Freedom

I had watched a good movie called Revolution OS several weeks ago. It had given me a new perspective on software and computers. I have long been a Linux and FreeBSD fan, and have that general angst about Microsoft. But this made me reevaluate, once again, my choices in software. So, geeking out, I decided to ditch my beloved SuSE and look into Ubuntu. Why? Simple. Because everything in Ubuntu is classified under a license from the GNU Project which is driven by the Free Software Foundation. That means all the software is free and open source. I wrote this entry on a system devoid of any Microsoft product, which I spent $0 (legally) to install and use. And so far it meets almost all of my needs.

I could and would never go back to using Windows again if I could get Ubuntu (or any distro for that matter) to:

• Edit PDF files, not just view them
• Be able to read, possibly write MS Access database files
• Play more popular games.

Other than that I have only found 2 very minor annoyances that I can live with but if someone knows of a real fix, please let me know.

1. My external Maxtor OneTouch drives aren't being seen when using the firewire interface, works with USB
2. My Toshiba laptop display is an nVidia GeForce 4 440 Go 64M with a native resolution of 1600x1200. The 3D accelerated driver only allows me 1400x1050.

Now, for all my friends that I chat with on Instant Messaging apps, might I suggest using Gaim since it allows use of all the IM's under one interface.

Of course, most all of you will not switch from Windows. That's expected, but you can enjoy the same software I am using. Many Open Source Software have Windows versions....such as Gaim. Look around, you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality and variety of the free stuff these days.