After Ubuntu, Windows Looks Increasingly Bad

mrcgran writes "Sys-Con has a look at some advantages of using Ubuntu over Windows. 'My recent switch to a single-boot Ubuntu setup on my Thinkpad T60 simply floors me on a regular basis. Most recently it's had to do with the experience of maintaining the software. Fresh from a very long Windows 2000 experience and a four-month Windows XP experience along with a long-time Linux sys admin role puts me in a great position to assess Ubuntu. Three prior attempts over the years at using Linux as my daily desktop OS had me primed for failure. Well, Ubuntu takes Linux where I've long hoped it would go — easy to use, reliable, dependable, great applications too but more on that later. It has some elegance to it — bet you never heard that about a Linux desktop before.'"

wow, what a popup!

[non]

who do i thank for that?

Popup / flash / whatever alert

[hoover]

I'd flag this as off topic, but that's the worst, adblock plus-evading website I've come across in a while. If that's the destiny of the web, then thanks, but no thanks, from me.

Print version

[efence]

Print version [sys-con.com]. The page is really ridden with ads (including a popup and a flash video).

Oh no... here we go again...

[LLKrisJ]

... with the Linux vs. Windows chenanigans.

Flamebait I say :s

Print Version

[Anonymous Coward]

Here is the print version to avoid the ad junk that sys-con is: http://linux.sys-con.com/read/382946_p.htm [sys-con.com]

Re:Popup / flash / whatever alert

[Anonymous Coward]

Disable javascript or install fx and the noscript extension. Hopefully the future of the web is no unnecessary javascript due to the potential for abuse.

Oh and the publishers (Sys-con) of this article suck.

more evidence

[jcgf]

I've always found it easier to install linux than windows or at least for the past few years and for the same reasons listed in the article. No virus scanner, no serial numbers, fewer cds, more included software all make it very nice. Installing software is easier in ubuntu too.

Symantec?

[hexed_2050]

I'm not sure if the writer was intentionally attempting to jinx the Windows install, but who in the right mind still installs or recommends Symantec/Norton when great products like Kaspersky now exist?

Ever try removing Norton from a system? It's like pulling wisdom teeth!

I understand that virus protection wasn't the main focus of the article, but he did make reference to it, and in the defense of Windows and giving the article a bit more of a balanced test, the testers should at least make sure they are using good 3rd party products.

h

Re:I'm very impressed with Ubuntu

[WilliamTS99]

Actually, you can run kopete perfectly fine on a regular install of Ubuntu, it will just install some kde libs. sudo apt-get install kopete Best Regards

Re:I'm very impressed with Ubuntu

[DigDuality]

you are aware that kde and gnome applications can be used on each other's desktop environment, right?

The List

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

Whenever these discussions come up, I like to forestall some of the repetition by posting my list of wins for OS X, Windows, and Linux. This is a list of the things each OS does better than some others, not a list of problems. Feel free to post and suggest other items, but please know what you;re talking about. I hate getting posts from people who clearly have never used two of the OS's in question and are simply assuming their favorite OS must do it better.

OS X Wins:

• Sane UI choices - OS X does not ignore the last two decades worth of human/computer interaction research.
• System services - global (nearly) spellchecking, dictionary/thesaurus, and plug-in functionality like grammar checking, language translation, only reference lookups, bibliography formatting, etc.
• OpenStep application bundles - drag and drop installation and uninstallation of most applications, e-mail or IM working programs without having to save installers, run software off an ipod or thumb drive without having to install (including remembering per-machine preferences), easy binaries for multiple platforms, finding resources in packages is much easier and requires no tools.
• Security - for a variety of reasons that don't matter to most end users, OS X users have never had to worry about malware or worms and probably will not have to in the foreseeable future.
• Usable shell environment - bash, tcsh, whatever; the CLI on OS X is very usable and powerful and a first class citizen. We'll see if this comparison changes when Monad is released.
• Automater - scripting usable by secretaries. This is the easiest tool for some tasks and the only automation/scripting I've seen that some novices can quickly learn and use.
• Included applications - both CLI tools, GUI utilities, and GUI applications, OS X has more and nicer ones than Windows you include iTunes, iPhoto, Preview, etc., etc.
• Upgrading hardware - upgrading a mac to a mac is as easy as plugging in a firewire cable clicking a button. This saves a lot of time and effort, amazingly better
• Ubiquitous zeroconf - automatically and instantly finds printers, local chat, streaming music, file shares, and collaborative documents
• PDF support - create PDFs from everywhere and viewing is fast, fast, fast compared to Vista.
• Emulation/ports/virtualization/compatability - it is easier to run Linux and Windows software on OS X and there are more options to do so on OS X, than there are to run Linux and OS X apps on Windows (yeah I know about cygwin and Apple's licensing and the relative number of apps)
• Easier support of third party devices, plug them in and they just work much more often.
• No Registration - never worry about entering serial numbers or tracking them or you computer deciding you're a dirty pirate.

