Ubuntu 7.10
Continuing my freeware search, I have tried Ubuntu 7.04 on my Mom’s desktop. It worked like a chime. I immediately hooked up with Ubuntu, and my dad and mom liked the build-in games. Even they did not have difficulty running Linux.
Unfortunately, Ubuntu 7.04 could not be installed on my notebook computer. So I downloaded and run the 7.10 beta Live CD. It worked well. I decided to wait for some more days for the official release.
I remembered back in 1999 I installed RedHat. It did not support the modem and sound card. And there was no useful program to run. Today Linux is different (as a desktop operating system of course, server is another story). Over the internet, there are too many hollow “Linux is better” articles. I do not agree. Microsoft Windows is great operating system too. And I do not like hollow statements. So, here I would like to say something specifically on the aspects where I think Linux is better.
Desktop Layout
In Gnome, there are three menus on the top bar: “Applications”, “Places”, and “System”. I knew at once what they are for, very intuitive. The applications are well orgainzed: offices, games…very intuitive to browse. In contrast, the start menu in Microsoft Windows is a mess.
Changing Settings
When I decided to change the default font from 90 dpi to 120 dpi, Vista required a reboot. When I did the same in Ubuntu, it applied the change on the fly. I also decided to use large font in the title bar. It took some ten seconds for Vista to apply the change, and the screen flickered. Ubuntu applied the same change immediately after I clicked the OK button without flickering, and I was running the operation system from CD. The winner is Ubuntu.
Beryl (Desktop effect)
I could not test Beryl while running Ubuntu from a CD. It will definitely defeat Aero. Youtube demonstrates that well.
Performance
Despite all the hype, I have reservation. A fair comparison is difficult. On my Mom’s desktop, to my surprise, Windows XP out-performs Ubuntu 7.04. Everything is faster under Windows XP. On my notebook, Ubuntu 7.10 beta, even running from a CD, not yet installed, loads OpenOffice 2.3 and some other applications, much faster than Vista. It is difficult to say.
Applications
With the development of killer software like Firefox and OpenOffice, as a desktop operating system, Linux today is fully functional. Vista is still a lot ahead in game and hardware support. There are a lot users who do not play games on computer (playstation is better) and do not change hardware every other months. Microsoft needs something new to stay ahead.
I plan to start an experiment: using Linux exclusively to see how long I must boot into Microsoft Windows for a certain job.
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