(There is now a follow-up article to this post: R.I.P. – Windows XP, Part 2 ^[1])

I have now spent two weeks using Ubuntu 8.04 exclusively on my home PC.  I have booted to XP only once, and that was to check a Photoshop 6 quirk I was getting in WINE.  (As it turned out, it was a Photoshop quirk, not a WINE one.)

But I tell you what – that one boot to XP reminded me why I switched to Ubuntu in the first place.  XP takes 5 minutes to load, 5 minutes to launch Firefox, and EVERY FRIGGING ACTION seems slow-motion compared to Ubuntu.

After 2 weeks of Ubuntu user – including rabid installation/uninstallation of every program imaginable – I can still go from a turned off PC to browsing the web in 30 seconds.  Firefox cold-loads in 2-3 seconds.  OpenOffice.org is up in less than 5.  A full-blown, compiz-enriched desktop (with transparent window borders, animated window buttons (on mouseover), burning window open/closing, organic windows) runs without so much as a stutter.  DVDs look great, my mp3 collection sounds pristine, Photoshop 6 on WINE is just as good as PS6 on XP, and I’ve played more PC games in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last 2 years.

It’s true that Ubuntu has some quirks for the user switching from XP, but I’ve found these quirks to be a byproduct of 15 years of Windows use – not any inherent problem with Ubuntu itself.  In fact, once I get used to the Ubuntu way of doing things, they’re almost universally better.

I have debated for 3 years making the switch to a linux distro, and after 2 weeks of making the switch, this is all I have to say:

Goodbye Windows XP.  May you rest in peace.

(Read more about Ubuntu at http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/desktopedition ^[2])