I finally did it. I’ve been contemplating it for several years now, but I finally switched our home computer from Windows to the free Linux operating system. So resistant am I to change that I actually considered buying or pirating a copy of Windows XP to re-install on this computer. A quick look at Microsoft’s online marketplace tells me that copies of Windows XP Professional run from about $400 to about $4000. That’s a lot of money to pay or steal. (I think if fewer people were stealing it, those who pay would pay less, but that’s a speculation best saved for another blog post.)
Anyway, I decided to go with a version of Linux called Ubuntu. Besides being free and really fun to say, Ubuntu is reputed to be easy to install and use, and very stable.
Installation was a snap. I backed up all my files onto an external hard drive, then installed away. The only decisions I had to make were:
- What to enter for my name (Andrew Shinn)
- What to enter for my username (andrew)
- What to enter for my password (like I’d tell you that!)
I had to make one other decision about hard drive partitions, but I just went with the default option that wiped my computer clean and started from scratch.
So, I really like Linux so far. Ubuntu comes with all the software you could possibly want, and easy access to more. All for free. I am now using Openoffice.org 2.0 as a better replacement for Microsoft Office (including Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint), Firefox as my web browser (same browser I used on Windows), and lots of other really cool software with funny names but great prices (free) and functionality.
Ubuntu is running faster and cleaner than Windows ever did on this machine, and I couldn’t be happier with it. The good people at Ubuntu will even send you an installation CD for free. Check it out at ubuntu.com. Here’s a screenshot:
