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It’s been a month now since I installed the Linux platform with the Ubuntu bundled package. I spent a few days tweaking things, and exploring some of the different plugins. It comes bundled with the latest FireFox 3.0.

I was very pleased with how easy it was to install. There is a very user friendly interface, with a menu running along the top of the screen. Under the “System” tab, there is a full suite of Administrative/System tools at your disposal.

There is a vast catalogue of open source software that can easily be installed simply by using the very user friendly “Add/Remove” tool. You can choose from different categories such as:

Accessories

Education

Games

Graphics

Internet

Office

Other

I must admit, this is much more user friendly than I thought it was going to be. I’ve read that in the past, the Linux user interface required some technical understanding beyond the every day user’s capabilities. However, after some recent upgrades, someone coming from Windows or Mac could easily get started.

Now with the stable release of Wine 1.0 on July 17, 2008, things have gotten even better for those wanting to make the switch to Linux. Or more importantly. the Open Source Project. No more having to pay the big software price for Window’s or Mac’s OS.

I was just recently made aware of Wine by an anonymous commenter on my previous post about making the jump to Linux. Wine is an Open Source implementation of the Window’s API. It allows a lot of the applications to run seamlessly on Linux. Applications such as Photoshop CS2, and games such as World of Warcraft. As of this writing, there are 10,336 available applications in their database. Most are reported to run without any bugs.

I will be writing an article on Wine shortly, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you’ve been thinking about trying out Linux, then what are you waiting for? Try it now. And I highly recommend the Ubuntu distribution!

Related posts:

1. Run Windows Applications On Linux With WINE 1.0
2. Ready To Make The Jump To Linux? Let’s Go!
3. Short On Money? Get Free Alternatives To The Expensive Software!