Winning Ubuntu converts

Managed to get more Ubuntu converts this afternoon -- about 22 new ones, in fact.

Since I'm teaching a class on open source technologies, I decided on Ubuntu as the basis for the laboratory component. Installation was a breeze, care of Wubi. After that, the kids just ran with it.

I gave a series of challenges, all of which they passed with the greatest of ease: changing the background wallpaper, changing the login theme, logging in to Yahoo Messenger using Pidgin, determining their IP address and free disk space, and, finally, completing a game of Freecell. Some folks had trouble with Freecell, but all in all, they finished everything in just a little over an hour.

There were supposed to be 36 students in my class. Of these, 13 already had experience with Ubuntu via VirtualBox in my Information Security class. Two were absent today (you can do the Venn diagrams later.)

After the class, some guys stayed behind to ask more questions. A very heartening experience altogether.