A few weeks ago my fiance and I installed Ubuntu on my laptop. Obviously there are pros and cons to both Ubuntu and XP. I thought that it would be interesting to look at a few basic aspects of each operating system and possibly determine which one is better.

There are heaps of programs available to use in Ubuntu, so I’m just going to use whatever the default one is, and then talk about other options.

Here’s the criteria:

1. Office Tools

2. Photo Editing

3. Folders

4. Music/Video Players

5. Instant Messaging

6. ‘Outside’ Programs

7. Internet/Email

1. Office Tools

Ubuntu’s office programs, Open Office.org Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Presentation and Database all work just as well as Windows’ Microsoft Word, Excell, Powerpoint and Access.

The positive with Ubuntu’s programs is that they’re free, their open source, and there is no annoying little cat that keeps popping up and interupting.

Winner: Tie

2. Photo Editing

The only default photo editing program in Windows when you install it for the first time is Paint. You’ve got to face it, there’s not much to do in paint, and Ubuntu is better than XP in this area. GIMP image editor reminds me a lot of photo shop, just with lots more right clicking.

Winner: Ubuntu

3. Folders

It’s easiest to explain it like this:

This is Ubuntu’s file system:


This is Window’s file system:

Can you see how much more sense Ubuntu makes? If you can’t read it, in the windows diagram that ‘My Network Places’ and ‘Control Panel’. I couldn’t find them from c:// drive, or my computer or anything.

Winner: Ubuntu 

4. Music/Video Players

XP starts with Windows Media Player. You can rip and burn CDs, you can watch movies in it, you can visit the media library etc. Ubuntu starts with Rhythm Box Music Player. This does the job, ripping and burning CDs. Movie Player is aptly named as that’s what it does- play movies. The easy thing about Ubuntu is that in the add/remove section there are piles and piles of programs that you can easily install and run that do things better then the ‘mainstream’ ones.

VLC is my preference for movie player when I want to watch movies located on my iPod, and use Grip, and sometimes AmaroK for my music listening.

Winner: This one’s hard. XP’s default is better then Ubuntu’s, but the options that Ubuntu gives makes it easier to use and more personal. As far as defaults are concerned though, Windows wins.
5. Instant Messaging

Gaim instant messaging is Ubuntu’s default instant messaging applicaiton. It lets you sign into multiple accounts (gmail/jabber, msn, yahoo, aim) at the one time and access all your contacts for those accounts in the one program. Pretty nifty. Windows Messenger (MSN) is the Windows default. Sign up for either a hotmail accout, or use your current email to create a passport account. You can sign into one account at a time. There aren’t any frills in Gaim, but there aren’t any problems like the program signing your out every 3 minutes either (is that just me, or has everyone had that bad experience with msn?). You can use msn if you really want to in Ubuntu though, it’s one of those programs in the clever little add/remove section.

Winner: Ubuntu

6. ‘Outside’ Programs

What about the programs that neither use as defaults, which is better for that? Well, windows is the most used opreating system in the world. I’m making up stats now, but it’s over 90% of the computing population use Windows. It makes a lot of sense that any software developer is going to create their product for Windows first, and if there’s a need Mac and Linux later.

The good news for Ubuntu users is that wine is available. This allows you to open windows operated programs in Ubuntu.

Winner: Using outside programs is definitely a lot easier with Windows, but still possible with Ubuntu.

7. Internet/Email

Ubuntu is all about freedom and open source programs, so it is no suprise that Mozzilla Firefox and Thunderbird are its default internet and mail applicaitons. Thunderbird far outstrips Internet Explorer, tabs are just one of the reasons, and all the add-ons and extensions created by third partys make firefox a lot easier and better to use. This is the same with Thunderbird vs. Outlook Express. There are plenty of add-ons and extensions to make your email experience a hell of a lot easier. The RSS feature is really great.

Winner: Ubuntu 

So what’s the scores? Ubuntu 4, Windows 2, Ties 1.

Am I biased to Ubuntu? Absolutly, hell, I use it. But I use it because I know that it works better for me. There are definitely a few confusing things about it, and if I didn’t know anything about computers I might have a hard time installing some things like flash. So if you’re a complete novice and don’t really care then by all means, keep using Windows, after all, it’s what you’ve been brought up on. But if you’re unsatisfied with some of the stupid things in Windows and are willing to search on google or the ubuntu forums for a little help, then I would definitely recommend giving it a go.

Dual boot your computer, you’ll be right.