Fast forwarding a bit, I got wind of a new operating system, Windows Vista. I got the urge to download a pre-release version of Vista and used it on a daily basis for a year or two until I was forced to install a legitimate/registered copy of Windows.
Somewhere in this process, I tried to reinstall XP as I had compatibility issues with some programs in Vista. Unfortunately, the system restore discs Gateway provided were worthless and did nothing to help the situation. As such, I eventually purchased a full copy of Vista so I could have a stable, registered, and updatable OS to use.
Fast forward a bit more, after the shaky introduction of Vista, and I got the idea to install a pre-release version of Window's newest, 7. I used the second beta version and then the Release Candidate version for probably around a year-and-a-half.
While using Vista, I did have compatibility issues occasionally and did have trouble with one or two drivers (the sound, most notably), but had no major complains. My system was drastically underpowered for Microsoft's recommended minimums, but handled the task anyhow.
Windows 7 was distinctly better. It didn't fix the sound issue, but over the course of more than a year, it has frozen just twice -- once during the initial beta install, if that even counts. Sadly, I've recently gotten word that Windows must be registered or it shall stop working smoothly in a month or so (if nothing changes, it will shut down every two hours starting some time in March).
And so, I've decided to find a fourth operating system for my weathered Gateway. I've decided the computer is not valuable enough to merit purchasing an OS -- the battery no longer holds a charge, afterall. I do have a full copy of Vista I could install, and I do have an XP license and could find a disc -- but I'm not one for living in the past. Instead, I downloaded two copies of Ubuntu -- Karmic Koala (9.10) and Lucid Lynx (10.04). I had used Ubuntu briefly when Hardy Heron came out a while back. I was willing to consider other free operating systems, but it seems quite clear that Ubuntu is head and shoulders above the rest.
Today was the day, finally, to install the new OS. I was going to install Karmic Koala because it's a full, 'stable' release. To my chagrin, the install disc I burned for Karmic Koala had some issue and was not able to install correctly. For better or worse, this was enough temptation to satisfy my urge for extreme vanguardism and opt for Lucid Lynx instead.
The installation of Lucid Lynx was not troublesome. I decided to install Ubuntu on a separate partition from my Windows 7 install and was glad that the install program offers an option for keeping both OSes in the boot menu. It was not clear which partition this would install Ubuntu on, but it seems to have preserved the Windows 7 partition and divide the remaining space into a trio of partitions.
The good: Ubuntu readily recognized my internet (wired and wireless). Google Chrome is now available for Ubuntu, and seems to work well. I was finally able to resolve the sound issue that plagued me for years and once again have functioning speakers on my laptop. I was also glad to see that Ubuntu self-installed with NTFS partition recognition, so I didn't need to do anything special to access my music and documents from my Windows partition.
The bad: Ubuntu has frozen several times in the first day -- probably 5 or 6 times. I do not know the cause, though a minimal bit of research suggests Firefox may cause issues (I try not to use Firefox, so I'm not convinced).
In my opinion, Windows is clearly better than Ubuntu with one exception: price. I'll give the disclaimer that Windows Vista and 7 (probably even XP, for that matter) have substantially higher system requirements than Ubuntu/Linux. That said, I feel they offer a more complete and enjoyable computing experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment