Why Linux? Why Now?

I wanted to talk briefly about why I have chosen to make this journey into the world of Linux, why I think it’s necessary and what other options I've considered. I have been using windows since Windows 95, and have used almost every iteration of the OS as its progressed. It’s a solid system with a lot of huge advantages due to it’s massive user base and plethora of applications available on it. Part of the reason it has been so successful is not due necessarily to Microsoft’s efforts, but rather the thousands of companies and individuals that have contributed towards making it useful. My first action upon booting up a new windows machine has always been replacing many of the operating systems default programs. Windows media player with VLC, Internet explorer with chrome, windows media center with XBMC and the list goes on. It has never bothered me at all because Microsoft seemed to understand what it’s strengths were; maintaining a solid foundation for others to innovate on. They now seem to be straying from this trend, tightening their grip on the development process, perhaps drawing inspiration from another successful company.

A lot of you may be wondering why I don’t just move to Apple’s OSX. Certainly this would be the easiest move for me to make. As a graphic designer, most of the applications I know and love are available for the mac platform and the operating system is familiar and easy to use. If I'm being honest, I really like OSX, I find it to be a very nice user experience regardless of your computer competency. I just personally can’t get behind this company. Their “patent everything” and “sue everybody” approach to business over the past few years, along with the “you use what we tell you to use” attitude towards the user makes me very hesitant. So I am going to avoid taking that path as long as Apple continues to be a bully in the tech world.

So now on to Linux. I love the concept of a free and open platform, with millions of people from all over the world working together towards making something better. People sharing and learning from one another and creating new possibilities for those who wouldn't have otherwise had them. Linux is something I want to be a part of, something I would like to contribute to, and something I think more and more people are starting to get behind. It also seems like there is a lot of interesting innovations happening on the ARM front in the Linux world. Not just crippled versions of the distributions that can't run any of the traditional applications but the full desktop experience running on the new architecture. Check out this video about Ubuntu for Android. This seems really interesting!

The Switch to Linux - Introduction

I've had my eye on Microsoft’s windows 8 for a while now. Some of the ideas initially sounded quite promising; windows running on the ARM architecture along with a GUI that could work well on both the tablet and traditional PC form-factors. But as time went on, my excitement started to turn to worry. And after trying many of the developer previews and now the final releases, I can safely say I don't really like the new direction of windows. That's not say that there isn't some really great things about the windows 8 platform, there is, but it may not be suitable for everyone, especially those of us who might be considered "power users". This is why I've decided to begin making the switch to Linux. I want to make this transition from Windows to Linux a public and open experience, in the spirit of the open source concept and in the hope that my successes and failures may help others who are considering the switch as well.

Let me just quickly explain a little about myself. I've been working for a media company doing mostly graphic design and video production for the past four years. Some of my everyday duties include, creating advertisements, designing digital signs / menu boards, producing GUI elements for interactive displays as well as web design. I have also been doing a lot of programming and have created applications for the RCMP and a few educational institutions. I also wrote the digital signage application that my company now uses to deploy our product across North America. I am by no means an expert in the realm of programming, but I have taught myself enough to be fairly useful. I use dozens of windows applications everyday to do what I do, so this switch to Linux will most likely be a slow transition. In the meantime I will keep my Windows 7 system on hand until I no longer require it, which may be a while.

Although I have had my eye on many Linux distributions for a while I am a total noob and only really tinkered with a few so this blog will be coming from a new users point of view. In saying that I apologize to any Linux gurus who may be offended by my ignorance or terminology but... get over it. We've all got to start somewhere. I will try to talk a little bit about every step I take in setting up a Linux system and getting productive on it. Please feel free to comment and let me know if you have any tips or suggestions for a new Linux user that may have helped you in the beginning.