I’m still loving my switch to Ubuntu. I’m even making philosophy Ubuntu wallpapers.

Now it looks like Richard Chapelle recently made the switch to Ubuntu. He’s got a list of possible downsides and concludes, the benefits seem to outweigh the costs. I agree.

There is one downside that came up in the comments that I do agree can be irritating. Nick Tarleton wrote that hardware compatibility can drive you insane when there are no programs in the easy-install package manager to fix the problem.

My recommendation when considering the switch is to either partition your hard drive, play around with Ubuntu off the live CD, or do a wubi install. Wubi install might be the simplest option if you’re worried about having to do a bunch of stuff you’re not familiar with.

When you play around make sure everything works (CD, wireless, USB ports, AC inputs, key controls). If something doesn’t work, see if it looks like something that people have been able to easily fix. I’ve found that the best thing is to google

Ubuntu [thing that doesn’t work] doesn’t work [brand and model number of your machine]

This usually brings up an Ubuntu forum that gives you nice instructions on how to get your machine working with Ubuntu. I’ve been able to fix most of my problems by doing that. So, before you do a full install, you might want to see how difficult it’s going to be for you to make things work. Here’s the thing – once things get working – it’s awesome.