I'm loving 8.04.

Since I downloaded Ubuntu 8.04, I've loaded it onto an older 32 bit desktop and a new 64 bit laptop. It's doing great on both, much better that ANY version of Linux or Windows before it.

Some things I've noticed on the desktop are:

• My backup Windows (NTFS) hard drive and floppy drive were both recognized and usable. (Other distros have fought me on these two or just ignored them.)
• My Microsoft branded keyboard has about 1/2 of the "specialty" buttons that work. This was very surprising. Hit the "mail" button and Evolution pops up. Hit the "web" button and Firefox pops up. Cool! and unexpected!
• I can finally download non-repostiory programs. Until now, I have had to settle for repository based programs only, but with "GDebi" it's easy to download and open programs not found in Ubuntu's repositories, like Skype.
  
• Like my early days with Linux, I can once again run "Click N Run" (CNR). This is a decent non-Ubuntu repository that partnered with Ubuntu about a year ago. Before that, you could only get CNR with Linspire or Freespire.
• The Gnome based Ubuntu seems better laid out than the KDE based Kubuntu. Yes, I know they are supposed to be the same, but Ubuntu's overall interface just seems better developed and more user friendly.
• All in all, this is the best Linux distro I've ever used and I'm really not looking ahead to 8.10. I'm good right here.

Some things I've noticed about the laptop:

• The wifi WORKS! (It didn't with the beta version.) This is the only distro I've been able to get my freakin' hard to configure Atheros AR5700EG wifi card to work on. I did it with the help of Ndiswrapper and the driver I found somewhere. (Not all the drivers out there are good, but I have a working "net5211.inf" if anyone needs one.)
• For that matter, Ndiswrapper works, which I could not get it to work in some other distros.
• The touch pad works fine.
• The screen works fine, although I did have to download everything that referenced Nvidia in the Ubuntu Repository.
• The power management rocks. They did a very good job with ACPI or whatever Ubuntu uses to manage the laptop power. I suspect Ubuntu's relationship with Dell helped this along.
• I found out that programs like the i386 version of Skype and Adobe Reader don't want to work on this 64 bit AMD chip. I hope that something will change relating to that in the future, but for now, Skype and Adobe Reader will have to stay on the 32 bit machine. (If any readers have suggestions on this, just let me know.)
  

All in all, I am thrilled with 8.04. If you've not tried it yet, what the h3!! are you waiting on? The price to drop? If there was any question remaining in your mind, Linux has certainly arrived for the law office desktop. Your download awaits.