Ubuntu to the rescue!

I have been toying for some time with the idea of installing Ubuntu (oo-BUNT-too, a Linux OS) on my older laptop computer. So, last week, I did just that.  So far I am impressed. It is very stable and very fast (reboots in under a minute!!).  The only problem I am having is that, to date, I have been unable to get the Ubuntu machine to "see" my  Windows OS machines on the home network. They can see the Ubuntu machine, so I am sure it is some setting on the Windows machines that needs tweaking.

At any rate, one of the things I like about Ubuntu (aside from the fact that it is FREE) is that it comes with just about everything you need on a computer.  Firefox browser is included along with an office suite called Libre Office, which is almost a duplicate of Open Office, the suite I use on my Windows computer. Both are compatible with MS Office; and both are free. There is a good music player, a DVD player, a photo viewer, an application called Ubuntu One, which is very much like iTunes. You can purchase music, and it allows you to store everything you need in the cloud and sync with mobile devices.

In addition to all of that, there is an app store with various kinds of programs that are either free or priced under $10 (most under a dollar). I will admit that there is a bit of a learning curve, although, for those of you familiar with Mac, there are a lot of similarities, since both systems are based on Unix OS. So, all in all I can't find anything about this OS to complain about. I'm sure there is a fix for my network problems; I just have to find it.

Ubuntu, like other Linux OSs, is open source software, which means that anyone can make changes to the software, without fear of copyright infringement.  It is this open source feature that makes the software so inexpensive.  The Ubuntu community as a collection of individuals is constantly developing and improving the software as a labor of love, so there are no stockholders who have to be paid to support the work (although, you can donate to the cause, if you like).

If you are a computer geek (I am a very minor geek), this OS may be just the thing for you. Even if you are not, but you would like to have one computer that can do everything you want on a stable and speedy platform, give it a try.

NOTE: I am not a sales rep for any OS, and no gigabytes were harmed in the writing of this post.