I’m 2 Steps Away from Becoming a Digg Fanboy
June, 2007 marks the date I officially switched tribes and joined the Ubuntu crowd.
As far as I can tell, Ubuntu is an African word with no direct translation, but which embodies the concept of “being completely inscrutable, yet self-congratulating and better than Windows”. The truth is that it is a distribution of Linux, favored by many due to its easy install, and similarities to the Windows environment.
But why go all the way to Linux from my previously favored WinXP? Glad you asked…
To be honest, I saw the release of Windows Vista approaching and realized that I was getting sick of playing a (small) part in the empire-building of Microsoft. As much as I had hated the switch from my trust Win98 to WinXP, I had learned to live with it after a lot of slipstreaming CDs, backups and tweaks. But Vista’s DRM-pushing, close-to-spyware using, sanitized like a mental hospital hanging from a cliff feeling just wasn’t going to cut it for me. So what if it’s pretty? Nothing runs on it and it will mark every file I create as illegal.
So why not go with a Mac? After all, they’re powerful, chic, nerdy and they look like a hip young rock star. Here’s where things get complicated.
I have a serious dislike for laptops. I’ve never been able to find a laptop which fit the bill for a computer I could actually work on. I need lightweight, power, small screen, excellent keyboard, durability, battery-life…the list goes on and on. I’m a laptop snob. There is only one line of laptops on earth that I will buy and use, and that is the IBM Thinkpad.
I love my little Thinkpad. The keyboard is great, the battery and weight are good. Also high on the list is the thumbstick, which is tough to master at first, but once mastered, makes a touchpad feel like drawing in the sand with a stick.
I need my desktop and laptop to sync fairly effortlessly, and because IBM doesn’t make a LeopardPad, I had to shoot the middle.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have my trusty copy of XP dual-booted (although I haven’t seen the familiar green ‘Start’ button in weeks). I keep it around for one reason, and one reason only: Battlefield 2.
The switch to Ubuntu wasn’t bad, the three biggest sticking points being syncing my iPod (done with Amarok and patience), enabling the ‘Back’ button on my MS Intellimouse (done with some extra drivers), and disabling my on-board sound in favor of the SoundBlaster 5.1 card (accomplished through some text file editing and a reboot).
All in all, the switch has gone great, and it’s only getting better as I play with Compiz/XGL effects and customizing my computer through clever use of Launchers and Terminal.
I think Windows Vista could be greatest thing that ever happened to the Linux community. More users = more options.
Why not come over for a stay with the tribe?
on June 18th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I like you style partner.
It reminds us at times when things look bleak, that a glossy coat of paint will only makes us die looking shiny. Or rather, computers were invented out of design and desire, not just something that gets downloaded without your permission and overwrites your hard disk.
I have no deep dark problems with Windows, but I am interested in lightweight solutions that lie elsewhere. I (hope) believe in the near future broadband and home servers will replace hard drive driven OS’s and turn computers into powerful kiosks. But I don’t have a developer, so I guess I’ll have to give that idea to someone else.