12 Reasons I Switched From Windows XP to Ubuntu

This is a favorite topic of mine because it’s just good ol’ fashioned nerdery at work. But, I truly believe there are some great practical reasons why Ubuntu Linux should be considered for the general public. I bought my laptop in 2007 which, at the time, ran Windows Vista. After about a year, Vista kicked me off my internet connection, and several days with “Windows Certified” computer techs did me no good. I reinstalled Vista, and it did it again a couple months later. At that point, I was open to suggestion, and I tried out the LiveCD version of Ubuntu (which was several versions ago). Ubuntu recognized my internet connection and ran beautifully. I immediately fell in love.

A few technical reasons caused me to switch off of Ubuntu early last year, and I got my hands on a copy of Windows XP, which has served me well. However, it was time for a change. Ubuntu 10.04 (codename: Lucid Lynx) was recently released, with some solid new features. I was able to install it like a Windows program and try it out, and I discovered all the little technical problems I used to have had disappeared. This is a solid operating system with great support, and I’m happy to show you why I took the plunge and installed Ubuntu on my laptop, replacing Windows XP.

We’re talking about technology here, where dates matter. When you have a piece of technology and something else out there is better, you want it. There’s a lot of tech envy in the world, and people scramble to have the latest. That’s why you see people ditching their iPhones for newer iPhones. Here’s a point of comparison: Windows XP was released in 2001 – NINE years ago. In 2004, were you still using Windows 95? For the vast majority of you, probably not. And the only reason XP has been supported this long is because Vista bombed and Microsoft had to. XP is being phased out now that Windows 7 has scored major points for the company. The energy is just not being put towards XP anymore. It’s time to upgrade.

By contrast, Ubuntu is the latest Linux release to date, and by far their most mainstream release yet. It has support for lots of hardware right out of the box (it “just works”, as people say), and it continues to innovate, such as with their “Gwibber” social networking integration.

Are you on XP? Hit Ctrl-Alt-Del, then look at the “Processes” tab. How many “svchost.exe” lines are there? Windows is notorious for taxing a computer’s system into oblivion. I’ve heard wonderful things about how lightweight Windows 7 is, but Ubuntu is right up there with it. Ubuntu is loaded with lots of functionality, but moves quickly, even on older hardware. It doesn’t ship with all the crappy trial software that Windows does, and it doesn’t “gain weight” with age like Windows does. Spending less time uninstalling stuff when you get a new operating system is a good thing. Plus, your desktop is nice and clean – no default icons. I like that.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: the smartest thing Apple popularized was the App Store. Having an app store eliminates the intimidation and complications of installing software. When you install something on Windows, you hit “Next” about forty times, agree to license agreements, tell the program if you want a desktop icon or an entry in the Start menu, tell it where to install it, etc. On top of all of that, 75% of the programs you install require a system restart, so you need to save what you’re doing and reboot the whole stinking computer.

In Ubuntu, you find the program you want, and click “Install”. That’s it.  No restarts or anything. The app installs and is organized for you automatically. If you want to use the command line to do so, you can (as some old schoolers prefer). But if you’re like me, you want it as simple as possible. Click “Install” and go get a glass of water. It’ll be ready by the time you get back.

This was a pleasant surprise for me. Ubuntu has always had some slick animation stuff, but nothing that I could enjoy on my basic laptop. My version of Vista was Basic, so I never got to experience the Aero Desktop animations. This version of Ubuntu, however, is able to use my hardware to add subtle window animations that I love. While Windows is the front-runner for operating system animations, I’d really rather limit the effort put into animation anyway. The Alt+Tab feature (to switch windows) will show you only the window you are switching to, to allow you to focus on which window you want. Switching desktops (see below) is done with a slick sliding of the windows on your current screen. For a guy on a limited laptop, these animations are a welcome change without being a total distraction.

A default installation of Ubuntu includes four virtual desktops. Having virtual desktops is a nice way to organize your windows and keep things straight. For example, I like to keep my Gmail and HootSuite running while I’m on the computer. I’ve given each their own desktop, so if I want to check my email, all I need to do is switch to that desktop and there it is (there are notifiers available, but I prefer the control). You can have whatever you want running in your four desktops, which allows you to keep things open without cluttering up your taskbar, and keeping a clean focus on the windows you need to focus on!

