell out of solitaire any day for a simple time waster.
  • johnnyfistfight, on 05/16/2008, -15/+10What's Ubuntu?
    • TrentDeux, on 05/16/2008, -1/+10I think Ubuntu played center for the lakers in the mid 90's. Was very popular at the time.
  • Nemoso, on 05/16/2008, -3/+10If I ever switch to Linux, it'll be for Beryl. That ***** looks awesome.
    • lovestospooge, on 05/17/2008, -10/+1And ***** up Metacity and lags like hell.
      • MrTea, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2There's minimum requirements for a reason.
      • UKsHaDoW, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4Runs fine on a geforce 3
      • Ademan, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4Metacity and Beryl (i'm sure he meant compiz-fusion) cannot run at the same time, so there's nothing compiz/beryl could be doing that would be ***** up metacity, because there can be only one window manager operating at a time.
      • iRelinquish, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2it actually replaces metacity!
    • Biznarie, on 05/17/2008, -0/+17Its called Compiz-Fusion now
  • Borgcube636, on 05/16/2008, -18/+2I could care less how popular YOU-BUN-TOO is, i'd rather stick with my PC!!!
    • adderx99, on 05/16/2008, -0/+13whether you have linux or windows installed, its still a pc.
  • talonstriker, on 05/16/2008, -1/+6What made me try it was the hype. I'm a windows users who's tried OpenSUSE before and loved it. Recently I decided to install an open source OS..so my decision was between OpenSUSE and Ubuntu. Ultimately I went w/ ubuntu because of the hype and the community support--which opensuse doesn't seem to have.
    BTW, if anyone knows of any opensuse help forums please post them here. I really liked it and would like to go back to it. As a noob, forums are a godsend.
  • Muncher, on 05/16/2008, -2/+15Maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but maybe it's because it's a nice, polished, user-friendly operating system? Too many Linux geeks dismiss it as being a "noob distro" and then wonder why everyone is using it instead of their beloved Slackware (just as an example, nothing against Slackware).
  • AlaskaLoneWolf, on 05/16/2008, -14/+19My question is how did Windows get so popular. It totally sucks.
    • Synapse84, on 05/16/2008, -6/+10because it's simple and easy to use.

      when people pick up an Operating System they want Functionality.. not "oh i want to run application "X" i'll compile it from source and run it".

      once people got used to it, it became standard so Manufacturers only made drivers for Windows, and Most software became Windows Only.

      i personally don't see Linux becoming a huge hit for the average joe until manufacturers make drivers for Linux bundled with the CD, and Games and other Software are made to natively run on Linux as well.

      I love the concept of linux, i love the "power user" feel and total control over the computer.. but when I can't install a game i just bought but need to run Wine, get fonts, run random patches, and still probably won't work... or it works but 80% of the settings don't work... it pushes a lot of us away.

      thats just my 2 cents though.
      • TheZorch, on 05/17/2008, -2/+10Ok, I'm sick of this *****! Let me make this perfectly clear for you assholes out there who don't know Jack about Linux. Only about 1% of the software currently out for Linux requires you to compile from source, everything else is installed from packages or just works after being downloaded and unzipped without being installed. Geeze, get with the times people!
        • AlaskaLoneWolf, on 05/17/2008, -0/+8Easy now. There are still people out there who don't know anything about the computer other than how to turn it 'on'. Sheeeesh, half my friends haven't heard of BitTorrent or Linux.
        • Tyr7BE, on 05/17/2008, -1/+2That's people for ya. They get an idea in their head and won't let it go. I haven't compiled anything on Linux in _years_. Installing software is 100x easier in Ubuntu than it is in OS X and in Windows (yes, it's easier than OS X's "open the dmz and drag and drop", Ubuntu gets rid of the drag and drop stage for you).

          It now really is as simple as "I want to install this program, so I'll check this checkbox and hit "install"" and that's pretty much the last interaction you'll ever need to have with the install process.
        • Synapse84, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4to clear it up, yes i know very little of the apps out there still require compiling from source.

          I meant my post to reflect back on 1995 days and before. As in, people still use Windows because thats all they know, because it was so simple to use back on 3.1 and 9x days. All the computers the average joe will get in the future will be windows so they don't have to re-learn everything.

          It's the same reason why Mac's are in practically every school library / computer lab across the U.S.
          Someone comes in with no knowledge, learns how to use Mac, then prefers Macs' over Windows when they buy their own.

