Update: Apologies if you tried to post a comment, I hadn’t realised there was a problem with the reCaptcha.
I might well be miles off the mark (I haven’t researched anything) but I’ve a feeling most of our new users don’t spend time in the live environment before installing. Looking around the Ubuntu Forums there are an awful lot of posts which talk about hardware that isn’t working after install. Surely, if time was spent in the live environment such issues would have been noticed.
Stick an Ubuntu disc in a machine, boot it and the most visible icon on the desktop is the install icon.
When we run a live CD, we’re curious. We are looking at a screen and thinking “what do I do now”? Currently the option that draws the eye is to install – what if we replace this with something that showcases Ubuntu’s abilities? Something more than the samples folder. Ubiquity has a slideshow, I wonder if something similar but more interactive should be initiated on first run. Perhaps leading the user to confirm what works out of the box – invite them to run, say Rhythmbox then plug in an iPod. Suggest a web link, highlighting if there is a connection issue. Work in some basic diagnostics, we can have more useful information to provide further assistance.
This wonder if it would also presents an opportunity for marketing. If a happy new user wants to show off their new Ubuntu system, they are likely to draw attention to the features that interest them. We can be blinded by our perception to the needs of others. For example, I might be fascinated by a desktop cube whereas my colleague might not know that Openoffice supports Microsoft formats – something he needs. It could be taken further, allowing OEM systems displaying Ubuntu’s abilities in shops (maybe).
Just a thought.
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Keeping the install feature well visible is important too.
I can imagine a scrolling text, or balloons popping up on the screen.
“You can try the software that is available here…”
“Try making a network connection here…”
“If you are happy how everything works and want to install Ubuntu, double click here. You will have even more possibilities after installing and Ubuntu will run much faster.”
About running fast: systems have 3 or 4 GB or ram regularly. I can imagine a bigger readahead will make the liveCD (and install) much faster (a CD seek is easily 100 – 200 ms, and in that time the drive can read 2 to 8 MB of data). Prereading the whole CD will probably take too long, but for an install the whole cd is read anyway.
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You make a very good point with this. However, there is one thing I must point out. Several times, I’ve encountered situations where hardware worked with the LiveCD and then failed in the installed environment, and vice-versa. So, sometimes it might not be that the person didn’t spend enough time in the Live Environment.
Regardless, I agree. We need to showcase what Ubuntu is capable of, particularly when the average user’s first encounter with the OS is with the LiveCD.
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Imagine that you are a newbie to Linux and have a graphics chip built by nVidia (or ATi for that matter) in your machine. In this situation the LiveCD not including the proprietary drivers and thus not loading them on boot will give you a very different experience compared to the installed system where you are offered to install the proprietary driver. It is also true that you _can_ install the proprietary drivers on a LiveCD session, but you would need a reboot to activate it, which renders your next boot without the installed proprietary driver. Basically you are not able to try it out without installing the whole system first. And what if the proprietary driver does not work with your specific chip model? Then you are in trouble. As Daniel pointed out, I myself have encountered such situations several times when the LiveCD session worked quite differently than the installed system.
But in the end, I agree that something more welcoming to a new user should be started on the LiveCD session which explains what to try out, and generally inform the user of what he/she can do in the live session.
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The scenario you suggest could be overcome by persistence on a USB key. I think we should promote that anyway – I have USB keys sitting around (I suspect others do too); they’re re-writable; they’re low cost; and they can be partitioned to provide persistence.
If we see value in promoting a live CD and there are instances where this is not available just for want of a reboot, then we need to revise that part of the system.
I don’t work with Xorg but I thought that the Xserver is what we refer to as the driver and that its change would require only a restart of Xorg rather than a reboot. Surely we could incorporate such.
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Hey man, congrats! Amazing idea, its the kind of thing Ubuntu really needs! I support you in this idea, and, as a Brazilian user, can help with screencast translations! Good work, keep going!
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Thanks for your support!
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