Reply To: Linux users?
Ubuntu comes with nice basic software. It lets you start instantly with the ordinary tasks of writing notes, browsing online, manage email and calendar. Whatever you want to add depends on what you want to do. I program drums for most of my home recordings using Hydrogren. I use LaTeX for type-setting. I like Audacity for editing sound files.
I have little inside knowledge of Linux (nor any other OS); switching to Ubuntu (from Windows 98 and Debian) took some time (which I had); now I'm happy with it. I still use Windows at work. Both Windows and Ubuntu have flaws and highlights. What I really enjoy with Ubuntu is the clearly arranged structure of everything (software, memory, layout). I still run into incompatible hardware and minor glitches with some exotic software. Still, Windows sooner or later shows strange behaviour that makes me as a user feel more helpless than Linux.