As if I was new to Ubuntu, again.

Went to the Ubuntu Linux class last night. We demoed copying and burning a live-CD in Nero (on XP). Then we booted from the CD into Ubuntu 7.10 and explored the 3 big necessities of computing, namely internet, productivity apps and games. In Ubuntu, Firefox is standard and there are a few others available, like Flock, Seamonkey (Mozilla Suite formerly Netscape), and Opera. These we didn't cover. I have said before, it is the file format that matters. I'm talking to you folks stuck with MS Works and refusing to buy MS Office. The office suite OpenOffice.org is free and functually equivalent to MS Office. If you must have the proffessional suite, by all means buy MS Office, but if you are a casual user, don't waste your money, get OpenOffice.org. Then we looked at Evolution, the email/news client. You could also use Thunderbird, Seamonkey or several other Linux email clients. These all have PIM (personal info management) bells and whistles. And lastly the one no one can do without, games. It has been said that Linux does not have any games. That is one statement that needs to be revised. Do you actually think that the "techies" who write Linux software could survive without games? Linux does not have many Microsoft games. There are hundreds of games of all types. They may be similar to games you already know, some not familiar at all. But also some games of Microsoft vintage might be ported to the Linux platform. I really don't know, I am not a avid gamer. Anyway for folk who casually game, the assortment is kind of mind boggling. I myself like Billard-gl, a 3d pool sim, Neverball, Neverputt, SuperTux, like Mario Bros, and Frozen-Bubble. If you are a first shooter fan, there's a bunch of them. For fanatics, please get an X-Box. Linux has got all the bases covered. Linux is not an overnight sensation. The Linux/Unix lineage goes back before Microsoft and Apple ever existed. A new or different computing platform does take a little time to learn, but you have to realize, if it were just like Microsoft or Mac it would be a clone. What would be the point in that? So, you got your work cut out for you, a world exist out there to explore. Like another neighborhood or city or country, somethings are the same, many things different. Come for a visit or move in.