1 month with ubuntu  

I took an older Dell laptop I had and set up the newest version of Ubuntu linux on it. I've been using it as my home web machine for about a month now and so far it has been an enjoyable experience. It does a great job of doing the basic things I like to do while chilling out on the couch at night. I generally read news feeds in google reader, check email, do some blog posting and other general web surfing. I don't have many gripes so far with the machine and it gives a great user experience even with 3-4 year old hardware. I like a challenge and it has been a little bit of one getting some of the software functioning correctly. Luckily, ubuntu comes with a package/software manager that makes this much easier than traditional linux platforms. You just go in, search for the software you want, check the install button and the system does the rest for you. It's not fool proof and you're bound to spend some time at the command line but it is leaps and bounds ahead of my linux experiences from the past 5-10 years. The coolest feature of this machine is being able to open the lid from standby and be logged in and searching google within about 20 seconds. I'm able to use evolution mail to check my corporate exchange email as well and it's a workable solution. Unfortunately there are too many applications that won't run on this machine to keep it out of the office but as a home, light duty machine, you can't beat it.