Windows Vs. Linux – The Ultimate Desktop Battle

You guys are probably going through your mind with “Wow!, a Linux blog making a comparison? It’s probably biased!”. That is where you are wrong. I actually dual-boot windows and linux on the same machine. Not only does this give me the best of both worlds, it also gives me a great testing environment. But, lets through a little bit of fun. We’ll make this a point based system. So without further to talk about. “Let the Games Begin!”

1. The System:
HP Pavilion dv2615us
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz
2 GB RAM
160GB Hard Drive

A Pretty good testing environment. It is more like a “typical system”. Not that great, but not that slow or sluggish either. This system came with Vista pre-installed, but to remove any manufacturer Bias, I am going to start with a fresh install of Windows Vista SP1 (The Most Current Version) and Ubuntu Linux 8.10 (The Most Current Version). I have divided my hard drive into 2 partitions. 80GB Windows and 80GB Linux. Score: Windows:0 // Ubuntu:0

2. Installation

Knowing that installing ubuntu AFTER windows, will overwrite the Microsoft Boot Squence, we are going to install Windows first and then Ubuntu. Popped in the Windows Vista SP1 Disc and began the installation process. Steps were much better than windows XP. Took about 35 Minutes. That’s not that bad. Finished Installing and I put in the Ubuntu 8.10 disc. Loaded the Live CD, which lets me try out the system before installing, and then leads me to install the system with easy to follow steps. The installation took about 18 Minutes. Which is about 50% faster than Windows Vista. The points go to linux in this one for the Live CD capabilities AND faster Boot Time. Score: Windows:0 // Ubuntu:1

3. First Boot

Windows likes to go through all those introduction steps on first boot, but they go by pretty quickly. Then, you reach the desktop. Microsoft has given some great work towards their new Aero interface. It looks very elegant. On the other hand, Ubuntu does all the introduction steps on first boot, so it goes through a normal boot cycle first time around. Ubuntu look besides the wallpaper is basically the same. So for the Aesthetics, this category goes to MS Vista. Score Windows:1 // Ubuntu:1

Start-Up Manager

I’ve had about a month to play with ubuntu 8.04, and for the most part, things have been running smoothly, but I’ve realized there are some tweaks here and there that can really make your life even easier. So without further to do, lets begin!

1. Start-Up Manager

Start-Up Manager is an easy way to configure how ubuntu starts. You can change boot splashes, password protect boot, and even change colors and boot order, I found it to be very useful, so I recommend that you give it a try. Luckily this is available through apt, so just pop open a terminal and type sudo apt-get install startupmanager Note: When you start this application it will ask for your sysem password.

Say CHEESE!

If you have an intel mac at home, chances are you have photobooth, a webcam application that allows you to take pictures of yourself and also add some effects. In the linux world, photobooth = cheese. Cheese is one of the best apps I have seen in a long time, the design is nice, the effects are even nicer, and best of all you can record videos! To install cheese, follow the following commands.

1. Pop open a terminal and enter the following commands:

sudo apt-get install cheese
Note: You will need the universal repo enabled.

2. You can find cheese in Applications > Accessories > Cheese

Simple as That! Below I have a video demonstration of cheese (that I made )

Compiz Fusion on an X3100 (GMA 956)

Many laptops these days come pre-equipped with an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator and many of you are probably hoping that Compiz Fusion will work on this. By default the GMA 956 driver is blacklisted because of a video playblack issue. This is true. So if you are an avid video watcher (especially on totem or xine) You may not want to install Compiz Fusion until the drivwer has been fixed (Hopefully by Hardy Heron). But if you are like me and just have to have Compiz Fusion follow these steps:

1. Check and Install or Software Updates.

2. Open up the terminal and type in the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
gksudo gedit /usr/bin/compiz Note: You may be asked for a password.

3. add a [#] before [T="$T 8086:2982 8086:2992 8086:29a2 8086:2a02 8086:2a12" # intel 965]
remove the [].

4. Restart your computer.

That’s it. You should now be able to start compiz by going to System > Prefrences > Appearance > Visual Effects.

Linux Comercials

I know this has nothing to do with ubuntu, but I saw this video on youtube, and it was amazing.

Ubuntu Studio 7.04 Released

The well awaited for Ubuntu Studio 7.04 was finally released. This is yet another version of Ubuntu, but based on editing, Whether is is graphics, images, or video, Ubuntu Studio has the right program for you. Of course, you could always just download the programs yourself from Synaptic, Add/Remove, but Ubuntu Studio just makes everything easier. I’ll one day try it out and install it. Below is what the typical Ubuntu Studio would look like. I really like the black/blue default theme. Go check it out for yourself at ubuntustudio.com.

Exploring MythTV

Myth TV is the Media Center of Linux. In fact it looks just like Windows Media Center. I like the look and feel of the product,but in my opinion, the program is very not user friendly and requires lots of steps to install. I would not recommend this for install for beginners. Here is a video showing the major aspects of MythTV.

Mark Shuttleworth Interview at Dell HQ

A little sit down interview between Mark Shuttleworth and what looks like a Dell representative.

ShipIt

The world renowned (not really) Shipit program allows anyone to order a free ubuntu CD, but for the first time, ship it now allows people to preorder a free CD, or 3, of feisty fawn, ubuntu 7.04. Note: This may take 6-10 weeks to deliver after April 19th.

Feisty Fawn Release Canidate Postponed!

The feisty fawn release candidate has been delayed for some network issues. According to an employee of Canocial, the final release of ubuntu 7.04 may be pushed back no more than a couple of days.