But Linux is for servers, right?

I can’t tell you how many times I’m asked that question.  Or worse…”Hey..is that a MAC?”…”That must be the new Windows 7, right?”

No, its Linux…running on my laptop.

<rant>
And yes, I’d always considered Linux a server operating system.  I mean, I’m a systems administrator…never really used a window manager (that’s a small w, Microsoft…I’m not using your product’s name) under Linux as they always seemed cheesy or had risks I didn’t want or need on a server platform.  All that changed a few days ago when I got so fed up with that product who’s name I didn’t use just now that I decided to take the leap.  I mean, what changed was that I no longer consider Linux to only be a server operating system.  Desktop/laptop users…read on.

So good reader(s), how does a command line guy decide to put Linux on a laptop?  Easy.  I went with what I knew…decided that since I run CentOS on my servers, I’d do that on my laptop.  As usual, I hit the forums and mailing lists to read about potential speed-bumps or worse…and immediately decided not to load CentOS on my laptop (a Dell 9400/E1705, which originally shipped with the media-center edition of that M$ product).

More research led me to a Debian derivative called Ubuntu.  Ok, says I to me, I’m going to dedicate 3 hrs to install and configure this disto on my laptop – in that time I want the core OS, updates and wireless to work.  If I can do that, I figured I’d won.

Enter the most pleasant computing surprise I’ve experienced in recent years.  25 minutes to install from CD…and Ubuntu 8.10 was installed…and wireless worked <get this> OUT OF THE BOX (figuratively speaking, of course, as there was no box..I’d downloaded the ISO image for free from the Ubuntu.com website).

I’m still amazed at how well this distribution determined and configured all of my hardware.  CD/DVD-RW, Bluetooth, WiFi…it just all..um..worked!  Linux…that just worked without tweaking (much).  Sure, I did have to do updates, but that’s to be expected.  But it friggin’ worked…this has always been the complaint of entirely non-technical users when it comes to Linux. Too much had to be ‘tweaked’ or ‘figured out’. This just worked.

Considering that I got a fully functional, rock solid Operating System, a complete Office Suite (OpenOffice) and the ability to add a myriad more applications if I choose, I consider the price (FREE!!!) to be a bargain and a half. Oh, and add to that that the exploits for malware and viruses (virii?) that are so ever-present in that ‘other’ operating system have no place in Linux…out of the box, its more secure.

Downsides?  Well, as I mentioned I’m a RHEL guy, so learning the differences between yum and apt-get, as well as re-learning why sudo <command> works differently on a Debian derivative were curveballs, but not downsides.

I’m wholly impressed…and for an operating system to impress me is, well, impressive  (if I do say so myself).
</rant>