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Posted on Saturday 5th of May 2007 at 14:24 in Linux

Ubuntu and friends vs Vista - out of the box experiences reviewed

I've been reviewing Linux distros a lot recently with an aim to establish the most usable distro 2007 from a "new users" point of view. It occurred to me that I've not actually put Vista through the normal tests. Let's see how Microsoft's finest compares to some of the latest releases.

I normally evaluate how usable a Linux distro is by putting it through some "normal" but quite limited tests. Playing videos is normally one of the more "difficult" aspects of operating system life so I make this a focal point. The video is obtained by connecting to my current Windows-based network which is a nice test in itself.

The review is also written from the test environment and published - meaning an Internet connection is crucial, as is access (and use of) various applications to get the job done. Out of the box experience is where the merits are...

vista

How does Vista cope with my normal Linux tests? (Quick review)



As normal reviews take place within VMware; this one was no different. Vista was given a 20gb hard-drive share and 512mb of RAM (as Dell are still selling machines with Vista and 512mb). Unfortunately I encountered what I thought were severe Vista errors upon attempting to network the install; instead it just needed VMTools installing (something no Linux distro has needed I might add). With that done I was ok to get started.

Connecting to my current network
Vista seems to be able to connect to networks outside of it's current workgroup - something that didn't matter seeing as "force-of-habit" ensured I'd already changed that aspect of the system. Once it had VMTools installed it obtained an Internet connection without issue and accessing Samba shares was as easy as you would expect.

Playing a video
Grabbing a video and playing it was problematic. I ended up downloading VLC player to get the job done. Basically I played with Vista enough to make some direct comparisons between "Microsoft's finest" and some of the leading Linux distros.

ubuntu

Comparing Vista to leading Linux releases



The last time I ventured into Vista was RC2 and that was some time ago, so I thought it was about time I actually installed the flagship release and give it a once over - unfortunately (for it) I'm much better informed on usable distros these days so I can make direct comparisons between the two factions.

Grounds for direct comparisons
I've tested both in identical environments (512mb of RAM in a VMWare session) and both Linux and Vista have been tested without Aero and Beryl/Compiz respectively. What I've been after is raw usability rather than misleading "razzle-dazzle".

Networking
The smart money would be on Vista to win this hands down given the decent job XP did of networking, compared to the stereotypically difficult way Linux makes you do everything. This myth can be comfortably dispelled. Oddly enough I found Ubuntu Feisty Fawn to be easier to network than Vista. A slightly odd notion considering that I was networking to a Windows Samba-share network... Ubuntu was able to show me all the options and was able to connect to the one of my choice without delay. Vista managed this too but I had some issues configuring my network devices (which I have to chalk up to VMWare).

Multimedia
Vista doesn't come with preloaded Codecs (not that I'm aware anyway) and was unable to play DVD-ripped episodes of Family Guy post-install. This meant that I needed to venture onto the Internet to get the job done (VLC player was my saviour). Ubuntu sourced the relevent codecs on the fly and downloaded them on demand, PCLinuxOS and SimplyMepis both managed to play the video directly after the install. Vista isn't advertised as needing an Internet connection to get the job done whereas that is largely common knowledge with Ubuntu. Out of the box performance: Vista 0 - 1 PCLinuxOS/SimplyMepis.

Installed Applications
This became an issue when attempting the normal review process because I rely on using installed applications to edit images, write and format the review. Unfortunately the most Vista gives you from the off is Notepad and Paint. Nice to see things have come on a long way since XP/2000/98. Ubuntu, PCLinuxoS and SimplyMepis all offer a comfortable set of applications to get the job done. OpenOffice is the equivalent of having MSOffice bundled in with the Vista install, GIMP is like having Photoshop thrown in too. Vista isn't exactly a lightweight install yet it comes with fewer installed applications than some of the really lightweight Linux releases... Not good.

pclinuxos

Annoyances with both platforms



Both have their annoying aspects, even the most dedicated fans would agree this much when being objective.

Annoyances with Linux (referring to PCLOS, Ubuntu and SimplyMepis specifically)
The main annoyance with Linux would be installing "complicated" applications that fall outside of the comfort-zone that is Synaptic (or similar) which can result in the rare but complicated world of Terminal use. The Terminal is the command-line interface that most people seem to associate with modern Linux - yet I can honestly say I've not had to use the Terminal yet this year... But there's always the possibility that you may need it.

