Originally published August 20, 2012
Today’s page comes from a book we’re revisiting: Jemile Holland. This colleague, who recently announced that he’s “crossed over” – replete with a 25” iMac and MacBook Pro at home – introduced me to Ubuntu software years after another tech guru had exposed me to Knoppix. For the technologically challenged, Knoppix (knoppix.org) and Ubuntu (ubuntu.com) are graphic user interface flavors of the Linux operating system. So after visiting him on the job last week, I ran home and delved into Ubuntu, installing it an old laptop (this laptop from which I’m now writing this).
My recommendation, which closely parodies his assertions about Ubuntu, is for anyone who wants a computing experience that parallels any Windows experience, while costing significantly less, can install a popular Gnu-Linux system (like Knoppix, Fedora, or Knoppix), LibreOffice (a Microsoft Office alternative), and a choice among numerous software packages for any need. By the way, my next new-laptop purchase is a no-brainer since I will be replacing its software with Ubuntu, LibreOffice, and a few other favorite gems I’ve discovered from the Software Center. No pressure. No cost. Try it today. See how long it is before you make the leap. Meantime, share your low-cost/no-cost software stories in comments!
Update: Of course, I’m now writing from a Linux Mint-based laptop, pasting these archived posts from the LibreOffice document to which I had copied and saved them from the original blog in which this post appeared in 2012. Perhaps I will share in a new post the free open-source software (FOSS) titles I’m running on my Linux Mint system. And in sad news, I’ve shared in an earlier Reclaimed post that my good friend and former colleague JH has since passed away. He is missed.