After getting the BSOD on my Windows PC I figured it would be an ideal time to hop over to a Linux Distro and see what the hype is all about (instead of just pirating a new copy of xp )

My impressions thus far- it is definitely frustrating getting used to the change. Installing aps/plugins... just about anything, is done without a GUI. SInce this is my first day- I started out with Ubuntu (most folks say this is the most user friendly), my goal is to end of on either fedora or gentoo (rumors are that it is more game friendly). As far as games go, there are a few things you can pay for to make the OS more game friendly- there's some alpha version aps that are free (Wine) but the good ones you've got to pay for (centaga). THis is actually my first day on Linux- I plan on sticking around for awhile to see this is really something I want to invest my time into.

My biggest issue right now is that they don't have a popular IM that supports Video COnferencing. All of my family/friends use Yahoo MEssenger, while the LInux version dates back to a late 90's version.

ALso, as an experienced Photoshop user- I can say GIMP can do wonders if you get used to the GUI- it still can't mess with PHotoshop though, right off the bat I noticed that you can't drag and drop layers to other palettes and the stroke functions aren't as smooth, I wonder what else I will discover.

I've always been a fan of OPensource though, it's free so I really can't complain.

ANyone else a Linux user with some advise to a new end user?