I've toyed around with Linux systems in the past, mostly dual-booting with Windows just for fun. However, a few recent hardware upgrades to my computer have caused my XP system to crash and require a re-install. Instead, I've decided to finally take the leap to a single Linux opsys. Ubuntu 10.04 - Lucid Lynx was my choice. So far everything I did previously in Windows, works just as well or better under Ubuntu. Here are some things I love:
1. Get this... 30 second boot time! As a long time Windows user, this makes me drool. From power on, it takes approx. 20 sec. to hit the login screen, then another 7-10 sec. after I punch in my password. The Desktop pops up and is ready to go. No more waiting around for 10 million programs to load up. With my XP system, it would take a minimum 2.5 minutes for a full boot, which was frustrating because my desktop would be up in 1 minute, but wasn't usable due to all the other programs that were loading in the background (mostly anti-virus and other microsoft junk). Ubuntu just feels so much faster and more powerful, and it's practically impenetrable to hackers. I absolutely love it.
2. 3D-cube desktop is freakin awesome. I can be doing something on one side, then spin the cube and I have 3 more desktops to play with. As long as you have a capable graphics card, Ubuntu has some really cool effects to play with.
3. Free software... and there is a ton of it. Just search using the Ubuntu software center and you can find just about anything. There is audio editing and video/graphical editing software that costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars for Windows, but it's free for Linux. It's not always the most intuitive programming, but a little effort and you've got yourself some amazing software at your fingertips.
I've only been using Ubuntu on it's own for a few days now. I've used it a lot in the past, but always had windows to fall back on if something went wrong. Now I'm diving in head first. There are a ton of other things that I love about Ubuntu that I haven't mentioned here. Also, I've grown to hate Microsoft so much over the years, that I couldn't be happier to be rid of them. I look forward to future releases of Ubuntu and the free upgrades... and fast boot times... and cool desktops... and non-evil software developers no longer forcing me to abide by their stupidness. Thank you Ubuntu.
