I used to run Linux in college, and I liked it a lot. It did take time to tweak and setup and fight with stubborn hardware and all that, but it was also fun. And, more importantly, I learned a lot from it, which has consistently come in handy recently.
Since then, I've been running Windows. It takes less time to setup and there's more software available for it. I feel that my time is better spent and I am more productive and faster on Windows. Occasionally, I try out a version of Linux on my spare partition just to keep up, but I never end up using it for any significant period of time.
I recently tried out Ubuntu, and I have to say I'm very impressed with it. It feels very polished, in ways that no other Linux felt before. You boot off the CD, provide a few simple configuration options, and after about 30 minutes, you have a fully functional, polished, and usable Linux running on your machine. Everything from the careful selection of default packages, to the icons, and the default settings seems to have been thought out with usability and people in mind. All my hardware was supported right off the bat (printer, scanner, iPod, network, etc.) I feel that they really do live up to their creed: "Linux for Human Beings".
Interestingly, the most annoying part in getting Ubuntu to do what I want, was installing the various software and codecs for non-free media (DVD, MP3, etc.) Ubuntu has its roots in Debian, which is all about free software, so it does not come with any packages that are not free (in license or in spirit). You can install these codecs relatively easily, but it takes some time to get them to work just right (DVD playback in particular). If nothing else, it made me appreciate the whole controversy (and silliness, really) over DeCSS in a different light.
At the end of the day, however, Ubuntu feels right in ways that no Linux before has felt. I will probably keep this one around for a while, and I will probably post on it again.
2 comments:
This came at a time when I'm very, very seriously considering dumping the MS platform for a solid open source solution. Hence, I'm looking for solid solutions. If there are any.
I'm most concerned about some of my peripherals for which I know there are no official Linux drivers. I wonder if they could work inside a Windows emulation and still interact with Linux applications... It's stuff like this this that I will have to dig into.
Thank you for the insight and I'll keep up to date on your blog, as I always try to do anyway!
If you're thinking about dumping Windows, I highly recommend Ubuntu (see my more recent post on this for details). Basically, Ubuntu works very well for just about everything (including hardware and peripherals, both desktop and laptop). The only part that's awkward is digital media playback, but even then you can get it to be acceptable and I can help you set it up.
If you have a spare partition (say, 2GB) on your hard disk, give Ubuntu a try (it's a single CD ISO). That's a sure way to know what's supported and what isn't in your configuration, as well as whether it meets your requirements.
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