Recently i’ve decided that, if linux (in this case, Canonical’s Ubuntu) was good enough for alot of people out there, it might just be good enough for myself.
To be honest, I’m quite tired of windows XP, not because i don’t like the OS (because i do) - it’s ergonomical (something i really appreciate), logical, easy to use, no command lines are required, overall, offers me a great experience.
Up untill the moment when you need to re-install it.
Windows XP is fast, quite fast… when you first install it. Then, as the days go by, you install software, you remove software, anti-virus runs every day, updates for this, updates for that, and, before you know it, it’s becoming bloated, slow, choppy, useless!
Sure enough, you can get more software to clean the mess it does after himself, but that can bring you more harm than good.
Softwares like ccleaner and a thousand other apps you can use, can keep your system tidy and organized, but, during that process, it can also delete necessary files to keep your system bug-free. At least, this was what happened when I’ve ran these softwares myself - soon after cleaning my computer, software i had installed asked for missing .dll files, error windows came out of nowhere, etc,etc…
I could be doing something wrong. But, if i was, and i’m not an expert - just savvy enough - i reckon alot of people are as well.
Given the situation, i’ve decided to test drive the latest ubuntu release. I’ve always heard that it was one of the most user friendly linux distribution in the “market”, so, for a begginer, i though i would give it a go.
And, as soon as i’ve installed it, i’ve realised what the hype is all about. It’s good looking, ergonomical, fast, easy to use… brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. I got amazed at how easy it is to work with.
Remember that big “All Programs” list under the Start button on windows? Forget it. Ubuntu is organized, it keeps it’s apps under categories, e.g., OpenOffice Calc and Write under Office, games under Entertainment, etc..
It’s also ready to use, as soon as you install it. No need for any more apps, you have productivity apps (the mentioned OpenOffice), firefox, an email client, games, everything. Even comes with a handy installer, for you to download and install apps with one simple click.
One thing, though, that really amazed me, was the driver support the OS has. Wireless card, bluetooth dongle, USB mouse and keyboard, graphics card… ready to use, out of the shelf! Absolutely brilliant!
I must say, i was (and still am) amazed with this distribution. I mean, can you believe it is free?
But then, i had to benchmark it to see if it could really replace windows XP.
From a web designer point of view, my main concern was “Can i run Photoshop CS3 under ubuntu?”.
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Song: Heartbeats
it’s just a wonderfull platform to work with, what can i say?