Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Linux
Cage Match: Ubuntu Linux Vs. Windows Vista
by Brad Linder Apr 27th 2007 at 4:30PM
With Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn released last week, bloggers, journalists, and users are asking the inevitable question: How does it compare with the other major OS update this year, Windows Vista. Serdar Yegulalp at Information Week have written up a detailed comparison of the two operating systems. We have to agree with most of the points made. Here's the bullet point version, with our two cents thrown in at the end:
- Installation is pretty easy with both operating systems. Insert a disc, answer a few questions, and wait up to an hour. The point may be moot for some users, since most new machines will come preloaded with Vista. Since Ubuntu is a LiveCD you can also just pop the disc in and try out the operating system before deciding whether to install it.
- While Ubuntu 7.04 does a better job than many Linux distributions at automatically recognizing hardware, Vista's Device Manager is easier to use for computer novices who are attaching less common hardware to their PC.
- Adding and removing programs is pretty easy on both operating systems. One benefit to Ubuntu is that you can browse the add/remove program dialog to find Ubuntu-recommended software rather than surfing the web to find programs.
- Both operating systems make it easy to get online, browse the web, and use email.
- Ubuntu comes with OpenOffice preinstalled, which gives it an Office suite right out of the door. Of course, Windows users can download OpenOffice themselves for free.
- Both Ubuntu and Vista come with programs for ripping CDs and managing audio, video, and picture files.
- Neither system has a great backup solution. Or rather, Vista's shadow copy function is nice, but it's not available in all versions of the operating system. Of course, you can find plenty of 3rd party solutions for both backing up your data on both platforms.
Vista still has a bit of an edge on the user-friendly front here. Too often, you need to open up a terminal in Ubuntu and type in some arcane commands or edit a configuration file in order to get things working the way you'd like.
Sure, the only reason some of these actions are more intuitive in Vista is because most of us have been using Windows for years. But that does mean there's a learning curve for anyone switching to Ubuntu or any other Linux distribution.
If you handed a PC preloaded with either operating system to someone who's never used a computer before, they'd probably find plenty to like in each one. And Ubuntu 7.04 is definitely a step in the right direction when it comes to making Linux easier to use from the get go. If you're not a power user, (Hi, welcome to DownloadSquad), you may never need to use the command line in Ubuntu, because the preinstalled software covers most of the basic functions you'll ever need, including word processing, web browsing, email and music management.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Todd said 4:52PM on 4-27-2007
Post forgets to mention PRICES!
Vista - $299.99 ( not including hardware upgrades )
Ubuntu - $0
Allow me to summarize, the summaries...
Ubuntu does everything Vista does, and is completely free forever. No forced upgrades or expensive licenses.
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tobin92 said 5:18PM on 4-27-2007
I run Windows , but use a USB bootable linux for some stuff
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LarsonEthan said 5:39PM on 4-30-2007
^Hmm, so when you say $299, you were just kidding, you actually ment $150. (For Vista Premium Upgrade). They upgrade is the same,you just need XP running on your system. My computer is two years old, and I didn't need hardware upgrades. It is so sweet! Get Vista!
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Jonathan Harford said 5:57PM on 4-27-2007
I just installed Ubuntu on my laptop yesterday. For the first time ever, installing wi-fi drivers wasn't an incredible headache (I only had to reinstall once and reboot about five times).
And now my laptop boots automatically into Ubuntu unless I catch it while GRUB is on the screen. I don't mind, but it'll piss off my woman. I'll have to dig around to figure out how to make WinXP the default.
That said, I'm very interested to give 7.04 a spin.
(LarsonEthan, why would you compare a purchase price to an upgrade price? You pay for XP whether it's in a box or preinstalled on your PC.)
