Ubuntu 17.10 is fantastic

8 months ago I decided to expand my technological horizons and began exploring the world of Linux distros.  It started with virtual machines into my laptop, the first was Ubuntu 16.04 with the Unity desktop environment.  My laptop does not have bundles of RAM, so it was a bit sluggish, but it did get me interested.  A bit of research led me to Linux Mint 18.3, which was a nice transition from Windows into the Linux environment, it reminded me of a combination of OS X and Windows, it felt familiar and approachable.  

After achieving some level of understanding, I decided to try something different.  I am, however, still running a 32-bit version of Mint 18.3 on a 2007 Vista desktop.  I was amazed at how great Mint was running on a 10 year old machine, it was smoother and more responsive than Vista was when the computer was new.  Impressed with the offerings of Linux, I branched out to Ubuntu's newest offering, 17.10 Artful Aardvark with the GNOME desktop.  Instead of running 17.10 as a virtual machine I set up my laptop to dual boot Windows 10 and Ubuntu 17.10. This has been one of the best decisions I have made.  Ubuntu runs great and GNOME has allowed me to fully indulge my tinkering tendencies.  Discovering that all aspects of the gnome shell is fully customizable was fantastic.  I spent an entire weekend deciphering and editing the gnome shell to look exactly the way I wanted.  To be fair, it was mostly trial and error and I capped the weekend off by breaking the code I spent hours editing.  I had no idea what or how I broke it.  It was frustrating but not in the way that made me want to say F it, I wanted to figure it out, which I did.

This has been a part of my experience with Linux.  I try to do something, have no idea how to do it, spend time researching it (thanks https://ask.ubuntu.com) and then try it out.  The community is fantastic and full of helpful information.  I have yet to come across an issue and failed to resolve it.  This meant spending a considerable amount of time in the terminal, which has become one of the things I appreciate the most about Linux, it is so much faster than using a GUI.

Every aspect of learning Linux, from setting up the dual boot and loading the OS to customizing the gnome shell, to adding extensions and using the terminal has been enjoyable.  It has been enjoyable because it has allowed me to set up something that is unique to me, it looks how I want it to look and has the programs that are useful to me.

The best part is that it is 100 percent free.  It is amazing that so many high quality distros are available at no cost.  In reality, I find it hard to believe that Linux is not more widely used, especially for standard users.  Microsoft 365 or Google Docs are available to use online for office needs.  Firefox comes pre-installed on Ubuntu 17.10 and runs fantastic.  If Firefox is not your cup of tea, Chrome is easily downloadable and runs great.  In fact Firefox and Chrome run better on Ubuntu and Mint than on Windows.  The Ubuntu software repository has loads of programs that are useful and easily downloadable.  The software repository is user friendly and great because it is set up much in the same way as the Google Play store and the Apple App store.

The ability to customize and design the desktop to my specifications gave me a sense of ownership.  It is not just another soulless copy of OS X or Windows, it is dynamic and granular.  When I log into my computer I feel energized with the potential to create or design something that is only limited by imagination and ingenuity.  A simple online search for GNOME themes and extensions returns countless options and simple guides to help implement the changes you are looking to accomplish. 

I always though that Linux distros were intimidating because they were complicated and difficult to learn, but my experience has not been that at all.  My experience with Linux has been refreshing and surprisingly approachable.