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Performance & mobility On the face of it, there’s little to choose between the system requirements of both OSes. Ubuntu claims to run on PCs with 1GHz processors, 512MB of RAM and 5GB of hard disk space. Windows 7 is more demanding, requiring a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of hard disk space for the 32-bit version of the OS, as well as a DirectX 9 graphics card.
We installed Ubuntu 10.04 on a six-year-old VAIO laptop with a 1.6GHz Pentium M processor and 1GB of RAM, and it ran perfectly well. What’s more, Ubuntu booted and was ready to work within 45 seconds on the ageing hardware – faster than the machine’s original Windows XP operating system was ever ready for action. It was impressively responsive in day-to-day use, too.
But how do they compare on modern hardware? On an HP laptop with a dual-core Pentium T4300 2.1GHz processor and 4GB of RAM, Windows 7 was ready for action in 36 seconds, while Ubuntu was booted and ready to go in 32 seconds, and that includes the time it took us to enter the obligatory password.
When it comes to file transfers, there’s nothing to choose between the two OSes. We copied a 3GB file from a USB hard disk to the desktop of both using the same laptop, and Windows 7 was just a second quicker on average. There was virtually no difference in the time it took to copy the 3GB file from one part of the hard disk to the other.
What about on the road? Ubuntu 10.04’s default power saving is pretty aggressive when running on battery, darkening the screen after only a few seconds of inactivity, and failing to return it to its original brightness when you resume typing. This is easily tweaked by ticking on the battery icon, but we found we had to switch off screen dimming completely to reach a workable level.
Our light-use battery test failed to split the two OSes either. Windows 7 lasted 4hrs 3mins on our test laptop, while Ubuntu ran for 3hrs 59 mins.
Ubuntu: 9/10Ubuntu's ability to run on the most parsimonious of hardware and its Windows-equalling performance give it the edge.
Windows: 8/10Windows 7 is less of a resource-hog than its predecessor, but it can't quite match Ubuntu's ability to run on practically anything.
Drivers & compatibility “Nothing works with Linux” is another of the myths that Ubuntu 10.04 lays to bed, but does it match the near-seamless Windows 7 experience?
We didn’t have any internal hardware problems on our three Ubuntu PCs. It offered to install the Nvidia graphics driver on our Dell M1330 laptop, instantly correcting display issues straight after installation, and our dual-monitor setup required only a modicum of driver tweaking.
Keyboards, mice, external hard disks, USB flash drives and digital cameras all mounted without fuss or need of a reboot. USB and networked printers were also installed without downloading any Linux-specific drivers. We simply picked our model name from the considerable list and the operating system did the rest. (
Click here for a full list of Ubuntu-compatible printers.)
However, we did hit some brick walls. Ubuntu correctly identified and mounted our iPhone 3GS, but there’s no Linux version of iTunes, and although some people have apparently managed to run iTunes via the WINE emulator, we were confronted with an immovable black screen every time we attempted to boot iTunes this way. Without iTunes, there’s no way of self-activating an iPhone or upgrading the device’s firmware.
Ubuntu failed to recognise any of the three USB mobile broadband dongles we inserted in our laptop, and our search for drivers culminated in a series of long-winded workarounds. A Creative Zen MP3 player was recognised, and its contents displayed in the Rhythmbox music player, but every time we tried to play a song stored on the device the application crashed. Meanwhile, a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 scanner wasn’t recognised and an all-in-one scanner driver failed to bring it to life.
For near-guaranteed device compatibility, the only real choice is Windows. That said, most devices we tested with Ubuntu worked flawlessly, and in some cases proved easier to install than Windows.
Ubuntu: 7/10Handled most devices with aplomb and ran flawlessly on three different PCs, but still some way short of universal compatibility.
Windows: 9/10Despite the odd post-launch wobble - especially with scanners - Windows 7 driver issues are mercifully rare.
Business Linux may be tried and trusted when it comes to running business servers, but Windows remains an overwhelming favourite on the desktop.
So is there anything in Ubuntu 10.04 that could sway professional users? We had very few problems running Ubuntu in a corporate environment: Exchange email could be comfortably retrieved via Evolution, the OS hunted down our networked HP printer and installed the necessary drivers, and we could swap files with networked PCs.
Linux may be tried and trusted when it comes to running business servers, but Windows remains an overwhelming favourite on the desktop.
So is there anything in Ubuntu 10.04 that could sway professional users? We had very few problems running Ubuntu in a corporate environment: Exchange email could be comfortably retrieved via Evolution, the OS hunted down our networked HP printer and installed the necessary drivers, and we could swap files with networked PCs.
For any employees that perform most of their duties via a web browser, there’s little reason to pay extra for Windows licences
For many business users, however, the inability to run Microsoft Office might be a showstopper. OpenOffice is perfectly competent, but there are still compatibility issues with Microsoft document formats, and Evolution lacks advanced Outlook features such as the ability to check colleagues’ diaries when arranging meetings, for example. Yet, even this can be overcome using the WINE Windows emulator, which we used to run all the Microsoft Office 2010 apps without quibble.
The most convincing business case for Ubuntu 10.04 is its cost: you can’t argue with free. And as PC Pro’s contributing editor Kevin Partner pointed out in a recent blog post, Ubuntu’s lightweight system requirements mean you could even save money on hardware. Certainly for any employees that perform most of their duties via a web browser, there’s little reason to pay extra for Windows licences.
However, there are many business instances where Windows (or Mac OS X) remains an imperative. Adobe’s lack of Linux support for products such as Photoshop or InDesign makes it far more difficult for design professionals to migrate, while web apps built specifically for Internet Explorer will be out of bounds.
Support costs also have to be taken into account. Will IT staff have to be retrained to support Linux desktops? Is it possible to apply the company’s security procedures across Ubuntu desktops? Will staff need retraining to cope with this new interface? All of these factors must be carefully evaluated before an Ubuntu migration, especially in medium- to large-sized firms.
But for lone professionals or small firms, the business case for Ubuntu has never been stronger.
Ubuntu: 7/10Seamless network integration and a free licence make Ubuntu a strong contender if app compatibility isn't a problem.
Windows: 9/10Windows' sheer ubiquity and familiarity make it the safe choice for business users, despite licence and additional security costs.
Final scores Our overall scores show a narrow victory for Windows 7. Does that mean we urge you to remain firmly entrenched in the Windows camp? Most certainly not.
While the occasional need to resort to a command line interface, the odd glitch, and the incomplete support for popular pieces of hardware such as the iPhone make it difficult to recommend Ubuntu 10.04 as an outright Windows replacement on your main home PC, we’d have no hesitation in endorsing it for dual-boot or secondary PCs.
One member of the PC Pro team has installed Ubuntu alongside Windows on his home laptop so his children can surf the web without the risk of them wreaking havoc with rogue downloads on the main OS. It’s also an ideal way to breathe new life into an old PC without having to go through the rigmarole of a Windows install, with its serial numbers, online activation and tardy setup.
Ubuntu also has money-saving potential for businesses that have PCs acting as little more than web terminals, provided staff are open-minded enough not to be deterred by an unusual interface and as long as the business doesn’t rely on Windows-only apps.
What gives us most hope, though, is the maturity of the Ubuntu OS and its rate of progress. With services such as the Ubuntu One online synchronisation and the Ubuntu One music store, Ubuntu has integrated services into its OS that are optional extras in Windows. And with a new version of Ubuntu never more than six months away, more new features are just around the corner.
Ubuntu is clearly an operating system on the rise. If we repeat this feature in a year’s time, will it have closed the gap? We wouldn’t bet against it.
source:pcpro.co.uk
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