First, some disclaimers.
1) My intended target audience: intermediate computer users who aren’t afraid to do some troubleshooting. I’m going to assume you fall into the same category as me: someone with a bit of experiencing “tinkering” with computers. My hope is that you’ve installed at least SOME hardware before, that you’re familiar with basic computer terminology, and that you aren’t afraid to use a command-line program if you absolutely have to. If you don’t meet any of these criteria, feel free to tag along – but remember that this article is not intended to address YOUR specific needs.
2) I am not a Linux or Microsoft “fanboy.” I am a home PC owner who wants my home PC to work as well as humanly possible. I don’t mind a bit of tinkering – but IMO, the best OS is a low-maintenance one.
3) This is not an exhaustive comparison. For a more complete, in-depth look at specific features, you might try these links:
http://www.itcomparison.com/OS/vistavsubuntu/vistavsubuntu.htm
http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=199201179
Both have their biases, but they are a bit more in-depth than I am looking to provide here.
–End Disclaimers–
If you’ve made it all the way here, I am going to assume that you are seriously considering an XP upgrade to either Ubuntu or Vista. I was in this same location a month ago, and after doing loads of online homework I made the decision to try Ubuntu 8.04. I installed it to a separate hard drive (and kept my Windows XP install on its original hard drive, just in case)…
…and since that initial install, I’ve only booted to Windows XP once. Overall I have been extremely happy with Ubuntu, and hope that this summary of my own Ubuntu vs. Vista research is useful in helping you make a similar decision.
The goal of this article is to help you make an informed decision regarding your post-XP operating system. I mean that. My goal with this article is not necessarily to convince you to switch to Ubuntu (although I would be happy if that happened). Rather, my goal is to encourage you to give Ubuntu a fair look. After you’ve seriously considered the pros and cons of both Ubuntu and Vista, I’ll leave it up to you to make whatever decision is best for you and your specific situation.
All ready? Here goes!
Step 1: Consider recommended hardware requirements
Each OS’s recommended hardware specs are as follows, along with my “just-to-be-safe” recommendations (in parentheses).
Vista:
- 1 GHz processor (2.0+ GHz is better)
- 1 GB of memory (2+ GB is better)
- 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space (20 GB+ free space is better)
- DirectX 9.0 compatible memory card with 128 MB vRAM (256+ MB is better)
Ubuntu:
- 700 MHz processor (1.0+ GHz is better)
- 384 MB of memory (512+ MB is better)
- 8 GB available hard drive space (20+ GB available is better)
- Graphics card capable of 1024×768 resolution (but any 3D acceleration features will be useful)
I’d welcome anyone to correct me, but the hardware specs in parentheses are probably what you’ll need to get the best experience out of either of these two operating systems. Basically, a mid-level PC is capable of running either OS, but as you move towards the low end of the spectrum, Ubuntu may be your only real choice. (The minimum specs for an Ubuntu install include a 300 MHz processor and 64 MB RAM – wow!) If you have a high-end PC, consider hardware specs a moot point as both OSes will be plenty fast enough for you.
My PC specs are the following:
- 2.2ghz AMD processor (Athlon 64 3800+)
- 1 GB memory
- 200 GB empty hard drive (SATA, bought new at geeks.com for under $50 USD)
- 128 MB ATI video card (ATI Radeon 9200)
This placed me within the recommended hardware specs for both OSes, but my video card and RAM seemed safer under Ubuntu.
Step 2: Hardware compatibility
Both Ubuntu and Vista include tools for estimating hardware compatibility BEFORE you install.
Microsoft’s “Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor” tool is available here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx
To test Ubuntu, you will need to either download the ISO for a Ubuntu CD, or place an order for free Ubuntu CDs. (Yes, they will send you CDs free-of-charge.) Ubuntu’s official download page is available here: http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download
Once you have a Ubuntu CD at your disposal, insert the CD and reboot your computer. This CD is a Live CD, meaning that you can run Ubuntu from the CD. You do not need to install anything – simply reboot with the Live CD in the drive, and your computer will boot to Ubuntu. Very cool.
Once Ubuntu is up and running, feel free to play around a bit. This should give you a good indication of what a default Ubuntu install looks like. Feel free to try some of the included apps, browse the web, maybe even play some mp3s from your existing XP hard drive.
Eventually you’ll want to head to “System” -> “Administration” -> “Hardware Testing”. This little wizard will run through some basic tests to ensure that your keyboard, mouse, video, and sound all work.
