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Thanks Paul, I got that. But there are plenty of other users who have wireless access points on this provider’s service. Why do the two different routers I have tried (both very sophisticated) not work, but others do? There has to be a setting somewhere that I have overlooked.

Ha Ha! Thanks for the comments guys. Feel free to use/”plagiarize” my disclaimer. I am very direct and so I get a lot of hate. I have a habit of trying to ward it off pre-emptively.

I have been dual-booting Ubuntu with Windows 7 now for several months. Prior to this I dual-booted with Windows XP for several years.

Before I give you my perspective on this I feel I must first give a little personal background. I am a former IT industry insider. I have held a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification since 1998, and hold certifications in several other IT areas as well including Genesys, Cisco, Proxim, and others. Now, take a deep breath and let that sink in for a minute.

Since the very first version of Windows, I sought better. Windows is bloated, insecure, unstable, and expensive in any and all of it’s iterations. I use it simply because it’s marketplace ubiquity make it necessary. I dual-boot with Windows simply because my job requires me to have access to it.

For every real need I use Ubuntu. Ubuntu is no more difficult to use or learn than Windows. It offers everything that Windows does and more. Ubuntu installs in 15-20 minutes flat with 1 reboot. Sure to get the most out of it you have to tweak it a bit, but you have to do this to Windows as well. Even with the streamlining and simplification that Microsoft tried to build into Win 7 it is still more time consuming, and troublesome to install than Ubuntu.

Ubuntu includes Firefox and Thunderbird which are my browser and mail engine of choice, and these are faster and more secure in Ubuntu. In almost every way Ubuntu is superior. I had no difficulty at all learning to use it, and it looks every bit as slick and pretty as Windows (better in fact). If you just play around with it you will find that you like the Gnome (pronounced “Nowm”, not “GuNowm”) desktop as well as the Windows desktop. If you really really want to, you can use many MS applications in Ubuntu (such as those stupid gadgets/widgets on the desktop)

Here are two examples of things you can do with Ubuntu that you cannot do with Windows (there are many more);

1) In Ubuntu, you can mount manually or automatically the drive representing your Window install. Then you can copy files back and forth between Windows and Ubuntu. Try booting into Windows and looking at your Ubuntu disk/files. You can’t do it, because Windows lacks the power and flexibility.

2) Now, copy a Word or Excel document from Windows into Ubuntu, open the document with Open Office and make a change. Save the document in both the MS Word format and the Open Office format and copy these back to your Windows Desktop. Now boot into Windows again and look at the documents. The Word document opens fine, and the changes are there. MS Office has no problem recognizing the changes. Now try to use MS Office to open the Open Office document. You can’t because MS Offices lacks the power and flexibility.

Both of these weaknesses are by design. It displays the selfishness of Microsoft, and the lack of concern for users. In short, Microsoft does not play well with others…they are afraid to. Ubuntu not only plays well with others, they are the STAR player.

So, why would I want or need this kind of flexibility? Simply put, people like me use it. I do not use Windows until my job requires me to. When I have to work on files sent to me in MS Office format, I can do so without exposing myself to the insecure, and limited Windows environment. Now don’t get me wrong here, I am no hater. But I am a realist, and the reality is that Ubuntu is more convenient, more flexible, more powerful, safer, and far less problematic than Windows in any of it’s forms. Yes as it has been pointed out, Ubuntu takes some getting used to, and requires you to invest in some common sense and do a little work, but the efforts are minimal and the payoff is HUGE!

Now a note on SuSE Linux which someone mentioned. SuSE was up until 2005 the best Linux distro, and has some advantages over Ubuntu. It has one major disadvantage, Microsoft used a leveraged deal with Novell in 2005 to gain control of SuSE. They were attempting to appear Linux-friendly. What they actually did was took control of a great distro so that they could reverse-engineer/ruin it. A similar tactic was used against Netscape, but this backfired and bit Microsoft in the face, and now we have Firefox…but I digress.

Try Ubuntu. Really try it, not just in a cursory, obligatory way. Sincerely try the software, and get to know it. Give it a real effort and you will find that you will view all Microsoft products in a slightly different light from then on.

Please note: This post was intended to share my insights for users who are curious and adventurous enough about Ubuntu to try using it. This post is not an invitation for you to hate, or prove some point at my expense. I will not review or reply to any rebuttal – so just assume you won the argument. You didn’t, but assume it anyway. I know that this is a forum for those dedicated to Windows, and that MS has a large number of fanatical adherents who become excessively violent at any hint of a challenge to their sacred cow. This was not an attempt to tip your cow, so be nice and get over it.