OMG!11 LOL! ROFLMAO!!11

Now look what u did, I´ve degenerated 10 years by just reading your drivel.

i would love to argue the practicality of the cube and the uselessness of 3d flip but your such a faming troll who loves vista so much it makes me sick.

i think you will find most people find having virtual desktops more useful than 3d flip but hey your missing the best part of linux that is choice.

in vista can you choose between, areo/3d flip or compiz fusion or compiz or beryl, or metiezz (the 3d desktop mandrivia makes, or the 3d desktop that sun makes or KDE 4 which will have its own 3d?

i didnt think so. also all of those options can be downloaded from the ubuntu repositories

I am sure that you havent use ubuntu in your life more than 0.2 msecs.

I am also sure that you post this article just to sell our e-mails to spammers.I can not find other
reason for this.

Try it its good, dont be a technophobic kid !
you write article that people read,
be responsible.

Did you actually tried compiz? or did you just watched an video on Youtube? Maybe, just maybe, you should not base your judgment of compiz on a youtube video?

Ubuntu's standard compiz-settings are very conservative. You can (and most users will) adjust these settings to your taste. That is what makes Compiz so great. I'm not an 16 year old teenboy, so there are no burning windows on my desktop. But when i minimize a window, is shrinks towards the bottom of my screen (just like vista & macos) When i close it, it fades tastfull away. When i want it open but out of my way, i can send it to an other workspace, wrapped around a cube. When i want to rearrange my open windows on the different virtual workspaces. I can zoom out, and see minimal versions of the workspaces next to each other, and then drag the windows.

Eye candy, yes, usefull, yes, configurable, yes. Better than Vista? I don't know, i've never worked with Vista, i only know it from youtube video's and it doesn't feel right to comment on that does it?

Oh, and about compiz being a me-too atempt? I had it running on my laptop 6 months before Vista was released. I did not dislike your writing about integrated search, this is something linux still has to get better at. (however, not worth 400$ obviously) But I'm afraid the only thing you proved on this part of your blog, is how completely unprofessional you actually are. It's simply wrong on the facts.

Compiz-Fusion can do everything you mentioned (Thumbnail over minimized window,etc...) Of course you did not do your homework. Not only can it rival Vista functionality, but it surpasses it by leaps and bounds. Your paycheck must be from Microsoft. Or maybe you own some Microsoft stock. Be fair in you articles. Research your subject more dilliginatly. The compiz-fusion manager gives you so many blinng functionality choices. And that does not even include the independent plugins that get developped by the Compiz community. I am for a FAIR debate, but can't stand it when people voice opinions based on anything but facts.

Seriously, dude, who peed in your Cheerios? Wow, Vista's eye candy has a Purpose. They spent seven years developing it; I would be pretty shocked if it didn't. And, frankly, I'm not that impressed. This claim is kind of like somebody saying, 'I take care of my kids.' Per Chris Rock, 'You're supposed to, you dumb motherf***er!'

Every single bit of eye candy you describe in Vista is available through Compiz Fusion, and you don't have to spend $200 to get it. Thumbnails? Got it. Reduction to taskbar? Done. Heaven forbid, you want to work with your UI in some way different from the way Vista wants you to work? You can do that too; Compiz Fusion is not a straightjacket. Oh, and by the way, both Macs and Linux systems have that virtual desktop paradigm that you describe as a 'cube'. You can configure that in multiple ways, but it saves me time to get things that go together on the same desktop. Don't worry, we won't gloat when the next version of Windows features this too.

You know, there is a difference between being a critic with a point, and a douchebag. IMO, you're just being a douchebag for douchebaggery's sake. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Compiz Fusion can do everything you appreciate from Windows Vista's UI, and probably more. The defaults are simply set to be more conservative, and in your haste to dismiss the feature, you probably didn't bother to take the five minutes to explore it. Some features in Compiz don't have much of a point, and are just eye candy. However, many features provide functions of usability and clarity. ADD Helper, for example, puts more emphasis on the active window. Window transparency allows me to multitask. Even the wobbly windows feel better than the Windows UI, though I'll admit that, beyond that personal preference, they don't have any real function. Ubuntu under-utilizes Compiz by default, and that is a real problem, because it makes the desktop feel less like a singular system. However, that is the only thing I can find that is wrong with its implementation. Everything you mentioned in your article can be done fairly easily, you just missed it.

