Last week I ordered a USB stick from Amazon - a cheapo 4GB one - partly because I've never actually bought one before (the 1GB I've used for the last few years was, inexplicably, a free one given out by a sales rep I met while working at Waterstone's, branded with the logo of the Financial Times) and they're such ubiquitous and useful things these days, but also so I can try out an Ubuntu Linux install on my netbook.
I've been enjoying the netbook a lot - but frankly, I hate having to use Windows. I use Windows at work and the last thing I want to do is keep wrangling with it when I get home. Friends have recommended trying out Ubuntu netbook, and I'm keen to try it if only for its alternative (and staggeringly nerdy) vibe. Also, of course, it's free.
So my USB stick arrives today and I head home to download the install file and boot it up. This involves fiddling with BIOS settings and partitioning the hard drive and basically doing the back-end PC stuff I was fascinated by when I was a kid. It's also the sort of stuff I used to destroy the first couple of PCs my parents bought in the mid-90s.
K is late home because someone was pushed on the tracks at Kings Cross tube station, so I have plenty of time to fiddle about with the quirkiness and awkward newness of the OS before she comes in for tea. I feel a bit like a first-time computer user, but I'm pleased to be away from the drudgery and endless, endless updates of Windows XP.
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