Annoyances with Vista
Vista needed to authorise EVERY single action with me which became very frustrating and potentially ruined the user experience. I'm an advanced user and I don't need to confirm whether I meant to do things unless there are potentially hazardous. Further annoyances are how limited it is out of the box. I'll discuss why in my 'out of the box' conclusions.

Conclusions: Linux vs. Vista for out of the box functionality



I think it's been foolish of Microsoft to deliver XP all over again in terms of out-of-the-box applications. OSX delivers more and Linux certainly does too, making Vista the weakest out of all the available platforms. It relies on you either stumping up for commercial apps and installing those or having the knowledge to find things like Paint.net, OpenOffice, GIMP etc. Not many "average" users have this information to hand so they're automatically forced into further expenditure or several hours of research.

Vista is alright but I think it relies too heavily on the "wow" factor of the Aero interface ("the wow is now" etc) and that's always a weak argument. Aero isn't 'that' impressive either when compared to the things Beryl is doing (especially when the resource usages are compared too).

Ubuntu has an awful lot of good things going for it and is probably a better direct comparison to Vista - considering Dell have now agreed to sell machines with it on.

Today's technology needs to offer as much as possible for as little effort as possible and the popular Linux releases are moving in the same direction as Apple in getting this right; I can't help but feel that Microsoft missed the point too much with Vista. Yes, you can quite happily install Vista without issue and have it running and looking very sexy on modern hardware but that's where it ends. To do anything more you need to draw on knowledge that not all users will have (what free software is available and where to get it). This implies you have an Internet connection which (believe it or not) is still an issue for an awful lot of users around the world. No Internet connection = lots of money to spend for those unfortunate Vista users.

Not so with "out-of-the-box" focused Linux releases like PCLinuxOS, which offer a comprehensive suite of free software bundled with the install. Free, as easy to use and more functional straight out of the box? It's not hard to see why modern Linux distros are being praised by the media (like USAToday).

Someone once said that Microsoft didn't just cut the corners, they rounded them too and that feels like such an apt (forgive the pun) metaphor for the current situation. Aero is nice but it's not a reason to buy an operating system. Vista is good in it's own way, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone now unless they need their hand holding every step of the way. Those people would be nudged in the direction of Apple.


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Comments

Showing most recent 16 of 16 comments

I’m off to post computer OS stuff on a "Feed the Children" website: you freakin’ morons.
Joker
Personally, Ubuntu is my favorite linux distrobution out there, but I have yet to try PCLinuxOS.

However, I disagree with using the terminal as being a con. Sure, its scary the first few times using it, but after a while, it becomes almost fun. (apt get moo, for instance) I find it the quickest way to get things done, it just requires some patience to learn the commands.
Taters
You know, the term for Vista is Bloatware.
ff7]
1 GB of RAM for 3d effects on your computer?, NO WAY!!!!
I have been using Kubuntu for about 6 months and even though that in the beginning I was kind of lost on how to do stuff in it, later on I learned where everything was. I think that it took me about 2 to 3 weeks. I love Linux because of the stability and security. The ancient concept that Linux was not user friendly is now over. The Ubuntu distributions are very User-friendly, and you do not need to set up anything for them to work.
The main problem that I have with Linux is making backup copies of DVDs that are copyrights. I have not found yet an application that is able to do this, but everything else, even Limewire (Frostwire), I can use with no problems. The aero interface of Vista cannot compare with Beryl/Compiz. Even though both are pretty similar Beryl runs on almost any computer that has a Video Card of 64mb. Vista’s 3d effects need a sophisticated video card, a very fast CPU, and a lot of RAM.
jualin
I’ve used all of these OS’s over the last 12 months, and I’m finally (almost - nearly!) waving goodbye to MS OS’s.

I run a dual boot XP / (K)Ubuntu (you could almost say it’s triple boot, but it’s not) on my little Dell D400 laptop, and after 6 months of getting to grips with (K)Ubuntu, I’m incredibly happy with:

Stability

’Out of the box’ software (really incredible compared with MS)

Ease of updating & sourcing software

Security (obviously!)

