Ubuntu Update

Just a quickie:  I continue to be very impressed with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS that I installed on my Sony Vaio.  The Sony is now lightening fast (for reference sake, it has a dual-core processor and 2gb of RAM) and all of the installed hardware on the machine works like a charm. 

Fast?  Well here an example: 

Sony Vaio boot to open web browser (at home)...about 30 seconds

Lenovo ThinkPad boot to Lotus Notes (at work)...18 minutes

A better comparison is to my Gateway netbook, which boots to a browser in about two minutes.  That's still significantly slower than Ubuntu.

Now in defense of the ThinkPad, Lotus Notes takes a decent chunk of time to load with it's seemingly centuries old code.  Also, the ThinkPad is navigating through a corporate IT infrastructure that would make a CIA Geek go "damn, that's intense!".  Rumor has it that my employer has a version of the WOPR running in a basement somewhere in New Jersey.

Note to anyone associated with my employer:  that last sentence is a joke, all be it a very bad, 80's dated joke.  Joke as in laughter. Laughter as in things that lawyers and compliance directors (well some of them...I know one that is an exception) probably need to do more of for reasons of general health and qualify of life.

Anyway, my only remaining challenge lies in getting my Lexmark combination printer/scanner/copier/ de-louser/heater/tiller/water-pic working.  Note that I haven't really tried yet, mainly due to a lack of time. 

More to come, but so far I'd give Ubuntu an "A" for performance and ease of navigation.  If you have an old virus ridden desktop or laptop that you want to bring back to life, do yourself a favor, live dangerously by spending the $10 to install Ubuntu.