vailian

Don't worry, this is not going to become a Geek Blog...
I have been doing computer stuff all day, and running back and forth between the laptop and the desk computer-- and about a third to a half of the things I was doing had to do with trying to keep Windows running clean. Update the virus programs, uninstall crud that had gotten into my program list without my knowledge, try to figure out why the machine was running even slower than usual..
etc.
etc.
etc.

Then, trying to upload some photos to Facebook, and things came to a standstill. In desperation, I shut down Windows and booted into Ubuntu.

Everything works at least twice as fast. No firewall, no antivirus program. And the Ubuntu system is free.

Once the programs are installed (and they are free as well), using them is intuitive and easy. You don't need any special knowledge to use the various applications (OK, I admit that if you have to mess with the internal workings of the operating system it can get a bit geekier... but on the other hand you don't have to do it as often as with Windows). There is no Internet Explorer, but there is the far superior Opera and its close rival Firefox. The Open Office package does everything that MS Office (Word, Excel, etc) can do, just (mostly) better. You have native versions of Skype, Picasa, Google Earth, VLC (for watching movies). Email works wonderfully and you don't have to have programs running to check the attachments for viruses.

What do I miss from my Windows environment? Pincipally, my beloved ACDSee photo viewer, and various music composition programs, and Photoshop.....but there are Linux alternatives, perhaps not as advanced yet, but perfectly useable.

I don't miss Bill Gates and co breathing down my neck, trying to think of ways to get me to buy something else. Building booby traps into their software so I have to buy the newer versions. Deliberately designing obsolescence into the applications so they cannot be used after a couple of years.

And I like the Ubuntu desktop background, it is calming and somehow human.

End of rant, I promise.

OH, but did I mention, IT IS ALL FREE!