Speed

Resource use

- and this may sound silly - the f**king HEAT from my laptop!

Seriously, if you were an alien visiting a computer shop, you’d think that most humans were insane.

"Okay, I’ll have that really, really expensive computer with a ridiculous ammount of RAM and more processing power than I’ll ever need, if I live to be 100, so that I can run an OPERATING SYSTEM, that I pay quite handsomely for. Oh, and then I’ll pay for some anti-virus software. And some anti-malware/spyware software. And a firewall that works. Oh, and then some seriously big bucks for an office suite with a nice logo on it. And then I’ll wait 10 minutes for this bloated monster to boot up, then I’ll have to prove continually that it’s genuine and not pirated, and the burden of proof is on me, so if the manufacturer makes a mistake, my problem. Then I’ll have to scour the internet and (if I’m daft, which it’s begining to look like I am) buy some things called ’codecs’ so I can watch and listen to things on this included media player thing. And any day now some child will discover a way to cripple my system, just for fun.

Or, I guess I could have that computer without an expensive OS, load up PCLinuxOS for free, use all of my system resources much more effectively, have pretty much all the software I want or need pre-installed, and have a far safer and more stable system.

Nah, that’s crazy! First option please............."

That said, it has taken me about 6 months to get fully happy with Kubuntu (call me sad, but I just prefer the look-and-feel of the KDE interface to the GNOME Ubuntu. It’s all the same under the skin anyway) - and now that I use my laptop for business as well as just the usual internet/skype/email stuff, I’ve practically been forced into crossing over due to the very real fear that XP would cause my little baby laptop to overheat/explode.

And I just get sick to death of the boot time, updating the anti-virus/spyware/malware etc. etc. etc.........

So here I am, perfectly (almost) happy with Kubuntu, after 6 months.

A few gripes - patchy web-cam support (and none in Linux Skype, which is about the worst supported Linux program I’ve come accross. Well done Skype - ’The whole world can talk for free’ as long as you use a propriatry paid-for OS. But I digress) and a few petty things like macromedia shockwave player not working under firefox - all in all, a great trade-off!

But should it take 6 months to get comfortable? Can you switch overnight?

Answer to those two, is yes, and yes.

The main ’problem’ with people being wedded to MS is

(i) like it or not, most PC’s come with Windows pre-installed
(ii) People have had 15 years to get to grips with MS OS’s

Which means - most people think that Windows works ’out-of-the-box’, rather than actually being configured for their specific machine. Oh, the joy to be had when they have to re-install, or better still fresh install. Their poor little faces. A whole week-end and still 50% of stuff just doesn’t work...........
And where has all that software gone?

There are a hundred things (at least) in MS’s OS architecture that are far from intuitive (and some are downright counter-intuitive) - however, most people have learnt (painfully) these various quirks, and now it feels like the ’right’ way to do things.

So because a few things in Linux are ’different’, they can be labelled ’difficult’. Not so - give Linux a run for fifteen years and then try going back to a Windows machine............

So it’s not a level playing field - Linux is now so superior it’s just not funny - but it’s difficult for many people to appreciate this because of the pre-installation/familiarity factors.

Can someone switch overnight?

Enter PCLinuxOS - probably the most user-friendly (and, apologies to the purists, windows-friendly) distro available.

It’s just incredible - installs in a fraction of the time of XP or Vista, uses less disk space, fewer resources, is faster, more secure, EVEN HAS BETTER 3D GRAPHICS if you’re into that sort of thing. Comes with a full office suite (honestly, unless you run a multi-billion dollar industry, I defy anyone to say that MS Office is worth £170 more than OpenOffice. Even £1 more.) Firefox 2.0 - Thunderbird for your mail - pretty much everything you’re going to need.

Flawless internet connectivity - really, you don’t have to shell out big bucks (on a new machine) to get Vista, try PCLinuxOS first for a month, then see what you think.

I now carry a live cd with me everywhere, and the converts are racking up fast (mainly with XP users to be fair - it’s very difficult for a new Vista user to beleive that this free OS could be a match for the super-hyped/advertised/expensive OS they’ve just bought. Tee-hee!!)

