My 1st linux OS (about 8 yrs ago) was Lindows, which MS sued over their naming of and was eventually rebadged as Linspire. That one had major compatibility issues with lotsa hardware and admittedly had it not been for the persistence and help of a good friend, I would have abandoned it and gone back to XP. To say it was simple or easy to use would be an outright lie as it was bat-shit buggy as installed.

Then about 4-1/2 years ago this same friend did an installation of Ubuntu 6.06 (the 1st long term service version they released) for my B'day and the improvements were incredible right outta the box over Linspire.

Since then I've seen improvements in almost every new version, with new ones coming out every 6 months. Admittedly, there are usually bugs they always have to iron out after a new release, like with any new OS release, and I never switch versions after a new release comes out for several months afterwards.

I won't pretend Ubuntu is perfect, nor that I've never had any problems, as that would be a lie, but for the most part the problems I've had were self induced. With all the freedom it gives you in customizability, and personalization, it also gives you enough rope to hang yourself with at the same time.

Mark Shuttleworth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shuttleworth) is credited with having provided the financial and technical impetus for Ububtus inception and I have to say I applaud the overall ideology behind Ubuntu as a whole as I find it altruistic and forthright in a human sense as its reason for having come into existence at all is really quite admirable. Anyone interested can read more about its overall history etc. here [en.wikipedia.org]

Current best estimates for global use of Ubuntu range between 12-15 million users and it's the fastest growing segment of the operating system adoption market world-wide, though at even 15 mil, that's just a drop in the bucket of the overall world wide computer user market.

The support forums and number of power users continues to grow and as such the overall support today is much improved to what it was when I began using it. Ubuntu continues to chip away steadily at MS's user base and is on target to eventually eclipse Macs user base, but that's not the case today.


Having done several dual-boot systems for people I have come to truly HATE the PITA process a Windows installation is by comparison. The install alone for XP, even with a decently specced machine hardware wise machine is 2 hrs (min) overall and if an installer isn't familiar with the quirky pitfalls of it can easily bork an install and take waaaaaay longer! Then, after the install, until you load the software for at least the MoBo, video card, and sometimes even the monitor you're using, you're still a ways from gettin a fully functional system workin.

Conversely, I can do an install of Ubuntu on a machine in usually 20-40 minutes and if will be functional right outta the box. No need to load any of the hardware discs, just boot up n go, which is an infinitely more rewarding/less frustrating experience all in all.

Since problee 98+% of Windows users buy their machines with the OS already loaded they never go through the installation process as it's all been done before they ever even plug in the machine. If however, they ever have to do a reinstall later, they will surely see the issues I've mentioned, which is usually a good opportunity for lotsa head scratchin and utilization of nearly all the curse words in ones vocabulary before you get through it for someone unfamiliar with the process.

The only piece of hardware I have that isn't compatible with my system is a Panasonic laser printer/scanner/fax and though I periodically look for drivers, there just aren't any available. HP seems to be the brand printer most in favor by lotsa Ubuntu users and they're well supported and will work outta the box with at most just a simple semi-automated configuration process the 1st time they're used.

For anyone wanting dead-nuts reliability and a built in over riding capability to keep you safe from most of your own errors, I'll recommend a Mac. My personal thoughts are you'll sacrifice tons of customizability, be severely limited in hardware options/upgrades and pay through the nose for it as a base system and even more so if you choose to upgrade the hardware, which is incredibly overpriced compared to mainstream PC hardware! But, you'll also get back a lot of value in its overall simplicity and dependability and be reasonably safe from viral infections, though not completely insulated from them. BTW, current Mac OSes are linux based.

I tried a Mac about a year ago, liked a lot of the simplicity of operation but abhorred its safeguards as it was almost un-customizable, which as a linux user and used to such freedom, frustrated the shit outta me! I truly despised its lack of compatibility with my (open source based) music and video files and since I'd intended it as a replacement for my entertainment system, found it lacking, most especially when I tried to add in some new (better) hardware, which it straight up wouldn't run on unless I invested in Mac specific stuff, which I refused to do, so I shit-canned it for these reasons.

MS systems seem to offer more customizability, much more hardware compatibility and choices, most especially to someone wanting to build/rebuild their own machine, be mostly protected from operator errors, less expensive than a Mac but you'll also wind up runnin the most virus targeted OS on the market, with the inherent costs to the (average)user being forced to purchase and then continually update the AV software in efforts to keep your system safe and even then, at times that still will not be enough to always keep you safe as virus updates seldom come out ahead of viral threats in when they hit a system.

In my business I used to watch my Mom (a long time Windows user) go through on average a week a year fighting viral problems and every time its root was something attached in an email from a trusted sender that was at issue as they in turn sent out (unknown to themselves) infected emails that wreaked havoc on our business machine, even with her diligent efforts to keep it safe. The sheer number of emails we get from US and international sources is 100-300 per day, so the odds of viral problems goes way up in such a case, unlike that of a typical home user.

Ubuntu offers simplicity, reliability, compatibility with most all hardware, lotsa cool tricks/bells and whistles, almost infinite customization, and no real virus problems, nor have I found a need for any AV programs, though there are free ones available if you want to run 'em. It updates like MacWindows periodically and just as easily, overall costs less to purchase ($0) and maintain than the other 2, with the biggest pitfall being its freedom of customization which can lead to totally borkin the system. But ... a reinstall afterwards still has ya back up n runnin easily enough, so even idiots like myself, who manage to break their toys can fix 'em too.

The worst impact of a viral infection I've yet to have encountered after switchin my work computer to Ubuntu is that it will lock up the machine and force a hard reboot. What's really crazy is that after such a reboot I can go back and reopen the same offending email and the viral impact is somehow no longer there. I dunno how or why this works, but honestly, I haven't invested the time to find out either as I really just don't care, so long as it DOES work.

My living room entertainment system (the Antec Skeleton I posted a pic of recently) now runs on Ubuntu 10.04, plays any and very audio/video file in existence seemlessly, allows me to surf on my 50" plasma (which is really trippy lookin!) virus threat free. I also threw together an old machine, loaded 300gigs of music files and use it for just a music player in my shop as opposed to listenin to the radio and all the damned commercials. If I'd have had to invest $100 or more for just an OS to run either of these machines on, likely neither of 'em would have been built.

Anyway, these are my thoughts and observations and as always, YMMV