[penguicon-general] Linux as a Vista replacement

[Matt Arnold]

On 4/28/07, Greg <greg_b at rocketmail.com> wrote:
> --- Jer Lance <jer.lance at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I think that would be an awesome panel... it will nicely complement
> > my "Why Linux isn't Ready for the Desktop" panel :P
>
> I totally agree.  Linux has a lot going for it, but still has a ways to
> go before it can seriously challenge Windows.

You have a lot of good reasons to see it that way. I myself am a
Windows user. Since I run multiple computers, I have little reason to
stop. However, I've been using Ubuntu Linux for years now, and I can
tell you-- this distro is a polished Windows replacement that I give
to everyone. Literally, everyone. There are a couple of things from
which it would benefit: better graphics drivers and easier support for
closed-source codecs. Ubuntu is releasing both of those in the next
version in a deal with Linspire. But today it Just Works. It does all
of a normal work user's computing tasks (in other words, not games).

You would rarely have to use the command line, edit config files, or
compile software, and those cases are rare and obscure enough that I
simply do without them. It's not much more common than the likelihood
of having to fix the registry in Windows, which is just as bad. That's
ready for the desktop.

I recommend you read this article in which a fan of Vista compares
Vista to Ubuntu and finds they go neck-and-neck.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199201179

-Matt