Before you say it - ’ooh, but I need windows for gaming’ - two points

1) Get out more

2) Buy a PS3 or a 360 if it’s really that important - or even try a WII, better fun for more people (socialising! wow!)

3) dual boot - Ubuntu/PCLOS will partition for you during install

That’s three, but the first one is just blatant rudeness so it doesn’t really count...........
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, PCLinuxOS, XP, and (cough) Vista
"The millions of people who don’t have enough to eat, generally aren’t worrying much about any computer, networked or otherwise. They won’t be using a computer until their basic survival has been secured."

Grow a brain!
Chris mankey
The terminal is hard? Oh c’mon now, it’s fun! ;-)

I had to fix somebody’s computer recently because the user said it was slow. When I got there, what did I see? Windows Vista. D’hoh! Fortunately, extremetech had an article about speeding up Vista. However, even with the tune-ups, Vista still ate 512MB RAM at startup along with a 3 minute boot time (on an AMD Athlon X2 with 1GB RAM). PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, SimplyMEPIS, Debian all had boot times under a minute with slower hardware. Debian + Fluxbox eats up only 110MB at the start. :-)

Now which one is for the Vista user? They all perform well, but I think PCLinuxOS has the edge simply because it has a control center and one nifty Live CD.
Chris
Your "believe it or not" comment about broadband is offensive given that there are almost 1 billion people who don’t have enough food to eat every day and hundreds of millions who live on $1 per day, with just enough rice to get by taking up 40% of their income.

Wow, you certainly are an uptight nitwit!
Chris mankey
I read this article, as well as many, about linux and it’s surpassingness to windows xp and vista. I agree. Linux is simply amazing, i have fedora 7, ubuntu fiesty, open suse, and downloading pclinux as we speak. I ALSO have vista, basically for computer usage it is a piece of shit. It wasnt exactly made as a windows organizer desktop though, the main intent was it to be running on windows new surface computer(looks like a coffee table), check it out, actually very amazing piece of technology. Windows vista has been developing for 5 years, and they started this project 5 years ago. They made them together, and they work together, as soon as the "Surface" (commercial name for it) comes out im buying one for sure. But for any computing needs on a personal computer, a business comptuer even, linux is all the way. Also the terminal that everyone hates, is actually an amazing feature to linux, and can basically make your comptuer do anything thats possible for it to do, as long as you know the command to do it =p.
Danny

______________
Linux enthusiast.
danny
I havent used vista for long but i have it installed on a VM. but i am of the opinion that it will definitely be a resource hog like all MS OSes are when they come out. it will take a bit of time before systems start to run them comfortably (lets not forget the service packs that will follow). I have ubuntu and PClinux OS "triple booting" with Win MCE. I believe that PCLinuxOS truly redefines the out of the box experience. Ubuntu used to be my preference but i realized that PClinuxOS truly has more beginner perks (e.g. centralised system configuration system (control panel) which is similar in method to YaST in SuSE), plus i am KDE biased.

One crash in three months Paul please, don’t even go there cos u know that Linux will give you a more stable system any time any day (as long as you have ur drivers). I have people who do not overly experiment with their Linux systems who have run it for over eight months with out a single crash... (well at least nothing that ctrl+alt+esc couldn’t solve, and even that is rare.)

This is the paragraph where i go on about the third world countries and there need or lack of need for the internet. But i think we are starting to deviate from the core of the topic.

My conclusion is that Linux rocks!!! Vista Sucks!!! :) other than the fact that it makes a good rhyme, how can free software compete with what i would consider expensive software (considering u have to by all of the useful content separately). It is clear to me that Linux has given a truly viable option that will not cost you much but rather give you knowledge of the true power of a personal computer access or no access to the internet... it kicks the crap out of XP which for productivity-wise for now is superior to Vista.

I am over joyed with the dell decision but i would have been more comfortable if they went with something Kubuntu or PCLinuxOS because KDE is overall superior to GNOME and the ubuntu team really do not give their KDE end much focus. This move will truly boost the Dell sales world wide... I was going to try an IBM after my dell E1505 but now i just might remain on this train for a while longer.

rysiek, even thought you are right about Kompile it will not kompile every thing some actually need you to alter configuration scripts before you start your compilation... its a little trick to do in the GUI sometimes especially when you have to run kwrite in SU mode. In those extremely rare moments truly going under till you hit the term(s) is the more comfortable way.

