I've often read in these forums Ubuntu new users claiming in a matter-of-fact way something along the lines of "Who are we kidding? Just face it--Windows is easier to use than Ubuntu."
It's that obvious, is it? And, of course, it makes anyone who disagrees look like some kind of crazy Linux zealot.
But really, how is that an argument? "Of course"? "Just face it"? "You can't really claim..."?
Let's look at the cold, hard facts.
First of all, let's get past the whole idea of "an ordinary person just wants to use her computer, not fiddle around with it," which usually goes along with the "Windows is just easier" idea. You can substitute Joe Sixpack, Grandma, or the average user for ordinary person. The general gist is--I, as a Windows power user am going to speak for the masses.
Well, most of the fiddling around usually has to do with hardware detection--the sound card doesn't work, the wireless card doesn't work, the screen resolution is off, the multimedia key isn't being recognized. Now imagine for a second if this "average user" installed Windows and those things didn't work. Do you really think she's going to be able to fix all that in Windows--track down all the drivers?
Ordinary user. Not power user. We're talking the kind of person who calls The Geek Squad. Or who calls you (the Windows power user... or even Linux user who has long since ditched Windows) for help.
Ordinary people do not install operating systems. This has been said many times on these forums, but I think it bears repeating, since I constantly see people complaining that fiddling around is necessary for Ubuntu. Well, that's because they didn't buy a computer with Ubuntu preinstalled the way they did with Windows. Do you hear Fuscia complaining about wireless not working or having to fiddle around with multimedia keys?
Okay. So now that we've got out of the way installing/configuring, let's talk about actual use.
What's easier about Windows?
I'll concede there are things that are easier about Windows:
1. Clipboard contents get remembered on application exit. I have to say this is one of the most annoying things about Gnome, KDE, and XFCE. It's a basic user expectation--"Wait, I copied that to the clipboard... why isn't it pasting?"
2. You can do contextual searches from within folders. So Dapper finally made it so that if you're in Nautilus, you can press Control-F and search within Nautilus. Great. It won't search in the folder you're in necessarily--it will default to searching in your home folder. Not very useful. Sorry.
3. Just about any software you buy will have a Windows version. While the convenience of the repositories I think would be better for "average users" in the long run, right now this is the kind of convenience they're used to. Walk into Best Buy, see some software, shell out money for it. It works with Windows.
4. Just about any hardware you buy will include Windows drivers. Do you need to worry if your new printer is Mac-compatible or Linux-compatible? Of course not--you use Windows. Buy whatever you want.
5. My Network Places will usually recognize other computers and let you browse to them. It's really sad that people have to post threads like, "How do I get my two Ubuntu computers to see each other?" and it boils down to having to install SSH.
6. Newly-plugged-in Windows drives will automatically be recognized and have read/write permissions. Format a new drive as Ext3 and plug it into Ubuntu--what happens? You have to chown it and then chmod it properly before you can use it.
7. Codecs are easier. Now, keep in mind, this is just for Ubuntu--not for all Linux distributions. If proprietary codecs seem a pain for you to install and you want to write off all Linux because of Ubuntu, try Mepis first. In some ways, though, this is a non-issue, as you'd hope that any "average user" would have someone more knowledgeable who would install Ubuntu for her, and then that person would also install the necessary codecs.
That's about all I can think of. Some of those are major, though, depending on your needs and habits.
What's easier about Ubuntu?
Some things are easier in Ubuntu, though. Let's take a look:
1. I've had a lot of co-workers ask me when they log into another computer (not the one they usually work on) or after we had a Windows XP upgrade at work, "How do I get that button back that lets me see my desktop?" It's discoverable for Windows power users, but not for ordinary users.
Who would think "Yes, I want to add a 'show desktop' button. I think I'll right-click on the taskbar and select Toolbars > Quick Launch"? Doesn't make any sense. In Ubuntu, however, you can right-click, select Add to Panel and find the Show Desktop button and add that one specifically.
In any case, Ubuntu comes with the Show Desktop button by default, and Windows XP doesn't.
2. Print-screens are easier. I've actually been amazed at how many ordinary users want to do screenshots. I used to think that was just a power user thing, but it's becoming a more commonplace desire for ordinary users, too (God knows why).
In Windows, you have to press PrtScn, which copies to the clipboard, and then open up MSPaint or MS Word and paste it in and save the file. Or, you can search around for and download third-party software to have the PrtScn go straight into a file.
In Ubuntu, just press Alt-PrtScn, and your window goes straight into an image file on your desktop. Press PrtScn, and your entire screen goes straight into an image file on your desktop.
3. Changing the background is easier. Right-click and select Change background picture. In Windows, you have to right-click and select Properties and then go to the Desktop tab to find Background.
4. Security is easier. Try running Windows as limited user and using the Run as context menu to approximate something like sudo. I can assure you it's in a royal pain. Some things don't Run as (like Explorer). Some things appear to Run as but then don't work after you run them (like Windows Update).
Ubuntu is built with security in mind--you operate as user and your privileges get escalated temporarily as needed. See the "Update Available" icon, click it, enter your password, and you now have privileges to install updates. In Windows, you can do this only if you run as Administrator all the time (which is a bad idea, from a security standpoint).
5. Software installation is easier. Now keep in mind--I'm talking about for this mythical "average user." No longer need she go to the internet, search about for "freeware," try to figure out if it's pay-for software with a free trial or no trial, try to figure out if it's going to give her a virus or spyware.
She can just open up the package manager and do a search for what she's looking for. Anything that comes up in the results is installable within a few clicks, cost-free, and free of spyware and security worries.
For example, someone was posting recently about how a family member really wanted a poker game. Well, would you rather do an online search for "poker games windows" or search in Synaptic for "poker"?
6. Basic software is already available. The flip side of codecs being a bit more complicated--well, at least people don't need to track down an archiving program to unzip a file or buy or pirate MS Office just to have a decent word processing program (yes, Windows users can also install OpenOffice, but the point is that Windows doesn't come with decent office tools).
What's my verdict? Well... the verdict is that it's not such an obvious or easy conclusion to make. Could you make that conclusion--that Windows is easier to use? Sure. You could. Is it obvious or matter-of-fact? No. It must be argued. It's not something you should take for granted. That's all I'm saying.
Every OS has its own culture, its own language. Windows users had to learn to Control-Alt-Delete when something went wrong. They had to learn to click the Start Menu to shut down. They had to learn that software was to be obtained through internet searches for setup.exe files and then clicked through.
Rant over.
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Originally Posted by aysiu
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