Hi. I'd like to say something. My name is Cornelius Ellsonpeter, and I just may be the next Linux convert. My story:

Tonight I bought a new hard drive. It's was a small one, 80 GB or so. Instead of trying to install Linux on my current hard drive (on a Compaq box, dual booting with XP) I just decided to start with a new drive altogether. This time around, it went much smoother.

I installed a version of Debian, and as a long time Windows user, all I can say is "smooth sailing". The partioning of the new drive went great. The configuration was a breeze. The installation? A snap. Hardware detection? Smokin'.

Then, I rebooted my system. It automatically gave me a boot menu, whereupon I could boot XP or my new Linux install. I chose the Linux install. It went great, and for now I'm using a KDE desktop. Then, I thought, okay, people complain how Linux is a crappy experience out of the box. Huh. Seemed simple to me so far.

I know! I bet it will get all goofed up when I try to see if it has a driver for my printer.

Nope. Not a problem. I immediately was able to select my printer from a huge list of drivers. Click, click, click. I fired off a test page on my printer, and it worked great.

I haven't hit a hitch yet. If this keeps up, I may never go back to Windows again...

:O

On a side note, to appease the XP side of my system, I did pick up Corel's Paint Shop Pro X from Best Buy for about $30. They had a bunch of rebate deals, and the normal price would have been $100. I figured I couldn't pass up 70% off.