Ubuntu 8.04 Is Ready to Take On Windows (
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Canonical has marshaled the best of what the
open-source world has to offer in Ubuntu 8.04, a Linux-based operating system
that's capable of mounting a serious challenge to Microsoft Windows on
mainstream desktops and notebooks.
During my tests of Ubuntu 8.04, both in its final form and in a series of test
releases that led up to the official launch April 24, I've been impressed
enough with the distribution to award it the eWEEK Labs Analyst's Choice
designation.
As with any would-be Windows rival, Ubuntu 8.04 faces an uphill battle for
hardware and software certifications, although the move by Dell in 2007 to
begin preloading Ubuntu on some of its notebook and desktop PCs points to
progress on the hardware front.
As for software, the continued improvement of open-source alternative
applications such as the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, Firefox Web browser
and Evolution groupware client go a long way toward providing users with the
tools they require to get their work done from a Linux-based desktop.
Click here to read about a hacking contest that pitted the MacBook Air against Vista and Ubuntu.
For Windows applications for which there is no suitable Linux-friendly version
or alternative, Ubuntu 8.04's KVM and Xen-based virtualization tools offer a
free, built-in means of running Windows software from within an Ubuntu system.
What's more, the debut of Likewise Software's open-source Likewise Open utility
makes it rather easy to integrate Ubuntu Linux clients into an Active Directory
authentication scheme, and the addition of new installation options for Ubuntu
has lowered the bar for trying out the system on machines running Windows.
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