I remember that a few years ago, the most recognized brand in the Linux world was RedHat. For someone who didn’t know much about Linux, that was the keyword they’d know. Now, it’s Ubuntu. I like the fact that Ubuntu is becoming popular and making people try Linux for the first time. This can be measured not only by the huge amount of messages in their forums, but also by the increasing number of Ubuntu-related blogs. As with everything that becomes popular it’s expected to appear a few people hating it with passion. I’ve seen a little of this already, mostly because of some misinformation that it’s starting to spread among Linux newcomers and the “new ubuntu experts”. For many, Linux = Ubuntu, and that is pissing off many people. I also don’t like that assumption, and it’s our job to give better information to people. On the other hand, I think the brand Ubuntu is making people try Linux, so I don’t mind people thinking that when they first arrive at Linux. At least they know Linux and are using it. Knowing that there is more to Linux than Ubuntu is a second step, that most of them will take sooner or later.
I’ve used so many distributions, that Ubuntu, for me, is just one more. I started with Slackware and then (in no particular order) RedHat, Corel Linux, Mandrake, Debian, Suse, Linux From Scratch (yep), Gentoo, Mandriva… and I think I’m forgetting a few.
I’m now using Ubuntu at home as it works fine out-of-the-box (and I needed a fast solution at the time) and has a huge enough repository for me to test new software. But I’m pretty sure that I’ll keep testing other distributions and migrating to the one I like best. I don’t think I’ll be using Ubuntu 3 years in a row, for example. There’s innovation everywhere, not only in Ubuntu. In fact, Ubuntu is not the best distribution in many situations. I hope the community can take advantage of this Ubuntu popularity and show-off the alternatives and how they’re better. Everyone gains from that.
And what do you think ? do you use Ubuntu and think you’ll still use it a few years from now ?