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Draku said 7:10AM on 4-30-2007
@Jonathan Harford : Use GrubeD Script (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=228104) to customize Grub.:)
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Draku said 9:45PM on 4-27-2007
@Jonathan Harford : Use GrubEd Script (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=228104) to customize the boot menu :)
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nizzy1115 said 9:45PM on 4-27-2007
hey guys, you can get vista, not upgrade, for under $120 shipped to your house...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116202
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Brad Linder said 9:59PM on 4-27-2007
Jonathan: In more basic terms, if you've already got an entry for Windows in GRUB, all you need to do is edit your GRUB file and move it from the bottom to the top. It should look something like this:
title Windows XP
root (hd 0,1)
makeactive
chainloader +1
Basically, all you have to do is open a terminal and type "sudo cp /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/menu.lst_bak" to make a backup of grub.
Then type "sudo gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst" to edit GRUB and locate The Windows entry and move it to the top.
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David Scott Lewis said 10:43PM on 4-27-2007
The Fiesty Fawn distro is likely much more secure than Vista, at least in every practical sense. For example, even if Vista is inherently more secure (which I doubt), there will very likely be far fewer attacks against Fiesty Fawn/Ubuntu/Linux.
Also, what about the UI? I'd give the "Best-in-Class" UI award to Fiesty Fawn (i.e., versus Vista), although there are Linux distros with better UIs.
What amazes me is that MS can spend more money on R&D than any other software vendor and still produce marginal, uninnovative software. Are MS researchers incredibly stupid or are their product engineering/development/marketing teams clueless -- or am I being redundant and asking the same question? My bet: A disconnect between product marketing and MS Research (and the world in general).
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Sarmad Siddiqui said 12:14AM on 4-28-2007
The OEM version of home premium is 120 bucks as someone else pointed out, so its not exactly 300 bucks. Sure you get no official support, but thats pretty much how any linux distro works: you google for help.
Secondly, David, i don't know how you can compare the Ubuntu GUI to Vista. Vista's is far better. I've been using Ubuntu for at least 2 years now, and even with 7.04, there isn't much comparison. 7.04's GUI is a bit more refined than previous versions, and overall its a nice GUI, but its still got work to do.
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fooseball said 12:33AM on 4-28-2007
Why even compare the OS's. Vista is clearly going to be a winner today since it has dedicated folks working on it and getting paid to fix issues.
Linux OTOH is a slow moving tortoise that seems to be under development forever and will probably keep progressing even after microsoft is no longer on the face of this planet (should be sometime soon considering instability issues with vista).
Having said that, I feel if there is someway to create a shim abstraction that would allow running windows apps on Linux, I would migrate 100% to using linux/ubuntu. Currently, I'm stuck with windows only because freely downloadable 3rd party apps don't run on linux.
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Sim said 12:35AM on 4-28-2007
Bah I'm so sick of the security argument.
Let's assume that Ubuntu (which I like) or Mac OS X which I also like, got the market share of Windows.
You would start hearing about a lot more exploits running around for both of them. If you're gonna right a virus or you're a script kiddie, might as well go after the 4 in 5 chance operating systems. 80% market share and thats a conservative effort.
The same thing happened with Firefox, everyone ran around saying how great it was, hugely secure and then it became popular and now you see Mozilla exploits all the time.
Simple economics applies to whoever the idiots are that write malicious code too.
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p-diddy said 7:38AM on 4-28-2007
@fooseball
I'm trying to figure out if you are completely out of touch or just trolling. Yes, Linux is always in development because people are always working on it. As for paying people, what do you think Red Hat's employees get paid to do? Any which would you rather have, someone who writes code because they want to or someone that writes code because they get paid to?
There ARE ways to run MS apps under windows. WINE, CEDEGA for example. CrossOver Office also comes to mind.
Do some research before you start spouting off reasons not to try something. Just be honest - you'll never try Linux.
