Playing to Our Strengths

For a while now, I have heard many people talk about Linux, and specifically Ubuntu using its strengths to help gain users. This got me thinking: What strengths/advantages do we have?

Well, for one, Ubuntu is free. And yes, I am talking about free as in cost. People like things that are free, things that don’t cost them endless loads of cash. Ubuntu saves them from this, saving them hundreds of dollars spent on new computers, operating systems, office applications, and anti virus software. Not to mention, even computer preinstalled with Ubuntu are cheaper than Windows (and especially Mac) counterparts, with much more to offer.

Secondly, Ubuntu’s 6 month release cycle can’t be beat. With all the new features coming in every six months, the advances in technology are truly amazing.

Third, Ubuntu’s support also can’t be matched. With a willing community of thousands chomping at the bit to give support to new users, responses typically come in in a matter of minutes. What other vendors do that!

I could go on, and on. Here’s a short list of some of the advantages we have:

1. Ubuntu is free. (as in cost, and people will get the freedom part later, but that doesn’t matter now)
2. Fast release cycle
3. Great support
4. Most people are TIRED with Windows (think money, viruses, instability, etc.)…
5. and don’t want to pay the money for a Mac or an Vista upgrade.

There are many reasons using Ubuntu is a good choice when compared to other vendor’s products. Marketing Ubuntu in the right way can lead to a great success. We just need to show people how great Ubuntu really is.

What’s up with VMWare lately?

VMware seems to want more info out of me these days.

I had recently made the switch back to Windows for school, and have been trying to use VMware, but getting it is a pain. Before I can download anything, I have to get a key, which means I have to register. I have done this simple operation many times — but this time it asks me for my location, telephone number, etc. I never like giving out any info like that to any company when it is completely unnecessary. If I don’t use one, the program remains locked. They even want me to register for downloading the free VMware images! Why VMware asks for a registration code for a free product I do not know. One thing I do know, however, is that I will NOT be using VMware anymore.

OOXML Trouble

Microsoft Looks for the Big Guns in OOXML In-Fighting — Bill Gates has reportedly been making phone calls to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce to push the American National Standards Institute to ignore the votes of its advisory committees and vote ‘yes’ on ISO standardizing Microsoft’s Open Office XML (OOXML) format, the one in competition with the OpenDocument Format (ODF) pushed by IBM and Sun.

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If this really is happening, I find it both sad and disturbing. Products, when placed on the market are expected to reach a certain level of quality, especially when going for ISO standardization. OOXML has not has not reached that level of quality, with many technical issues that have been pointed out. As a smart tactical move, many aspects of OOXML can not even implemented in rival office suites. I understand why Microsoft fights so hard for this product, as it is the future of their office suite and their continued success. The sad part is that Microsoft seems much more focused on killing off other products and keeping their dominance, rather than creating innovative products that people actually WANT to use.

The new site is out!

jreagan1990.googlepages.com

There will be more to come, but I have the basics up and running!

You will also find a link on my blog to pages in my site (top-left corner in green column – “Home”, “Why Ubuntu?”, and “About Me”.

New site!

I have a new site in the works, via Googlepages, that will link to my blog. Since it is Google, the blog feed will still work, as well as jon-reagan.blogspot.com.

It should be up in a couple of days.

No more network manager

No more network-manager for me!

I have had issues with network-manager ever since I began using it. It would ask me to enter a password to log onto my network. Then, it would ask me again and again to sign into my network, and sometimes it would shut my card down. Well no more, I have uninstalled network-manager, and have gone to the “Network” application instead, which logs me in automatically, and also gives me a high-speed connection. I can also “see” the other wireless networks around me, including their signal strength. I can set up multiple locations, and connect in a snap.

I am sure network-manager works fine for other people who do not have Broadcom wireless cards, but for me, the network application is what I will be using from now on.

Ubuntu Box: Snellville Borders 2 Month Report

I meant to post this last week, but I forgot. This last (since the box’s placement) month just flew by, with 22 CDs being taken. The final count (last week) was 52, however today (Sunday, the 12th) there was 11 CDs missing, making the total CD count distributed 63. Now that I have 52 as a estimation for 2 months, I have 65 from the recent August face to face meeting (see boredandblogging’s post) compliments of Rick Clark, the server manager at Canonical.

Ubuntu Boxes are really easy to maintain, and I highly recommend them for anyone who has a stash of Ubuntu hanging around. They are a great way to spread Ubuntu to the masses.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I am now using the Canonical Box, also from the F2F meeting, to which I will paste the support email and our LoCo site. This also means that I will only have to go back to refill the box every 2 weeks. 🙂