This weekend I made the switch, leaving Windows behind. Sure, those Get a Mac ads are ever-so charming, but I did not switch to OS X – I’m not made out of money 😉 I switched to Linux – specifically Kubutnu 7.0.4 (aka: Feisty Fawn), the KDE-powered version of Ubutnu Linux (which uses Gnome). I chose KDE over Gnome because KDE, to me, seems more full-featured. Hell, even Linux creator Linus Torvalds recommends KDE over Gnome.
I installed Kubuntu on my desktop PC at home and decided to keep Windows XP on my laptop for the time being. But for the desktop PC, it’s all Linux all of the time. No dual-booting – just Linux. Before eradicating Windows from the hard drive, I did use the VMware Converter to create a virtual machine of my (now former) Windows desktop. This way if I ever absolutely need Windows on my desktop (most likely for .NET/IIS/SQL Server development work), I can run it from within Vmware Server as a virtual machine.
Switching was surprisingly easy and there isn’t much that I’m missing out on in Linux. All of my hardware was detected properly, and the ability to read/write to NTFS partitions works flawlessly in Feisty. Apps like Firefox, OpenOffice and Skype come in Linux flavours, which is welcoming and familiar. Otherwise, I have found a Linux-equivalent for almost every other critical app that I use on a regular basis. I think I prefer Kopete to any other multi-protocol instant messenger. Amarok, which discovered my iPod right off the bat, seems better-organized than iTunes. Quanta Plus doesn’t leave me missing Dreamweaver. KTorrent is a suitable replacement for µTorrent. The only thing Linux lacks is support for PC games; it can’t compare to Windows. Yet I have no problem with that, since I haven’t done a whole lot of PC gaming lately. And besides, when it comes to gaming, that’s what I have a Wii for 🙂
I’ve tried Linux on the desktop before in the past and it’s always sucked. I remember having a bitch of a time getting anything to work in RedHat Linux 5.1; here’s some proof. But I’ve been watching the Ubuntu distro and it is extremely good, and I figured it’s a good time to take the plunge. I love not having to worry about virii or malware like spyware and trojans. It’s great to be able to install software from one location (Adept on Kubutnu/Synaptic on Ubutnu) and always have it kept up to date. The kicker is that it’s all free 🙂
