[frabjous]

Now, let's all calm down. It is important to respond when someone has a problem to point out that that problem isn't typical. Otherwise other readers may assume that what goes for one person goes for all.

Anyway, I run Ubuntu on a dual monitor set up all the time. For a long time I dual booted that system with both Windows and Ubuntu, and Ubuntu is definitely faster, especially with compiz disabled or running LXDE. With full Compiz and GNOME, it's still faster than Windows. This is with a relatively modest ATI card. I can't remember the precise model. (This is my work system; at home now.) But I did have a lot of trouble trying to use an external projector monitor with a NVIDIA driver for linux with my laptop with Compiz enabled. (With the open source driver, I didn't have a problem, but couldn't do any fancy effects.) NVIDIA seems to neglect their linux drivers somewhat.

Nonetheless, I don't think anyone would suggest buying a new video card in your case. If linux can run on low-end hardware, then it should run well on yours, dual monitors and all. Probably there's just some configuration mismatch which might be solved with a bit more research. Yeah, it is a downside to linux that sometimes you need to research things yourself. With its low market saturation, and no professional support staffers doing these things for you, you can't expect that things will always go smoothly out of the box. If it's too much trouble, that's understandable.

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

The next complaint is one that would be taken care of in time. It seemed that whatever I wanted to do, I had to download one thing or another. There were more requests for permission to run some program or another than I have on Windows 7!

Those are most common when you're just setting things up. Many of us consider it a virtue of linux that it doesn't prebundle everything, so you download exactly what you need and nothing else. This does mean that you'll have to download a bunch of stuff right at first to get what you need, and since installing new software must be done as administrator, you're always entering your password to do so during this early phase. Once you've "settled in" to certain programs and certain routines, this goes down quite a lot. It takes weeks if not more to get there, not days, however.

I'm sure that there are a million Linux programs out there. But reading thru all of the c#$& to find them just wasn't worth it to me.

Different strokes for different folks. I love all the choices, and I also like trying new things. But since it's almost all free, very easy to install and very easy to uninstall, there's no risk in trying something, finding out you don't want it, and then trying something else instead. When you have to pay for most of your software, then you need to do your research before you buy, and if you choose wrong, sorry!

In short, I just didn't want to devote my time to Linux. The 1 and a half days working with Ubuntu were enough.

Linux is never going to overcome a lifetime of being used to one thing in a day, unless of course you were very dissatisfied with where you came from. I was very dissatisfied with Windows. The constant upgrade treadmills, the constant fears of malware -- and just as often -- software bundling tricks, hidden software running in the background taking up memory (even stuff with no malicious intent) and similar annoyances one constantly had to be the guard for.

And of course, I had other reasons for disliking Microsoft, which I won't go into unless asked.

But Linux isn't perfect. I spent a good portion of the day figuring out how to partly rewrite a printer driver for a network printer at work so I could use job accounting with it, since the linux driver xerox offered didn't have the same features as the windows and mac driver. Of course, that's really xerox's fault, not linux's, but it's the kind of thing that could easily keep people away. But I do think it is important to support the open source movement and make sure there are always alternatives to what the big software giants are trying to force on us. If nothing else, the presence of a free alternative should benefit even those who go in the other direction as well, by forcing prices to be lower elsewhere.