Linux Status

I owe it to myself to write down something about the Dear Friends concert. It was a very good trip.

So, after a few weeks of poking around, here's what I've determined running linux on my laptop:

• Two window managers == too much. I kept getting frustrated by the fact that the apps I wanted to use looked best in Gnome, but KDE had the built-in laptop support widgets.
• Wifi for my laptop still isn't quite stable. For example, to get it working I had to load, unload, then reload the kernel module. Also, I never got it to authenticate properly with the work wifi network.
• World of Warcraft is barely playable, and only some of the time. I broke down and bought a 3-month Cedega license, and they basically say, "Well, you're running an ATI card, so we've done the best we can. Sorry."
• Half-Life 2 == 0.5 FPS under Cedega 4.2.1. Inconceivable.
• Fought way too long just to get my mouse and touchpad to both work at the same time without accidentally trashing my video settings.

Compounding all this is the fact that my primary Windows PC gave up the magic blue smoke last week. Athlon XP chips apparently don't like it if the thermal paste dries out. At least none of my data was damaged. So, I'm now left with my laptop as my primary PC, and given all the facts above, I'm not inclined to fight linux any longer.

But this still leaves me hankering for a cool new PC experience. Given that my biggest complaint about my primary PC was having good programs to deal with the gigs of videos, pictures, and music I have lying around, I needed a change of scenery. I was hoping linux would be good enough to satisfy my tech cravings, but it just frustrated me.

I got my performance award letter today, and I filed my tax return last week, so I've decided to try a more expensive experiment.

I'm headed out to the Apple Store tonight to buy a Mac mini. Wish me luck.