Reasons for ditching Windows for Ubuntu 10.04

Windows 8 may well come with an in-built marketplace for seamless downloading and easy installation of verified applications, but Windows 8 isn't around yet. Ubuntu's software center has been around for years already and it makes finding applications for this strain of Linux incredibly simple.
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Ubuntu comes with a wide range of pre-installed applications. Because the software is open-source, it can include many other open-source applications too, ranging from office software, graphics software - even social networking applications like Gwibber which links in your Facebook and Twitter account from your desktop.
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Ubuntu 10.04 doesn't need any additional drivers most of the time. From the word go, even on an Acer Aspire One - considered a good but low-scale netbook, the enhanced 'wobbly windows' graphics work with no need for drivers or most of the time a settings change.
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It's like something out of Windows 98; a useless feature which you probably will never use, but now that you know about it - you're tempted too. You can add wallpaper-like patterns to your individual folders...
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...and also, you can add additional icons ('emblems') to your icons to give them extra meaning. Granted it's pretty useless but you never know when you might need to differentiate many of the same icons from each other.
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Install WINE which emulates a Windows environment seamlessly into your Ubuntu desktop and you can run any Windows-specific application as if it was on its native operating system. There's even a huge database of troubleshooting tips for a vast number of popular applications.
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Most things nowadays are in the browser and Ubuntu comes pre-installed with Firefox. Chrome works an absolute dream, and most if not all of your plugins will be either readily installed or easily available. Flash, Reader, Shockwave... maybe not Silverlight, but Moonlight does offer a suitable alternative.
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There are plenty of add-ons and tweaking utilities for Windows, but in Ubuntu you can select almost anything and cause it to be manipulated in one way or another.
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There is no taskbar per se, but panels that you can add stuff to, change the size, move across the screen, add layers to and personalise to you absolute specific needs.
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By looking through your Applications list (the 'Start menu' equivalent) you'll notice a broad range of applications to use. But most of them are hidden away because you probably won't use or need them. You can really customise, drag things around, add items and take them away, and create shortcuts onto your 'taskbar' panel to make it more of a Mac dock experience.
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Without installing a single driver, I could use my finger to write on the touch-screen of my laptop. As you can see, besides my awful handwriting, it works a treat.
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Ubuntu has a personal cloud for every one of its users. For me, this is the killer feature for my academic escapades.
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Ubuntu One is a synchronisation utility which allows you to share a folder in your home drive and upload the contents to the web. You have 2GB to begin with but can expand it to 100GB on the cheap. Depending on your ISP's policies, you can restrict the amount of bandwidth you use when synchronising and you can even hook up your mobile device too.
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