Why aren't you running Linux?

[darxus]

It's a sincere question. I'm curious what I can do to help reduce dependence on closed operating systems.

And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with not running Linux, I understand it's not best for everybody. I'm just curious about making it best for more people.

Ubuntu is the most user friendly Linux distribution. It's also the one I use for both desktops and servers. You can download and burn a CD image, and boot into it off the CD without installing, to try it out without installing it. It is very slow that way, because CD drives are slower than hard drives, and everything in the image needs to be decompressed as it's read.

cathijosephine did the install herself when Windows etc. got too slow on her computer.

http://www.ubuntu.com/ (CD image link is right at the top - download.)

Let me know if you would like me to burn an install CD for you or look over your shoulder while you install.

Freeing up hard drive space under Windows and then repartitioning it for Linux will probably be the hardest part.

Comments

[darxus.livejournal.com]

I removed the Windows stuff from the post. Did I get everything that upset you?

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

No, no, you took out a word but you left in the underlying concept, that doesn't help. In particular that second sentence is still very problematic. You can tell by the use of the word "dependence" - that is a very negative term in our culture, which has "independence" as a core value. You try to backpedal after that second sentence, but if you just took it out altogether you wouldn't need to do that - if you don't tell someone they're broken then you don't need to explain that it's OK to be broken (which sounds patronizing as all hell - I am not a dog that needs to be fixed, I am a human being who deserves respect for her choices even when they're different from yours).

I think part of what's going on is what you'd say amongst fellow Linux fanatics needs to be different than what you say when talking to others. Your original post was fine if everyone agrees that using an OS other than Linux is Wrong and Bad, but the moment someone who sees nothing wrong with Windows walks in (or rather, nothing wrong enough to stop using Windows - the very people you're trying to reach) you've got a problem. How would you feel if someone told you polyamory is Wrong and Bad and they've got a way to make monogamy easy and fun so why don't you try it? You want to avoid that issue altogether if possible, and the whole point of having an easy distro is you *can* avoid it - don't even mention Windows, especially if you can't do so without a sneer. Just sell Ubuntu on its own merits and call it a day.

Oh, one more thing: I suggest putting the question at the end of the post rather than the beginning, if you want to put it in there at all. If you ask me a question I will be thinking about my answer which distracts me from what you're saying, especially if it's an essay question. Also, that question gets me thinking about the reason(s) I'm not doing something, when you want me to be thinking that I ought to be doing that something. Actually, thinking further, this should be two posts: the first is the question (and *don't* argue against any of the points people make in reply to their comments - you want to know what's going on it people's heads at this stage) and the second is about how awesome that distro is and how it addresses people's concerns (this is where you correct those misconceptions you wanted so hard to argue against in the first post ;).

You know who is really good at this sort of thing? Marketers. It's sad that they're the ones paying attention to persuasive psychology, but they've gotten really good at it. Make friends with a few and ask *them* how to go about it.