Ubuntu is free. There is no trial version, no “Pro” version, no “Ultimate” version. It’s free. All of it. Windows is several hundred dollars, and Mac OS X computers are thousands of dollars. You can go right now and download Ubuntu. Not only that, you can install Ubuntu alongside Windows and try it out. It is installed and uninstalled just like any program on Windows – a great, risk-free way to try it out.

There are lots of ways to “skin” Windows XP, and a couple days ago, I re-skinned it to look like Windows 7. I actually hated it. I’m sure the Windows 7 performance is great, but I found the taskbar to be way too big and trying to do too much. By contrast, the Mac OS X layout is known for its simplicity, which draws itself to a lot of users. Ubuntu retains that simplistic approach – and it is very customizable if you want to tweak it out. Keeping the desktop clean means you can focus more on what you’re doing with the programs, not with their windows or taskbars.

There are two reasons why Ubuntu has no viruses: #1. You need to enter your password any time you try to install something, protecting you from automatic installations of garbage. #2. It doesn’t have the market penetration to warrant the attention.

The second one is a biggie. Those using Linux make up about 3% of computer users. Mac users are 5%. That means Windows users are 92% – why do you think they are targeted more? Any operating system can be hacked, eventually. Windows has a reputation for viruses simply because all the jerks that release viruses do it on the operating system that affects the most consumers. That’s Windows.

The Ubuntu Forums are a great place to ask questions and see answers. While the internet has a (valid) reputation for being full of rude and obnoxious users, the Ubuntu Forums are generally people who understand newbies and help explain to them how to do something on Ubuntu that they don’t know how to do. Plus, you can search their forums without logging in and get answers pretty quickly. Google is an Ubuntu user’s friend when support is needed. Compare that to calling India to have a tech support guy tell you to try rebooting, and then tell you to reinstall the entire Windows operating system because he doesn’t know what else to do about it (happened to me!).

My options: buy a new Windows computer for $500. Buy a new Mac computer for $1000. Install Ubuntu to my perfectly-fine computer for $0. The numbers speak for themselves. Linux can handle plenty of older computers, and Ubuntu is a great choice for those computers that are only a few years old.

This is a program exclusively available to Linux users, Ubuntu in particular, and it is easily my new favorite. The first app launcher I used was Launchy for Windows, which was a little window I could bring up and launch programs from. Without Launchy, to open Chrome, I could either put an icon on my desktop or taskbar (which I didn’t want), or navigate through endless menus. With Launchy, I hit Alt+spacebar, type the letter “c”, and hit “enter”. Done and done. Using an app launcher cuts down on tons of time spent moving around the mouse to double-click and all that jazz.

GNOME-Do is a step above Launchy. While Launchy also exists for Ubuntu, GNOME-Do comes with several useful plugins built-in to maximize its usefulness. I have the program synced with my Google account, which means I can hit Alt+spacebar and search my contacts for a phone number or address within seconds, or I can open a saved spreadsheet or document from Google Docs without ever having to open the main Google Docs page in my browser. The latter unifies the desktop and the webapp in a very useful way.

In my original post on backing up your stuff last year, I wrote about a great program called Syncplicity, which backs up 2GB worth of files for free. Now, Ubuntu has an online backup solution called Ubuntu One, which also lets you back up 2GB worth of stuff for free. In addition, the Ubuntu Music Store syncs up with Ubuntu One, so any music you buy from the store is automatically available in the cloud. I’m a fan of Ubuntu One simply because it is a necessary utility for most, and it’s built right in to the system.

I’m not here to discredit Windows or Apple’s operating systems. They are both very good and they appeal to very broad audiences. But for me, I think Ubuntu has a leg up on both of them for packing a simple, powerful, useful operating system into a free package for the average user. If you want to give Ubuntu a test run, visit their web page, which also includes instructions on installing Ubuntu as your main operating system, if you so desire (just remember to back up your important files first, or they will be lost forever!). Also, check out this very in-depth article on things you can do to maximize Ubuntu’s usefulness after you install it. Anybody else have any thoughts on Ubuntu? Ever tried it out or thought about it?