Compviz vs Aero? What's to fight over? I have seen both and use neither. When I need a GUI in Linux I used KDE 3.5, yeah the old version. But I do the majority of my work as far as sys admin with a body of scripts that have been written by myself or team members. Yep plain ole Bash. It's faster. It's semiautomated. It beats stroking a mouse for about a mile using a GUI of any type.

Oh, doing the same with WSH in Windows is possible. But quite honestly not quite as satisfying as the Linux tools.

So my point is, if you want to play go use a GUI. You want to get work done, get to the command line.

...tell me you actually used Compiz. Please, tell me. You really didn't base your comparison on a YouTube vid, now did you? That would really, really make you look silly...

Now go and tell your readers you actually conducted a thorough investigation, before they get all worked up about it. You wouldn't want them to misunderstand you, now would you?

use it at least once, and while you're at it, try the settings dialog

I think you did not use ubuntu with its effects enabled. Ubuntu Gutsy uses just some few effects just for making it more usable. I prefer using the effects in the higher settings, but they still dont do things like rotating the cube, and so on. It uses effects similar to Aero. But it CAN do it in a laptop with a simple video card. It does not need a huge memory in your video card, with a premium edition of the software. And I do use Vista and Gutsy in the same laptop. I think you're too full of prejudice. Use Ubuntu, like it or dislike it, but don't try to compare it with vista. Vista sucks. Compare it with XP and maybe you will have a fair battle.

Again, I think you are missing the point. Vista Aero is eye candy, yes. But at what cost (hardware requirements)? If you are so bent up on having more purpose & usage, don't use Compiz.

As it is, Ubuntu Gnome Desktop is simple, elegant & useful (personal opinions vary, but I think it's better than Vista without Aero). It's fast, it's as easy & uncluttered.

Now the only thing for Vista to do, if it ever has to catch up with Linux (speed) is to learn to run / sprint on lean(er) hardware. ;-)

PS: I don't use Ubuntu or Vista, so I am not biased towards either. I've used both to a certain extent.

You are either evil or ignorant. Although, this article seems to be written by someone who cannot tell the difference between an elephant and an ant.

I beg you, please stop embarrassing yourself.

If linux is not for you, that is fine. Just stop talking crap.

Ok là monsieur nègre.

Eye candy is eye candy, regardless of which operating system delivers it. Vista's Aero is an attempt to make the OS look like it's actually worth what it costs, but doesn't serve any purpose (other than sucking CPU) for anyone who has ever seen a computer before. Perhaps you should get out more, and maybe read something other than Microsoft PR (you are one of their shills, aren't you?), and maybe someday you'll develop working brain cells.

The Live Thumbnail-sized Preview is actually very helpfull. It has helped me stay productive on many occassions. There have been times when I'm doing a task on a remote screen, waiting for a download to complet, or waiting for some development report to run and instead of keeping that window on top, I could continue to work in another full-screen window and simply slide my mouse over the minimized task that I'm waiting for to view it's progress.

If you've never tried I genuinely think you'll be suprised at how usefull it is. Honestly I was suprised at how I naturally began to use it and depend on it.

That's a key point too. I knew this feature was there and thought it sounded nice, but I didn't think I'd have a lot of use for it. In the end, I've found the Live Thumbnail Preview to be VERY helpfull, time-saving, and productivity-enhancing. I didn't expect it to be so helpful either...but it is!

Steve Ballmer is that you ?

Hey i recognize you, fools...
Try ubuntu and the default effect of compiz, and you will see the difference between Vista...

And the key is that, with compiz you have the choice of effect, you can have just the basics or full effects if you want it...

