[Lawrence]

Initial reaction?

WOW.

I'm at home accessing the site on a so-so DSL connection and there is 0 load time of any web site (EO too) that I have hit.

Going to try moving some DV files from my camera now...more to follow.

[davekc]

I'm using XP and staying with that until the fallout. Don't like the Vista. Too slow.
Don't know much on the Linux systems? I know mapping is an issue and I don't the my PC miler and other software will run on it?

[slc634]

I dual boot Ubuntu and Vista on the work laptop ( Alienware Aurora M9700 ). Vista is hugely bloated, but it does run Street Atlas with the GPS just fine. We drive a B unit so SA is fine for us.

On my personal desktop I also run Ubuntu and a virtual install of XP. The virtual machines available in Linux are good and getting better all the time. Most of them can run anything windows can run just fine. I simply find Linux much more useful overall. I can host sites, run a server whatever I wanna do with it.

[Jack_Berry]

what do you expect when every os from ms is still based on ms-dos? when you build on a weak foundation you never get a strong fortress.

[ATeam]

From Information Week:

"Last month, Dell shipped a pair of systems loaded with the latest version of Linux available from Ubuntu. The Inspiron 530 N desktop and the 1420 N notebook feature Ubuntu 7.10 and a built-in software DVD player.

"Demand for Linux systems is such that some retailers are selling out. Last year, for instance, Wal-Mart for a time couldn't fulfill orders for Everex's $199 gPC.

"What's behind the growing interest in open source computing, long the preserve of self-styled computer geeks? Linux's increasing popularity among mainstream PC users may in part reflect a backlash against Microsoft. The company's new Windows Vista OS has failed to capture users' hearts and minds, let alone their wallets."

Full story

For those who don't know about Ubuntu (yes, another geek word), here is a brief explaination from the Dell web site:

"Ubuntu is one of the world’s most popular open source operating systems. Ubuntu is a Linux-based operating system that is community developed, updated regularly and offered for free. Designed to be user friendly, the Ubuntu OS comes with built-in software for office productivity (i.e., word processor, spreadsheets and presentation applications), e-mail, calendar, chat, web browsing, photos, and more."

Linux-based operating systems come in several flavors. Ubuntu is one.

[greg334]

Actually Phil that is only part of the story, a correct summation could be;

Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

See the good thing is that Ubuntu is supported by rich guy, Mark Shuttleworth who believes in the same thing many of us, Open source should not be a commercial venture but open and free. He has laid down the rules and has provided money to achieve a OS that works. The project looked at all the different types of Linux distributions and made sure that they don’t follow other’s mistakes. A few of the others have either commercial purposes or lack in proper project management that causes the OS not to be the best.

For those who are interested in finding a Linux system go here - Distrowatch


If you want to look at Ubuntu



I heard the number one OS that is used today outside of Windows is PCLinuxOS