          I've been running Ubuntu dual booted for about 8 months now, and have yet to run into anything that requires compilation from source. so yes, you are correct.
        • digjam, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1and thats the main reason linux isnt clicking...since maily ppl dont know how to use it...even tho there are easier ways to do things you know of!
    • Lazydriver, on 05/17/2008, -0/+7Windows got popular instead of the Mac OS X because Microsoft knew they could make a larger profit margin then selling their OS (PC-DOS) to IBM ONLY.

      Apple failed to realize that selling Mac OS (#) on computers besides their own would yield higher profit margins.... AND...

      Open-source software barely existed.
      • AlaskaLoneWolf, on 05/17/2008, -0/+5Thanks for the history lesson. The point I was trying to make was my idle curiousity about how it became popular, and at what point they decided to 'dumb-down' computer usage. A whole generation of people who think hexidecimal has something to do with the 1964 series of "Bewitched". ;)
  • DaemonNivas, on 05/16/2008, -15/+4More thought on Ubuntu:

    a) As xkcd stated: "Ubuntu?" "Nah, i am not into pokemon"
    b) Until Adobe releases Photosop native to Ubuntu, entire OS will feel unfinished and like it was made by 100 people who never heard word "Standardization". Every system menu is made on different logic, buttons are placed on different spots,etc ... Professional designers and User Interface designers need to start using Ubuntu, only then does it stand a chance.
    • Biznarie, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2Applications are in the applications menu, Storage/Network places are in the places menu, and system apps and settings are in the system menu... how hard is that?
  • IllBeBack, on 05/16/2008, -8/+3I'm guessing that you guys believe that if you SAY that Linux of any flavor is popular enough times, then it really will be popular.

    You are sadly mistaken. Again.
  • tufftugg, on 05/16/2008, -1/+7 Why? Because I could put it on my Acer Aspire 3050, without the Acer software to suppliment Windows Vista. Vista without the Acer Software could not find my SD card, Ubuntu did. Beyond that it's nice to be in control of my box again :-), there's no Microsoft products on this thing. Able to access the wifes I-Pod without I-tunes and save her music when the thing freezes.Oh, and the best Security!
  • mikedoth, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3I started running Ubuntu around 4.10 when I first saw it on digg. I liked it so much I dual booted my desktop and my laptop. I loved that they cut out the extra crud that most applications have in them and got right to what I wanted to accomplish. But several things haunt Linux (mainly Ubuntu) that I can't get over, and the biggest is that a lot of management tasks are done through the command line and not well implemented in the gui. I liked SUSE but the package management isn't the same between distro's so that became another pain to deal with. Personally i'm just going to wait out the storm for HaikuOS which seems the most like what I could use at work, home, or my parents could use for that matter. I'll continue to use Linux on my server but that's were the buck stops.
    • Tyr7BE, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2Hate to burst your bubble, but Haiku ain't coming. I've been tracking Haiku since like 2002 and it's made almost no progress. It's a neat idea and it has a nice logo, but unfortunately it's going nowhere fast.

      Out of curiosity, what did you have to do on the command line that you couldn't do in the gui? I used to be a hardcore linux nerd - I knew how to do everything on the command line, had every switch memorized. I even went without X for a few months just because I could. Now I'm barely functional. Ubuntu lets me do just about everything through point and click.
  • clickwir, on 05/16/2008, -3/+16For me, Fedora was 90% there. But that 10% remaining was really holding me back from switching. Mainly it was package management. Too many times did I try to install or update something and a package was missing or not updated. Ubuntu is better at this.
    Also, the 2nd reason is because of good, official support for KDE. Personally, I don't care for GNOME. I much prefer KDE. They have great KDE support, very well maintained packages and repos, and that really accounts for about 9% of the remaining that kept me from moving from XP. That was enough right there to switch from XP to Kubuntu. But they went a little bit further and made some other basic needs easier and more user friendly.

    I really think what makes K/Ubuntu great is that it's got such an amazing people and drive behind it. It's managed well, it's developed well, and I'm not afraid that they are going to close up shop next week.
    • Lazydriver, on 05/17/2008, -1/+2GNOME fan personally, but each to their own.
      • clickwir, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3And that is fine. GNOME is really nice. I'm really happy there are 2 (sometimes 3 or 4 depending on distro) main options that people can choose from. And of course there are many more that users can install on their own, but the "big 2" are both really nice.

        If I had to, and I don't but I want to anyway, compare KDE and GNOME to windows and mac. I'd say that KDE is more like windows while GNOME is more like mac. Just from what I've seen, I see similarities to each there. Personally, I don't care for mac's. I think they get in a grove of treating a user like a child and never let them "grow up" to something more mature and functionable. And I see some of those same limitations on GNOME. Not quote as far as mac takes them, but similar. Where KDE, much better. It's like the dev's know that users want to be able to change more things and have some more control over what they do and how they do it. Some people argue that "KDE has TOO MANY options", I like how many it has and support adding more.

        But on topic, I think that's a strong point of Ubuntu is that Kubuntu is, for the most part, just Ubuntu with another window manager. I can pretty much get support for my Kubuntu just like I would with Ubuntu, so that leaves a nice wide range of support options.
        • Niten, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3"I'd say that KDE is more like windows while GNOME is more like mac. Just from what I've seen, I see similarities to each there."

          That's very accurate. It didn't used to be the case, but GNOME 2 has taken many of its design cues from OS X. Actually, I never guessed how much the two environments had in common until I spent some time using a Mac as my main computer.
  • linksus, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3I personally used it a while ago due to its name ( new & cool ) . :) ive recently not bothered and continued with fedora.
  • bar10dr, on 05/16/2008, -1/+11What I hear from colleagues is that it's got great driver support, that makes a lot of difference.
  • BigglesPiP, on 05/16/2008, -13/+2I'm starting to develop an irrational hatred of ubuntu, just because it's the distro all the n00bs run to.
    • Rivetgeek, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4And then there are people like myself who have worked with *nix for over 15 years and don't want to hack together my own driver every time i get a new wifi card....

      Easier != Less
  • Namespace, on 05/16/2008, -3/+4A number of factors play into the popularity. I'd say being dugg is always a bonus, especially with its relatively recent spike in its user base. Apple drawing people away from the big evil M has probably fostered some attention with users looking to switch. Vista most certainly has something to say about it. I don't know anyone who wants to order a system preloaded with Vista and I work in tech so I have users always approaching me asking me about buying new systems.
    • jerrycurley, on 05/17/2008, -1/+0Except that Apple HASN'T drawn people away from Microsoft.
  • muppethouse, on 05/16/2008, -1/+12Those were not good times for Linux on the desktop. A year or so before the first Ubuntu came out people were running unpatched Red Hat machines because they didn't want to pay for support (myself included). Fedora came out, but it was frustrating because you essentially had to reinstall every six months to stay in support. There is this great thing that Debian has with apt called dist-upgrade, and that makes it so I don't need to reinstall from scratch with each new version. The LTS versions are amazing - basically Ubuntu is giving us for free what RHEL or SLED customers pay big bucks for. Sprinkle on top of that the fact that Ubuntu was pushing technology forward faster than Debian, and it just makes sense.
  • daxsymbiont, on 05/16/2008, -15/+2ubuntu is controlled by a company. ubuntu is what mandrake was half a decade ago. it'll be *****, everyone will go back to debian sid again and someone else will try to make money out of it.

    yep, you're using a fake. try debian sid to see the powea
  • LZeppelinJ0, on 05/16/2008, -2/+8Ubuntu is great, I use it at work and used to use it on my laptop. PCLinuxOS caught my eye though a few months back and the 2008 "minime" version hasn't left my laptop since then, it's a neat and tight little OS and looks great and allows me to play EVE Online without any graphical troubles which I couldn't seem to get around in Ubuntu (it was probably something I was doing wrong, I admit, but I'm won over now).

    OpenSUSE 11.0 Beta 2 is also looking fantastic, but in the end I feel Ubuntu will outlast any Distro out there bar none.
  • TrentDeux, on 05/16/2008, -14/+3Popular? Funny never met anyone who uses it. Must be popular in Germany like David Hasselhoff.
    • freezerburn666, on 05/17/2008, -0/+4oh thats retarded, i've run into hippies in the park that use it. my dad uses it. or wait.. do u actually have any human contact?
    • volcompimp, on 05/17/2008, -0/+3Linux in general is popular all over the world. Even in the US. I'm sure there's a lot of every day
      devices you've come in contact with that run off linux that you had no idea.
  • tama00, on 05/16/2008, -1/+18by giving ubuntu away on free cds which reached everyone who couldn't download it. popularity++ more devs joined, more changes were made.. its the evolution of life
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