It’s been about 4 years since I have start using Linux. So far, I have no regrets with my decision.

My gateway drug for Linux was Fedora. I really liked Fedora, but after discovering that there were so many other distributions of Linux, I started experimenting. Next on the list was Damn Small Linux (DSL). DSL is great for what it is, but I decided to stick with Fedora for a little while longer. Then along came PCLinuxOS. PCLinuxOS was good for a while, but for some reason, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. I think it was because it reminded me too much of Windows. What made me move away from Fedora was Ubuntu.

I’m not sure why I decided to stick with Ubuntu. I think it just felt right when I was using it. Plus, it was more compatible with my laptop and desktop. I use Ubuntu for everything. Initially, I only used it for my laptop and desktop. Now, I installed Ubuntu on my Acer Aspire One. The Netbook Remix version of Ubuntu is great. The Acer Aspire One originally came with Windows XP. Within 15 minutes of opening the box, I already had a flash drive ready to wipe out Windows from my netbook.

The real star of the show is this website that you are looking at. My website is hosted from my bedroom using Ubuntu. I have all of the necessary applications installed on my desktop, such as Apache, PHP, MySQL, GD Image Library, and ImageMagick. The only times that my website is ever down is when there is a power outage, my internet connection is down, or when someone accidentally turns off my computer.

When I was using Windows, I always had the problem of getting software. There is free software that is available for Windows, but most of the time, the free software is so bad that I end up saving up for software. This is one of the reasons why I decided to use linux.

Another reason is finding a challenge. Everyone says that you must be hardcore if you use linux. I wanted that title, so I began my venture. At the time, I didn’t realize that I have found a goldmine. I had no problems when installing linux on desktops, but I did have problems with laptops, specifically the wireless network card. I eventually got my old Latitude 131L laptop in perfect running condition. I see the problems and challenges a great opportunity for me to learn something.

The most important reason why I switched to linux is because of pirated software. In the past, I wasn’t really aware that downloading full versions of software from the internet was illegal. When I entered high school, I started wising up to all of those people that told me that they can give me software at no charge.

It wasn’t a big sacrifice to switch from Windows to Linux. I have a great office suite called OpenOffice, which replaces Microsoft Office. I use Evolution Mail and Calendar to replace Microsoft Outlook. I used to use Thunderbird with the Lightning plugin, but for some reason, I think Evolution works more seamlessly than Thunderbird. Sure Evolution does not sync RSS feeds, but I’m not complaining about that. I use GIMP to replace Adobe Photoshop.

All in all, I have everything I need with Linux and I have the peace of mind that I am not contributing to pirated software. Eventhough I’m using Ubuntu, I’ll always have a soft spot for Fedora. As with some things, you’ll always remember your first.