IMPORTANT NOTE: this wizard does not test ALL hardware. You may want to manually test your printer and/or any other peripherals currently attached to your system.
After you’ve had your fill, shut down your computer (and remove the CD when reminded), then reboot it to return to XP.
Step 3: Reevaluate your upgrade choices based on your hardware
If you’ve run both the upgrade tools from Step 2, chances are that you have a pretty good idea of how your hardware will handle an OS upgrade.
So now it’s time to make a choice: does hardware compatibility/incompatibility force your hand? Does one upgrade seem easier than the other? If you do have incompatible hardware, is it a device you can live without? Are there fixes available for whatever hardware problems you may have encountered?
After I ran both upgrade tools, I found the following:
- My video card worked and was supported in Ubuntu, but enabling hardware-accelerated 3D would require some command line instructions. The same video card – despite having the recommended amount of VRAM – was marked as not capable of running Vista’s Aero interface.
- My printer/scanner/copier didn’t work by default under Ubuntu, but this was easily remedied by selecting a similar model number (7200 instead of 8400). Vista marked the device as “unknown compatibility,” but some Googling led me to find that it would be supported – I’d just have to download some new drivers from Epson’s website.
Other than these two issues, it looked like all my core hardware was compatible with both OSes, and any peripheral hardware (webcam, digital camera, a MIDI keyboard) was a crapshoot. (Both OSes were unspecific as to whether or not these devices would work.)
So for me, hardware compatibility didn’t tip the scale in favor of either OS – but I was unhappy at not being able to run Vista’s Aero interface.
Step 4: Software compatibility
Software compatibility is a tricky step because the level of software compatibility you may require could be anywhere from “don’t need any of my XP-specific programs” to “I can’t live without some XP-specific programs.” Honestly, my recommendation – for either OS – would be setup a dual-boot environment, which would allow you to keep XP entirely intact.
This is what I did. I bought a cheap 2nd hard drive online and installed my new OS to that drive, leaving the XP drive untouched. If this is an option for you, I would HIGHLY recommend it.
And really – unless you are locked into a tiny laptop hard drive you don’t want to upgrade, there is no reason to NOT setup a dual-boot system. Even if you decide to use Vista, I can almost guarantee that a spare XP installation will come in handy at some point in your life.
In my case, the Vista upgrade advisor warned me that several of my favorite programs (including Visual Studio 6.0, ActiveSync, and potentially some of my ATI video card drivers) were known to have compatibility issues with Vista. Obviously, the vast majority of my XP programs wouldn’t work in Ubuntu.
(Yes, I know about Wine, and yes, most of those programs still wouldn’t work.)
Then there was always the option of setting up a virtual XP environment in either OS, but I wasn’t interested in this.
For me, dual-boot was definitely the way to go, regardless of my OS choice. This meant that as of this step, I was still debating between Vista and Ubuntu.
Step 5: Cost
I could stick this step anywhere, but this seemed as good a place as any to address the elephant in the room.
Ubuntu is free. Vista is not. The price of Vista varies, but since I was looking to do a dual-boot setup, I would need a complete (non-upgrade) version.
(Yes, I know – there are ways to install a Vista upgrade onto a blank hard drive. If you want to try that, do it at your own risk.)
Vista Ultimate with SP1 retails at $319 USD while Home Premium with SP1 goes for $239 USD. I don’t know about you, but that’s more money than I tend to part with easily.
And thus, the scale starts to tip in favor of Ubuntu.
Step 6: New software
This step is undeniably unfair, but IMO it is an important one. Vista is just an OS: nothing more, nothing less. It comes with some screensavers, a couple simple games, a basic text editor, IE and WMP, and a whole bunch of system utilities.
Ubuntu, however, is really an entire software suite. Yes, you get the OS – but you also get a catalog of thousands of pieces of free software. Among these?
OpenOffice.org, a complete replacement for Microsoft Office
GIMP, a Photoshop replacement
A game from pretty much every genre imaginable, including RTS, FPS, arcade, retro, simulators…
Multiple music players and video players
Firefox
…And way more than I can possibly list here. For a more complete list (sorted by category), please visit https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SoftwareRepoDefault. I think you’ll be amazed by the software offering.
And the best part? To install and/or remove software in Ubuntu, all you do is hit “Applications” -> “Add/Remove…”, then check or uncheck the boxes next to software you want installed or uninstalled. When done, hit “Apply Changes” and let the system take care of the rest.
It really is that simple.
