Ubuntu: Down the Rabbit Hole and Loving It

I game on my home computer, but my laptop is purely a work laptop. I use it for e-mail, docs, programming, music and movies/tv on the bus, bluetooth, wireless, meetings, etc. It doesn't have a great video card, the HD is a bit slow, and the processor is definitely tuned down to match and save power. It's ultra-portable, not ultra-awesome.

However, a couple of weeks ago, I was fed up with using it as a paperweight while I waited for it to boot and then login to WinXP. It's a Dell D430 and while it isn't the fastest kid on the block, it's lightweight and extremely portable for what it has built-in. Bottom line, for work, it gets the job done. At least once it's up and running. And even then, it slows over time, as XP does.

Since I don't game on it, I thought I'd give Ubuntu a try on it. Logan's laptop at home has been Ubuntu for over a year now and hasn't had any issues. It's a 1999 Dell boat anchor but even it runs pretty snappy with Ubuntu. I did some research for my hardward because the worst thing you run into with Linux is hardware incompatibility. I found a few useful links (see below) to help overcome my "required list" of needs and learned workarounds for the rest (which, surprisingly, were very few!). I even booted off the LiveCD to make sure at least most of my hardware was detected. It was and in most cases, functioned better than XP with the latest drivers installed!

I have to make a comment here about our work environment. It hasn't, in the least, been configured to support Linux machines or Laptops as everyday work computers. For some things, I am still required to use IE or Active Directory. It's just the way our IT has evolved over the years. Luckily, I work for the biggest virtualization company in the world and getting VMs/hardware to use remotely from my Linux environment is no problem once connnected to the network. I decided to make the leap. Switch from XP to Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex).

I set aside time on a Saturday to do it, backed every thing up and formatted the machine the night before. Some minor glitches right away with the wireless card (new driver solved it) and multiple monitors (learning curve and now solved). However, from format to stable was about half the time it usually takes me to get drivers done for WinXP for this particular machine. I couldn't believe it. Also, all of my favorite add-ons for Windows are either included in the OS (have you tried the disk analyzer in Ubuntu yet? Amazing), not needed at all (virus protection, disk defragging, AutoIT scripts), or were a simple, repository based add-on. Unbelievably simple.

In fact, the whole user experience thus far has been nothing short of miraculous. This OS simply works. It's faster (20 seconds to boot, 20 to log in even AFTER all apps are installed). It's safer (better security and NO viruses). And it does everything I did in Windows without issue. I'm still learning what's going on under the hood, but to be frank, this OS doesn't require you to ever really get that deep. It just does what its supposed to and you do what you're supposed to; use it.

It's been a liberating experience. In fact, every time I game or use my home XP computer, I'm feeling a bit like my arms have been cut off at the ankle. Granted, it's a MUCH faster processor, has 2x the ram, and a smokin' video card so it can run circles around this lappy without much problem, but even then, the laptop beats it every time in any standard OS function (boot, load, shutdown).

Verdict: Ubuntu for the win.