Installer Slideshow in Ubuntu 9.10 Helps New Users
Starting with Karmic, Ubuntu now has its own slideshow for users to view while waiting for the installation to finish. Besides representing one more thing Ubuntu has in common with Windows XP, the slides have some real value to new users. Below, we take a look.
First, here’s a run down of the slides, which are pretty self-explanatory:
(The slideshow has apparently not yet gotten the memo that the Software Store was rechristened “Software Center” recently. But this will presumably be fixed before Karmic’s final release.)
These slides perform some very useful tasks for people new to Ubuntu. Among the things I like most are:
- They cater to normal people, not geeks. No advanced computer knowledge is assumed, and the slides focus on practical applications that normal people will use–there’s no terminal to scare neophytes away, which is a good thing.
- The slides answer a lot of the questions that normal people tend to have before trying Ubuntu, such as “Can I open Word documents?” and “Does Ubuntu support my iPod/digital camera/favorite chat protocol?”
- Ubuntu is presented as a coherent operating system with a full and clearly defined set of productivity applications ready to go out-of-the-box. There are no distracting notes mentioning that there are three dozen alternatives to Rhythmbox or that Pidgin can replace Empathy if users don’t like the latter. A reluctance to privilege certain applications over others is a chronic problem in the free-software community, and this slideshow avoids it.
Of course, the impact and importance of these slides might be dampened by the fact that they’re shown after the user has already decided to install Ubuntu, but they still don’t hurt. And the slide show could be made available for viewing from a normal installation, as a sort of introduction to Ubuntu, for the benefit of individuals who don’t install Ubuntu themselves. It could also serve as a quick presentation of what Ubuntu can do when trying to evangelize new users.
Most geeks installing Karmic next month will probably not be bothered to pay much attention to the slides. Nonetheless, the presentation represents a solid step in the direction of usability and user-friendliness on the part of Ubuntu.
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Just installed Karmic 9.10 on my laptop last night and saw these slides. Very impressive. I already like 9.10 over 9.04. My install took only about 15 minutes!
Hi,
If I were on the Ubuntu Karmic team, I would also mention that there is very good security on Ubuntu (new users need to know about this so they don’t have to search for anti-virus software online).
On a separate subject, there should be an easy way to install ubuntu-restricted-extras for beginners, perhaps an option at installation or an icon present on the desktop by default.
~~Shane Halloran.
The Software Sotre gt; Software Center thing is a known issue don’t worry 🙂
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This looks very like WindowsXP installation; but learning some good things of Windows isn’t a bad idea.
[…] Installer Slideshow in Ubuntu 9.10 Helps New Users Most geeks installing Karmic next month will probably not be bothered to pay much attention to to the slides. Nonetheless, the presentation represents a solid step in the direction of usability and user-friendliness on the part of Ubuntu. […]
This is very similar to the sort of thing we’ve seen in the past as far back as Windows 95. But it’s been done better. It’s actual useful information and not just more spin.
Nice one “Firefox warns about malware” … why? What Malware? I taught it’s Linux ….
They should have something like this start when you first boot up a new PC with Ubuntu (With the option to skip it if you are used to Ubuntu already)
It would also be nice to see Ubuntu machine in Best Buy some place running something like this is a slide show so that users will be drawn to it.
@Ty Miles: That would be impossible, because remember how Microsoft is doing a bad publicity for Windows 7 against Linux and Mac: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10346669-62.html
What happens is that the real competition is not good for Microsoft, because they are losing adepts to their OS.
Will be good if at least one computer store, put the three OSes avalaible to all the people so everybody can learn what are the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
About the slideshow, it’s great!! A wonderful idea, but I agree with many that there should be an introductory screen for new users, maybe not on this Ubuntu but why not for 10.04, because I think now we are on the Beta stage and in any moment will appear the RC version 😛
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