Is Linux ready for the mainstream?

Well it looks like Canonical finally hit some of the right stuff with their latest incarnation of the Debian based Ubuntu: Hardy Heron (8.04).

A couple of weeks back I installed Ubuntu Linux in a dual boot configuration on my laptop along side Vista after getting a good review from a friend about it. Some of you might remember that I’ve tried to do this before with prior versions of Ubuntu but been met with stiff oposition from my Dell laptop’s stubborn drivers. In fact it damn near killed my laptop due to a faulty ACPI implementation that caused my processor to cook itself. Not a great day at the office really.

Anyway my experiences lately have been chalk and cheese. The install process was so straightforward, fast and easy that I actually managed to install the distro on the bus on the way to work (I’m a dork and I make no apologies for it). All my applications and drivers installed fine, and there was no baked chips to speak of. It just worked. In fact I think it was easier and faster to install that Windows – very nice.

It looks like Linux on the laptop has come a long way.