Ustyn
I don’t think the comment about networking was out of place. The millions of people who don’t have enough to eat, generally aren’t worrying much about any computer, networked or otherwise. They won’t be using a computer until their basic survival has been secured.

The usefulness of a standalone computer these days is severely limited. You can work offline a bit, but generally you’ll need to get connected in order for your work to be useful - it needs to be transmitted, uploaded/downloaded, archived, whatever. You can only do so much without being connected to the Internet.

But again - people struggling for survival are not commonly computer users.
Chiron613
About a month ago I’ve been checking out Windows Vista for about a week. And generally I must say it is quite a big disappointment for me. I have expected much more from a product that has been in development for 5 years and that is produced by a company that has so much money. But it looks like the bad effects of monopoly are already showing strong.

The first thing I noticed was that it consumed quite a lot of disk space. So I thought I would also get much more applications included, maybe even more then in a typical Linux install which consumes less space. Boy was I wrong. After Vista finishes installing you still have to install many apps just to get a decent environment for work.

Then I checked the resource usage and I was disappointed again. Vista is an unbelievable memory hog. I just started it up and it already has wasted almost all of my 1 GiB of memory.

Driver situation was also terrible. I had to install more drivers in Vista then I have to in Linux, and on top of that there even aren’t any drivers for my scanner and printer.During the five years of development this should be sorted out.

Power consumption of Vista is also higher than in Windows XP or in Linux. On average with Vista my laptop battery lasts about 20 - 30 minutes less.

What’s with all those annoying security and other popups in Vista. Like there is not enough popups in XP, no they had to add many more to Vista.

Oh and there is another important but well hidden defect in Vista. It has DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) integrated right into core. It looks like Vista is more about making RIAA and MPAA happy than it is about making users happy.

I guess the only improved thing in Vista is better handling of wireless networks and the new interface which has finally reached about the same level as you get with Linux and Mac OS. But Beryl in Linux still looks a lot sexier, not to mention it works a lot faster.

All in all I think Vista is just a step backwards compared to XP, and a very expensive one too. It reminds me more of Windows ME and we all know what a disaster this was.
Tsiolkovsky
> Paul

Think you’re being smart? Yes I’m sure an article about comparing Linux distros was written in context to the millions of people in world hunger.

Stop trying to cause conflict in places where it clearly doesn’t belong.
Harpo
A word on compiling:
you don’t have to use the terminal to do this now (surprise, surprise!) - just install a compilation tool like Kompile (I don’t know of any Gtk-based counterpart, but surely there is one - or will be in near future), right-click on the source tarball -> kompile, wait a few minutes and usually - you’re done.

W00t - no terminal!

And it is able to uninstall binaries installed that way, too. :)

HTH

Cheers
rysiek aka mike
rysiek
ive been using vista (albeit occashionaly) since feburary and it has been nothing but a dissapointment (all if i expected that is it still a dissapointment?)

the "believe it or not" comment about broadband is barely offensive given the context of the article, most people now presume having a computer = having internet access. i cant imagine anybody seeing this article as relevant to the millions (if not billions) who can barely afford to feed themselves.

linux is making great strides and will continue to over the next few years whether it can take a significant market share is unknown personally i hope that it does, i have been using gentoo for several months now on my laptop and although i still have a few issues i will not be returning to the day to day use of windows.
~CW~
$300 for this? You jest my friend.

I have been using Vista since the day it was released and, as I am in the UK, I paid a 100% ripoff, sorry, markup. I’ve been evaluating Linux all along to find a distro for an old laptop and as a dual boot option on a 2 year old PC.

Vista has performed passably well, though I did buy Office 2007 (which I consider excellent) at the same time and I consider it an important part of the upgrade. In 3 months it has only locked solid once.

Ubuntu continues to be a disappointment. The driver situation is a joke. I just tried to use 3 different wireless cards with it and not one worked. Belkin, Linksys, and Netgear. Off brands. No such problems with PCLinuxOS.

Your "believe it or not" comment about broadband is offensive given that there are almost 1 billion people who don’t have enough food to eat every day and hundreds of millions who live on $1 per day, with just enough rice to get by taking up 40% of their income.



Paul