WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsUbuntu on the Brain

Ubuntu on the Brain

Ubuntu on the Brain: from WKOWTV.com's "Behind the News" blog.

Our Consumer Reporter Dan Cassuto wrote a story Tuesday that caused a bit of a stir among computer-lovers...extreme computer lovers. The story was about a woman who bought a Dell computer and realized she ordered it with the Ubuntu Operating System rather than Windows. Here's the story: http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9671121&nav=menu1362_8_6

Some of you are scratching your heads out there. You're thinking...if it's not Windows then it's Mac. What's this "ubuntu" ... a made up word?

I admit, I had heard of the Linux based system before. I had also heard that it was a better system than Windows and Mac...and, here's the kicker...IT'S FREE. That's kinda scary for Windows and Mac...a FREE operating system rather than paying hundreds for theirs to run your computer. But, I've been with Windows since the early 90's and have trouble with change. More on this in a bit.

We started getting e-mails and phone calls from the very passionate group of Ubuntu users. While some were very mean and tried to tell us we were "Windows Robots", I did start a dialouge with someone who got me very interested in Ubunto.  He sent me to http://www.ubuntumini.com/ and www.ubuntuforums.org to read more. I also found this article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/business/11ubuntu.html. There's alot out there, obviously, about this product.

The viewer who contacted me also said this: "It really is a revolution, and it is a community effort...Linux is all about what people want to do, and that is find your own way to do things. People always complain about getting stepped on by big companies (MS, Internet Providers, Cellular Providers etc) but most don't want to change how they do things for their own good."

He's right, you know. People hate change. Now, I don't think the story we did was wrong. It really wasn't about Ubunto; how it works, etc. It was about a woman who ordered something, realized she made a mistake, asked Dell to fix it and they told her Ubuntu would be fine but when she got it, she realized it wasn't for her. While Ubuntu probably would've been OK for her, she didn't really want to learn how to use a new operating system. She wanted a computer to take college classes. It's a pure consumer driven story. It was not an attack on Ubuntuat all.  But it does show that change can be difficult...especially when people are unaware of products, services, new technological advances, etc.

I will say this: because of my e-mails with this viewer, I'm looking more and more at Ubuntu and might join this little revolution.

Free is always good!

Posted under Uncategorized

This post was written by rgiordan on January 14, 2009
1 Comment