Let's face it. I'm not your typical Linux user. I am not a computer programmer born with a silver laptop in hand; I am not one who constantly needs to be on the cutting edge of technology; and I don't really have much against Bill Gates (though I think he should share his wealth [with me!] a bit more).

However, after your computer needs to be rebooted two to three times daily just because you ran your browser, you begin to wonder if you are using the operating system which best meets your needs.

Enter husband.

My husband has been a supporter of Linux since before I knew him. Through our chats, I became aware of this OS, what its strong and weak points were, and the almost "cult following" of users who would rather poke out their own eyes than use a Windows machine.

Still, I was hesitant. For all the good that Linux can do, you still often are limited by the lack of gaming and applications software available, and by the "not-so-user-friendliness" that comes along with it. I was especially leary as I am a web designer and feared that I would not find another program quite as good as PhotoShop.

Still, I was fed up with the amount of reboots and interuptions in my day, so shortly after we were married, I had my husband install a version of Red Hat (the distribtion that he believed to be best at the time).

While I used Red Hat for a few months, I was not very impressed with it. We had quite a few hiccups with the software and the programs and I was left feeling almost as frustrated as I was with Windows. So, I figured, "What's the point?"; and once again I became an MS droid.

Months and months and several thousand reboots later, I finally reached the end of my rope with Windows once again. My husband was now using Debian GNU and was having ample success with it. As I was about to throw my computer out the window, I once again asked him to set Linux up on my machine, this time using Debian.

Joy Abounds. Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank You Debian, I'm Free At Last.

I have been using Linux solely now for approximately three months and am loving it! The Debian distribution seems to be easier to use, even for a non-computer-geek like me!

What I love most about Debian is the apt-get feature. This time around, I am not quite so dependent on my husband when I need to upgrade or install a new program. I feel that in the short time that I have had this OS, I have come to feel almost comfortable with it and am beginning to try new things (features and options) with it on my own.

In short, if you are fed up with Windows, make the switch! It's not quite so hard as you would think, and you can really get many of the programs that you used with Windows.

Also, in three months, I have had Debian Linux crash *3* times, all due to memory and partition problems.

The Bad.

If you really want to use Linux, make sure you know of someone close by who has installed it successfully. From what I hear, installation can be quite tricky and painful if you are a novice like myself.

Side Notes:

Web designers, fear not! There is a program available for Linux machines called "The Gimp" which is a very close equivalent to PhotoShop. I create all of my web pages with it and find it very simple to use and lots of fun!:)



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