Linux Success Story

My father has been using an Atom based PC for some time now, it's a modest system specification but it matches his needs perfectly. The system is an ASUS EEEBOX which is about the size of a paperback novel.

Spec:

• 1.6 Ghz Intel Atom CPU
• 1 GIG of RAM
• 160 gig hard drive
• Wireless and Ethernet
• USB 2.0

After about 12 months of use the system started suffering from 'slowing' performance under Windows XP, as an example it was now taking around 7 minutes to boot into s state where XP could run programs. The system was well protected and after the following diagnostic steps no error or problem was found.

• Spyware/malware/bot/Rootkit scans
• Hard disk optimisation
• Optimisation of startup programs (remove unneeded staryup apps)
• Registry clean
• Check of updates of software,firmware, bios, drivers

The performance problem seemed to be related to XP but all the normal culprits were not to blame, I decided to backup his data and reload the OS from scratch.

I am a Open Source advocate and suggested that my father tried out Ubuntu as a desktop OS and use the open source equivalents of the Windows Software he used.

I placed the 10.04 LTS version of ubuntu on the system, gave a small training course to my dad and let him loose for week on the system.

The results were impressive, his feedback is highlighted below

• Very fast system response in the GUI
• Online banking and other sites work well in Firefox and Chrome.
• All excel and Word documents work perfectly with OpenOffice
• The simple Linux gnome games were to his liking as a casual gamer
• Printing and scanning via his Canon Device worked perfectly
• the quality of audio from the system was really improved as windows suffered from an audio 'stutter'
• Microsoft outlook is easier to use than Evolution for email
• DVD's played back perfectly via his USB 2.0 DVD drive
• Was i sure this system software was free of fees :-)

The only change i have made to the system since was to install the 'Cairo-Dock' application to add a Mac-OSX style dock to the system which in my opinion improves the app window management and app launching better than the standard ubuntu desktop.

My father is over 80 years old and enjoys using his home computer for basic home office work, accessing the internet and likes simple desktop games such as cards and logic puzzles. Also he enjoys viewing DVD's on his computer. Ubuntu 10.04 really has met and exceeded my fathers computing needs and provided a performance boost over XP, this configuration has now been in place 3 months with great success.

I do really think that Linux is a viable desktop for home use for the most basic of users, ubuntu is friendly and seems to allow the user to grow with the system as his/hers experience increases with usage.

I use Windows XP in my workplace in a large corporate and it performs well and rarely lets me down, however there is a team of IT professionals who maintain that desktop environment, for the home user when things go wrong or problems occur there is very little choice when it comes to getting help. The linux community however provides lots of help straight out of the ubuntu forums this again helps out users like my father.

Overall i do think for the most basic of users that a Linux desktop is the best choice.....however i do appreciate it may not suit everyone's needs.