Ubuntu Sat. Jun 17th, 06
So, I totally dumped Windows XP down to an old 20GB HDD and installed Ubuntu Linux “Linux for Human Beings” on my main drive, as my main OS. Ubuntu is a word which means, as I have heard it: “I am because we are”.
It has sister projects, including Edubuntu “Linux for Young Human Beings”, which is designed for schools and students. I burned a LiveCD of it to take a look at it. You’d have to spend hundreds of dollars to get that much educational software on a Windows or Mac machine. And if you were trying to put that much software on multiple machines in a school, it would cost thousands. Plus, the kids can’t rewrite the software, or improve it, when it’s closed. Which is why the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project rejected Apple’s offer of free copies of OS X–it’s not open.
I was a bit worried about installing it because there are so many detractors out there. Especially since I connect to the internet via a wireless card. But, I didn’t even have to try. I had downloaded Flock and was surfing minutes after the install was complete.
Windows XP came out 5 years ago. Vista won’t come out until next year. Ubuntu has new releases every 6 months. Or, if you don’t want to update that often, you can install a LTS (long term support) release, like the one that’s out now.
Right now I’m trying to decide whether I want to put non free software on my system. How idealistic am I? MP3 is not free.
It would be a bit of a hassle to use *only* free and open software.
Welcome to Ubuntu. Hope you visit my blog more often.
well, why not dance the two dances, one of idealism and one made up of the reality principle–there’s no reason not to. and, certainly, to exclusively use free and open software would isolate you in a way that is slightly counterintuitive–in relation to free and open software, and the web in general.
i liked your post.
I just totally dumped too. But it was more like buckets than Windows.
A strange friend from my school program picked me up a copy (requested) of Dead Kennedy’s “Bedtime for Democracy” in LA as a return favor for feeding her cats. Anyway, I’ve listened to it like five times in the last day. I feel so punk. But all these references to South African aparthied and Regonomics, movies like Red Dawn and Iron Eagle, make me feel old. I remember buying this as a new release when it came out in 1986. Actually, a lot of the material is still quite relevant.