Ubuntu 10.04 delivers usability, strength

“Here’s what finally convinced me that Ubuntu was worthy of the
average desktop user: I installed it on my Mom’s computer.
Clichéd, but true.

“Actually, this happened quite some time ago, so this is not
necessarily news. But it’s key to note that I indicated “average”
desktop user. While I was very willing to recommend Ubuntu for
users who just needed to handle day-to-day operations like surfing,
e-mail, word processing, and the like, I was personally holding
back from using it myself, preferring instead to use openSUSE,
which enabled me to complete more advanced tasks, like video
editing and conversion, pretty easily.

“Another big draw for me was the openSUSE Build Service, which
enabled me to find and even produce easy-to-install packages for
some of the more obscure applications I use.

“Every time I tried to use Ubuntu, it felt like I’d stepped into
a kiosk machine: it looked like Linux, but the functionality I
needed just wasn’t there. Sometimes that absence was drastic: I
remember having great hot docking support for my laptop in Ubuntu
8.04 that somehow vanished in 8.10.

“But right now I am an Ubuntu 10.04 (beta) user, and
surprisingly comfortable with it. So, what’s changed?”

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