Ubuntu or Windows 7

Don't tell me my opinion Is rubbish for Its my opinion and I've used many many flavours of Linux, Overall windows seven wins Hands down.

I have a server running linux that has never crashed in the 4 years since I built it

Most linux crashes are due to installing the wrong packages and automatically updating the system. It's not for everyone, but a new version of Ubuntu is released every six months. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the learning curve is very steep. If you had problems with it, it's because you didn't know what you're doing in the first place.

People who aren't willing to do a little research before installing linux (not all hardware is well supported), then crack open a book and learn how to use command lines should stick to Windows (or Macs, which are designed for people who couldn't be trusted to program a TV)

Okay, guys... Let's not devolve into a Mac vs PC like argument.

To be honest, there is no 'better' OS or 'faster' way as it will always be in the eye of the beholder.

Linux requires a little more on-hands approach to things, Linux was never designed to be 100% user friendly as far as certain things as it is tuned more for computer science type people who will do mid-level programming and spend time talking with others about possible options.

Windows 7, like most of Microsoft Products, were aimed more for the generic user, just as Apple's Mac OS X.

While it is true that there is not as many attacks on Linux that warrants an Anti-virus, it does not mean that it is completely immune. Linux, all versions, will also have its own security patches and packages that will need to be updated from time to time.

Linux will also have lower resource demand programs because of the fact that it actually uses decent compilers and programming languages that are not of the Visual Studio creation, which is not as tightly coded as some of the coding practices of C++ and the like where you are using compilers.

The drawback with Linux will be the flavors of it will often times cause confusion for people who are not familiar with Linux in general about the packages they can install, a bit more than the current issue with Windows where majority of the packages are going to be of 4 to 6 flavors due to having XP, Vista, 2003, 2008 and Win 7, where there are the x32, x64 and the IA64 mixtures. With Linux, on the other hand, there will be several either binaries or you have to compile it for your own build of Linux and again, not many know how to set that up properly by themselves.

Now, to go back to the original poster. Linux will, in most probability, load up faster, getting you out onto the net. I believe Adobe has put out flash player that is usable on Linux, as well as Firefox, Chrome or Opera for web browsing. The problem you might run into will be Pro-IE built websites, where they will want to have Internet Explorer or how IE handles things for web browsing that will be a detriment, as it has been for Macs on occasion with Safari.

If you are planning on doing any computer gaming, your selection of games will be limited to Linux based games, anything popular will probably be mostly First Person Shooters, although the number of those are reducing in time in favor of MMO based games and not many companies wanting to spend the time multi-base coding for a Linux system short on the server level.

Business wise, it is a toss up, although currently, at least 70% of the current business market is favoring the use of Microsoft Office products. While open office is suppose to open Office Product documents, the expectation of .doc or .xls, or even .docx and .xlsx documents are more likely than the Open Office versions.

I know that Ubuntu does have Windows FS support, so you can access Windows Drives without issue, and if you have a decent system, you can virtualize Windows within Linux to cover what you will desire in both cases.

pparks1 said:

Exactly. I don't understand why so many people feel that it universally has to be one or the other.

+1 for that.. linux has excellent hardware diagnostic tools, and serves very well for cleaning up windows installations in a way that isn't possible when windows is loaded. And for applications that require heavy disk usage, linux is just faster.

royal tyrant said:

pparks1 said:

Ubuntu If you want your system to break all the time

All I will say is that I disagree.

I've seen Linux based servers that have been running nonstop for several years without a single crash.

I think Ubuntu is great. I use a Ubuntu based OS called Linux Mint 9. I dual boot with Windows 7 and I use my linux partition a lot less often with Windows 7 then I did with XP or Vista. I saw some people recommending running a live cd or Live USB of Ubuntu, but I Don't think you will get the feel of how fast the OS is. There is an easier way. It is called Wubi. It is a Ubuntu installer that installs it on your Windows partition and can be uninstalled just like any other program in Windows. No messy uninstalls where the boatloader is missing and what not. Wubi allocates a certain amount of your hard drive for Ubuntu and installs it inside Windows. You still have the option to boot to Ubuntu or Windows 7 at boot up, but it is installed in Windows. It is almost as fast as it would be on its own partition and much faster than booting it live. You can download the Wubi installer here: Wubi - Ubuntu Installer for Windows