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<p>Someone asked me this recently. I don't have just one answer. I
compiled a list of things I thought of and emailed it to my
friend...then I thought I would post it here for future reference. Feel
free to add to the list! There is also <a href="http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=399997&highlight=coolest+thing" hreflang="en">a forums thread on the same topic</a>, that I remembered as I complied my thoughts, so I stole some of the ideas posted there.</p>
<p>1. Upgrade to the newest version legally and without paying money<br>
2. Have the latest version of the operating system run faster than the previous version on the same hardware<br>
3. Easily install and run different graphical interfaces if I don't like the default setup<br>
4. Install twenty programs with one command<br>
5. Have the system automatically update all my installed programs for me.<br>
6. Install the same copy of my OS (Ubuntu) on multiple computers without worrying about license restrictions or activation keys<br>
7. Give away copies of the operating system and other programs that run
on it without breaking any laws, governmental or ethical or moral,
because it was all intended to be used this way<br>
8. Have full control over my computer hardware and know that there are
no secret back doors in my software, put there by malicious software
companies or governments<br>
9. Run without using a virus scanner, adware/spyware protection, and
not reboot my computer for months, even when I do keep up with all of
the latest security updates<br>
10. Run my computer without needing to defragment my hard drive, ever<br>
11. Try out software, decide I don't like it, uninstall it, and know
that it didn't leave little bits of stuff in a registry that can build
up and slow down my machine<br>
12. Make a major mistake that requires a complete reinstallation and be
able to do it in less than an hour, because I put all of my data on a
separate partition from the operating system and program files<br>
13. Boot into a desktop with flash and effects as cool as Windows Vista
on a three year old computer...in less than 40 seconds, including the
time it takes me to type my username and password to login<br>
14. Customize anything I want, legally, including my favorite programs.
I can even track down the software developers to ask them questions,
contribute ideas, and get involved in the actual design/software
writing process if I want to<br>
15. Have 4+ word processor windows open working on papers, listen to
music, play with flashy desktop effects, have contact with a largely
happy community and have firefox, instant messaging, and email clients
all open at the same time, without ever having had to beg someone for a
code to make my os work, and without the system running so slow it is
useless<br>
16. Use the command "dpkg --get-selections > pkg.list" to make a
full, detailed list of all software I have installed, backup my /etc
and /home directories on a separate partition, and you are able to
recover your system any time, easily<br>
17. Run multiple desktops simultaneously, or even allow multiple users to log in and use the computer simultaneously<br>
18. Resize a hard disk partition without having to delete it and without losing the data on it<br>
19. Use the same hardware for more than 5 years before it really needs
to be replaced...I have some hardware that is nearly 10 years old,
running Linux, and still useful<br>
20. Browse the web while the OS is being installed!<br>
21. Use almost any hardware and have a driver for it included with the
operating system...eliminating the need to scour the internet to find
the hardware manufacturer's website to locate one<br>
22. Get the source code for almost anything, including the OS kernel and most of my applications</p>
<p>I could go on, but that's long enough. :)</p><p>This article was taken from: <a href="http://planet.ubuntu.com/">http://planet.ubuntu.com/</a><br></p> </div>