With the introduction of Unity in Ubuntu Linux, Xubuntu gained a lot of new users. And soon, Xubuntu will gain many more users as support for Windows XP ends on April 8th next year.
The Xfce desktop in Linux lends itself perfectly to this influx of new users coming from Windows for two reasons:
- Most users of Windows XP likely have older computers that came with Windows XP pre-installed. Xfce was designed for older hardware, to operate with low resource requirements.
- Most users of Windows XP will find the Xfce interface easy to adapt to. In fact the Xubuntu-based Linux Lite bills itself as especially well suited to Linux novices, and Windows users in particular:
The goal of Linux Lite is to introduce Windows users to an intuitively simple, alternative operating system. Linux Lite is a showcase for just how easy it can be to use linux. From familiar software like Firefox and Thunderbird, to simply named menu items, to one click updates and software installs we hope that you will find Linux Lite an enjoyable computing experience.
I dare say, Xubuntu is very well suited to that task as well. Linux Lite has tweaked Xubuntu further and edited the menus with simplified names and categorized menu entries that make things easier yet for Windows users to make the transition. It’s quite brilliant, actually.
Hopefully my favorite Linux distro won’t forget that it was originally intended for older hardware, especially now with the impending influx of new users coming from Windows XP! If Xubuntu becomes to big for its britches (it won’t fit on a CD anymore, bad news for those of us with old CD burners that can’t burn DVDs), I’ll be sending my Windows XP friends to this newcomer distro – and pleading with the Xubuntu Team to keep these new WinXP users in mind when they work their wonderful magic in making Xubuntu – still the most splendid Xfce distro ever made.
Robin's Rants and Raves 