Ubuntu: The Little Distro That Could (and Did)

Ubuntu is the little distro that could. Now it is phenomenally successful so it is hard to see it as a little distro, but this wasn’t always the case. It started as an idea that grew into a philosophy that has shaped the distribution and the rest is history as they say.

Let me start with how I came to use Ubuntu. Several years ago I was using MEPIS. I was very happy with it and I still like it. If there was no Ubuntu, I would be using MEPIS.  In 2004, I was shown a brand new Linux distro called Ubuntu. I installed it and dabbled in it for awhile, but I saw nothing that would pull me away from MEPIS which I had been using since its inception the year before.  Previously I had used Fedora with Gnome and Mandrake with KDE.

I had used Gnome and I was not fond of it. This may partly account for my early dislike of Fedora and certainly did nothing to warm me to Ubuntu. Ubuntu also used sudo and I was unsure if I could get used to that. It had a plain look to it, with lots of earthy tones. It was appealing, but it soon became tiring. I stayed in MEPIS, but continued to use Ubuntu on the side.

What won me over in the end, was not Gnome or the look, but the philosophy. I was pulled into the idea that Linux could be made simpler. That there could be an operating system for humans struck a chord with me. You see, the computer is a piece of hardware. It is not overly friendly by itself. In fact it can be cold and mechanical. On one end is me, a human. The interface on the other end has to relate to me or I lose interest. It has to be warm, welcoming and friendly. This is something that Ubuntu has been able to capture that no other one has been able to do.

I have used every version of Ubuntu, but I only began to take it seriously with Feisty. Since that time, it has stayed on my computer. I have run all of the alphas and betas of every version. I have run both 64 bit and 32 bit with every possible desktop. I have used WUBI, the Live disk and the alternate disk. The only thing that I have not tried is the server version and that I don’t have need for. What all of these have in common is unique. I feel that Ubuntu is not just an operating system and that I am not simply a user.

Whenever I install Ubuntu, I connect with it in a way that is difficult to explain. It is familiar like old friends, but it always offers something new and exciting. The familiarity that it builds on is comforting and makes me feel at home. The new things they add every six months are exciting. Even when they do not work as well as I hope, I can forgive them because you don’t criticise family. You make helpful suggestions and encourage, instead.

I install many distros. I have twelve partitions for Linux distributions on my desktop computer and more on my eeePC. Nothing comes close to that feeling I get with Ubuntu. When I recently installed SimplyMEPIS 8, I loved the new look and I was excited for Warren Woodford that he had taken MEPIS back to where it belonged. However, it did not feel like home to me, even though I had used MEPIS daily for two years. When I installed Fedora 10, I loved the new look. The detail and the graphics were beyond compare. It was fast and had many new features, but it left me cold. It was clinical and sterile. It felt like engineers had made it. To me Fedora is a GM car, but Ubuntu is a foreign import. It is very functional, but has traces of the exotic. That is what I like, something very practical but with some allure and mystery. Many distros can capture the practical, but miss out on the part that gives it impact.

What is more important is that Ubuntu is like me. It is not perfect. It is enigmatic and even contradictory at times. It is driven to perfection and whether or not it gets there is secondary. It is the journey that is important. For Ubuntu, the journey is not something you do alone. It is about enabling me, involving me and empowering me. I feel part of the Ubuntu community and would feel that way even if I did not take an active part. The fact that I use Ubuntu and am active in forums and blog about it gives me an investment in seeing that Ubuntu works. I feel a sense of ownership that causes me to become a better member in that community and of the larger Linux community. That is why I test Ubuntu and run all of their alphas and betas. I want for it to succeed.

I don’t know if I will always use Ubuntu, but it will always have a special place in me.  It isn’t that I am fickle. I just use what must feel like a pair of comfortable shoes. There may come a day when I will change or Ubuntu will change and that will no longer be the case that we will mesh so completely. I hope that this is not the case.

I am aware that many people use Ubuntu. Its popularity is a non-issue with me. I tend to shun trends, so it isn’t about using what everyone else is. I like to think that I got on early enough that I am not seen as jumping on the bandwagon.  The size of the community is a big issue for me. I like people. I like diversity. I like the idea that people are all different and that so many users can find something that appeals to them in one distribution. I also like the idea that Ubuntu is diverse. It has many different versions based on architecture and desktop. It is an attempt to offer a little of something to everybody. I like that Canonical is reaching out and is not excluding anyone.

