Truth about switching to Linux/Ubuntu
Following the post on Mac, this is an interesting post that i saw..
People will help you for no reason
I spent a day last year in the centre of London with a bunch of other Free Software fans, giving out information and CDs to members of the public. One guy asked “Why are you doing this?” to which I replied “Because I want you to try Free software”. I am not alone in this, many people around the world give up their own time to help others learn how to use Ubuntu and get the best from it.
You’ll be able to ignore most viruses
I don’t run an AntiVirus program on Ubuntu. There I said it. Arguably, due to the lower market share of Ubuntu on the desktop, and the robust and well thought out security model on Ubuntu, there are almost no viruses to speak of which could successfully compromise a well maintained Ubuntu desktop. Viruses just don’t exist in the same volumes as they do for Windows.
You’ll have some “ah-ha” momentsIt’s not difficult to be amazed how easy things are in Ubuntu. For example to install an application there is often only one place one needs to go - the package manager. Generally it’s a simple matter of choosing the software from a list. Ubuntu will download it, and any dependant packages or libraries and install it all. putting a handy icon in the menu for it. For removing packages it’s just as easy as installing and can remove the dependent packages too.
You’ll regret your purchase - of Windows, but you’ll get over it
Most computers these days come with Windows pre-installed, and paid for. Once Ubuntu is installed, either by dual-booting or completely removing Windows, you will regret that money you paid for Windows. It didn’t take me long to remove Windows completely from the first computer I dual-booted. Maybe you could call up your hardware vendor and try and get a refund. Maybe you could put that money towards a new toy for yourself, or even donate it to a good cause.
You’ll be amazed at how much there is to modify
If you want to. Some people use the system as it is, out of the box. Others like to tweak their system to make it look “just so”. With Ubuntu you can do either. The system is installed, ready to go, but has many hundreds of options for tweaking this, optimising that, tuning the other, to allow you to tailor your computer to work the way you want it to. Pretty much everything is fair game for modification in Ubuntu, which can make Windows and Mac OS X look positively rigid in the flexibility.
You’ll actually rarely have to reboot
With fantastic stability and tools like suspend and hibernate, I can go for very long periods without actually needing to reboot my Ubuntu computer. Even after installing additional software or updating existing packages, it’s rare that a physical reboot is required. There’s almost nothing that actually requires a reboot of the computer. If an update does require a reboot of course Ubuntu will tell me, but I can usually safely dismiss and ignore it for days with no adverse effects.
