Well, I’ve finally taken the plunge. I’ve put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. I have converted my desktop system over to Linux.
I haven’t gotten rid of Windows yet, though. Years of reliance on Dreamweaver and Paint Shop Pro aren’t going to let me completely wean myself from the bloated, expensive, security-plagued operating system.
However, Linux has applications that closely mirror those we’ve grown used to with Windows. For instance, built into the Ubuntu install is The Gimp, a graphics editor that will do practically anything your imagination can dream up with graphical image files. There are also very impressive web editors, which I can probably also get used to.
The point is that switching to Linux does NOT mean having to drop your Windows applications.
If you have a machine that is a year or less old, you probably have the horsepower you need to convert it to Ubuntu Linux, install VMWare for free, and install Windows in a virtual machine.
Just think about what you’ve accomplished: you have relegated Windows to its place back when you called it up from DOS by typing “win” at the command line! Windows used to be a simple tool to make programs run easier in a GUI (graphical) environment. However, Microsoft has turned it into a monstrous OS that runs every facet of your PC, not always with your best interests in mind.
But say you run it within a VMWare session. If something crashes, you just close the session down and start over. Say you get a virus. You can revert to a prior healthy version of your now infected machine with a mouse click! Say you get tired of endless Windows popups for things like desktop cleanup wizards, macro warnings, and other drivel. Just shut it down, get into your Linux desktop, and get some REAL work done!
If you have the savvy to know how to repartition your hard drive, you can even import your current Windows machine intact, so it runs in VMWare and looks just you remember it!
Read the article at today’s FamilyFirst site and see if it gives you any ideas.
BTW, this article was written on Ubuntu in OpenOffice’s Writer. The experience is IDENTICAL to doing the same thing in Windows. Except, of course, I’m not distracted by popups.
http://aroundcny.com/technofile/texts/tec100399.html
