I haven't used Linux since college (1994 - 1998). I attempted getting it running on a spare box at home a few years back but had some issues with the installation. Now I'm at it again and got the Ubuntu distro installed on a Virtual PC on my laptop.

I'm not sure why I decided to try out Linux again... sheer morbid curiosity I guess. Part of me is interested in learning the Apache web environment and the related development technologies. But what really hit me aftear installing it was the benefit of open-source applications. From Ubuntu's package manager I was suprised to see so much stuff available to install from development tools to multimedia apps to office software. The screenshot above was created, edited, and uploaded all from within Ubuntu using default and downloaded software. It kind of hit home that aside from hardware I could build a PC for free.

Granted, you can download a LOT of free Windows software too, but the Linux distros make it pretty easy. Ubuntu has a giant catalog of all the stuff out there you can browse (I don't know what other LInux distros have), and it doesn't rely on the user to run a setup.exe or MSI. The packager just takes care of it. Me being a technical user I don't mind running an EXE or MSI, but I'll admit it was nice to have the packager do the thinking for me.

I talked about this with Nikki and we discussed why we would or would not use Linux at home. Basically it came down to the fact that we already have a significant investment in Windows software (e.g. Visual Studio .Net, Adobe/Macromedia authoring products, and my audio tools). But for the simple user who just surfs the web, checks email, and writes a document from time to time then there's no question they should consider Linux and potentially save hundreds of dollars on software. You'll immediately save at least $100 on the OS. MS Office will cost anywhere bewteen $100 and $700 depending on how much of it you get.

I'm sure those folks out there who are already familiar with Linux are laughing at me. I'm realizing now what was evident years ago. Oh well. I was just pleased and suprised at how easy it was to get the OS set up and to find and install new packages. Unless my job and work environment completely change I don't see myself using Linux more than Windows, but for the time being I'm enjoying exploring what else is out there.