Linux. Is it Ready?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

With the release of Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon, the question is once again raised, "Is Linux ready for the mainstream?" For year after year that answer has been "no," much to the disappointment of the Linux faithful.

This time, however, things are different. Though I have not yet used the new system (I'm downloading it as I write this), a look at the "New Features" page showed me enough to get me excited.

It looks like Linux is finally taking a major step into the realm of mainstream desktop computing with this latest release. Though I am a die-hard Mac user, I would be willing to switch my Windows desktop entirely to Linux if I can get my Netgear USB wireless chip to work with it.

There are some real quality features in this release that seem to make it accessible to a much larger audience.

But...

I do think that, for the average user, this is not the right system...yet. Emphasis on "yet." From what I can see, by the time the next major version of Ubuntu is released, it will be ready for just about everbody. There are a few things that might keep inexperienced users (or advanced users who, like myself, just don't have enough time at the moment to work out major issues) from wanting to switch, but the latest steps towards better and easier driver integration are promising. I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping... Meanwhile, I'm Linux or Mac proselytizing to everybody I can. Keep up the good work Ubuntu team!

Labels: computer, new stuff, ubuntu

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