Last week, evolution caught up with the Ubuntu juggernaut. After jerking people around with Unity, Wayland Mir, and generally annoying lovers of Free Software with top-down stuff, Canonical drove more people to take a look at installing Debian GNU/Linux as suggested by the page-hit ratings on Distrowatch. That puts Debian GNU/Linux in #2 after Mint.



Whether this matters in the large scheme of things remains to be seen but it is a strong signal that those who actually install and use GNU/Linux don’t like Canonical’s direction. Canonical is tight with OEMs and retailers so this may just be a drop in the bucket but what about those newbie consumer-users? They may well compare Ubuntu GNU/Linux to XP or “7” and decide that Ubuntu is wanting in the user-interface.

I use a large monitor, a huge keyboard and a fine mouse. Anyone who does may well find Unity a pain just like “8”‘s not-Metro interface. OEMs and retailers will notice. Will OEMs, organizations and users customize Ubuntu GNU/Linux to make the GUI more useful for “desktop” users or will they switch to the mother lode, Debian GNU/Linux, the universal operating system? I recommend Debian GNU/Linux because it works for users and doesn’t pressure users. The installer offers real choice, too, for those who install an OS.