I have been using various Linux flavors for several years now.  My first was Red Hat 7.0 and since then I have used probably a dozen other distros.  I’m currently dual booting Ubuntu 9.1 alongside of Windows XP.  It has always been this way.  No matter how much I have liked any specific distro I have never been able to completely escape Windows.  The reasons weren’t always the same, but varied from lack of hardware support, Software needs to miscellaneous annoyances.

With this latest release of Ubuntu it seems that I may be able to finally make the shift to a 100% linux user.  I am able to use Dreamweaver along with a few other important apps in Wine with no apparent problems.  In addition to that I have also setup an installation of  Windows XP in VirtualBox just in case I have a need for it.

The installation was extremely simple and straightforward.  I followed through the prompts with no issues.  Ubuntu even allows you to import files from another operating system if you chose not to overwrite it during the installation. Overall, It’s pretty solid.  I would suggest that everyone pick up a copy of the live cd here and give it a shot.  You can run the cd without installing anything.  This way you can test all of your hardware with no risk of losing anything!

If you like it then you will have found a free, more stable, more secure and more customizable alternative to Windows.  If not, then you haven’t lost anything besides the cost of the blank CD.