It started as a curiosity, just to see what all the fuss was about. I’m not sure what year it was, but I was still using Windows 95 at the time, and the only Linux GUI available at the time was X Windows, so that will give you an idea.
It looked okay, but I couldn’t see a good reason to bother switching at the time.
I tried again a few years ago, installing first Mandriva (it was still Mandrake at the time) and then Ubuntu on my desktop.
I now have Linux on on my desktop for work, on my main working laptop (along with XP), and on a second laptop to experiment with.
Most of my work is done using Linux, writing, researching, submitting articles by email.
But from reading a few newsgroups and blogs, I don’t use the internet too much for downtime.
So this weekend, I picked up an Sansa Fuze MP3 player and FM transmitter.
After all, why complain there’s nothing good on the radio during a long car journey, when I could listen to a podcast.
I’ll report later on how well it integrates with Linux, as the box specifies XP.
Not surprisingly, my new Sansa Fuze works perfectly with Ubuntu – it is after all essentially a USB connected storage medium. Download my podcat MP3 files, drag and drop, and I’m ready to go.
I should add that there were some firmware upgrades when I plugged into XP, and since I connected using XP before Ubuntu, I can’t say what would become of those under Linux. Probably I’d never have learned about them.
And my new Sony mp3 player that I got for Xmas works with Ubuntu! But not with Debian (as it needs a 2.6.27 kernel). Good to see another Donegal Linux user. 😉
Mick