The three coming together
A month ago I bought a netbook (Eee PC 1000HA) from a friend for a very reasonable price (thanks a lot Chris!). After exclusively been using Mac hardware for about 4 years, I am now once again in possession of a PC computer. To summarize my feelings; I’m loving it! I feel like I’ve joined the game again and also like I’ve become slightly more free. Free to use whatever OS or software I’d like. Sure, I am able to install and use Windows on the Mac, but it’s slightly more problematic to do and with Linux (or other POSIX systems) even more so.
I immediately installed Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.04 on it and have been enjoying my new system ever since. I feel especially excited to finally be back on Linux again. Five years ago I used to use Debian as my primary system, so in some ways I feel like I’m finally back home again.
The new version of Ubuntu is a joy to use and is very much suited for first time users and is in my opinion easier to use than Windows 7; updates and installation of new software cannot be more simple, it beats Windows and OS X hands down on this point.
Nevertheless, I am now looking
for a Linux system I can have more control over and I have recently been playing around with Arch Linux in a VM for this purpose. I think I will replace Ubuntu with this very soon. Arch Linux provides you with a very basic installation without a GUI, so it is up to the user to build it up and put it together to their own likings. I always want to learn more about how the OS works and I think Arch Linux can be very helpful for me on this point.
I am also very happy to now have a netbook due to its portability. I no longer hesitate to bring it wherever I go and it’s very nice to sometimes work and study from a cafe instead of from the too familiar and uninspiring place called home. I was previously thinking about getting an iPad, but have now, due to my newly acquired netbook, given up any thoughts about it. When it comes to doing real work and freedom of usage, iPad can unfortunately not compete with a PC.