Windows Vista Wins:

• Application availability - more developers target Windows and eventually a lot of people want to run some niche software that does not work without Windows
• Not tied to one hardware vendor - If you run Windows you have more hardware choices and likely get a machine that meets your needs more cheaply than a Mac, as a result.
• Package manager - Windows has a pretty lame software install/uninstall manager, but it is still better than nothing
• Antivirus/phishing features - OS X and Linux don't have a lot of need, but this is still not a bad precaution
• Remote desktop features - have clients for more platforms than OS X's comparable feature, and is better than Linux for a few tasks, but worse for others.
• Wider support for third party devices, everyone makes a Windows driver, not everyone makes an OS X or Linux driver
• Easier to find unofficial support from random people you know
• Indexed searching is useable by default, unlike most Linux distros
• Default color support has poorer management and accuracy, but wider range
• Application level granularity of sound controls is usefu

Ubuntu Fonts

[mikeboone]

I recently ran out of room on my HD for an XP install on my laptop. I bought a new drive and I installed Ubuntu Feisty on it. I was pretty impressed. I was able to do nearly everything I needed, mainly web development stuff. Even the power management seemed to be working. But I could not get the fonts to my liking...for whatever reason they just didn't look right, and they bothered my eyes. None of the settings that I tweaked helped significantly. So for now I'm back to XP, but I will investigate improving Ubuntu's fonts in the meantime.

P.S. One thing I missed from the Windows world was a simple RPN calculator like XCalc.

Re:Differing Opinion

[Dystopian Rebel]

I've seen older Linux iterations that make me want to cry

I think your crying is a personality trait. The default Text Editor in Ubuntu is Gedit. It's easily better than any "advanced" default text editor that Windows has ever provided.

Re:I'm very impressed with Ubuntu

[Anonymous Coward]

Gaim is no longer called Gaim. It is now Pidgin, and I'd say that with the plug-ins that come with it, it is at least as good as any other IM client

Re:Differing Opinion

[jimstapleton]

Your half right.

Your example is neither complicated (correct), or intuitive (incorrect).

Somebody stopping by and playing with Linux will probably have *no* clue what the etc direcotry is, or even to look there. And then telling them what it is for (everyone I have heard has described it as "configuration settings"), they would never guess to *look* there for starting and stopping applications, they would probably look in the .*/bin or .*/sbin direcotries, since those hold applications, if someone gave them a bit more information.

This is especially true

[Sycraft-fu]

Because I find that systems/network tools are one of Linux's strongest points. I mean let's see what I need for doing the systems support part of my job:

--E-Mail: Check. Linux has Thunderbird, which is what I use under Windows.
--Web: Check. Again, same thing as I'd use under Windows (Firefox).
--SSH: Check. Maybe the command line SSH client isn't quite as pretty, but it works in ever way as well.
--Remote Desktop: Check. Not as slick as the Windows one, but doesn't lack for anything important.
--Text editor: Check. I like UltraEdit better, but there are plenty that work fine for Linux.
--Ability to map SMB and/or NFS shares: Check.

That's pretty much it for the major tools I need. So long as I can check on the problems that need solving, and get to the servers that they need solving on, that's all my system needs to do for that part of the job. Linux does that just fine. Hell, so does Solaris.

However that doesn't carry over to other areas necessarily. A good example of where it doesn't is media production. The tools for Linux are sub par at best in my experience. In theory it might be possible to do what I need, but in practice I have never been able to figure out how and it is just too much effort. For Windows I just install Sony Vegas and go, it makes everything easy. In Linux it is fighting with many different tools, some of which are quite hard to get compiled (no binary distribution) none of which seem to be able to do everything that is needed.

