XP vs Ubuntu
This post is just going to be one long list, detailing all the things I love and hate about both Windows XP and Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon in an effort to help me decide which one to use as my primary OS. You can draw your own conclusions and feel free to criticise my choices, anything to help me find the better fit. So, on with the list.
Ubuntu 7.10
- Cool factor. I will admit it, I installed Ubuntu purely to escape the monopoly that is Windows. The inbuilt Compiz effects are brilliant, adding a much needed wow factor as well.
- The appearance. Ubuntu is ugly. Worse it is God awful, a mish-mash of styles from different groups that don't seem to follow any common design scheme. You can skin window borders and cursors but with a range of different window drawing systems there seems to be no standard way to template the entire system. Having said that it is more than possible to do so, the results limited only by your time and ability.
- Installation. This is a polar point, synaptic makes installing and updating applications a breeze, but when you want to install something not in a repository? Downloading, unpacking, moving, running, compiling. Anyone coming from a Windows only background would be totally lost. And then where to install to?! The directory structure makes sense but only once understood. I love been able to update all my applications in one go, but there needs to be a wider reach.
- Usability. Without a standard interface to work towards it seems every program in Ubuntu has a different layout in mind. Compared to Windows consistent setup this seems positively baffling. For example, every other program has a different arrangement of buttons in a save and close dialog forcing you to check each time you click.
- General tweaking. I love the terminal. I've SSH'd into my server for a long time so I'm not afraid of dabbling in it, but to finally be able to do something useful (compared to Command Prompt) feels invigorating.
- Open Office. I spend a lot of time working on my computer, between Uni and personal projects I need a good office suite and OO just isn't up to task. Writer lacks decent grammar detection and synonym support and don't even get me started with what Calc is missing, trying to do degree mathematics on that is a joke. And they are all so utterly, unbelievably, slow.
- Functionality. Ubuntu wins this straight off. The ability to mount drives over SFTP, automatically detect bluetooth devices and a host of other features are brilliant. Windows can be customised to do similar but not without a lot of agro and external apps (XP crashes on shutdown because of my bluetooth drivers for example).
- Small things. If I've deleted a file programs may pop up an error saying they can't find it, XP just defaults elsewhere. Some programs won't add a default extension to a file if none is set, not good for lazy typists like me.
- Virtual desktops are integrated a hell of a lot better than most solutions on XP. Been able to switch between workspaces without the lag apparent with all the Windows solutions I've tried make them a much more natural feature to use.
- Development cycles. Things are updated faster, fixed more quickly and new ideas turned into usable systems much more rapidly than on Windows. Admittedly a lot of it is pre-beta stuff but having a cutting edge feature before everyone else is great.
Windows XP
- Familiarity. I've used some form of Windows for most of my life, I'm by no means an expert but I feel most at home in a Win environment.
- Lack of virii. Everyone moans about the viruses that plague Windows yet in the past 5 years I've had two virus related problems, that's it!
- Bugs. Windows loves its unexpected bugs. From programs that suddenly decide they don't want to start to blue screens it seems XP just can't help itself from throwing a wobbly.
- Updates. Almost every update I have to do a restart, not a nice option when you have a dozen programs that need exiting nicely in case they lose data.
- Programs. And not just games, Windows has Fireworks and Dreamweaver, the two most used applications on my machine. I can use a different code IDE easily but without Fireworks I'm lost. And GIMP sucks.
- Speed. XP can get slow, real slow. Our old family machine takes upwards of five minutes to get working, enough time to make a cup of tea. A fresh install on my media centre however is up and working in less than 30 seconds, much faster than Ubuntu has ever archived.
- Customisability. I've skinned windows, used Tweak UI a bit but there comes a point where you can do little more without resorting to more drastic measures (Litestep anyone?). Linux soars ahead here, anything and everything is fair game. I changed the transparency of menu items today, let's see XP or even Vista hit that.
