I am because we are. Think about that for a minute.

OK. Done thinking? OK.

While in school I was kind of married (just engaged?) to Windows–not simply because it was what I was used to, but because there were things I HAD to have it for (connecting to online tutorials that required IE, for example). I always swore that once I was done with school, I’d dump Windows. My stance was hardened by my time with Vista, which I used from December until my job ended last week. Vista, while pretty, had so much bad in it that I wanted to both puke and put my fist through the monitor. (Are you sure you want to put your fist through the monitor? Please click Yes. Are you sure you want to click Yes? You do not have the rights to click Yes. Please contact your administrator. Error. I’m soooooo slooooooooow. Put more RAM in me!!!)

Well, today marks the day of computing freedom, as I have officially switched from Windows to Ubuntu Linux. I don’t see a reason to ever look back. As Microsoft continues to emded DRM in Windows, and Apple tries to maintain its hardware/software lock-in, with Ubuntu I’m given the freedom to use whatever software/hardware configuration I choose, in whatever way I choose. Best of all, I have a wealth of free, legal, software right at my fingertips, 95% of which is installable with just a couple of clicks (no need to scour the web or illegal file-sharing networks).

That’s my credo. Much has been said about the intellectual freedom of open source software, so I’ll leave it at that. Instead, I’ll tell you what I’ve done to pimp my Ubuntu.

Technical Stuff

I had some trepidation about switching to Ubuntu on my everyday machine (a Dell Inspiron 700M), mostly because I had had a few issues installing it on my server (an old Gateway). I had several requirements beyond your normal office/web stuff: I wanted a decent BitTorrent client, a Flickr Uploadr, an eMusic downloader, and a program launcher. I also had to be 100% certain that my Creative Zen Vision:M, my Canon SD800IS camera, my Cruzer Mini thumb drive, my SD card reader, and my external monitor would work. Lastly, I needed to be able to access all my old files on my NTFS external drive and my Windows partition, be able to network with my server (also running Ubuntu), be able to detect and access my wireless network, and be able to run my laptop at its native resolution–1280×800. “Impossible!,” I thought. “Not so,” said we.

So, here’s the run-down:

• Screen resolution: I have a widescreen laptop, so it wasn’t supported out of the box. However, there is a package in the Ubuntu software reposititories that gave me the resolution I needed AND enabled my external monitor at 1280×1024: sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-intel
• NTFS read/write support: To access my old partitions AND my external drive, I needed to be able to read and write to NTFS drives (NTFS is Microsoft’s file system). No problem. Installing Automatix did the trick, as it has a one-click install of an NTFS mounter (ntfs-3g, I believe). I also installed ntfsprogs (sudo apt-get install ntfsprogs
  ) and ntfs config to make sure everything is kosher.
• While in Automatix, I also installed Azureus (BitTorrent client) which also downloaded Java, VLC (my favorite video player), all the multimedia codecs I will ever need, and Beagle, a desktop search engine.
• For my MP3 player, I installed gnomad2, which interfaces with my Zen Vision:M. (sudo apt-get install nomad2).
• To upload images to Flickr, I installed jUpload. Word on the street is that KFlickr is good, too.
• To download from eMusic, I installed eMusic/J, which works like a charm. Word on the street is that eMusic has a better, cross-platform downloader in the works.
• To quickly launch programs (like Launchy), I installed katapult (sudo apt-get install katapult).
• I had already installed Samba on my server, so connecting to it to share files was as simple as browsing the network.
• Digital camera: it just worked!
• SD Card: it just worked!
• Thumb drive: it just worked!
• Wi-fi Card: it just worked!

Conclusions and Discussion

Linux has this reputation–that you have to be a superhacker to get anything to work. I am pleased to report that I had an easier time setting up Ubuntu than I did Windows. Reinstalling Windows XP on my Inspiron 700m required me to go to a separate internet-ready computer and scour the Dell website for 7 or 8 different drivers, download them, burn them to a disc, and then install each one. Then I had to go to many different websites and download the software I needed.

Everything except my desired screen resolution worked out of the box with Ubuntu, including, amazingly, my SD card reader and my peripherals. Everything else I detailed above–eMusic, Flickr, NTFS support–was just gravy.

If its not obvious, I’m pleased as punch. The most amazing part of this whole experience was how quickly everything works on Linux. It took me maybe 20 minutes to install (compared to four hours for Vista last December), and boots and shuts down literally 4 to 5 times faster than Windows XP. I can’t imagine what will ever compel me to go back to Windows. It doesn’t even seem worth it for the occasional Photoshop job. GIMP, while not nearly as good as Photoshop, should be sufficient for most quick editing jobs.

Believe it or not, the thing I’ll likely miss most is Office 2007 which, in my humble opinion, is Microsoft’s best product to date.

Ciao!