I have used Ubuntu for almost 4 years and, from to time, there have been discussions on how to encourage the wider use of the package. The common recurring theme refers to ease of use and reliability and, after all this time, there are still most annoying defects rearing their ugly heads.
Yesterday I decided to update my granddaughters computer from Edubuntu 7.10 to Edubuntu 8.04. No problem, I hear you say, just start Update Manager and take it from there. The process started telling me what was to happen and indicated that it would take about 2 1/2 hours. Great, files were downloaded and the installation process got underway until there were about 4 minutes to go then, everything ground to a halt. I am not very computerate and know very little about the ins and outs of Linux so what should I do? The first thought is to start again but I am not sure how to do that and, in any case, it would mean another 2 1/2 hours with no guarantee of success, the second thought is to scrap Edubuntu and return to Windows. However, I am an obstinate sort of person so I posed the question on the Ubuntu-users list. Within a very short time there was a response by someone giving the following reference:- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/langpack-locales/+bug/249340 There you have it - a very, very important procedure had a bug which prevented the final stages of the upgrade process and which has been known for some time. Is this way to gain confidence and attract new users? I was able to follow the various suggestions without which my granddaughter would be using Windows XP Pro today. OK, I have sounded off but this sort of thing should not be allowed to happen and I would be grateful if someone, who knows their way around the Canonical set up, could bring this to the attention of someone who cares about the future of Ubuntu. Norman -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
