My journey till now, with LINUX!

I have to admit. I was introduced really late. I was around 15, and thought I new more about computers than the average computer-owning person on the road. I was wrong by light years! I hadn't known LINUX yet! I knew a little about the history and how Windows came about, but as some pseudo-scientists would call it, Microsoft had monopolized my brain. Well... I am in love with Linux now. And when I see people struggling around with viruses and error messages, I haven't had a crash worth mentioning ( anything qualifies if it caused any discomfort) in all the years I've used linux, Ubuntu to be precise.Agreed, the OS can't be of much use unless you have an internet connection (for all the codecs and peripherals  you may need) but if you do have an internet connection and still are stuck with Windows, I do feel pity on you (not on people like Destiny though who are just starting out and don't wan't to experiment...yet (: ).
So, I'd point out a few things that make Linux so good...

1) Its free! Most of it at least. I know most of you reading this would shrug and say that you got your OS for free but then Microsoft would call you a thief ( though i totally vouch for what you've done ). And the Mac people would say that they got their OS bundled. But then you can't play around with it (more on that later).
Whats even more appealing is the fact that even the customer support is free, considering that most Linux Distributions don't have customer support. Its the community of people online who usually aid you. The least time I've had with someone from the other side of the planet helping me with the system is around 1 min. Compare that to the Microsoft Error Message that asks you to write a mail to them outlining the problem which you promptly click on 'Don't Send' knowing you haven't bought the software. Its no better with the people buying the thing either. Not that you'd require help so often in Linux but its better.

2) Its faster, looks better and does everything your Windows system does (if not more efficiently ). Gone are the days when you had to be more than a newbie to navigate Linux. The GUI is more work friendly and looks really cool (Mandriva Linux being the OS in question ). There are software applications to suite to your every need (of course free ) and even whole Linux OSes for specific needs. Whats even more cool are the really small linux systems. Damn Small Linux is aroung 50 Mb and is an OS you can carry around in your pen drive. Geexbox (around 16 mB) turns your PC into a media centre ! You don't even have to install it !

3) You can tweak anything and everything. Not that most people would do that but then it becomes an ethical question. Would you rather have intellectual property that you think you can (or random somebody) can better and suite it to your needs or would you take whatever that comes out of the production line ? I'd suggest that you read about FOSS and Stallman and then you'd know what I'm talking about.

I can't help a smirk when i see friends starting up anti-virus scanners whenever a pen drive is plugged in or whenever the 'bomp' sound comes out of a Windows system. I've left those days behind and I hope more and more people do. Namaste.