Other OS's have trouble with installation, screen resolution, finding our network printer, LAN connection, Java and Flash issues and ridiculous package management issues. These are real, basic, screw ups that make me hesitant to recommend anything but Ubuntu.

Thru the years I've come to really value the Ubuntu Online Community. They're a thousand times more useful than anything available for Windows. It's an extremely powerful and efficient tool!

As for Ubuntu's widely unpopular default appearance: It's an easy two minute job to make it look like Windows 2000 with a picture of your dog as desktop wallpaper!

After being introduced to Linux world by Ubuntu, I tried a few different distros such as Fedora, SuseLinux, and PCLinuxOS.

Comparing to the few distros above, Ubuntu is not the easiest distro to use for a new Linux user (PCLinuxOS won in this category), nor it is pretty (would rank it last out of the box, at most a tie with Fedora), and it is definately not as cutting edge as Fedora. However, what makes Ubuntu stands out from the rest in my humble opinion is the community built around the OS.

A lot of information can be found on the web ranging from fans’ blogs, community wiki, and last but not least the friendly Ubuntu forums. Many of these sites have very high quality articles who do not assume the readers to be power users and gave tremendous amount of hand holding. The Ubuntu forum is amazing, a stupid question which might attract response like RTFM on other forums will have friendly replies within minutes. This is something that really sets it apart from other distros, and makes new switchers stay.

Comparing to other distros, I can find solutions from the web and forums more easily, and also the solutions are more newbie friendly. A Linux distro can be newbie friendly, and installs everything out of the box, however, without strong community support and encouragement, the desire and fire to switch from another platform will die very fast.

http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/details/1232/lazy_days_ii.html

the image title is lazy days on InterfaceLIFT.com

Ubuntu by contrast was willing to send you a copy of linux free via ship it, and Shuttleworth’s celebrity and financial backing insured that those wanting to try linux for the first time would find Ubuntu the obvious choice

As someone who has been using Linux since about 2003, my experiences might be a bit skewed by lack of knowledge, but I recently have been dealing with clients who use Vista and it seems extremely unwieldy and intimidating by comparison to Ubuntu, SuSE, Fedora or any flavour of Linux or even BSD that I have tried. In Linux, I know that everything is either a file or a folder and that common problems are easily solved through rudimentary means (such as removing a .conf file or preferences folder in your home directory). However in Windows, it seems to me that solving common problems could mean monkeying with the registry and possibly b0rking my OS altogether, it could mean reinstalling software entirely, it could mean any number of extreme measures. To me, solving problems in Windows has always been somewhat like killing a mouse with a tactical nuclear device.

Again, I will say that as I HAVE had more experience using and administering Linux/Unix systems, my opinions may be a bit skewed. Though even listening to many of my Windows Server sysadmin friends and their horror stories of malfunctioning Exchange servers and Domain Controllers, Server 2003 RASes that choke on connections from Vista/Server 2008 client machines, or botched SharePoint installations, my first thought is always, “wow, see now here’s how he could have done this on Linux…”

http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/details/1232/lazy_days_ii.html

The ‘Availability’ section tells us it’s popular because Ubuntu is being preloaded on computers… but that’s only because it was somewhat popular to begin with. Using the result of it being popular to say that’s a reason WHY its popular is somewhat invalid. I can’t believe sources to download was used as a reason… as if you can’t find almost any other distro on an ftp, torrent, usenet, etc. The Ship-It idea could help spread the software to people with slow connection, making Ubuntu popular via means of acquisition, but won’t help in the distro popularity by what it can do post-install.

‘Reliability’
Almost any distro updates packages quickly (in fact this can’t be said ab out Ubuntu as much since they didn’t even include OOo3 in the latest release). Every project has a schedule, so that could be said for anyone. And yes, one good (and bad) thing about Ubuntu is that it stays on time for the release (most of the time)… but this also means a lot of things are rushed out with bugs (as we’ve already seen with 8.10) and with older software, like using OOo2. I have yet to see a mainstream distro not have an ‘Organized and unified community’. Everyone is there for a reason to begin, to be a part of and help progress the distro.

‘Community’
Oh, wasn’t this listed under ‘Reliability’? Forums, Bug Trackers, Blogs… what distro doesn’t have these?

Still waiting for a reason… why didn’t you give any? Are the reasons why Ubuntu is popular the same reasons as any other distros… is that what your trying to get it?

// I do not imply that I know everything, I simply laid out some reasons why I think Ubuntu is popular; I really appreciate that your comments are well-written and have some valid arguments – I only wonder why are you so hostile towards all my articles.//

The reason I switched to Ubuntu was because I was sick of Windows running slow for no reason – and there was NO WAY I could find out why. Linux is totally transparent, I can find out EXACTLY what it is doing all the time, I have total control over my computer.