[SATLUG] Video Drivers

[Daniel J. Givens]

(Don't worry, I'm not going to start a flame war)

I use Ubuntu as my desktop with dual monitors running Gnome w/ Beryl. At
work, I run the same for one system on one network and Windows XP on
another. I prefer to work in Linux. I feel I am more productive in
Linux. I used to be of the opposite thinking, but over time, my comfort
level with Linux as a desktop environment has grown. It isn't that I
hate MS so much that I refuse to use their products. I just feel more
"at home" in my highly customized Linux environment.

As for printers/scanners, I have had less hassle getting all three of my
printers and two scanners setup in Linux than I have Windows. I didn't
have to download anything and all three work out of the box.

Here's the list:

HP LaserJet 1160
HP Photosmart C5180 All-in-one
Epson Stylus CX3810 All-in-one

CUPS and Sane supported all of them and the C5180 even works across the
network for printing and scanning (thank you HP). Oh yeah, the C5180 is
relatively new. I bought it from Office Depot about a month or so ago.

Since I primarily run Linux, I buy hardware for Linux support. I
consider this just part of the buying process. If I were buying for a
Windows box, I would still be concerned about the driver support because
it isn't MS writing the drivers. The manufacturers write the drivers and
Windows is the platform they choose to write for. Thankfully, we have
some manufacturers writing drivers for Linux and other free OS's as well
as a bunch of really good independent folks.

About the fonts, I tend to think the default fonts are too large and
always set them down to 8 or 9 pt. Perhaps you can try other fonts
because I've not seen modern fonts get messed up by scaling up.

And I feel I have more whiz-bang features in my GUI than I have
available in Windows, even if I ran Vista. And no, I don't use all of
the Beryl/Compiz/whateverthecombinednameisnow features, only the ones
that are useful to me. They make /me/ more productive.

The important thing, above all, is what works best for you. I'm not
going to down anyone for choosing to run Windows, OS X, one of the BSDs,
BeOS, OS/2, DOS, what have you. If what you run works for you, you're
productive and happy with your computing experience, then by all means,
enjoy! I have a soft spot in my heart for Linux and I know it works for me.