A couple of weeks ago, I installed the free, open-source operating system known as Linux Ubuntu. It was recommended to me by a friend. Installation wasn't as simple as I'd hoped, regarding hard drive partitions. When I first installed it, I just had to hope that it didn't overwrite my main partition. (I had backed up anyway) but it didn't appear to be very clear about where it was going to install etc. One thing I DID like was the fact you can run it from the CD to try it out before you install it. Later on, I found out that you can install it just like a normal program on your computer, and that it still lets you use it in dual-boot mode automatically.
I installed it to my laptop. (Intel Core 2 duo 1.6Ghz, 2GB RAM, 160gb hard disk) My first impressions were that it wasn't the prettiest of the pack. I couldn't stand the default desktop background and I changed it ASAP. I decided to try and find a way to make it look a lot better by transforming it completely. I did this buy installing a Mac transformation pack, as I personally love the way the Mac OS looks. It's so elegant and clean. This was much better and I was trying out other features of Ubuntu, like the wobbly windows. (They look better in real life than they do on YouTube.) I did notice, though, that even with not many programs open, the fancy CoverFlow style transitions (that substitute the Task Switcher on Windows Vista) started to run very sluggishly! It was a big disappointment. I presume that this is because I am using onboard graphics, however, I have Windows Vista Home Premium on the same machine and the Task Switcher works beautifully, even with lots going on.
Along with Windows was telling me I had 40GB less than I did, this was the final nail in the coffin really, and I decided to restore my laptop back to factory defaults!
Overall, it is an interesting concept and web browsing is nice. The Pidgin Instant Messenger is quite clean and pretty, despite its lack of function. aMSN is an alternative but it's less than attractive. Overall, I think Linux Ubuntu is a good free OS if you want to run your system with no bells and whistles, but otherwise you should just stick to Windows, in my opinion! =)
I give my experience of using Linux Ubuntu 5/10 * * * * *
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