I am a heavy user. I have everything possible installed. To me Linux is to be enjoyed to the max. I don’t believe in limits or half measures. Ubuntu has so many programmes in its repositories that I can explore to my heart’s content. I have yet to find anything that I can’t install easily. Yes, I could use (and have used) Gentoo and compile my own, but that takes time, time when I could be exploring.

Ubuntu is not for everybody. Some of you will be sure to tell me why you don’t use Ubuntu. I have no doubt of that. Please feel free. I am telling why I use it. That makes it a personal statement. Experience of one user cannot be transferred to another or to another computer even. Experience is as unique as is each individual. Which in itself makes another statement about Ubuntu. It is different things to different people.

Despite the criticism that comes with being number one, it is still attracting many new users. It is always under the microscope of public scrutiny and as such it draws its share (more than its share sometimes) of criticism. Some of it is fair and some of it is not. Many people like to sensationalize their blogs and columns by putting Ubuntu in the title, even if the article could apply to any distro or if it just touches on Ubuntu. Using Ubuntu in the title draws attention, so they do it knowing that it will get more exposure. As they do this Ubuntu gets even more publicity and people want to know what Ubuntu is. Detractors forget that any publicity is good and when you criticize based on weak evidence you are actually doing Ubuntu a favour.

So Ubuntu has become the little distro that could. What started with an idea has grown into a movement. Ubuntu may be part hype, but that won’t do anything if you can’t deliver. That initial idea and the philosophy that grew out of it filled a void and scratched an itch with enough people that it is what it is today. That alone is a testimony to what people want in a distribution which is to say most people aren’t static and they don’t expect their operating system to be.

There are other communities out there scratching different itches. Any one of them could have had the same success. Some did not want it. Some did not see the opportunity. Some simply are happy where they are. That is all well and good as long as they do not act out of jealousy and criticise for the sake of it.

The important thing for all users is to find a place where you feel comfortable. For me, it has to be more than just having a good operating system. As I said, I am prepared to live with faults as long as I can feel that I am part of a wider consensus.

Linux is evolving. It isn’t anyone thing that can be easily defined. Ubuntu is evolving as well. I like that it isn’t about the end product, but about the process. Some people have a fixed idea of what Linux is and their choice of distro reflects that. This is fine for them, but it isn’t for me. Linux is not rigid, but fluid in nature. Likewise it is not static. It is always changing just as the times are.

When people criticise they are often coming from a different perspective. Their worldview is foreign to me. They have a rigidity and hardness that I cannot relate to. Their outlook is hardline and so is their distro of choice. There is only one way for them. Everyone else is wrong. To disagree with them is to be told you are ignorant or worse. Their outlook is black and white. There are several black and white distros in my opinion, but Ubuntu is not one of them. It is full of colour and shades of grey.

Ubuntu is not perfect and in its imperfection it becomes special. It stands out from the pack. That is why people are attracted to it. It is malleable and willing to compromise. That is why I have great hope for Ubuntu and a small concern. My hope is that it always stays true to its principles and my fear is that someone will try to push it in another direction and that it will become a wannabe distro like so many others.

Background to this article:

In his recent blog Jono Bacon challenged us all to write what Ubuntu means to us. I take this to heart, not out of duty, but out of respect for what Ubuntu has accomplished and how it has enabled me, an ordinary user.

I use Ubuntu, but I should qualify that. I don’t always use Gnome. Right now, I am in KDE 4.2, so I am using Kubuntu. However, my eeePC has Ubuntu 8.10 installed and that is turned on. You get the idea. I use multiple computers with multiple desktops, all from Canonical. In this they share a common philosophy.

My philosophy:

Don’t bother commenting if you use offensive language as I won’t post it. Feel free to disagee. I make no pretensions of being correct. I am expressing my opinion and my feelings only. Expressing them does make them right.

Everything is what it is. Some people try to make things into things they are not or never intended to be. This is the source of most of life’s disagreements. In the final analysis few of the things we believe are facts. There is absolute truth, but we don’t have all of the information so can’t know it. All of us live with delusions, some are of our own making and some are imposed upon us. I am happy in my delusions and hope that you are too.

When criticising, please put some thought into it, rather than calling me names or making obvious observations such as I am wordy. That goes without saying. Read the About comment. I am not paid for my rants. I do it strictly for my own enjoyment or as a form of self-expression. You could do the same, so if you feel a rant of your own coming on, feel free to write it elsewhere and link to it here.