- Vista. Vista is a pile of crap. I've used it enough to see that. It's the death knell of Windows, the signal that the times are changing and Microsoft will have to do something to keep up. Vista will flatly refuse to do anything but the basic functionality on my machine whereas Ubuntu can play videos simultaneously while spinning like a cube without any performance hit.
- Compatibility. Everything is made for Windows, everything works on Windows. My phone management software is Win only and so far no equivalent on Linux can support this particular model. Been able to buy something and know with reasonable certainty it will work in XP is invaluable. I got an old TV tuner card and managed to get drivers for Windows, Linux had no hope.
- Undeletable files. These continually pop up when deleting folders and drive me nuts, so far I haven't encountered anything like this on Ubuntu.
- Defragmentation. Despite what some say I can definitely tell when I need to defrag my XP machine, Ubuntu avoids this inherent instability saving me a few hours each month. And it remains consistent in terms of performance, unlike the rollercoaster ride of an XP life cycle.
- Games. I mainly play a mix of Counter Strike 1.6, True Combat: Elite and Defcon. Two of these can be played natively on Linux with the first compatible under WINE. The performance difference though is noticeable in some points.
Overall both operating systems are about equal in my own opinion, I'm not going to add up the totals of both above because quite simply I've missed some points I'm sure are more important to others. Ultimately Ubuntu offers a myriad of advantages over XP but the sheer monopoly Windows has holds off any attempt to defect. Fireworks, Office and a slew of other applications either run better on Windows or just don't have equivalents on Linux. WINE has come a long way but it still can't fully replicate all the functionality I need.
I will continue to try and use both OSs side by side but I wonder how long it will be before Ubuntu falls into disuse. For all the advantages it brings to the table XP denies it the ability to compete fairly. I can live without compiz, without the inherent power of such an open operating system but I can't go a week without Fireworks. And there is always the Mac option as a last resort.
7 Responses
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Entry Information
- 15th November 2007
- General
- 7 responses
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Kilian Valkhof opines
21:20 15th November 2007
I think there is no need for the two to compete. I'm happy using ubuntu on my laptop and windows xp on my pc. my laptop takes 49 seconds to start up, a clean install of winxp takes about the same time on my (faster) desktop, but after SP2 it takes a good couple of minutes to boot. I'm not changing though, photoshop on my desktop runs fine.
I haven't encountered much of the problems you described. Sure, compiling takes a while, but there are plenty of repositories that have the stuff you need and that can be added to synaptic very fast. using ubuntu is very fast with the correct drivers as well.
file extentions in ubuntu aren't particulary needed (not for text files, anyway) but it's nice if you want to communicate with windows systems. (I'm too lazy to type them, as well)
Dreamweaver works perfect under wine, by the way.
If I had to choose between the two, my first choice would be Ubuntu. for the couple of programs I really need windows for, I can always use wine or virtualbox :)
Luke L opines
21:53 15th November 2007
Ideally they wouldn't need to compete but with one machine I can only have one OS running at a time. Dreamweaver isn't too big a problem, I can use any IDE with syntax highlighting, but Fireworks (what I use in place of Photoshop) refuses to load in WINE. At least this is the first viable Linux distro I've found that I've liked which is a start.
Will opines
8:02 16th November 2007
I had the same situation 5 months ago. Tired of XP being a tad buggy and things crashing (probably only needed a clean install but anyway) I installed Ubuntu. and I loved desktop effects and worked well for doing all my development. Terminal is so much nicer then command prompt which I never really used but Terminal with inbuilt ssh is wonderful.
But in the end I ended up with a nice new shiny MacBookPro :D
If you just need Fireworks (GIMP is crap. crap) Maybe you could try a Virtual Machine setup like VMWare or there is a couple free ones which allows you to run XP within ubuntu and copy files across etc. Downside is that you'll need a decent amount of RAM/CPU to run 2 machines at once!
Russell opines
20:12 18th November 2007
Why is the Mac option a last resort? I realize that it means replacing your hardware rather than just the software, but once you've switched you'll never look back.
