Why do new people give up on Linux?

[Fandangio]

When I finally managed to pull the files onto the USB it took no less than 40 minutes for 6GB of data. After putting my memory stick into my Mint 10 PC the files were copied in just less than 4 minutes. Amazingly my work laptop is MUCH better spec'd than my home desktop.

Reading from a USB flash drive is much faster than writing to it. Even crap USB flash drives can often do 20-25MB/s read, but may only do 4MB/s write.

I'd never considered that for usb memory (now feeling a little thick).

[Arenalgarden]

I wrote an article on a very similar topic. Please forgive the title, I added it for effect (it was my first impression .

http://www.nixiepixel.com/ubuntu-sucks-i-hate-linux/

AHAH ! I see Nixie has come over to play.
Go ahead. Download the Debian addition and get it over with.

[Koninator]

I will maybe give up on Mint (not Linux), because all the changes, in Linux Mint.

I began using Linux Mint because of great green background, and black theme in Linux Mint 7.
But now you have changed theme, changed background, now changing logo, what is next? Name maybe?

Don't fix things which aren't broken! People don't like changes.

[mastablasta]

But now you have changed theme, changed background, now changing logo, what is next? Name maybe?
.

hmm an interesting reason. but did you know you can change these things as you wish? you can have it all pink if you like. so why do you care what kind fo colour the theme is or what kind fo default backgrouns is there? 4 or 5 clicks with mouse and it changes it all.

[randomizer]

I will maybe give up on Mint (not Linux), because all the changes, in Linux Mint.

I began using Linux Mint because of great green background, and black theme in Linux Mint 7.
But now you have changed theme, changed background, now changing logo, what is next? Name maybe?

Don't fix things which aren't broken! People don't like changes.

So you would give up on a distro because the default colours have changed? Sure if you were having countless hardware problems I'd say go for it and try another distro, but seriously, the theme? While it's true that many people don't like change, a lot of people also didn't like the theme being essentially the same for about 3 releases.

[kmb42vt]

I will maybe give up on Mint (not Linux), because all the changes, in Linux Mint.

I began using Linux Mint because of great green background, and black theme in Linux Mint 7.
But now you have changed theme, changed background, now changing logo, what is next? Name maybe?

Don't fix things which aren't broken! People don't like changes.

You can do whatever you wish of course, but switching distros just because of changing to a new default theme is really not a good reason especially since the default theme (Shikiwise) and backgrounds for previous versions of Mint are included with the installation and can be selected with just a few clicks of your mouse. Now changing distros because of major changes in form and function (like the new upcoming version of another very popular distro I could mention) is a whole different ball of wax and I could see your point but not because of a simple theme change.

[Koninator]

Why is difficult to understand, that first impression maters?
When i decided i will start using Linux, (when Vista destroyed my raptor) I was deciding which distro should i use.
I was deciding between Ubuntu, Debian and Mint. Mint had the best background and black theme, so I chose Mint. (Ubuntu is just plain ugly)

[monkeyboy]

One mans good first impression is another's butt ugly. However most folks won't disagree with the need for good functionality. IMHO

[Feldon]

Some one ask me why people don't try Linux or give up on it. My answer: Because it promotes discussion, thought, and to exchange ideas.

[ann92]

I have tried to create something of a comprehensive list to see why people abandon Linux......?

I wish I could abandon Linux.

But I'm stuck with it and I can't afford to buy a new OS. I'd love to love Linux. I hate Microsoft and Apple's market dominance. I'm all for free, open-source computing. Although I'm a newbie, I'm not that stupid and I'm willing to put in the time to learn Linux. But nothing works!! A little exaggeration, but my laptop has been ridiculously slow ever since I installed Mint Julia. It's an old and rubbish laptop, but it used to run twice as fast with an old version of XP. On this, I can't even think about opening a second tab in Firefox, let alone trying to play a whole movie! I've had the same problems with Ubuntu. It crashes every 5 minutes. I don't think I've done anything that would cause. Since installation, I've only installed a couple of programs.

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

[tatsujin79]

I have tried to create something of a comprehensive list to see why people abandon Linux......?

I wish I could abandon Linux.

