> So inasmuch as I loathe Micro$oft products, I simply
> have very little choice here in this land of free
> choice. I would love to buy an open source (Linux)
> machine machine, especially that they are cheaper than
> either PCs or Macs, but I simply have no time or
> inclination to deal with software setup problems all
> the time - I use computers as tools, means to an end,
> not an end in itself. I am trying to avoid "looking
> under the hood" as much as possible - be it cars or
> computers.
It sounds like you are already "dealing with software setup problems all the time" by using Windows.
The arrogance you described is a result of the culture of the Microsoft behemoth. In the Windows world the Microserfs are merely adopting the position of their demigod Gates - you will use the computer *exactly* how they tell you to. And you will like it.
I am a recent convert to Ubuntu on the desktop and I would say the true believers are right: this is the Linux your grandma can use. On my laptop the following all worked with absolutely no configuration:
* Wireless Networking * Web, Email, IM, etc. * Connecting via usb to my camera * Connecting via bluetooth to my phone (!) * Connecting portable storage, like usb drives * Free media playback (audio: mp3, flac, shorten, wav; video: mpeg,
divx, etc.) * Media authoring (cds, dvds, etc.)
Non-free media playback required going to a website to download the "illegal" packages - particularly the DeCSS decryption for commercial DVDs. But that is all plainly explained in the Ubuntu Forums and took about 2 minutes.
Matt
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