Ceci est une ancienne révision du document !
I'm a not so young computer fan from Italy. I started using them in 1983, when my father gave me my first one: a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 16KB. Since then, I've always loved playing and/or working with some kind of machine (Amiga 500, and then PC).
I discovered the world of open source when I still did not know anything about free OS, such as *buntu and stuff like that. Still working with Windows (XP), I first started using open source software; then, speaking with IT colleagues at work, they told me about Ubuntu and Open Suse and, after trying both of them, in 2007 I made my first partition on my home PC, choosing Ubuntu…
Meanwhile, I discovered your beautiful and useful magazine (even for people who aren't so able to manage a terminal, or a programming language, as I am).
Since then, I have tried some different flavours of the same tree: Linux Mint, Lubuntu, MoonOS and others. I am always trying to “close Windows,” even if for some little things I still need to have Windows on my home PC, for my phone, for some applications, or for Photography. I am even trying GIMP with some satisfaction, and, last month, I saw an issue of a new free PDF magazine about this powerful software.
In 2012, I started collaborating with the FCM-IT Team (they rock so much and you know: I read your article about them, and I can confirm that they are beautiful, committed people. I have rarely met the same professional concern in a work environment), and the story goes on… waiting for 12.10.
Luca Masini
Everything started in the mid 90s with Linux. I was struggling with the earlier versions of Linux, where the Command Line was standard. Although there were graphical interfaces, they were not as advanced as Ubuntu is today, almost 20 years later. This gave me a chance to become used to the command line interface (CLI). When I found Ubuntu, it quickly became my distro of choice, because it supported most of my hardware. In late 2006, it was time to get a new computer, and I decided to buy a laptop for the first time (I was always using desktop computers). Back then, I was still unsure of the hardware supported by Linux, especially for the wireless. So I decided to face the problem right in the store, and I brought with me the live CD of Ubuntu 6.06. Some store workers were not ready to let me try it on their machines. Others told me “Sure, go ahead”, and others were ignorant of Linux. My main criteria to buy a machine was that the sound, the wireless, and the display had to work off a live boot. I found one, and I was very happy with it. The first thing I did with it was boot from the Ubuntu CD and reformat the hard disk.
Fast forward to 2012, almost six years later. This laptop is still running, with Ubuntu 12.04 now. I upgraded the RAM to 4GB, and the hard disk from 120GB to 500GB. I bought a faster computer that is now my workstation. It runs Ubuntu in different flavors, and I have one partition with the latest alpha/beta/testing version out there. The laptop is now a file server, and an SSH server that I use remotely. Linux has been running my laptop for almost 6 years now, and I can foresee another 5 years of good use of this computer.
What made me choose Ubuntu was the large range of applications and systems that are available. I am also happy to see that new applications, programs and utilities now come first with Ubuntu-based scripts and repository files, so, under Ubuntu, we can always be the first to try them. I still use (and need) the CLI, as this is what I grew up with. But the evolution of the Ubuntu graphical environment has made it one of the best systems I see today.
Linux provides us with the possibility to choose our office suite, our graphical environment, and our type of operating system. Although a lot of users would prefer to let others make these choices, I like the freedom to decide how I use my computer and my hardware. I prefer to spend a bit more time on my system and have something that is tailored for me, rather than something that I have to adapt to. The computer should adapt to the user, not the other way around. Ubuntu gives me this freedom.
Jean-Francois Messier