Pretty much all of the advantages of Windows & Linux with very few of the downsides.
* Familiarity: admittedly, it will take some getting used to.
* Lack of Virii: I don't know of any virii, and the decent permission system makes the likelihood of this small
* Bugs: they're few and far between, and they get patched quickly, as far as I can tell.
* Updates: some updates require a restart, but it shows which ones do so you can deselect these if you like.
* Programs: you can keep Fireworks and Dreamweaver. While many commercial companies still haven't recognized Linux, Mac users have enjoyed the benefits of good software for a while. A lot of free software works on Mac too!
* Speed: Macs don't have a registry, so they don't go slow after a few months of use. Programs keep their configuration in property-list (XML) files.
* Customizability: Macs are renowned for simplicity, not customizability. However, I notice most people running Windows or Linux want their machines to look like Macs, so why not just have the real thing?
* Vista: Pah, don't get me started. Leopard anyone?
* Compatibility: Can't argue that most stuff is written for Windows. But a Mac is a hundred times better than Linux. Hardware compatibility is wide without sacrificing stability to support hardware from two decades ago. If a piece of software isn't available on a Mac there will be a very good alternative. And if all else fails, VMWare Fusion emulates Windows (or Linux if you so desire) at a pretty good speed, lets you run Windows applications as if they were native Mac apps and with Leopard lets you assign Windows to a specific space (virtual desktop)
* Undeletable files & defragmentation: undeletable files are generally file system corruption (I think it's generally quite rare. A full format would fix it). Personally, I don't think fragmentation on NTFS is that bad. But I've never even heard of it on a Mac.
* Games: a lot of Games are released on Macs too, generally the bigger games. Unfortunately I don't think the games you play are available, but they're fairly low-spec so you might be able to play them in Fusion.
* Cool-factor: OS X has had some pretty cool window effects for a while, and with Leopard they released some new developer APIs which should see this get even better.
* The appearance: the appearance of OS X is one of it's best features. It's easy on the eye without being distracting.
* Installation: download program, drag program from disk image to Applications folder.
* Usability: Apple have a pretty strict set of guidelines when it comes to usability and interfaces (The Apple Human Interface Guidelines). Because of this, most (almost all) applications are consistent with menus, positioning, icons and keyboard shortcuts.
* General tweaking: OS X has terminal, and it uses Bash.
* Office: OS X has either iWork or Microsoft Office. iWork is Apple's take on the office suite, but it's designed primarily at home users (I think), but it's pretty good for most needs. Microsoft Office is the same as it's Windows counterpart, but with prettier icons!
* Functionality: Because it's a Unix compatible system at heart, you can get the same functionality you've had in Ubuntu. And bluetooth is built in and works very very nicely.
* Virtual Desktops: Spaces. Is. Brilliant.
* Development: Leopard was released in October, the 10.5.1 update was released recently. We aren't expecting Vista SP1 until next year and that's been out for more than a year already!
On top of that because you buy the hardware and software from one company, everything works very very nicely. And the hardware is brilliant, not only does it look much nicer on your desk it has those little touches that make it perfect. I've got a Macbook, which has a little LED indicator on the battery so you can see how charged it is without switching it on, it's just a little touch but it's nice.
In conclusion, buy a Mac. A Mac Mini is a nice way to switch.
Russell opines
20:13 18th November 2007
P.S. I didn't put the backslashes in. I think that happened when I clicked Preview.
Luke L opines
8:57 19th November 2007
Thanks for that Russell, and the slashes are a relic of my DB system. I think Macs are brilliant but I mainly compared XP and Ubuntu for the simple fact that I can get both of them for free. A lot of your points apply, and I recognise them as a viable alternative which is why it was listed in my conclusions, but for the moment, what with driving lessons and Christmas, I just can't afford one.
Russell opines
12:19 19th November 2007
Was worth a try I guess :-)