Lucid Lynx(A Real Alternative to Windows)

     Now, I'm not an operating system fanboy.  I use Windows primarily, because of its wide standing support and because most of my business stands on fixing Windows computers.  And I'm not really of the persuasion to say that Windows is going to die because of some 'next big thing'.  But at the persuasion of a ZDnet article that I read, I decided to download the latest release of Ubuntu Linux.  All I really need to say is, Wow!
     Now, my wife gives me weird looks for thinking that an operating system can look sexy, but believe me, compared to previous Linux distros I've played around with, this looks absolutely stunning.  The amount of thought and polish that went into the system this time around is amazing.
     Then, once you move past the new shiny look, there's the interface.
     I've personally installed the last four versions of Ubuntu on varying computers, and upgraded to the latest version on at least two of those systems.  I will say that it wasn't the best experience.   Prior to Ubuntu 10.4, there always seemed to be a bug in whichever system configuration I had running, and it would always keep the install process from flowing smoothly.  But with Lucid Lynx, I can say that the most problematic system in my network installed it smoothly. 
     And, I didn't have to spend the afternoon installing it either.  Ubuntu 10.4 installed faster than any other operating system I've dealt with, and with the least amount of knowledge about computers.  The install process really has taken away the mystery and fear behind installing your own operating system.  Rather than the old DOS looking installs of yore, you get a nice, polished window system that asks minimal questions and just gets the job done.
     On top of that, installing new programs is even nicer that before.  I've always praised Ubuntu for its easy of installation when it comes to programs listed in their repositories.  (I've still not tried installing anything from a .debian installer, so verdict is still out on whether or not this has improved.)  But this release of Ubuntu has really re-worked it.  With a vastly improved menu system, and a greatly improved organizational system, finding the right program to do what you want has never been this easy.
     And the integration of social media into the very operating system had me at hello.  The easy way you can set up any of your already existing accounts with any other e-mail or social network platform shocked me.  Its almost as easy as just signing in.  You choose your platform, for IM I used my MSN account, and type in your sign in and password, and voile, your in.  It was just as easy to connect to my gmail account.
     All in all, this update to Ubuntu has sold me.  I'm in the process of migrating most of my production software over to Ubuntu, and once we've given the system a test drive with all wheels rolling, I'll know for sure. (As a final note, this entire blog post was written while operating under Ubuntu.)  So, heres to the possibility that I may never go back. ^-^