[UPDATE: I've since upgraded to Windows 7 and it really does improve on Windows Vista. But it's more of streamlining changes. I don't really see why Microsoft says its a brand new OS rather than an update to Vista.]
It turns out, there was still another OS very capable of providing what 'average' users require - Linux. Basically how I understand it is that Linux is the source code of an operating system. Many developers have made their own user interfaces around the Linux code. The interface I've recently been hearing about often is Ubuntu.
I've really looked down on Linux for the past years. There are many laptops sold here at a cheaper price often come with Linux as the operating system. I snobbed those models.
I don't really know why, but the news about Ubuntu in various websites and from twitter users made me curious. Without even looking at it's webpage I downloaded the installation file, burned it to a DVD and installed it.
I was surprised! What I thought was a 2nd rate OS, turned out to be a quite capable one. It automatically installs many programs to get you started immediately. There's Firefox for browsing, Open Office which takes the place of Microsoft Office and many, many others.
It boots up a lot faster than windows, it can use as litte as 2.5GB of disk space, it uses less memory, it'll run on almost any machine with ease, and Ubuntu and most of the software for it is FREE!
The only thing I'm looking for is a good blogging client, and a Linux equivalent of Adobe Indesign. If you make complicatedly long documents or you're a graphic designer maybe Linux isn't for you because Microsoft Office and Photoshop don't have Linux versions. But if you're like me who makes the occasional word document, blogs, chats, tweets, uses Facebook, listens to music... Linux is more than enough.
Sure if you want to customize you're Linux desktop, you may have to go into the Terminal (gasp) which looks like the DOS prompt of decades ago and arm yourself with programming skills. But if you not into that much customizing you'll be content with Ubuntu.
It's FREE!
(PS: This post was made purely in Ubuntu)
