(Original Ubuntu System)
System Specifications
OS: Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10
CPU: 2.40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad
RAM: 2030 MB DDR2 PC2-5400
Display: Nvidia Geforce 7600-GS 512 MB

In October of 2007 I was perusing the web and came across Ubuntu, and found it quite interesting. It seemed like a neat Idea. I had considered trying to dual boot Redhat in the past but was always too scared for fear of screwing something up. Well for a while I just sort of read info and didn’t install anything. At income tax time (approximately February of 2008 ) I bought a new Rig the most powerful computer I had ever owned (Specs listed above).

Somewhere in between my Ubuntu discovery and rig purchase I had read about virtualbox so now that I had a system I could actually run it on without tremendous lag I decided to give it a go. I found an article which walked me step by step through how to setup virtualbox with Ubuntu. At the time I believe it was Ubuntu 7.10. I really enjoyed the experience and I’ve since installed numerous Linux operating systems on virtualbox just to try them out, however I always come back to Ubuntu. Eventually I grew tired of the limitations you have when virtually running an operating system and decided to give dual booting a try on an older computer, and I loved it. Actually it wasn’t a dual-boot I used Wubi and installed Ubuntu that way on my husbands computer. It was my first experience with compiz as you can’t run that in virtualbox. I love how I’m able to completely customize my desktop experience without handing over more money to some third party company. The availability of software is also another plus, I love how if I need to be able to do something all I have to do is search the synaptic package manager and/or Google to find the features I’m looking for

The only reason at this point that I keep windows is for games (I really hope this changes I would love to see more big name game developers give love to Linux operating systems). I can pretty much do everything else on Ubuntu. Including working on my websites with dreamweaver thanks to wine. I also enjoy the speed I have Even the older computer feels fast again with Ubuntu running on it.

My number one reason for loving Ubuntu though is this. I did have some hardware issues initially when first dual-booting Ubuntu and I all I had to do was a few Google and forum searches to fix them. The community support is phenomenal, and in all the time I used windows (we’re talking all the way back to the beginning here, my first computer had dosshell on it) I have never had the great sense of community and support that I get from the Ubuntu community!

So all in all I would say my experience has been quite positive and I look forward to many years of happy Ubuntu computing.