Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Ubuntu had not only correctly identified the hardware, but even installed working drivers for it—all without any help from me! To get it connected, I only had to specify my network name and my WEP key, and off I went.

Next, I actually installed Ubuntu to my hard disk, and started to play with it. The disabled “root” account takes a little getting used to, but is not too big a deal in the end; the user interface looks clean and beautiful, and it’s quite clear that Linux is as ready for the desktop as you want it to be.

That leaves one major problem: inertia—which is, after all, a fundamental Law of Physics. I decided that I would need a little extra help in trying to get comfortable with the system, and in my case, that usually means the good old—perhaps even old-fashioned?—tree-ware type of book.