I’ll take PCLinuxOS (PSLinOS) Please

Well ladies & gentlemen…it has been nearly 6 months since I installed & began working with PCLinuxOS, and I must say I am nothing but impressed.  Since that time, my article on PCLinuxOS vs Ubuntu has quickly become my most read article on eJabs.  The article has surpassed other very popular articles in a short amount of time.

You’ll be happy to know that I still maintain my positive stance on the emerging Linux OS.  I have never held a more absolute position toward any other Linux Desktop OS.  I have run Ubuntu & SuSE Desktop OS’s before (for several months each), and have never been half as impressed as I am with PCLinOS.

The simple fact that the OS takes around 15 minutes to install, has all the necessary drivers included & picks up my wireless network on the first boot makes it superior to any other operating system I’ve ever worked with…yes, that includes Windows!  Loading a Windows OS, including the drivers, updates & necessary add-on software takes me right around 2 to 3 hours (closer to three).  That brings up another excellent point; PCLinOS includes loads & loads of pre-installed, free software that serve nearly 100% of the software needs I have.  Here are some of the things PCLinuxOS includes that you have to pay a pretty penny for when running a Windows OS:

• Office Suite - PCLinuxOS comes standard with OpenOffice.org which allows you to open all MS Office file types, and even save as a Microsoft file type (MS Office doesn’t give you the same reverse capabilities).  PS…you can also install this software suite on your Microsoft PC, along with some of the other software suites on this list.
• Gimp Suite - Image manipulation software, comparible to (but not as robust) as Adobe Photoshop.  PCLinuxOS also comes with 3 other image manipulation software packages.
• Mozilla Thunderbird - Email client comparable to MS Outlook, I actually prefer Thunderbird.
• Kopete - An IM program that works out of the box with any of your favorite IM software programs including:  ICQ®, AIM®, MSN®, Yahoo!® Google-Talk®.  (IM’s are free w/Windows, but not included)
• Mozilla Firefox - If you haven’t heard by now…a browser that is far superior to MS IE, in many ways.  (The IE browser is free w/Windows, but not nearly as secure as Firefox)
• NVU - Website editing software similar to Dreamweaver.
• K3b - CD/DVD burning software equvilent to Nero, but easier to use & less cluttered.

Well, you get the point & I’m sick of listing all this software here & re-inventing the wheel; so if you’d like to see a more complete list, then visit this webpage.

So why don’t you try this software out…did I mention that it’s FREE, along with all the FREE software that comes with it?  Oh yeah, did I mention that it all works out of the box & that it all installs in around 15 minutes?  Not only is this software better (for home use) than Windows Vista (what OS isn’t better than Windows Vista), I would even venture to say that it is superior to Windows XP in many aspects.

I don’t think it’s a complete corporate solution for most businesses yet…only because most businesses run some type of proprietary software their operations depend that only run on Windows.  Other than this fact, or if your business doesn’t require any Windows software, then save yourself some money & try out PCLinuxOS in your workplace.  If you do, PLEASE let us know how it goes & what pros & cons you experience.

So now I ask you…why are you still running Windows?  What are you afraid of…saving money?

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