Well, I’m at it again.
I give Linux a try once or twice a year. I’ve been disappointed for various reasons in the past, however, I have to admit much has changed since my last attempt.
Ok, well I haven’t really dug in too deep just yet, but so far I’m impressed. Quick install, all hardware detected (a first for me), good performance.
I installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a AMD 3200+ with 1 GB of RAM and 80 HD. Pretty normal for a “business” PC. Not real old but not real new either.
I turned on the “Extra” under Visual Effects…kind of cool. I’m impressed so far with Evolution. A snap to configure it to retrieve my work email from an Exchange server.
Added a few addons to Firefox and installed Flash.
So far, while I haven’t done anything near what my day to day responsibilities would require, I’m impressed.
The wizards are easy, the setup was a breeze. Performance is OK. I was expecting more since most of the Linux crowd claims it is so much faster. It seems about the same as Windows.
The next test is getting the things done that my job requires of me. Some specific tools and tasks that may or may not work in Linux…I may have to find alternatives.
At least this time I’m further down the road configuring everything, installing everything, etc. No problems so far which leads me to believe I’ll stick to it longer this time.
In the past, one problem after another was simply too much and all my attempts ended in frustration. An OS to me is something that enables me to get my job done, not an end goal in and of itself. Like they say, it’s the apps that matter.
But this time does feel different. No major obstacles just yet is a more comforting feeling. I’m more positive already.
We’ll see.
P.S. Almost forgot. One thing I do not like about my setup so far…the fonts. They are horrible compared to my Windows box (what I’m used to and accustomed to).
