Ubuntu versus Vista comparison
There are those who believe, really believe in completely open source software, nothing proprietary and it’s a dream, it’s here but for most users it’s just a dream or not a concern at all. It’s Ubuntu versus Vista in everything from installing the operating system to configuring devices and installing drivers and which one comes out on top.
I don’t really color myself a believer in open source, so long as the software package is “free” to use, what do I care if the code is open source or not, I just want good free software, that’s all but I also want it to work with little fuss. One open source application I like is OpenOffice, it’s a good package and a nice option for those who don’t want to spend $400 for Microsoft Office and can’t get the student and/or government discounts on it. I’ll admit, I use both Office 2003 and 2007 and both are far more polished than OpenOffice but for free… OpenOffice is okay.
It just so happens that Ubuntu includes OpenOffice as part of its package; all you get with Vista is WordPad which is the same useless application it has been for years and years. Score one for Ubuntu but the rest of the story isn’t so great. Ubuntu is an okay operating system for being free and not including any proprietary drivers or codecs, there is no default support for most graphic cards by default and to play MP3 files a codec pack is required.
Thanks, but didn’t it occur to the Ubuntu team that maybe, just maybe I want my graphics card to have all its modes supported out of the installation without my having to do anything about it, that’s the way it’s done with Vista, that’s the way Ubuntu should do it.
Information Week has a full comparison of Vista and Ubuntu though they don’t really declare a winner; I’ll do it for them, Vista. Why? Oh let’s see, all my hardware “just works”, I don’t have to edit the configuration file to get devices working that may not work after installing drivers (Vista works voodoo magic and “repairs” the device), I never have to resort to the command line in Vista, editing the registry and msconfig for performance is optional but by no means required.
In fact the average Windows user could get by their entire life without ever having to resort to a command line, msconfig or regedit. As Linux has no registry let’s toss that part out but resorting to the command line and editing config files is almost a prerequisite when you run into problems on Linux and you know what, I’m not going to do that or spend hours trying to figure out why something doesn’t work.
When I can’t figure out why something doesn’t work in Windows, a quick search is usually all it takes to correct or find a solution to the problem. Searching or sorting through tons of posts on Linux forums is also something I am not going to do. For almost all things Windows, someone has probably written a tutorial with pictures on how to do that, the same may or may not be true for issues encountered in Linux.
Most Ubuntu converts are either the Linux faithful or first time Linux users. For first time Linux users, do you really want them to have to delve into config files or the command line to get something done… the answer is you don’t and that is not an optimal solution. Make it work like Windows (except without the crashing) and people will be happy.
If you’re looking for an easy to use and fuss free operating system, buy a Mac and go with OSX unless editing Linux config files is your idea of fun.
In the interest of keeping things transparent, I do not use Ubuntu on a regular basis and will not do so until ALL of my hardware is supported EXACTLY the same way and functions EXACTLY the same way as it does under Windows. That is not a realistic expectation and besides, PhotoShop doesn’t run on Linux and no, WINE does not count… forget it.
If Microsoft decides to gouge all its users with its next OS or do some “webware” thing with it, forget it, I’ll go with a Mac. I am well aware that they gouged some users over Vista but if you know the right people, it’s not so expensive or troublesome.
I have also not experienced a crash on Vista (yet) and I hope I don’t and as far as my XP days, few if any trouble with it as well. Then again, I’m not an “average” Windows user so of course most people see it as being bad but maybe plugging all that old hardware with poorly written drivers on your Windows machine wasn’t such a good idea in the first place. Windows XP and especially Vista, don’t respond well at all to old(er) hardware so buy new stuff, problem solved. Okay, I’m not being completely serious but I had to make that point.
Kudos to you if you use Linux, you are an experience computer user, as for myself, I’m perfectly content being an experienced Windows XP and Vista user, yeah, I used 9x back in the day but honestly, if you’re still using 9x move over to at least Windows 2000 or buy a new computer with XP or Vista because 9x is just, well, they’re all bad.
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Ubuntu vs Vista comparison
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