Is Linux ready for real users?

I have been playing around with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux for the past few days.

While there are many different distributions of Linux, Ubuntu seems to be winning in popularity at the moment. I have even seen a license plate in the area with Ubuntu on it. Can someone in Internet Marketing rely on Linux for all their needs? Is Linux ready for prime time?

I have tried Linux in the past and not found it up to my needs.

I tried several versions of Linux. Red Hat and Fedora, Mandrake, and others that promised to be easy to install. None ever seemed to work on the hardware I had to spare. If they did work, lack of software, buggy software, difficulty in installing programs when actually found, or other problems just made the whole thing kind of useless.

Ubuntu installed easily.

Ubuntu Linux even worked! Not that I made it easy, I have it installed on an external drive, just to complicate things (and keep my Photoshop computer all intact).

Then came the real big surprise with Ubuntu and Linux.

There is software available! I knew about Open Office. What else is there?

• Gimp for image editing (I still cannot get used to this thing though)
• Open Office for MS Office compatibility.
• DVD, CD and digital music and video support.
• Some very good games.
• Amaya HTML editor.
• Lots of good free software.

I found some big differences from the last time I tried Linux.

With Ubuntu I found:

• Easy software installation and management
• Huge amount of software that is completely free
• Quality software (free software that competes with anything commercial)
• Security
• The coolest user interface ever (way better than Mac OS X)

Is Ubuntu or Linux suitable for an Internet Marketer?

I think so. There is a comparable software package for nearly every use I can think an Internet Marketer would need. Website development, PDF creation for ebooks, and even audio for podcasts are all easily handled with Linux options. There is even a video editing program available (I haven’t had a chance to look at this yet). There really isn’t much it can’t handle.

Is Linux and Ubuntu in particular perfect?

No. I have not seen any OS that is perfect (sorry Mac fans that includes your OS too). While Linux software seems generally much better than free or open source software for Windows, some are a bit more unstable than I would like.

Even Ubuntu has had a few problems. I need to point out that running an OS from and external USB drive is not ideal and the problems I have had occurred doing things that cannot be even done with Windows or Mac as far as I know.

Would I drop Windows and switch to Linux only?

Almost, but not yet. Major commercial programs are not generally available for Linux. I think if Photoshop and Dreamweaver were made native for Linux you might see it’s popularity soar overnight. These programs have a following stronger than any OS. For me, nearly everything I would want is available on Linux except the major games like Counterstrike (I have a weakness for CS and the Rainbow Six/Rouge Spear games were responsible for my building my own first PC).

Who would I recommend Linux only to?

Someone who is a bit short on income. Ubuntu and the other Linux distributions are a free OS. Microsoft Windows itself is a big chunk of the cost of a new computer. I was always surprised to see Dell servers for $400 and Windows Server to run on it at $800. Desktop windows is much less, but still Vista Ultimate can run almost $300 by itself. You can go a good ways towards building a computer alone for that much. The average computer user really only needs a browser and simple office software. If you happen to be in the science or engineering community, I think Linux is probably even more appropriate with all the software created for those uses available.

Is Linux a real option for Internet Marketers?

Yes. Especially since most Internet marketing uses rely on the browser not on software. FireFox is available to Linux. Firefox with plugins is the basis for nearly everything for many bloggers and Internet marketers. Add a HTML editor like Amaya and the PDF ability in Open Office and other programs and most needs are covered. Just like your average user, a browser and office software are solve most needs.

The cool part is you can do a little test and see if Ubuntu or Linux is right for you.

Download a Live CD ISO and burn your own copy to test Ubuntu. Ubuntu will even send you a disk free if you have a slow Internet connection. Check the options at the Ubuntu website. You can boot from the CD and run Ubuntu without making any changes to your computer. You won’t get the full functionality, but you will be able to see how it works.

I was truly impressed by Ubuntu Linux.

After running it off an external drive on my desktop, I wanted to give it a try on my laptop. I burned the 64bit Ubuntu Live CD and was surprised to see it work very well just from the CD. It even seemed a bit faster than my 32bit Windows XP installation (except when it had to load stuff from the CD). I have ordered a new larger hard drive for my laptop and plan to run multi boot Windows XP and Ubuntu on it. I can see myself using Linux primarily and only using Windows as a backup. I definitely am feeling pulled farther and farther away from the Microsoft Windows world.

For the Mac OS X lovers.

While Linux programs and some graphic problems will give OS X an edge in reliability, from what I have seen of OS X, the Linux desktop seems superior. The Linux desktop has flexibility and functionality that just has to be seen and used to appreciate. If a PC hardware company set out to work its hardware and Linux together like Apple does with its OS X, Apple could soon be in trouble. At its core, Linux is just as reliable if not more reliable than Mac OS. Perhaps sometime I’ll cover the Hackintosh experiments.

This post was made entirely from Ubuntu Linux.

Using WordPress, of course. I am using a Firefox 3 beta. Graphics were from Ubuntu. The screenshots are from my Ubuntu desktop. I used Gimp to resize the images. I listened to some movie themes on internet radio using BMPx while typing.

Give Ubuntu a try, because you may be pleasantly surprised.