Other distros may vary, but on a recent Ubuntu install this is no longer the case.

Firefox says "You need to install additional plugins to view this content" and offers to install flash players - the only complication being that you can choose between free and non-free versions. IIRC you have to type in an admin password, but if you let 5-year-olds install software on your computer without supervision then you've got more problems anyway.

As for xvid - double click an avi, Totem or whatever the default player is these days offers to search for packages with codec support for that video. Again a supervisor password is necessary but other than that it's a few clicks on "next" and you're good to go.

Canonical seem to be making a real effort to remove the hurdles that require Linux knowledge or previous experience to overcome. Granted, there are still thing that need to be ironed out - but they're getting there.

Are you sure you're not just reading the units the wrong way? The connection is sold in megabits per second, but most browsers and other download clients rate downloads in kilobytes or megabytes per second. A 2Meg connection should cap out at around 250kBps - which would explain your readings.

Start with the schools. It will require quite a bit of initial investment, but it is the only way to introduce a new mindset to the public. You'll need to replace a LOT of textbooks (maths problems will need to be posed in metric terms, same for science books, etc) and all of your measuring devices will need replacing with metric versions (throw out those yard sticks and replace them with metre rules). If the kids grow up learning metric terms, they'll see the benefits of simplicity, easier unit conversion, and so on.

Then comes the tricky part: legislation. The resistance from the lazy public and business will be incredible - it'll be seen as one extra unnecessary expense - but it has to be done. It must be a legal requirement that wherever an amount is shown in Imperial, it must also be shown in metric.

That should be enough to get the ball rolling, but it's a long process, and - as the poster above pointed out - it may not stick right away. The UK has used metric officially for many years now but go into a hardware store and they'll still sell you a length of 2-by-4.

It may take many years to kill off Imperial measurements, but I think those are the two most important steps to affect the change.