Say Goodbye To Microsoft Window XP, Adios To Microsoft Window Vista and Hello Linux Ubuntu.
First and foremost, this write-up not meant to ask you to switch from you existing operating system to a new operating system. I am trying to show you, my reader, where the performance lies, possible difficulty and the level of possible solutions required to fix the problem. Realise that I had used Window XP for 4 years, Ubuntu in and out, Vista about 30 days. So here is the verdict.
Windox XP has been widely used since 2001 and while it work on higher end hardware, the functionality still the same as other Microsoft operating system. Interesting to note, Microsoft had made a decision to stop selling Window XP after June, 2008 thus confirming the stiff competition gave by Window XP toward Window Vista. While offering basic functionality at a premium price, Window XP flavor that commonly used Home Edition, Professional Edition and XP Media Center Edition.
It is also interesting note that due to conviction of anti competitive behavior and monopoly, Microsoft release another version of Window XP call Window XP Edition N, which carry no Window Media Player.
Linux Ubuntu Overview
Being similar to Windows but still very different, Ubuntu is available in the following editions:
Unlike Microsoft, Ubuntu does not differentiate between its home and professional editions. The version homemakers use for recipe collection or children use for games is the same version used by programmers in large businesses like Google. The focus of professional or enterprise editions - security and stability - is equally available to the non-professional user.
While there is many flavor to Ubuntu, as mentioned above, at its core, it remains the same as regular Ubuntu. As compared to Windows, Ubuntu does not need to be trimmed down to be embedded or to work on a tablet PC. It is already small enough and fast enough for that. Also, Linux is already embedded in PDAs and cell phones without major revisions.
Also unlike Windows, Ubuntu - and Linux in general - is very robust. It can run on relatively old computers thus eliminate the need for a legacy edition. At the same time, it can also run on full media centers without needing a new version of the operating system.
Functionality
For the purposes of the general computer user, two most significant features for most users was the improved interface and the CD-ROM burning utility. The rest of the application is standard bundling like the previous Microsoft Window operating system.
For advanced users, they also benefitted from fast user switching, remote desktop capabilities, and ACPI power management that supports hibernation and sleep mode. Anything beyond this basic functionality requires the purchase of third-party software. Unfortunately, XP users also have to endure incompatabilities between XP and some third-party software.
Ubuntu, on the other hand, comes with high quality, industrial-strength applications on the installation CD. These include a full office suite, a graphics package that has around 80% of the functionality of Adobe Photoshop, a full personal information manager that functions similarly to Microsoft Outlook (it is not Mozilla ThunderBird but an application call Evolution), instant messaging, and Skype-like Internet phoning (although you can also use Skype for Linux). Internet browsing is provided by Mozilla Firefox, as a recommendation and but Linux Ubuntu can also used other browser.
Like Microsoft Window XP and Vista, Ubuntu also supports fast user switching as well as nested user switching, allowing you to start another login inside of a nested window like starting another program. Another featured to match Microsoft Window XP, ACPI power management is also supported. Using Ubuntu’s built-in installation utility, one can select applications which the program will then find on the Internet, download, install, and configure at the click of a button.
One of the great frustrations endured by both operating system was incompatability issues between the software and the operating system. Ubuntu solves this by checking the dependencies of a program before it is installed. If a required package is not installed and needs to be, Ubuntu will offer to find it and install it first, and then continue installing the previously selected program.
Final Words
While Microsoft owns the desktop space, we have noticed some chinks in the armor, and Apple is not the only other game in town. When you add the cost of the hardware and software together, Open Source solutions such as Ubuntu, Fedora Core and Suse (just to name a few) are appealing alternatives.
Suffice it to say, unless you have a relatively new system in hand or you are looking to upgrade your system, MS Windows XP Professional is still a very viable OS.
What about Ubuntu you ask? Well, my bias leans towards running Ubuntu (or any Linux for that matter) anyway, however I am a realist and I fully understand that DirectX games such as Flat Out2, Battle Field 2 and Battle Field 2142 will not run, or must be emulated to run on Linux. Thats not to say it would not be a good solution, because obviously you are getting a lot of performance out of older as well as new hardware, especially when you consider what you pay :).In the end, obviously you the reader to need to make the choice of what is right for you. How much pain are you willing to endure in order to have an OS that fits your requirements? What reason would compel you to move to a new OS? Is it sexy to stay with XP Pro? Not so much. Is it sexy to move to Ubuntu? Maybe, no matter, it definitely is cool.
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Tags: firefox, Google, Media Center, Microsoft, mozilla, ms window, new, Professional, top, Window Vista, Window XP
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