But I'm stuck with it and I can't afford to buy a new OS. I'd love to love Linux. I hate Microsoft and Apple's market dominance. I'm all for free, open-source computing. Although I'm a newbie, I'm not that stupid and I'm willing to put in the time to learn Linux. But nothing works!! A little exaggeration, but my laptop has been ridiculously slow ever since I installed Mint Julia. It's an old and rubbish laptop, but it used to run twice as fast with an old version of XP. On this, I can't even think about opening a second tab in Firefox, let alone trying to play a whole movie! I've had the same problems with Ubuntu. It crashes every 5 minutes. I don't think I've done anything that would cause. Since installation, I've only installed a couple of programs.

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

If your laptop is so old then perhaps julia isn't the right distro for you. I had a similar experience when I tried linux for the first time, couldn't afford windows needed SOMETHING and got ubuntu (7.10 i think) and almost nothing worked. I eventually got it fixed and learned alot in the process, hang in there, the community will help out as much as possible. If you really want to love linux and are all up for open source computing then don't let this ruin it all. My first suggestion for you would be to maybe check http://distrowatch.com and look to see if there may be a lighter distro to suit your hardware or if you like mint perhaps the xfce or lxde editions would be better.

[Koninator]

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Try Linux Mint Debian, it uses about half of the resources required by Linux Mint 9. Or test new Linux Mint 10 LXDE.

My Debian is using 662MB of ram (total 2GB, no swap) and I have opened Firefox with 17 tabs, open office document and pdf.

[tatsujin79]

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Try Linux Mint Debian, it uses about half of the resources required by Linux Mint 9. Or test new Linux Mint 10 LXDE.

My Debian is using 662MB of ram (total 2GB, no swap) and I have opened Firefox with 17 tabs, open office document and pdf.

in ann's case i dont think thats the issue, their laptop is better then mine and im running mint 10 main perfectly.

[randomizer]

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Did Min 9 Helena work ok on that laptop? The Ubuntu-based Mints are certainly heavier than the Debian ones, but I've run Uubntu netbook edition 10.04 (which Helena is based on) on my Atom-based netbook for a long time and it is much quicker than Windows XP. I have not tried a 10.10-based distro since it was in beta though, because Unity was slow as a lame dog.

[.William.]

Isadora I presume ?

[kmb42vt]

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Did Min 9 Helena work ok on that laptop? The Ubuntu-based Mints are certainly heavier than the Debian ones, but I've run Uubntu netbook edition 10.04 (which Helena is based on) on my Atom-based netbook for a long time and it is much quicker than Windows XP. I have not tried a 10.10-based distro since it was in beta though, because Unity was slow as a lame dog.

Ubuntu 10.10 did not have Unity installed, only the classic Gnome 2.32 desktop environment. Ubuntu 11.04 uses the Unity shell on top of Gnome 2.32 and yes, so far 11.04 with Unity is very heavy on resources.

[jeff r]

Here's the problem I see. A "computer" is an appliance to 95% of the people out there.

I don't need to know the laws of thermodynamics to operate a refrigerator, I don't WANT to know how to write code to run my computer.

I think if some of the more advanced users kept that in mind when answering questions, more noobs would be able to hang with it and be able to continue enjoying Linux.

i think, IMO this is the best reason i find it difficult to fix my OS when it is not right. i dont mind putting in some research, and learning, to try and solve my problem. but most of the time, the answers i do find in post are far too complicated for me to go through. i get frustrated with the inability to fix it, and seek to move on to a different distro that just works, or is easier to understand. problem is, linux mint is just about the easiest ive found. i just want to be able to make it work for me.

[kmb42vt]

Here's the problem I see. A "computer" is an appliance to 95% of the people out there.

I don't need to know the laws of thermodynamics to operate a refrigerator, I don't WANT to know how to write code to run my computer.

I think if some of the more advanced users kept that in mind when answering questions, more noobs would be able to hang with it and be able to continue enjoying Linux.

i think, IMO this is the best reason i find it difficult to fix my OS when it is not right. I don't mind putting in some research, and learning, to try and solve my problem. but most of the time, the answers i do find in post are far too complicated for me to go through. i get frustrated with the inability to fix it, and seek to move on to a different distro that just works, or is easier to understand. problem is, linux mint is just about the easiest ive found. i just want to be able to make it work for me.

