Like most computers purchased from large retail chains Vista was pre-installed, along with a whole bunch of other crap ware. I’m not a big fan of Vista, I did like XP. But because of Vista I didn’t really enjoy working on this laptop at all. It quickly became a machine I kept around the TV so I could do quick searches between commercials. Or under the bed so I could get to it quickly if I remembered something before I went to sleep.  I had totally written this computer off.

Then one day while having lunch with a old colleague It dawned on me that most of the SEO tools that I use for analyzing web sites where all browser based (Firefox). Meaning I could basically run all of my favorite plugins while being in a Linux environment (I bet most of you all are like duh, I was too) . And for the applications that where not available in Linux, I was able to find great replacements. Digsby for example is a great IM client but does not have a Linux version yet, so there’s Kopete and Empathy which are great replacements.
FileZilla on the other hand did have a Linux version and I’m happy about that because this is one of my must have application, I use FileZilla a lot.
For opening documents and spreadsheets Open Office can be used to replace Microsoft Office. Open Office is incredible and I can’t believe it’s FREE and comes pre-installed with Linux.

The only thing that I’m missing right now is a good Linux based PHP editor/IDE. I started using PHP designer 7 before I made the switch and really like what it offered. But they don’t have a Linux version right now and I’m not sure if they ever plan to. So I’m currently bouncing between three different editors right now,  Komodo Edit, Geany, and gPHPedit. I’m leaning towards Komodo Edit but there’s this one little thing that I can’t get it to do. I’m sure it’s a lack of knowledge on my part versus the software’s functionality. So for now I figured I will continue testing these three until the end of next month. Hopefully by then I will be at a position to make a decision.

But for now, for the first time I’m enjoying my laptop. It’s the perfect work machine.

The applications and Firefox plugins I have running included:

• OS – Linux Ubuntu 10.0.04
• Apache, PHP, MySql, PHPMyAdmin
• Editors – Komodo Edit, Geany, and gPHPedit
• FTP Client – FileZilla
• SSH Client – Putty
• IM Client – Kopete
• Browser – Firefox
  • ColorZilla
  • DT Whois
  • Echofon
  • Gmail Button
  • Live PageRank
  • Measureit
  • S3 Firefox Orginizer
  • Screengrab
  • Ubuntu Firefox Modification
  • HttpFox