My Long-Term Study: Ubuntu vs. Windows

If you look around the internet, it's pretty easy to find solid reviews and data on the latest version of Ubuntu (8.04 Hardy Heron). Plenty of conspiracy theorists are saying that Windows is due for a market shock (judging by what I've seen from my friends, this skepticism is well-founded). So I decided I'd take my old desktop and see how the two stacked up.
First, a little overview for those of you who didn't immediately seek out the Ubuntu website. Ubuntu is a free, open-source (free is not the same as open-source) operating system based on the Linux kernel. On the screen, it displays characteristics reminiscent of both Windows and Mac. For instance, the menu bar is located on top (Mac), but there is also a window tab bar on the bottom (Windows). Graphics are also a bit of a hybrid: it's got Mac's good looks and Windows' functionality.
It's also surprisingly user-friendly. When I first heard about Linux, some years ago, I was frightened away by all the text-based commands and complexity. Ubuntu is certainly not your father's Linux-based OS. It's overwhelmingly graphically- based (GUI, for you nerds), but it retains the old Linux terminal for the purists and ultra-savvy-- this lets you perform brain surgery on the OS (admittedly, I haven't gone there yet). That said, a lot of Windows operations must also be down in the text environment, so it's not that much of a stretch to acclimate these days.
Where (most experts agree) Ubuntu rises head-and-shoulders above the competition is in the amount of bundled applications. With a single installation cd (free, more on that later), you have access to a wealth of drivers (sound display, keyboard, webcam, printer, etc.), a complete office productivity suite (OpenOffice.org), internet browsing (I'm a Firefox fan now), e-mail, cd-burning, instant messaging (Pidgin works with every IM protocol), and much much more. And if that's not enough for you? Add/remove programs is basically a shopping mall of free and open-source applications for your computing pleasure (I recommend downloading the VLC media player immediately after install). At this point, on a Windows system, you would have spent at least $400 on software. Ubuntu: still free.
There are also the inevitable drawbacks. The aforementioned pre-installed drivers, while highly convenient, don't work with 100% accuracy. This is the case with almost every peripheral I've plugged into Ubuntu. Commercially available drivers (almost universally made exclusively for Windows) are designed to get the most out of their hardware counterpart. For instance, all those extra buttons on a Logitech wireless keyboard. Logitech designs a driver that makes them all work. The good folks at Ubuntu have to make a driver that works kinda well with that particular keyboard as well as every other keyboard made by every other manufacturer. And since they're offering all this for free, you can bet they aren't devoting every waking moment to ensuring that your particular piece of hardware is working at 100% capacity. Same with my printer, camera, and webcam. All work in Ubuntu, just not as well as in Windows.
That said, let us not forget the great software divide. Windows software does not work with Mac or Linux software. Linux software doesn't work with Windows or Mac. Mac, either. Different variations on Linux don't always work with each other, either (thank you, Red Hat). And, unfortunately, you can't count on Windows emulators or other programs, like Wine, to bridge the cap. For the same reasons that Ubuntu isn't focused on your particular needs, neither are the emulators. They are constantly developing and back-door-ing into Windows readability as companies put out new products. It's a never-ending process for these guys.
So where does that leave us? These days, I use Windows and Ubuntu pretty evenly. This post was written in Ubuntu; the last one was written in Windows. There are a lot of things I have for free in Ubuntu that I would have to pay big bucks to get in Windows. But there are things in Windows that I have to have and Ubuntu simply cannot provide.
So why would you want to try it? For thing, it's a liberating feeling knowing that there is a vast world outside of Windows (and even Mac, you Apple junkies!). Ubuntu is a clean, easy system that, like Mac, is still pretty impervious to virus attack. Also, it's free and easy to try out. When you first download and burn, or otherwise acquire, an Ubuntu install cd, it's in a format called a "live cd." Basically, the system runs in limited format from the cd until you do a full install. Just stick it in your cd drive and turn your computer on. Like what you see? Install it, right beside Windows. Like me, you can go to both whenever you want. Ubuntu can even access files (documents, music, etc.) from the Windows side of the drive!
Don't like Ubuntu? Fine, shut down your computer, take out the live cd, and restart in Windows. Your Windows OS is none the worse (and none the wiser).
What have you got to lose?
Find it here: Ubuntu
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