I'm a lifelong Mac user, and I've been using Linux as a hobby on the side since '98. I've enjoyed building PCs from the parts bins at Fry's, and usually have installed a Linux distro, starting with Red Hat 5.0.

Nowadays, I'm up to Red Hat 9.0 (and buying the generic CDs from Linuxcentral rather than the pricey boxed distros). I'm particularly fond of the Ximian XD2 desktop and app suite running on RH 9.

Previously, I always worked on my Mac, and just putzed around on the Linux machine. Since about Red Hat 8.0, though, I've been able to get serious work done about as quickly as on the Mac - writing, editing photos, building Web pages et al. The Galeon browser, a Mozilla variant that ships with Ximian XD2, has both a tabs feature and toolbar windows for direct Google searching and dictionary lookups that make it a fabulous researcher/writer's tool. Virtual desktops mean I can keep a couple projects going at once and just switch between them - and Linux' stability means I rarely have to worry about losing open files in crashes.

The tortuous Linux stuff - configuring ever-changing system config files, for example, is beginning to be hidden behind GUIs that make it more like Windows or Mac. Indeed, one of the biggest drawbacks to Linux is the very techy way configuration apps tend to describe options - the user-friendliness could take a hint from Mac and Windows, here.

But, truth be told, I'm making a living from my Linux desktop at least part of the time these days. Impressive how quickly Linux has improved, driven by legions of Open Source developers: interesting to see what's coming next...
Comments 11:51:14 AM    

Chris Gulker's view from Silicon Valley - in words and pictures