Today, for the first time, I am updating my blog while using Ubuntu. 3/4 of you are probably saying, “what took you so long?” while the rest of you are wondering what Ubuntu is. Ubuntu is a graphical, Linux-based operating system. It’s also completely free — and not only is it free, but it comes with a complete suite of free utilities and applications, such as Gimp (similar to Photoshop), OpenOffice (similar to Microsoft Office) and of course an Internet browswer and e-mail software.

While I’ve just barely scratched the surface, so far Ubuntu handles exactly like Windows, making switching intuitive. Left-clicking/right-clicking on the mouse does what you would expect it to do; the keyboard shortcuts I’m familiar with work here as well. Things have different names (“notepad” is now “gedit”), but essentially everything is “different, yet same.”

The disadvantages of running Linux, other than my own incompetence, is that most us us don’t live in a Linux world. It’s like my dad used to say about old modems. “There were two kinds of modems: Hayes, and Hayes compatible.” Right now, and for a long time coming I assume, I’ll be in “Windows compatible” mode. I know what I need to do, I know how to do it in Windows, and now I’ll need to figure out how to do it in Ubuntu. As a fan of DOS batch files and VB Script I’m looking forward to the powerful command line hiding under this sleek GUI.

So why switch to Linux? So far, I’ve heard four reasons. The first is because of its image. People thing Linux is “cool.” The second reason is because Linux does things that Windows can’t do. The third reason is because it’s free. The fourth reason (and the one I’ve heard the most about) is because Windows/Microsoft sucks.

That being said, why doesn’t everybody switch to Linux? Well, for one, most people have an awful lot of Windows-based programs that aren’t going to natively run. There’s a learning curve associated with switching to anything, and to be honest, the status quo generally prevails in things like this. Even though there are thousands of exploits and bugs associated with Internet Explorer, guess what — I run it, because that’s what comes with Windows and that’s the icon that was placed there for me to use. Switching to another browser would be quick, painless, and free, but every time I load a new machine Internet Explorer is there waiting for me, so that’s what I always revert back to.

Will I replace my main machine at home with Ubuntu? I’m not sure yet. Right now I’ll keep this test box around until I feel a little more comfortable with day-to-day activities. Baby steps, and all that.