It has been about a month since I started using Linux (in the form of Red Hat 9) as my everyday operating system.
I had been a reasonably happy Windows user for years, ever since Windows 3.1. However, I have long been concerned with the direction that Microsoft is taking with both licensing and digital rights management in their software. As a result, I have been reluctant to upgrade from Windows 98, or purchase a machine with a modern Microsoft operating system installed. For several years now, I have been following the progress made by GNU/Linux on the desktop, wondering if it would ever provide the functionality I want in my primary computer.
When I bought a 60 GB fixed disk for my computer a month ago, it seemed like a perfect time to set up my machine as a dual boot Windows/Linux box, and start exploring the current state of the art of Linux computing. I was surprised how easy it was to set up my computer, and then even more surprised to find out how much I enjoyed using Linux. I had been an experienced Unix user, but now I had complete control over my very own box. I am an incurable tinkerer, so I’ve broken lots of stuff since I started. Linux gives you a lot of scope for tinkering. However, I have managed to fix everything I broke (I think.) I haven’t had to reinstall even once since my initial install.
In the past month, I’ve explored different desktop environments and a variety of utilities and applications. I’ve settled on Gnome for my desktop environment, Mozilla Firebird for my browser, and Mozilla Thunderbird for my email client. On my aging (400MH, 128 RAM) system, these provide acceptable, if not stellar, response times. My machine has the bare minimum recommended for running graphical environments under Linux, so I have been pleased. Firebird is an excellent browser, even in its beta state. Thunderbird is still a little funky, but I can’t bear to give up Bayesian filtering to use something like KMail. Between Bayesian filtering by my client, and SpamAssassin on my service provider, I need to spend very little time deleting spam each day. Since I have had my email address for almost ten years, and seem to be on every spam list in the known universe, this is a major consideration for me.
A few days ago, I figured out how to get my Palm talking to Linux, based on the documentation at Palm Power magazine. I don’t use too many applications on my Palm, but I do use it as a portable data store. I have several plain text documents that I keep updated on my PC, and download to my Palm. For Linux, I found a slick tool called Pyrite Publisher that allows me to convert my text files to Palm format. Getting the Palm to work was the last “must have” for me. I still haven’t looked into getting my scanner to work, but I rarely used it even with Windows, unlike my digital camera, which I do use nearly every day.
The only remaining application without a Linux equivalent that I have to use is Quicken. So once a week, I reboot to Windows so I can update my part of the household accounts. It would probably be faster to just walk downstairs and use Jack’s machine.