So picking an area that Linux is strongest at isn't necessarily that useful, especially when talking Linux on the desktop. I mean I've known sysadmins that use Solaris as their desktop OS, doesn't mean that anyone would suggest it is intended for prime time desktop usage. Also, sysadmins are (or at least should be) more able to deal with some of the problems you'll encounter. Dropping to a command line it something a sysadmin should be able to do. A normal user? Not so much. If it isn't pointy and clicky with everything spelled out, it may be past their competence.

Re:Ubuntu Fonts

[frogstar_robot]

Qalculate (qalculate.sourceforge.net or even apt-get install qalculate-kde or apt-get install qalculate-gtk) has an RPN entry mode and seems to be quite the nifty desktop calculator besides.

Re:Kubuntu 7.04 (feisty) ppc

[dylan_-]

Maybe try digiKam or F-Spot. Brief overview here [linuxjournal.com] but no reason not to try them both and see which you prefer.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Kubuntu 7.04 (feisty) ppc

[Fri13]

Try Digikam, great application for image managing. F-spot is good if user only have few hundred photos. I manage my over 42 000 picture archive with digikam and it is faster than Lightroom.

For Gnome users (ubuntu) Digikam isn't so great because it is KDE related software and Gnome apps dont know how to use KIO slaves so well, thats why gnome users should try F-spot first.

Re:Nice pitch, but...

[ArtDent]

The list goes on and on, from railing about something he "heard Vista did" to complaining about how IBMs auto-restore function failed (as though Windows was somehow related to a pre-OS restore function).

I have to call you on that latter point.

His point was that you don't need crappy vendor-supplied restore solutions with Ubuntu because install CDs can be easily obtained for free.

After suffering a total hard drive failure, I tried to obtain a factory-restore CD from IBM (this was before they sold the PC business to Lenovo). They told me I couldn't have one without paying because *Microsoft* forbids them from giving them away.

I think his point is fair and legitimate.

Re:I'm very impressed with Ubuntu

[HAKdragon]

...Trillian is a windows only IM app. You are aware of that, right?

don't you rsync as root?

[halber_mensch]

I call bullshit on the author being a Linux admin. I'm not trolling and this certainly isn't flamebait, only truth: "It's Linux - no worries" is a load of crap and everyone here knows it.

Surely you jest!

I've used rsync for backups for years. I back up my mail, my Thunderbird data, and "my document" directory (i.e., /home/xxxx/). One of these backup commands looks like this and sits in a single shell script and runs from cron once a day (I've already sent the ssh key to the backup target server so no need to manually login to the backup server for this command to run):

rsync -avgz /home/xxxx/.mozilla-thunderbird/ root@mycomcastipnumber:/hdb/ibmt60-ubuntu-mozilla- tbird/ >> /home/xxxx/backup-.txt

I'm sure plenty of linux admins promote the use of both rsync as a backup/restore mechanism and the use of the root login over the internet! They all happen to be 13, but still...

Doesn't happen in Opera 9.21.8776!

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't happen in Opera 9.21.8776!

I am doing the following:

1.) Using its built-in popup blocker

2.) Combining that with .pac files

3.) Combining THAT even moreso w/ filtering custom css stuff I use

4.) Not allowing JAVA or JavaScript in my webbrowsers on the public internet (some sites I have to make exception to, Opera allows this though, by site in its rightclick on a page "EDIT SITE PREFERENCES" popup menu options)

5.) Disallowing FLASH via registry hacks to the Win32 OS I use (Windows Server 2003 SP #2, FULLY hardened, per this URL -> http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=237507&cid= 19410153 [slashdot.org] & it's methods for layered security outlined therein...

6.) & lastly, a custom adbanner blocking HOSTS file (referred to in the URL above)!

(In regards to the latter - I have one built up from years of doing this on my own & lately, from http://stopbadware.org/ [stopbadware.org] , & that has over 90,000 sites in it, as of today that could be banners that suck up my bandwidth, OR WORSE, deliver me "Mal-Content" (pun intended, because this has been shown to be the case sometimes, yes, believe-it-or-not, in adbanners having code that is malicious in them the past 2-4 years now, & articles here on /. even stated it in the past)... & STOPBADWARE.ORG gets its data from GOOGLE (as to sites that bear malicious content & GOOGLE's mantra "Don't be EVIL" is good enough for me I suppose, lol!))

