I installed Ubuntu 7.04 a few days ago on my laptop (with Windows) using wubi. It’s my first time really looking at Linux seriously, and so far, I like it a lot. Here are my thoughts on my experience.

Aesthetics

The look of Ubuntu isn’t the most visually pleasing (of course, compared to OS X’s wonderful UI,) but it gets the job done. Although it does look a little bit like Windows, I found a broad difference when you are working in each system.

Function

The desktop is very functional. With Applications, Places, and System utilities a click away with drop-downs at the top, various utility icons in the top right corner, and a sort of taskbar/virtual desktop switcher combo at the bottom of the screen, I’ve found the desktop easy and productive to use.

Going a little more in depth with the virtual desktops, I find they make me more productive, especially on a 1,024×768 laptop screen.

Applications

I honestly haven’t used much of the bundled software yet except Gaim, GIMP, and, of course, Firefox. Since my calendar, many of my documents, and all my mail messages are contained within Google Apps, I haven’t had much of a need for any of the OpenOffice suite yet.

Versus Windows

As I mentioned earlier, I used Windows on my laptop before trying out Ubuntu. So far, it’s been easy to switch and I’m not looking back.

I’ve only ever used my laptop for simple things: browsing the web and checking my e-mail, typing/printing quick letters or documents, and chatting over instant messenger. From my few days of experience so far with Ubuntu, it does all that and more in a fairly easy way.

Conclusions

I like Ubuntu a lot better than Windows XP. I do prefer OS X over Ubuntu, however, but for a laptop I use for only simple tasks, Ubuntu is a nice experience!