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Ubuntu: Part I – First Impression

The last time I used Linux was about 8 years back. It was for a college project. I did not like it then. Our team (or at least me) just managed to complete a Windows Explorer type application on Redhat Linux 4 (if I remember the version correctly). At that time, I just couldn't stand the idea of using Linux as the primary desktop on my PC. Fast forward 8 years. I gave some thought on which Linux distro to install. For a while, I considered Fedora because of its association to RedHat and because I liked the name “Fedora” better. But my friend and colleague Rajesh talked me out of Fedora and in to Ubuntu. I felt that I should start with something simple. Being a long-term Windows user, I thought Ubuntu will suit my taste a little better and I will always have an option to move over to Fedora when required. So, I went ahead and tried Ubuntu 7.04 live CD. It felt good and soon I installed it on a dedicated 20GB hard-drive on my computer (dual boot). When I saw the desktop, I was amazed at what Ubuntu had to offer. The user experience was remarkably more polished than I remember. I played around with different options in Ubuntu and found the experience very refreshing. Next I wanted Ubuntu to do something “real” for me. To start with at least 1 thing that I do most frequently on Windows on my home PC. I said “home PC” since on my work PC, I mostly do programming and read forwarded e-mails on Windows. I don't want to do the same thing at home – well, at least not programming. I can bear with reading forwarded e-mails. :) Anyway, from here I started moving almost everything I do on Windows to Ubuntu. I will post this up in future posts of “Ubuntu”. Till then, here is a screen-shot of my Ubuntu desktop as it looks today.   Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 10:29 PM. Comments: 0. Details Post/View comments