I’ve just skimmed through an article entitled “Tech Writers Think Ubuntu Is For Morons”, and while I expect that it is just flamebait, I was compelled to comment (below is basically what I wrote as a comment on the Digg posting).
The author whinges about how tech writers describe “how-tos” for simple, mundane tasks in Ubuntu, and because of the “Ubuntu for complete and utter noobs” tone often used, Ubuntu is getting a stigma that it is for morons.
I don’t see what the problem is.
Most Windows(tm) documentation I’ve seen is aimed at the average user and seems to do the same thing; describe simple point-n-click GUI tasks in more detail than is required for any power user. Whether you choose to use Windows(tm), Ubuntu, OSX, or something else (many of us you all of the above) … simple documentation is great for the braindead, and just unnecessary for the power user. Ideally, an operating system can be usable for morons and customizable enough to be more useful for power users … simplicity and depth need not be mutually exclusive. I think recent Ubuntu releases hit the sweet spot for a modern OS in an increasingly computer literate population that some other dumbed down OSes miss. Simple, but with depth if you want to go digging.
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