Yesterday I installed Ubuntu Linux on my newly acquired Desktop. Overall, it was a very impressive experience. Here’s a breakdown of my installation/user experience so far:

1. Installation
   1. I downloaded the entire OS from Ubuntu’s Site. It was a 700 MB .iso that downloaded in 20minutes or so. The .iso file was easily burned to a CD using my iBook and standard burning software.
   2. The Newly-burned CD was recognized by the Desktop PC and automatically booted into the Ubuntu installer
   3. Interestingly point, when the system booted up, it didn’t automatically install Ubuntu onto the computer; instead, it booted into the Ubuntu Desktop GUI. This is kinda cool as it let me explore the desktop environment before commiting to the installation. I think this feature was particularly cool because users have a chance to preview Ubuntu before making the decision to partition/format their precious Harddrives.
   4. After clicking on the install icon and going through 6 steps, the system installed without a hitch.
2. User-Interface
   1. Wow, this system looks cool! Prior to seeing this system live, any mention of Linux would conjure up an images of a Terminal window or something equally boring. I must say that the GUI is pretty darn slick. I particularly like the persistent toolbar at the top of the screen, reminds me of the Mac OS. One thing to note is that I’m going to have to dive into a user-manual to figure out how to install programs; I’ve been spoiled by the Mac OS double-click and drag installers. it seems that program-installation on Linux is a little more involved.
   2. The system-themes are really nice to. You can make your system look really polished (rounded corners and gradient toolbars) or business-like (think Windows 3.11) with the Themes-setting.
3. Speed
   1. The system-boot time was really quick overall and got me to the desktop in a couple minutes. Also, the included Firefox-browser seemed noticably snappier on this system than on it’s Windows-counterpart. Prior to installing Ubuntu on this system I started it up into it’s existing OS (Windows XP) for curiosity’s sake. The speed difference is dramatic between Ubuntu and XP. I was really surprised at the snappiness of the system after installing Ubuntu; surprise was augmented given the modest system specs of this computer (Pentium III, 933Mhz, 384MB Ram)

So to sum-up, my experience with Ubuntu Linux has been entirely positive. I’m sure that there will be some frustration points once I dive deeper into the system, but right now, I’m having fun learning all the nuances of this free and robust Operating System.

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