-p-
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Mark said 7:38AM on 4-28-2007
One key thing I like about Ubuntu (well, Kubuntu) is that it runs quite well on my spare old headless laptop (1.33Ghz Athlon clocked down to 530Mhz to prevent fan noise.) Factoring out the new gui effects in Vista (standard for several versions) wouldn't net the same performance. This isn't an important deciding point for those with newer or better systems, but for many with an old box kicking around...
p-diddy:
You might have misread him, I thought the same thing at first. I think what he's saying is that though Linux doesn't have one solid company pumping out product (and I'd argue the 'dedicated folks' at Microsoft have issues with unified efforts that ruin his point there), it's constantly moving forward, developing all the while instead of the Windows 'push out a revision every 2.5-5 years' method.
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GP said 7:39AM on 4-28-2007
ubuntu is great, but it's a bitch to get wireless internet set up. Most people could do it by clicking a few links on the internet by wire, but i had no access from that pc
cue running around with a CD with hundreds of small programs, bits of software to make said programs work, and bits of software to make those bits of software
and a page filled with things to enter in the command line
yeah I got it done but by then I'd had my fill of Ubuntu and I threw the vista RC1 on it
the PC in question now lies unused
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GP said 7:39AM on 4-28-2007
ubuntu is great, but it's a bitch to get wireless internet set up. Most people could do it by clicking a few links on the internet by wire, but i had no access from that pc
cue running around with a CD with hundreds of small programs, bits of software to make said programs work, and bits of software to make those bits of software
and a page filled with things to enter in the terminal
yeah I got it done but by then I'd had my fill of Ubuntu and I threw the vista RC1 on it, which I had no problems with.
the PC in question now lies unused
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vipergts-r said 11:42AM on 4-28-2007
For you crybabies shouting at UBUNTU:
Vista:
pros: ...
cons: Cost, viruses, spyware, HARDWARE upgrades, sluggish system, minimal learning curve from XP, Expensive Software, having to wait 2 years for major updates (SP2), still being MS biatch.
Ubuntu/ANY Linux distro:
pros: It´s FREE, no viruses, no spyware, runs on ANY machine, no need for Hardware Updates, more stable, BERYL (Search Youtube), FREE software,
cons: Small Learning Curve.
ps. Don´t be afraid of Linux, it´s not hard to understand like it was years ago. Ubuntu has the biggest online community which can help you with any question/problems you encounter with Ubuntu. And PLEASE search youtube for BERYL or COMPIZ, you´ll be in love, with Ubuntu "Feisty Fawn" is really easy to set up everything, from Graphic Card´s driver, beryl, to Wireless, virtual box.
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Clarion said 1:51PM on 4-28-2007
Linux is still out of the question for most people. And if you have a problem with Windows, then you can just go on continuing not to use it. I never quite understood the attitude that Linux users (and Mac users, for that matter) had, where they feel that they're product is so superior that they need to actively and openly put down the competition. Sounds less like you're sure of it's superiority and more like your insecure about it.
I'm not saying that Linux isn't good. Don't get me wrong. I've contemplated many times installing it on at least one machine in my house, because I wanted to see what it's like and see if it's worth switching over to. However, what always holds me back is that every Linux distribution I've ever tried has been complicated and flawed with hardware conflicts that I simply don't have the patience to work around.
From the sounds of DownloadSquad's article, even this latest Ubuntu release doesn't make it simple enough for the people who like a hassle-free environment.
And this isn't a matter of being lazy or being scared of Linux. This is simply a matter of Linux still being the choice of power-users. If they want to appeal to the mainstream, it seems that they're on the right track, but until they can make a Linux distribution simple enough that an average computer user could install it themselves without getting help online or from a friend, they'll remain the choice of power-users.
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p-diddy said 5:53PM on 4-28-2007
@Mark
Yeah, re-reading him maybe I misread it the first time. Thanks for pointing that out.
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Tony said 7:52AM on 4-29-2007
Now if I could figure out how to get it to install without wiping out my Windows XP and turning my lappie into a paper weight. Had the previous version of Ubunto partition it for me and the NTFS file system could not be read anymore, so I was left with Ubuntu and only Ubuntu until I got me a new XP install disc. Wasn't fun. Liked Ubuntu though. Will love it when I can get it to work with ALL of my hardware.
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