Ubuntu Accomplishments! - Ubuntu goes console?

I am still working my way through the various facets of Canonicals offering on my main rig in respect 12.04LTS.  Suffice to say as well as being a rock solid, punchy experience, its a distro which my family have felt immediately at home with.  Over the last few days I had the opportunity to introduce a new user to the world of Linux and this was via the aforementioned 12.04 release.  Here are some of the comments put to me after installing:

I am liking Ubuntu, its very clean and resource efficient

and after getting familiar with a different OS to Windows (approximately 5 hours later)

I am so pleased with my laptop now, I will convert my friends from Windows to Linux

I digress, this article is about Ubuntu Accomplishments and whilst for my friend who has no experience of any OS other than Windows, getting himself up and running was an accomplishment – not because it was difficult, but it was the end of a cycle of years of Windows usage and issues.

So what is/are Ubuntu Accomplishments?  To keep it short, imagine achievements on console games that get added to your profile when you complete a certain action in a game.  Its a nifty idea that extends the playability of game and surprisingly (though I would not have thought it before) acts as a very inspiring means to get people involved with Ubuntu.

Unlike other OS’s I’d say the Canonical Community is in a class of its own.  You have staff like Jono Bacon regularly engaging with users in a friendly and approachable way.  There’s a plethora of support out there too, from off the shelf retail books, to sites and tutorials dedicated to learning the tips and tricks of a Canonical release.  The idea of accomplishments is an excellent compliment to the distro that encourages participation from its users (before the flames start, I should say many other distro’s do the same too).

The Accomplishments “lens” integrates seamlessly into the Ubuntu/Unity desktop and as you’ll see when my thoughts on 12.04 are released, integration is a regular word used to describe the Ubuntu experience.

The project, whilst in a 0.1 release, already boasts many features is something which will grow over time to further involve the user (if they wish) in the world of Ubuntu (and Linux generally – I think its fair to say)

From Jono Bacon’s site:

• Browse a range of different Ubuntu Community opportunities and filter them based on different categories.
• Click on different opportunities to discover more about them, what is involved, how to get started, as well as tips and tricks for success.
• Some opportunities require others to be completed before you can progress: this provides a logical on-ramp for participation.
• Accomplishments are automatically checked to see if you have achieved them. If you have they are verified to ensure they can’t be faked.
• The GUI client shows your collection of accomplished trophies as well as the available opportunities.
• Comprehensive Unity integration featuring Launcher numbering, notification bubbles, and hi-resolution icons.
• Full translated and available in a range of languages (language support varies due to the early nature of this release…but you you can help translate it!).
• We also provide a collection of community accomplishments covering Development, LoCo Teams, Juju, Governance and more. We need more accomplishments contributing and I will be talking more over the next few days about how you can contribute.

Source: http://www.jonobacon.org/2012/05/01/first-ubuntu-accomplishments-release/

If you are interested in experiencing this project in its early stages, please visit Jono’s site for simple to follow instructions on how to do it. http://www.jonobacon.org/2012/05/01/ubuntu-accomplishments-lens-released/

Tim (Goblin)

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