I have to agree with both of you. There is still too much "high and mighty", aloofness and superiority in the Linux crowd that tends to scare off those who are new to Linux. I noticed that right off the bat the other day at the Linux Mint sub-forum at Linuxquestions.org when a "newbie" asked a perfectly reasonable question about adding a additional user account and was basically given the cold shoulder by more advanced, apparently non-Linux Mint users with answers like "Google is your friend", "look through the documentation in "user/share/doc" and you'll probably find the answer there blah, blah blah", "you should have done that during the install..." and those were the friendlier answers. I'm sorry but these are not answers and this is not 10 years ago when Linux distros were basically still the realm of developers, geeks and tech-heads (like me). People new to Linux, especially distros like Linux Mint where it claims to be easy for the beginner (and is), are reasonably expecting to do things via the GUI not the command line and the answers should be tailored with that in mind. Once the proper answer in the proper context is given as respect to the new user's experience (or lack thereof) then explain that, for example, not only is Google your friend but why it is and how one might properly phrase a search question so the results might be helpful. Despite my knowledge, experience and my geekish, tech obsessive nature I've always gone out of my way to help someone new to Linux (and DYI WordPress installs in my case) on a level that they can understand. Not by throwing a bunch technical blabber their way that they couldn't possibly understand.

All that being said, the Linux Mint forums are just about the friendliest around anywhere in the world of Linux distros and I'll praise them up and down for keeping it that way. PCLOS is another one as well as the Pardus World Forums strangely enough. Ubuntu isn't bad either although a bit of the "high and mighty" attitude can be found anywhere you go.

Guess that's my two cents on the matter.

[ann92]

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Try Linux Mint Debian, it uses about half of the resources required by Linux Mint 9. Or test new Linux Mint 10 LXDE.

My Debian is using 662MB of ram (total 2GB, no swap) and I have opened Firefox with 17 tabs, open office document and pdf.

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Did Min 9 Helena work ok on that laptop? The Ubuntu-based Mints are certainly heavier than the Debian ones, but I've run Uubntu netbook edition 10.04 (which Helena is based on) on my Atom-based netbook for a long time and it is much quicker than Windows XP. I have not tried a 10.10-based distro since it was in beta though, because Unity was slow as a lame dog.

Any advice on how to get it at anywhere near 21st century running speed would be very much appreciated. But until then, I can't wait to get back to Windows.

Did Min 9 Helena work ok on that laptop? The Ubuntu-based Mints are certainly heavier than the Debian ones, but I've run Uubntu netbook edition 10.04 (which Helena is based on) on my Atom-based netbook for a long time and it is much quicker than Windows XP. I have not tried a 10.10-based distro since it was in beta though, because Unity was slow as a lame dog.

Ubuntu 10.10 did not have Unity installed, only the classic Gnome 2.32 desktop environment. Ubuntu 11.04 uses the Unity shell on top of Gnome 2.32 and yes, so far 11.04 with Unity is very heavy on resources.

The only other Linux system I've tried is Ubuntu 10.10, which was very slow too. I'll try installing another system today. Which one? I'd prefer something Ubuntu-based. Specs: ASUS W5000 Notebook. 492116 kB RAM

CPU info

Code: Select all

processor    : 0
vendor_id    : GenuineIntel
cpu family    : 6
model    : 13
model name    : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.73GHz
stepping : 8
cpu MHz    : 798.000
cache size    : 2048 KB
fdiv_bug    : no
hlt_bug    : no
f00f_bug    : no
coma_bug    : no
fpu    : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level    : 2
wp    : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic mtrr pge mca cmov clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss tm pbe nx up bts est tm2
bogomips    : 1596.03
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment   : 64
address sizes   : 32 bits physical, 32 bits virtual
power management:

Any recommendations? Thanks

[randomizer]

Ubuntu 10.10 did not have Unity installed, only the classic Gnome 2.32 desktop environment. Ubuntu 11.04 uses the Unity shell on top of Gnome 2.32 and yes, so far 11.04 with Unity is very heavy on resources.

Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition uses Unity