Jaunty Jackalope (9.04). It’s been a great experience; I’d never given serious thought to any OS other than the trusted Windows before. But now, I find myself using Ubuntu more and more, and less and less of Windows (I have a dual-boot system with Vista Ultimate 32-bit, and Ubuntu 9.04). I’d like to outline a few points which I think are responsible for my increasing affinity for the much-loved open-source OS:-The first and foremost advantage that Ubuntu (and for that matter any Linux distro) enjoys over Windows would be its virtual virus-proof nature. I’m not an expert on this, but I guess this has to do with Linux being open-source, and the loads of contributors to it’s base code, which virtually eliminates the risk of the system being infested by a virus, spyware, et al. And what makes this of even bigger significance is the fact that the problem of virus infection is probably the single biggest Achilles’ heel of Windows, with innumerable new threats being born every passing second for the Windows OS.
-Another very noticeable (and desirable) difference in Ubuntu would be its incredibly fast bootup times as compared to Vista. This became even more noticeable in 9.04, and I guess when we get 9.10 (Karmic Koala), and ext4 becomes the default filesystem extension replacing ext3, it’s going to improve even further, much further.
-Speaking of general system performance with respect to normal tasks like copying a file, Ubuntu at times leaves Vista far behind (I’ve got transfer rates of 15 mb/s on ubuntu and no more than 5 mb/s on vista with the same files and the same external disk ), but I dunno if it’s because my Vista filesystem isn’t too well-maintained :) :P . And by the way, disk drives are unmounted by default on Ubuntu, and they get mounted once you double-click on the drive’s icon. So it takes a little more time to view the drive’s contents right away. But once mounted, viewing a disk’s contents is pretty much instantaneous.
But hey, there sure are some downsides to the Linux distro as well, or well maybe some things take some time to get used to once you’ve been on a diet of Windows until then.
The biggest downside one must feel is the absence of the myriad varieties of apps that are available for Windows. This might sound like a turn-off, and does indeed seem like one at first; but once you start using, exploring, and appreciating the large number of open-source apps which work with Ubuntu, it feels much smoother to use. Ubuntu does come pre-installed with a large number of applications for various purposes….for music there’s Rythmbox Player (which syncs with iPods too); for video playback there’s Movie Player, but unfortunately you’ll need to download and install many essential codecs yourself (which is a fairly simple task, by using Add/Remove Programs in Applications; and you’ll also want to install vlc player right away, it gets the job done and succeeds in playing many tricky codecs); there’s Open Office 3.0 (MS Office equivalent); for internet browsing there’s Firefox by default, which looks pretty ancient compared to the latest firefox (3.5) for Windows ,but gets the job done pretty well (there are also other alternatives…there’s the very gnome-y and open source Epiphany, the extremely lightweight Dillo, a linux version of Opera and many others). And speaking of applications, a must-have app is Wine, which enables certain Windows apps to be run on Ubuntu (with various degrees of smoothness).
And now coming to aesthetics, well the Linux core of Ubuntu allows for almost endless ways of customisation of the looks of your Ubuntu. The default desktop manager for Ubuntu is Metacity, which by default is pretty plain-looking, but in Ubuntu 9.04, it does include some basic snazzy effects (such as while minimising and maximising a window). For those looking for more eye-candy, there’s a desktop manager called Compiz which can be installed from the Add/Remove apps option. Compiz is a very detailed desktop manager, it gives you the scope to tweak even the minutest of details pertaining to the looks of your desktop. The biggest piece of eye-candy available with Compiz, provided you have the hardware to run it, is the desktop cube. It’s an animated 3D cube which can be summoned by a certain key-combination, the sides of which display the various workspaces(explained in following paragraph). Compiz also includes large number of other tweaks, and depending on the amount of juice your processor and graphic card (if any) have, you can get a pretty good-looking OS.
Here are some videos showing some cool visual effects accomplished by using Compiz:
The following image shows different workspaces displayed on various sides of the Compiz Cube.
Well, as for now, that’s all I could come up with, and I shall append to this as and when some relevant points strike my mind. A word to newbies to Linux/Ubuntu, you might not feel comfortable working with it in the beginning, and out-of-the-box, Windows is definitely smoother and better-off. But once you start getting used to it, and start understanding the tricks and nuances of Linux, you’ll most certainly have a more satisfying computing experience.
So download your copy of Ubuntu/any other good linux distro from the net and give it a try!
To download the latest version of Ubuntu, click here.
NOTE- The above article is completely based on my observations and inferences resulting from my personal usage; and might contain certain factual errors. For more detailed knowledge about Ubuntu, system requirements, etc, visit www.ubuntu.com. You can also give ubuntuforums.org/ a try for more info on any topic in this regard.
