Vista vs. Ubuntu

The day before yesterday I did a comparison between Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 and Ubuntu Linux 6.06 LTS. Both are operating systems, both are new and both are available for free (although Ubuntu is free because of the GPL and Windows is only free of charge as long it's a beta version.. ;)).

I installed Vista on my AMD 2200+ 512MB RAM machine, and Ubuntu on my AMD 2100+ 256MB RAM machine. Simultaneously. So here's a quick summary/comparison about these two brand-new (Vista isn't ready yet, Ubuntu 6.06 was released a few weeks ago) operating systems.

Getting your new OS

Windows Vista Beta 2 is available as a free download for the public. Alternatively you can order it on a DVD for about $20. It needs one DVD and is about 2GB in size.

Ubuntu 6.06 is also available as a free download and as a CD shipment, but in contrast to Windows Vista the shipment costs you nothing. Mark Shuttleworth pays for it. Also it needs only one CD (650MB), which is a plus especially if you need to download it, or if you have no DVD drive.

Installation

The Installation of Windows Vista is very simple and works flawlessly, but it took about two hours on my system (see above). Also, you can use an existing Windows (NTFS) partition, or upgrade your "old" Windows XP. The (free) keycode is obtained via your Microsoft Passport account, if you have one. More details on the Windows Vista page.

I personally liked the Ubuntu installation much more. First you insert your CD and boot from it. At this time no installation process takes place, but the Ubuntu system starts from the CD without altering anything on your hard drive. That way you can test the new system (there are some videos, music files, and excerpts from the Ubuntu Handbook in some folder on the desktop, you can start OpenOffice, ... It is very comparable to Knoppix, if you know it. When you are ready, you click on the "Install" icon on the desktop, it asks you a few basic questions (name, password, harddisk partitions including partitioning tool) and then copies the system to your desired harddisk partition. Takes about half an hour.

Look and Feel

This clearly is a win for Windows Vista. Microsoft has put several years of development in the new "Aero" interface, which is based on DirectX9. It needs a recent DirectX9 graphics card (no problem on my Radeon 9600XT) and features beautiful transparency effects, 3D window animations and color gradients.

Ubuntu also has a beautiful new style (I think they call it "Caramel", it's a shiny orange-brown for window borders and icons), but it lacks all the nice 3D effects Windows Vista has. Yes, I know about XGl/Compiz, but IMO it's only an ugly hack for Xorg, it doesn't work most of the time and it makes your system unstable. Therefore I don't use it. Dot.

Included Software

Although Windows Vista includes many tools, like the new desktop search that is integrated in the Start menu, several new games like Chess or Mahjongg ;), etc, it can't keep up with Ubuntu.

Ubuntu includes the usual Linux Software like Open Office, a complete office suite, GIMP, a drawing program similar to Photoshop, and many many more. I don't know what exactly goes in the several Gigabytes Windows Vista takes up on my hard drive, but Ubuntu has simply more software to offer. But you should note one thing about Linux in general. If you want to install a windows application, you are ****** ** *** ****. It simply won't run. No, wine also doesn't work most of the time. So, if you want to use Microsoft Word, and not Open Office writer, there is nothing like Windows for you.

Conclusion

Hey, you have read that far! Congrats. I never read blog entries of that length to the end. I hope you have got my view on the new operating systems. My tip is Ubuntu if you don't need all the Windows apps everyone uses.

One thing can be said for sure: Windows Vista is better than Windows XP, but hey, everyone did know this, right?