 There has been a lot of talk recently about how Ubuntu is not as exciting as it once was and that it's kind of on the decline and I think that there's definitely some merit to this argument Ubuntu is not innovating like it once was it's definitely not on the forefront of Linux technology in any means they don't create Basically anything that they do that is user phrase facing There's a lot of underlying technology that they have contributed to and they do contribute to and they definitely Create a lot of stuff in the back end that kind of floats upstream and to genome and All sorts of different Linux projects But in terms of things that you actually see on a day-to-day basis It's definitely not like it once was when they were creating things like unity and mayor and Working on the Ubuntu mobile and stuff like that. It's just not as Exciting as it was during those times and there has been a lot of comparison between Ubuntu now and what Fedora has become Where Fedora is on the forefront of a whole bunch of brand new technologies is that is not only Being injected into Fedora, but also spreading throughout almost every Linux distribution things like Wayland and pipe wire and so on and so forth and That comparison is not necessarily favorable towards Ubuntu because when you look at something that is noon exciting next to something that is I'm not gonna say old but necessarily mature They don't necessarily compare all that well, especially for the people who are Interested in that type of comparison and and that usually means Linux enthusiasts We Linux enthusiasts really tend to Enjoy more the distributions that are exciting that come out with new features that are more community-centric if you will and That definitely describes Fedora much more than it does Ubuntu now all this stuff sounds like I'm coming out and saying Ubuntu is bad Ubuntu is terrible Ubuntu is old That's definitely not what I'm saying The point of this video that I'm making today is that I don't actually think that Ubuntu being Unexciting is actually a bad thing now for us Linux enthusiasts It is kind of a bad thing because by them not actually creating new things that are user-facing and Having so many missteps when it comes to snaps and all those things It makes it harder for us to be interested or really care about Ubuntu So when I do a Ubuntu based like first look or distro review or something like that It's harder for me to care about it because it feels like it's not a great distro It's just what Ubuntu has always been like it's like Apple has released an iPhone for 20 years and they all look exactly the same Ubuntu for the Most part Looks exactly the same now as it did 10 years ago The icons have changed and the themes have changed but for the most part the layout looks exactly the same right and The only thing that has really changed from then and now is that they've changed from unity to GNOME, but they've just made GNOME look like unity but has fewer features because you don't have the HUD and all that stuff But the point is is that Ubuntu hasn't changed very much and for Linux enthusiasts That's not what we're interested. We're not interesting things that always stay the same over and over and over again for so long now The point I'm trying to make though is that there aren't very many Linux enthusiasts Like for the most part of the wider Linux community The Linux enthusiast is a very small niche everybody else who uses Linux Just uses their computer that happens to have Linux on it. They don't care about new shiny things like Wayland pipe wire UI design improvements and stuff like that all they care about is getting their work done and using their computer and making sure that their computer doesn't crash and Do the things that drove them crazy probably when they use Windows For the vast majority of people that use Linux They only care so much about what their computer looks like how it functions. They just wanted to work is the point And one thing we can't forget is that despite Ubuntu declining it is still by far the most used distribution Period like by orders of magnitude now I don't have you know exact numbers and I don't think anybody besides canonical really knows exactly how many people use Ubuntu if canonical even knows But we know from the numbers that we do have things like the Steam survey and so on and so forth is that the vast majority of people Use Ubuntu or an Ubuntu derivative mostly of flavors and the vast majority of those people who do use Ubuntu They don't care that Ubuntu is boring. They just want it to work Now like I said earlier that conclusion isn't necessarily the most Exciting for the Linux enthusiast and that's one of the reasons why we keep hearing this whole idea of Ubuntu is boring Ubuntu is declining Fedora is the new Ubuntu and the reason why we keep hearing those things from what feels like a lot of people is That Linux enthusiasts are more likely to speak out and make noise About things that are upsetting them so they get on YouTube and make YouTube videos They get on Twitter or discord or IRC or whatever and start talking about this stuff they talk about it on podcasts that they're members of and Those are the people we hear right the vast majority people aren't on a podcast They don't make YouTube videos about Linux. They just use their computer and go about their day So I don't think that Ubuntu being boring is actually a bad thing I think that Linux needs a distribution that is mature and stable and Doesn't change at all. It needs something that is always going to be the same and is that boring sure But you want to know what? It's definitely something that makes it easier to switch to Linux because it looks the same Always it functions the same always if it changed every two or three releases It'd make it so much harder to not only switch to Linux But also for people who help others switch to Linux to create Documentation for any stuff one of the things that's great about Ubuntu is that when you switch to it as a brand new Linux user there's just a ton of stuff out there that can help you and Because Ubuntu doesn't change hardly ever those guides that were created five six seven ten years ago A lot of that stuff still applies now obviously when it comes to downloading software A lot of that stuff has changed and you really don't want to download a PPA that has been Not maintained so that kind of stuff kind of gets iffy in terms of it doesn't age well But when it comes to how to do certain things like How to update Ubuntu that hasn't changed in forever Okay, and if there is a guide that was written on how to update Ubuntu back in 2012 or something like that you could still follow that guide and Be on your way. It would work perfectly fine Now there are obviously new things that have come up since then things like how to update snaps how to install snaps But the point is is that most of the guides that are on the internet? Would probably work at least to some extent, right? And if they change all the time like Linux enthusiasts probably would want them to do what they Want them to innovate and create new features and all this stuff those guys would then become obsolete and it'd be much less documentation on the internet for new users and New users need documentation. So it's okay for Ubuntu to be boring. It is actually a good thing I think now That being said, I'm not gonna who use Ubuntu, right? I like new and exciting things and that's one of the reasons why I run an ArchBase to show because I want the newest Shiniest stuff and it gets me in trouble a lot because sometimes things break pipe wire kicks me in the ass a lot because It gets updated to the newest version and there might be bugs and that happened to work with my heart Not work with my hardware or whatever and think just go wrong there other packages Sometimes just break because they're the newest things and I'm kind of the guinea pig Happens the same thing for people who use fedora stuff break sometimes because it's the newest and greatest stuff it doesn't happen that often on Ubuntu and That's why other people can use Ubuntu Whereas, you know, I prefer the newer shiny shinier stuff. I'm a Linux enthusiast And I think that's where a lot of people fall But the vast majority of people just want something that is boring and They don't care that it's boring. It works for them. So that is it for this video if you have comments on Ubuntu and it being boring you can leave it in the comment section below one of the things that I did not talk about is The downsides of some of the stuff that canonical and Ubuntu have done things like the snaps and stuff I've kind of beat the snap horse to death in terms of you know Talking about it and my opinion on it and I don't think I really need to talk about it anymore But if you'd like to see more videos on me bitching about snaps You could probably leave a comment in the comment section below about that as well You can follow me on Twitter at the Linux cast you can support me on patreon at patreon.com slash Linux cast I'd like to thank my current patrons Robert Sid Devon Patrick Fred Kramer Megalyn Jackson having tools diva a subregulant ex-garrick signal kb tgb Mitchell J. Dog carbon data Jeremy Sean Odin Martin E. Andy Ross Eduardo Merrick camp Joshua League Peter A. Crisbell dark beneath six primus and p.m. Thanks everybody for watching. I'll see you next time