Suissa.ca

Well I’ve done it. I have moved to Linux. Well, almost. You see, I can’t use 3D Max or Illustrator on Linux and they are two of the programs I have to have on my system. Other than that, I am done with Windows for good this time. So what is the big deal with moving to Linux? Why doesn’t everyone move over? Well, this is where we seem to get into the standard objections. What if I have to send a file to someone? Isn’t it really hard to run Linux? Won’t my computer not work with everyone else’s? Will my camera/iPod/printer/ you name it work on Linux? Linux won’t run the newest programs or hardware.

Linux used to be hard to use, all those command line entries, sudo this, apt-get install that, but not any more. Linux has come as far forward as Vista has gone backwards. You don’t worry about viruses, applications that mess up your system, or updates that come too late to protect your computer. All these are Windows problems. I’m not going to give you a step by stem on how to install and use Linux, well maybe I will later, but not now. Suffice to say, there are loads of Linux distros or distributions to choose from which tend to scare people away. I suggest you go to Ubuntu, download the latest version and use Nero on your Windows computer to burn an ISO CD. Pop it into your hard drive and try Linux right off the disk. Yep, that’s right. Right off the CD you can try out Linux, see what it is like, how it is the same or different. If you don’t like it, just pop it out and stay with Windows.

Most of these excuses, and I call them excuses are false. Think about what you use your home computer for. Really? Be serious. Think about what you really use it for. Email. Surfing the web. The occasional word document… Ah, your taxes… Saving your pictures, music, video. All of these you can do on Linux as easily as you can on Windows. You can still send files to people. Granted, you do have to use the Save As option and usually select a windows format so your recipient can open the file. And by doing so, you can still open it on your Linux system just by clicking it. You see Linux doesn’t care if it is a Windows format. It just opens it. If you write a word document in Open Office Writer and save it as a Microsoft Word document, anyone you send it to who uses windows can open it and is none the wiser of your elite computer skills.

I’ll be honest though. It is different. It takes a bit of getting used to, the same as relearning how to judge the length of your car when you buy a new one and you are in a tight situation. But you do get used to it quickly. And, you get bragging rights. I have been using Open Office for a couple of years now and have been a user of Firefox Web browser and Thunderbird Mail for years on my Windows computer. Open source, or free programs are nothing new to me, but, Linux as a full time desktop is. I have used other operating systems on and off over the years way back before windows I used Dr.DOS and have occasionally put Linux on well out dated computers. This though is the first time I have had it on a new computer that was my main system. In the past, Linux on an old computer made it faster, gave me great performance gains on a toy system. This time on a newer computer it is really fast.

My brother in-law came to me the other day and asked me if I could help him reinstall Windows onto his year old Toshiba laptop that he uses for work. I offered to put Ubuntu Linux on it instead. It took about 2 hrs to install it, update it, connect to his wireless Internet, get connected to his windows network at home for file sharing and add the free programs so he could do everything he needs to do. All this was done in a very familiar Windows style environment with a few mouse clicks and a bit of text entry. I had to select things like his user name and password… tough stuff that. Great thing is that when he goes to the library, or coffee shop and uses their unsecured wireless network, he doesn’t have to worry about anyone hacking his computer, or getting viruses on line.

I have asked my brother in law to keep me up to date on how he enjoys the system and I will be posting updates as they come in. He is a great test subject as he would be considered a casual computer user. I will also be posting my own experiences with Linux as a desktop system and as a whole home automation server as I get it installed in our house. If you think you might be interested in trying it out, there is loads of get started information on the net that is easy to understand. Below I have put a few links to get you started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
http://www.ubuntu.com
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/GraphicalInstall