The Boston Herald tech columnist tries Linux and likes it.

The reasons you're most likely to read in the popular press for using Linux are defensive.

• Linux is immune to viruses.
• It's cheaper — free for individual users in most cases.
• It's not made by Microsoft, a company with more than its share of enemies in the computer world.

The first two are unarguably true. The third may or may not matter to you. What has gotten far less attention is that there are all sorts of positive reasons for using Linux. Kubuntu is a darn-nice operating system. In this reviewer's testing, it was more stable than Windows. Over a couple weeks, it froze only once. And for many applications such as word-processing and e-mail, it was faster than Windows mainstays Word and Outlook. The biggest surprise to this reviewer was the beauty of the interface. It was nicer than any Windows variation.