I just got off the phone with my best friend, for whom I installed Ubuntu 8.10 on his laptop.
I installed it two weeks ago. His main concern with Vista was that it wouldn't play ball with his office network. It couldn't see the shared backup folder that i had set up for him years earlier, and also couldn't see his shared office printer.
I told him I didn't work on Vista, and he said that he wanted to hire me to get RID of it and install Ubuntu.
I did so, and his wireless worked out of the box (it was a new Gateway laptop, i don't recall the model). He also had good high-resolution video that played nicely with an additional plugged-in monitor. And his son had a DVD handy, so I got the codecs installed to read it.
And, of course, he can also see his shared folder and print to his shared printer ;-)
However, he called me up this morning feeling frustrated. His computer wouldn't connect to his home wireless network, and it also bombed on any DVD's he tried to play.
I consider the problems to be my fault, and I am making a mental note to make sure and do a more thorough job on my next Linux-converted laptop. Here are five steps you need to follow to make certain that you have a happy customer yourself:
(1) Try everything out on the computer in the user's own environment. While his machine functions flawlessly at his office, it's not finding his home wireless network. That's a deal-breaker for the average user. Even Vista can easily connect wirelessly! So make certain that you can get the dialog to pop up notifying the user of wireless networks that he can connect to, and that you have no trouble actually connecting.
(2) Try at least three DVD's before you declare that the player works. There are many different codecs out there, make sure you get them all installed.
(3) Spend some time showing the user how Synaptic Package Manage and the Ubuntu Add/Remove software dialogs work. A properly-trained user who can Google a solution to a software need and install it himself is a happy user indeed.
(4) If you're converting a computer over professionally, i.e. for pay, provide an hour's worth of tech support as part of the deal, to be offered after a week or two, when the user will have actually gotten their feet wet with the new OS. Have them keep a list of problems that they would like help with. Most will be simple training issues.
(5) Keep reminding him/her how great it is to be running FOSS. Forward Microsoft Oh-My-God urgent security notices to him. Find forums that raise a stink about DRM, WGA, and Vista resource hogging and send the newly converted the links. Never stop reminding him or her that computing is fun once again. It also gives you this funny warm feeling of brotherhood.
