Using Linux

I have been using Linux such as in Ubuntu for about a year now. I have always used Windows before because that is what was on the computers when I bought them. When I started looking for programs that would do things that I wanted to do, I soon discovered open source. There are a number of open source, free ware and shareware programs that run on Windows. I have used email programs such at Thunderbird and various other pieces of software over the years. As I became more and more aware of the open-source community, I eventually became interested in using Linux. I first tried it in a virtual window inside Vista, then I tried the cd install and tested it. I wasn't sure it would do everything that I thought I wanted to do. What eventually pushed me over the edge (so to speak!)(it was more like 'coming to see the light of day!) were comments left by Randy Noseworthy on questions I had left on various social networking sites and the podcaster Larry Bushy and his cohost Tom. I first heard Larry on Computer America and then on his own show, "Going Linux".

When I first installed Ubuntu 9.04 on a second partition on my Dell Notebook also running Vista, there were certain things that I decided that I needed to be able to do in order to keep running Ubuntu. I will mention a few in this post.

I had just purchased a USB Mercury Connect, basically a mobile Internet card with A&T& service. In Vista it would install in about 20 minutes and then would work fairly well. Later, sometimes when plugging it back in it would have to reinstall itself all over again. Another 20 minutes gone. When I first plugged it into Ubuntu 9.04, a window popped up asking me about 3 questions. When I answered them it just started working. And it worked very well, especially in 3G areas. Beat Vista and the 20 minute installation all to shards.

Of course all the internet stuff I did before still worked here. Firefox as the default browser wasn't too bad, though I was never a fan of it. Google Chrome installs in Ubuntu and works just fine if you aren't afraid of Google. Konqueror as an alternate open source browser works very well but I have a few issues with it. It doesn't save passwords and open some of my pages automatically like FF and Chrome do. And I still have a problem with, like when clicking links in Facebook or twitter, it will always open a new window in Konqueror instead of a tab even though I had that setting checked in the preferences.

I have come to like Evolution for my email client, along with its address book, calendar and integration into the Ubuntu desktop.

I have tried numerous Twitter clients but the one that I always come back to is Choqok. I even tried Tweetdeck which I used to run in Windows and it runs just fine on Ubuntu, but I still come back to Choqok. Gwibber is nice and has some nice features, including it's integration into the Ubuntu desktop but....

I have been using Open Office in Windows for years already so that was no problem. It runs well in Ubuntu, I think it runs faster in Linux than it did in Windows.

I had been held hostage by Quicken for years as I liked the way it worked. I didn't upgrade every year. But when I had switched from XP to Vista, there was a required upgrade. I tried out different open source options and finally settled on Gnucash which is very Quicken like. Although it could use a few more features, I am happy with it and will never go back to Quicken.

I had a Google Reader account but eventually switched to Akregator for my news reader. I like the way it works although I wish it would rearrange the entries to ABC order.

GIMP beats anything I ever paid money for in Windows. Of course I never had bought Adobe photo software. From what I hear from others, GIMP has to be getting close. A bit of a learning curve there but I do a lot with that program now.

When I learned that you could install the KDE desktop along with Ubuntu and have the ability to log out of one desktop and onto the other, well, now I can run Gnome, KDE or Vista, depends on what I need at the moment. KDE installed some features that are not available in Gnome but now i have the best of both worlds. Nautilus is a very nice file browser and got even better in its current release (2.30.1) with the ability to split the pane. You can't batch rename in Nautilus but you can in Dolphin as well as convert a whole folder of photos to any of the other common formats. I wish I could do the convert thing with audio files in Dolphin, but I haven't quite figured that one out yet. Try any of this with a standard Windows install....

Of course some programs that I thought I couldn't live without I ran in Wine. It wasn't quite the same as running it in Windows (for most things) or by running a similar program that does the same thing in Ubuntu. One example of this is PowerBible. The open source option is Bibletime which runs very well. I found out now that it runs in Windows as well, but I don't need that option anymore. I have used TaxAct for years (download from www.taxact.com) but it wouldn't run quite so well under Wine.

For work I use an Intermec handheld with Windows Mobile and specialized company software. I have to use Vista to connect the handheld to the company server and transfer the data that needs to transfer. I think it can be done in Linux but I haven't put everything together for that yet. I can access the server on Ubuntu using rdesktop. This is almost the only reason I boot into Vista about once a week. Otherwise everything gets done in Ubuntu better, faster and with more satisfaction.

Oh yes, I also use a scanner several times a week with paperwork connected to work or whatever. I plugged my Canoscan scanner into Ubuntu and it just worked. In Windows I would have to find the drivers CD or even with Vista I would have to search the web for the correct driver as there wasn't a driver on the CD for Vista. Now I just plug it in and use Xsane or Simple Scan. Simple Scan is default with 10.04 and I found that it works quite well although Xsane has more options that can be set.

The same was true with printers. I have an HP LaserJet P1005 that came with all kinds of software for installing in Windows. Without all that software, Windows couldn't print to this printer. But in Ubuntu, plug it in, answer a question or two, and you are ready for printing. When I first upgraded to 10.04 earlier this month, it downloaded a plugin that HP is providing for Linux. But it wouldn't print right. I finally uninstalled the plugin and the printer, disconnected myself from the internet, plugged the printer back in and now it works just fine (without the plugin). Why would I ever want to go back to Windows and all the crappy install procedures when all of this stuff just works on Ubuntu?

Basket Note Pads quickly took the place of evernote (I don't use it online anyway). Rhythmbox quickly replaced Itunes for me. It is the podcatcher of choice right now although I have used Hpodder quite successfully for a while. Took a little bit longer to discover how to use the builtin webcam in this Dell, but then I found Cheese. And again, it just worked. My wife has a home business and needs a lot of labels printed. PrintShop prints labels and more, but not as fast and easy as Glabels. Another win. I didn't have as much success with the default Brasero disc burner in Ubuntu, but K3b to the rescue. I use DeVeDe for making DVD's with menus. Kino and Avidemux edit most of the videos that I need to edit. Audacity does most of the audio work that I need to do. And the Software Center is always there if I need something to do another job I come up with. Recently I wanted to make a slide show with some features. I tried different open source solutions. I ended up Videoporama which made a nice, highly configurable slide show with music.

Oh and the games. I am not a gamer, but I like to play Freecell and Solitaire. Sometimes I even try Sudoku until I fall asleep. These are all in the default install of Ubuntu. And many more are available in the Software Center. My 5 year old grandson knows this, and he really loves the games I have downloaded and let him play. He told me that as soon as his Mom buys a new computer he is going to bring it to me so that he can have all of those games as well! Not sure what is Mom is going to say about that!

I have rambled on further than I thought I would when I started this post. There are days that I thought I would just go back to the default install of Vista on this machine....but when I started remembering all the things Windows has done to me...I always become very happy with my computing experiences on Linux. This just works, and if for some reason it doesn't, you can try something else until it works.

My advice to others is this: If you like Windows stick with it. Linux is for people who like to think outside of the box, who don't like to be told what to do by companies like Microsoft and Apple, and for people who are willing to try new things on their computer. It is a freeing experience. But if you like to whine about things that you don't understand, by all means stick with Windows. That way you will have something to whine about.