Some of you may read that headline and say “Well whoop-de-crap.” For those of you who have either never tried linux because you were afraid it was too difficult, or for those of you who had hang-ups from a previous attempt to run linux, Ubuntu is the distribution that just might one day make a significant dent in the desktop market.
As an IT professional, I can say most major vendors and ISPs will not give you any help or tech support when it comes to using their product or service. However, there is a huge community out there that will help you try and figure out anything and everything you’d ever want to do with Linux.
Those of you who are thoroughly confused as to what I’m talking about right now, check out this Wikipedia article on Linux.
I’ve been an off-again on-again Linux user for about 10 years now. My experiences have ranged from “totally awesome, makes me feel like an ubergeek” to “That’s it! I give up. I’m going back to Windows.” But the last experience I had was with Ubuntu, and it completely changed my views on Linux not being for beginners.
You can pretty much do all the same things you do in Windows in Ubuntu Linux. It’s one of the most user-friendly, company-supported free operating systems out there. If you’ve got an extra computer lying around, or you’re comfortable with terms like “dual boot” or “virtual machine,” then give it a shot. Otherwise, make sure all your files are backed up and you’re okay with wiping out your Windows partition.
Ubuntu even has a friendly Windows-based installer that can help you all the way through to the Linux Desktop. Download Ubuntu Linux 8.04 LTS (Long Term Support) “Hardy Heron” at Canonical’s web site.