Well it appears that no one cared if partitioning my drive and switching to Linux permanently removed my presence from the 'Net. But it's all good cuz I'm back anyway!

I installed Linux within windows. When I boot up BIOS asks me which OS I want to boot with. Guess which one! Linux! I will list a few things that I've noticed that are differences that I love. But I definitely prefer it infinitely!

1) SPEED! Even though the speed is reduced a bit because I've installed it along with Windows it is still much faster. I click on an application button and the application takes far less time to load than anything did in Windows.

2) Security. One reason that Linux is far more secure is that everything you do that requires a change to your system's settings requires you to enter your administrative passwords. This keeps trojans/viruses/etc from making changes automatically in the background as they would with Windows.

3) Built-in apps are more useful to me so far. I've used Bittorrent on Windows to download some stuff but I've had two particular downloads that wouldn't even start. Just 20 minutes ago I found that Ubuntu Linux comes with a torrent app bundled. I added the two albums I've been trying to download for two months now and they're both almost halfway done. OpenOffice does everything that I would have used Microsoft Office for however I never used Office because I didn't have the money for it. But since Linux is free..so is everything used with it.

4) more games! haha Instead of 3 standard games with windows there are a whole bunch in the Linux download including two of my faves (their versions of) Frank's Same Game (which got me through a lot of college classes) and mahhjong. Not that this is a huge feature but it's just more to add to the awesomeness.

5) So far I am really enjoying Pidgin which is basically the Linux version of Trillian where you can log into accounts of different IM services through one interface. Such as I am logged into my AIM, Yahoo and ICQ accounts right now. They offer more networks than trillian plus they offer features for free (as its all completely free) that you need to purchase an upgrade in trillian to access. Although, they do still have a few features they need to add to Pidgin. But with Linux and Linux-based components, you can be sure that they are at work nonstop to release better features.

There really is so, so much more but I'm just figuring out how many awesome things there are. I will be sharing more as I go.

Aside from that...not a whole lot going on except for...GO PHILLIES! They won their NLD series against the Brewers in 4 games and now advance the the National League Championship Serious (NLCS) against the LA Dodgers in an attempt to advance to the World Series! Oh hell yeah.

I am so excited! I'm cereal! (Yes, a Southpark referecence).

I'm out for now to see what else my computer can now do!

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On a different subject: oh yeah, it's October out there right now. Quite chilly without the breeze. Damned chilly with the breeze. Almost cold, even. But it's sunny with a blue sky. And I'll definitely take it over the heat/humidity (heat index) we've had. Not complaining in the slightest. Simply stating that it actually feels like Autumn out.

Now for the portion that was a cause for the subject. Before I go to work tonight I think I will try partitioning my drive in preparation for the "switchover" on my PC and may get much farther than that. I am not sure how far I'll get due to the Phillies playoff game which starts at 6:07PM but I will get as far as I can.

There are just two tough spots which I hope won't cause my system to die. One: the partitioning of my harddrive into three partitions and two: installing and setting up Ubuntu (Linux) one of of the other smaller partitions. But hopefully by tonight or tomorrow I will have two OS's on my system.

Now, in response to Silver-dot-'s question I will just state a few simple reasons why one may be better off moving over to Linux. 1) Far more secure and stable than Windows. 2) FREEE! 3) usually vastly superior tech support. There are many forums where knowledgeable users hang out who are quite friendly and helpful. The OS itself is created by similar people who offer the product for free. It is greatly appreciated and they inspire these knowledgeable users to help other new users out. And I intend to be one of them. I will have a blog or site going about everything involving the switchover. I want to prove to people that there is not just a viable alternative to Microsoft products, but better.

Aside from Microsoft creating/releasing buggy code (and this isn't referring simply to Vista...I'm talking every product released) there are other reasons. I do not personally hold too much against them no matter how much money they own. A product was created that everyone believed they needed and that is great business sense. However, it isn't true. If Linux developers can work together and release an entire user-friendly Operating System, then why should you pay Microsoft hundreds (and definitely more is possible) for the same thing..with extra bugs and errors thrown in at additional cost?

Windows comes standard on so many new/used computers. It has become a standard. Just as everyone thinks of all adhesive bandages being "Band Aids" and all cotton swabs as "Q Tips"...Windows has become the end-all and be-all in computer operating systems. They know of nothing else. And they hear tech savy computer users talking about something else such as Linux and think that you have to be an advanced user and/or "techhead" to use such a thing. They feel that it is beyond their scope and skill. True, partitioning and installing...sound menacing. But when the resources are available to make it relatively simple and safe and you end up with a better system all you need is guidance. That is what I hope that my site/blog along with other sources on the 'net will be.

I know that I can't afford to throw down over $100-200 because my OS disc got lost when I moved and it's aggravating that it's the basics of Windows code that is causing the problem. So instead of PIRATING a cracked or serial-keyed version of Windows I will go with a system that actually is free-of-charge. Gotta love Open Source!

But my site/blog (whichever it ends up being) will give explicit differences in use and performance and how to customize your Linux installation and just anything and everything else that I find to be better about it. Of course, to be completely fair, I will mention anything else that I may find to be better in Windows. My hope is that Linux developers will see what we think may be better about windows and implement them in Linux and vice versa. If you have the money...go the way you want whether it IS better for you or you are just more comfortable with how it is now.

But I want to show those are fed up and deal with a bloated, bogged-down and often virus infected PC because they do not know that there are alternatives.

But please pray with me that I will be back shortly and have plenty to tell. Hopefully I will be right back immediately following. But if I should be gone for a little while...I will be back asap. But I think that I'll be fine. Just wanted to leave this short-term computer suicide note just in case it tries to take the easy way out =0)

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