I’ve used Linux before, quite a bit actually. During my college studies for Computer Science, I used for Linux exclusively for 2 semesters on my laptop and desktop. After graduation, however, I’ve been working at a company that uses Microsoft operating systems and business software.
My favorite Linux distribution is Ubuntu. It’s easy to install and setup, it’s easy to maintain with apt-get for updates (and a graphical update manager). There’s even tech support if I have issues. There aren’t many distros that will support their OS outside of a forum community. Ubuntu has a document that helps in the transition from Windows to Linux. I’ve decided that I’m going to approach this project from a “new” Linux user perspective to see if I’ve missed anything learning how to use Linux as an everyday OS from just hacking through it before. My wife has never used Linux, so going through this stuff will probably help her get used to it as well.
Here’s where I’ve gotten in my switch:
- I have started working at home on organizing my data so that backing up and transferring it will be quick and (hopefully) painless.
- I don’t think that use any proprietary file formats that are not supported on Linux.
- I use online services like Gmail and Gcal for organization, so Windows applications like Outlook, etc aren’t necessary on Linux.
- I think my biggest concern at this point is getting my photo printer to work.
Something that I would like to do before completely switching is setting up a file server to serve my photos and music through NFS when I’m at home. Setting up automatic backups is another thing that would be nice to figure out before switching completely as well.
I have a goal of switching completely over to Linux before soon after Ubuntu 7.04 “Feisty Fawn” is released sometime in April.
