I'm Open Sauced!

I now have a bi-lingual laptop PC - running both Windows XP and Linux operating systems.
Now that might not be very important to you, but it's a great achievement for me, after having tried (sporadically), for years to get the "open source" software running securely.
It isn't that I've needed to load Linux, because "good old" Microsoft Windows has always been adequate for my computing needs. But Linux has such a passionate lot of advocates for the last few years that I've had this sense of duty to give it a try.
My wife has said, all along, that I should have left well alone, that I always have a "disaster" and should have better things to do. On average, my wife has been right, but I'm a winner at last.
I should explain, though, that I'm writing this blog on my Windows-powered desktop PC, because by blog doesn't look right in Linux and I don't want to waste the effort that's going into correcting my recurring and consistent typing mistakes.
The system that I installed is called "Kubuntu", which is a version of "Ubuntu", which is one of the more popular (of many) versions of the basic "Linux" - all of which are the result of valiant attempts by highly motivated and skilled enthusiasts to provide a freely accesible alternative to the giant Microsoft offerings, and those of Apple. But it seems,to me, that they have a fair way to go.
My "Kubuntu", loaded from a single disc, looks great, and it has, as standard, most of the packages I need. Unfortunately, it takes ages to start up and, in contrast to "Windows", needs more than good guessing to load extra packages, and I'm not that good at reading manuals, these days.
"Kubuntu" is the best Linux I've yet tried and (as I've already admitted) the first I've installed without causing PC catastrophe. I reckon, though, that I'll put it aside until it competes on equal terms.
But I wish them all luck, and my comments section is open to all who reckon I'm wrong.
PS. My wife doesn't understand that I really like teasing my computers, and I suppose I really should read the Kubuntu manual.