Anyhow, sorry webmasters of the planet - I am a HUGE fan of HOSTS files that block banners, because of the above, & the fact it's MY MONEY I spend to go online, & I want ALL OF MY POSSIBLE BANDWIDTH!

APK

Re:What is Ubuntu?

[75th Trombone]

"Virii" is not now and has never been a word. [wikipedia.org]

Re:wow, what a popup!

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

That just sounds excessive. Installing four plugins just to avoid one popup? I just use adblock plus and disable popups in my preferences... I think one popup has gotten through that in the last eight months.

Re:Nice pitch, but...

[Matt Perry]

After suffering a total hard drive failure, I tried to obtain a factory-restore CD from IBM (this was before they sold the PC business to Lenovo). They told me I couldn't have one without paying because *Microsoft* forbids them from giving them away.

I guess it depends on who you get on the phone. I bought a Thinkpad T30 about four years ago. I was annoyed when I opened the box and there weren't any restore CDs. When I called IBM support and complained the support guy said they would mail me a restore CD set right away. I got a package with the three CDs a few days later.

Also, to get rid of the video

[Kadin2048]

If you don't want to block Flash completely, adding "*/commercials/*" to Adblock Plus' blocklist gets rid of that hideous thing on the right side (which, if you had your speakers on, comes up with sound automatically).

Re:I'm very impressed with Ubuntu

[Bachus9000]

I'd personally blame your problem on Fedora. My experiences with it have not been great. On one computer, X never worked right--the picture would corrupt itself pretty soon after boot. Everything was fine in Windows and in Ubuntu and Debian. I also tried Fedora on my laptop and ran into another problem (IIRC it was also X-related, but I forget specifics). Again, Windows, Ubuntu, Debian, and even Gentoo worked fine. Sure, it's only anecdotal evidence, and this was "ages" ago (Core 4 IIRC), but it's enough that I've decided I'll avoid Fedora from now on. Besides, I'm perfectly happy with Ubuntu and Debian. :)

I have to call you on *your* latter point

[Jon.Laslow]

Microsoft does not forbid OEMs from shipping disks with their computers - instead, they give the OEM an option as whether to ship the disks or provide a Recovery Disk/Partition system of their own design. There are many not-so-large OEM's that ship their computers with a Windows DVD that's only difference from the Retail disk is the label.

As for not being able to give out the disks later, as a replacement? Wrongo! Again, that's OEM policy, not Microsoft's.

Blame the OEM for the crappy recovery process and lack of disks, not Microsoft.

Re:The List

[fred fleenblat]

If you don't mind some additions:

linux wins:
* can run efficiently on cheap, out of date x86 machines
* g++ and lots of developer tools pre-installed by most distros
* out of the box can scale to 64 CPU's. some kernel tweaks and IBM uses it as a supercomputer OS with thousands of nodes.
* wide variety of virtualization solutions, many of them completely free

windows wins:
* easier to control large number of machines in a corporate environment
* support techs are cheaper to employ
* games, games, games

mac wins:
* the higher initial price is offset by longer hardware and OS lifetime (5 year old mac's still have significant resale value)

Re:wow, what a popup!

[Turbana]

Popup? Real browsers don't have any popups. $ links slashot.org

Re:wow, what a popup!

[simonjester2424]

Sometimes ads and popups are based on your IP address/location. For instance, I've heard many times of only some people getting made spyware popups, but when the admin checked, he NEVER did. He finally figured out that the ad system only gave out evil ads when you were accessing the site from a non-US IP.

Re:I'm very impressed with Ubuntu

[endemoniada]

Most of those things are, really, the fault of hardware producers. IBM, with their OSS-friendly approach, make some of the very best Linux laptops with the ThinkPad series. I'm running Feisty on a ThinkPad T43, and there is not a single piece of hardware not supported. I can hibernate and suspend whenever I please, wireless works OOTB and performance is absolutely terrific.

It all comes down to hardware support in the form of firmwares and drivers. Unfortunately, there's not much Ubuntu can do about that, since most hardware manufacturers don't care even a little about their OSS using customers.

So if you want to blame someone, don't blame the Ubuntu team. They're doing the best they can with that they've got.