Step 7: Security
Different people can present valid opinions on whether or not Ubuntu (or any other Linux distro) or Vista is more secure. Both OSes will be more secure than XP, but ultimately OS security is primarily a matter of vigilance. The vast majority of PC security breaches are caused by the USER – not by a hacker. If you download insecure software in any OS, you run the risk of harming your PC.
But in terms of out-of-the-box security, there are several things to consider.
One is that Vista will setup a software firewall by default. Ubuntu will not. There is some debate over whether or not you should even worry about setting up a firewall in Ubuntu (see here and here, for example), but unless you are running a server or installing questionable software (i.e. NOT from the add/remove dialog), Ubuntu should not require a firewall.
Next, Vista needs a dedicated virus scanner. Ubuntu, generally speaking, does not. Again, there is some debate on this issue (see here and here), but by and large your chances of (a) acquiring a linux virus and (b) receiving any damage from said virus is minute. You probably have a higher chance of being struck by lightning than you do downloading a virus-infected program from an official Ubuntu repository.
This is a significant Linux advantage. Because you automatically download programs from a central repository, you only download programs that are vigilantly checked for malware, spyware, and viruses of any sort. This is a far cry from any version of Windows, which allows you to download an infected program from any website you encounter.
To sum up security: both OSes are an improvement over XP. Because I tend to err on the side of caution, I found Ubuntu to have the edge here – if for no other reason than the number of Linux-based viruses is a tiny fraction of the number of Windows viruses.
Step 8: UI and overall prettiness
Because my video card wasn’t capable of running Vista’s Aero interface, Ubuntu was a hands-down winner in the appearance category. If, however, you are capable of using Aero, this may be more of a competition.
Most of Ubuntu’s visual coolness comes from a program called Compiz-Fusion. The Wikipedia entry for Compiz Fusion describes many of the core features in detail, and clicking on the specific plugin links will give you an idea of what CF can do. The Animation plugin is one of my favorite features – particularly “Burn.” :)
In terms of customizability, Ubuntu is a strong winner in the UI category. However, Vista w/ Aero will look a lot prettier “out of the box.” Ubuntu’s default font and color scheme is a bit on the crappy side, and it will take some work to setup your desktop just how you want it.
So if you’re not afraid of tweaking some things, Ubuntu is the clear winner. If, however, you simply want to install your OS and have it be beautiful, Vista is a better choice.
Step 9: Miscellaneous considerations
If you haven’t made up your mind already, here are some additional things you may consider:
- Ubuntu requires a solid internet connection to make use of its huge software collection. If you are on dialup or if your internet connection is spotty, you may find this frustrating.
- If you don’t want a dual-boot setup (can’t imagine why…), Vista can be installed on top of XP. Ubuntu cannot. If you insist on going the non-dual-boot route, you would need to wipe out XP before installing Ubuntu.
- Wine is a Linux program that theoretically allows you to run Windows programs without ever leaving Linux. I have found it perfectly successful for some of my favorite applications (Photoshop, DVD Catalyst), while useless for others (Finale, my old VB6 exe’s). If you have some XP programs you would like to use in Ubuntu, try Wine. This may/may not be encouraging. :)
- Vista includes official tech support from Microsoft. Ubuntu is much more of a DIY experience, unless you want to pay for professional support.
- Ubuntu is not the only Linux distribution available. It is my personal favorite – and often recommended for first-time Linux users – but if you’re interested, feel free to explore some other Linux distributions.
- From an idealistic standpoint, Ubuntu is undoubtedly the favored choice. You can copy your Ubuntu install CD for your friends and coworkers, install Ubuntu on every computer you own, and never pay a penny for using it. Vista can only be installed on one computer, and if you install it over XP you will invalidate your XP license.
Can you think of anything else to add to this list? Let me know!
Step 10: Take the plunge
By now I hope you’ve had a chance to see what you’re up against when it comes to upgrading XP. As I mentioned at the outset of this article, I made the choice to try Ubuntu…and now I doubt I will ever again buy a Microsoft OS. And, since I use a dual-boot setup, I can still return to XP if I ever need it.
If this guide was useful or not useful, feel free to leave a comment! Also, I’d love to hear from people who have tried upgrading from XP to either Linux or Vista – please leave your input, and I’ll try to integrate applicable comments into the main body of the article.
This is part TWO of a two-part article. Part 1: “So you want to upgrade from Windows XP…” is a casual introduction to the question of which OS is the best upgrade from XP.
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Good write-up.