Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 08 September 2008 16:39
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 6
Windows Vista is in the news again, thanks to the incomprehensible
start to the new campaign featuring Gates and Seinfeld, but also
because of the growing threat to Windows Vista posed by different
flavours of Linux, XP and Mac OS X. But none of those things stop Vista
from being Microsoft’s best OS yet.
iTWire colleague David M Williams has written an
article entitled “5 reasons to upgrade from Windows Vista to Linux”.
David says that “Windows Vista has been out for almost two years now but it still suffers from stability and compatibility issues, let alone an insatiable desire for beefier hardware. You don't have to live with it; here are five reasons why Linux makes a better choice for your computer.”
But I’d change this to: Windows Vista has been out for almost two years now, has received an excellent first service pack, and has left its initial stability and compatibility issues in the dust, running very well even on older hardware, with my own now-older system as a great example.
Yes, you’ll need 2GB of RAM for performance, but RAM has never been cheaper and if you’re running Vista, don’t run it with anything less.
His five reasons for upgrading to Linux are:
1. You can update every single piece of software on your computer with a single action.
2. It’s the safest operating system ever.
3. Your PC can look after itself
4. Run an entire computer for free, without breaking the law
5. Take all your settings with you wherever you go
Well, let’s go through all those reasons, put them in their place, and come up with 5 more to stick with Vista and forget about Linux.
Let me start by saying that I truly believe Windows Vista is not only Microsoft’s best consumer operating system, it’s the best operating system on planet Earth right now. Over the years I’ve used CP/M, BASIC, DOS, GEM, Amiga OS, Windows from version 1 through to Vista, various Mac OS versions, Ubuntu Linux and others besides.
While I’ll happily concede that Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04 is the best version of Linux I’ve ever used, and the most compatible ever, it still lacks the shine and polish of Windows Vista, lacks the much richer hardware support of Vista and has far fewer programs available for it.
Let’s start with David’s first point – that you can update everything in Ubuntu with a single click. Ok, I’m happy to grant that, it’s a feature I wish Vista would enable, but you can keep Vista and Microsoft products automatically updated, and many other programs will automatically notify you that an update is available.
If they don’t, you’ll need to check the programs you use for updates manually. This isn’t as convenient as a one-click solution, but it’s hardly a reason to ditch Vista for Linux!
There are also all kinds of programs you could never update on Linux because they only run on Windows. Given that Windows has the widest software support, until developers start writing more software for Mac OS X and Linux, Windows remains the software winner. However, you do need to update those programs yourself.
Why else is Vista the winner? Please read on to page 2.