CHOICE is the point!

hahaha!! you did not try compiz!!

If you start talking about a "me-too" attempt here - that's Vista - failing to imitate what Apple does for years now...
Since when did you think Linux tries to mimick MS? If any, it's Apple.

"Use your freedom of writing in a right way", may be someday you may feel bad about writing this series. I've been a MS user from MS DOS days, but lately i'm so much frustrated with Vista (slow boot times, explorer crash, application not responding, what not). Recently I thought of giving Ubuntu a try and I'm think whatever crap you have written here has 0% truth in it. May be you are so fanatic about MS that everything else looks like a s*** to you. My sincere advice to you is stop writing this series. You are spreading false belief/ideas to non-technical people.

Pradeep

Dude,

You're awesome. Never before have I read a troll with such flair, such grace. Reading your article, it was as if the clouds of reason and sanity suddenly clashed to form a vortex of flamers and and zealots who obviously didn't get the joke. Granted, most techies are not heralded for their social grace.

I take my hat off to you sir, and dutifully toss it off the bridge under which you live.

Your pal,
Frank

It astonishes me how someone of your level of intelligence survived day care.

Have a nice day.

I am fascinated. You are talking about Ubuntu 7.10 with Compiz Fusion, and how you had been playing with it for a weekend ("...even after a weekend of trolling through the Synaptic Package Manager..."). You are asking yourself if any of Ubuntu GNU/Linux users have ever even booted into Vista ("...I can't help but get the impression that many of Ubuntu's most vocal fans have never even booted Vista...").

But, on the other side, you are talking about "Ubuntu with Beryl" YouTube video. Are you sure you logged in to Ubuntu 7.10 and loaded Compiz Fusion with its default settings?

I am the first one that does not like some of the kitschy effects in Compiz Fusion, but I'm also the first that will say that it is very useful. Not just another eye-candy.

Also, you mentioned the 3D Flip usability function. I am not sure if MS researchers are delusional, but that is not useful. The most you can see is the first two or three windows. Apple's Expose function is way much practical. Try it - there is a Windows program that mimicks it, just like a Scale plugin in Compiz Fusion.

This article is disappointing. As much as there are Linux trollers, there seems to be equally enough Windows trollers. In my opinion, both are the shame of computer world.

Seems to me if Vista's got it it's good and ff it doesn't then it's not good.

Weird but part of your article sound abit like a MS press release.

When you criticize something you should explain how your actual expeiences with it went, you did run Compiz didn't you or did you just watch the video?

Upgraded my home desktop from ubuntu 7.04 to 7.10. Upgraded my laptop running ubuntu studio. Both feel so much faster then run xp on the same computers. And Vista... ha... a pig that flies. Inch by inch Linux and fee software get better.

I like the part "... the effects themselves are the product of many months of research and usability studies about how users interact with GUIs in a production environment."
What kind of study is that? Is it Bill and Steve Ballmer sitting together and deciding that it was a positive user experience? :)
I can't wait to read the third part.

Desktop search is not something I use. I keep my files organized and use logical naming. I also use ssymlinks judiciously. If your an organized person, dtp search is less of a necessity and more of an annoyance. I do use slocate from time to time,that is all the dtp search I need.
The eye candy of compiz-fusion can be tailored to your needs. All of the aero effects are basically included compiz-fusion, but compiz-fusion has many more features, form useful to frivolous.

These two articles are pretty lame.

I'm writing this from a linux box, my laptop with Vista sits next to me, my XP box is rebooting at the moment, otherwise I might be on that. (pipe down you M$ hating whiners... it's rebooting for a valid reason) At work I use Solaris and in the past I've worked on mainframes. Not suffering from any catatonia inducing OS religion, I applaud Randall's clear cut observations these past two articles. Quite frankly, since the first time I booted Ubuntu, I thought it sucked, ESPECIALLY as a *nix distro, so the articles' titles caught my eye. I'll grant you, I'm as error prone as the next human, so maybe it was just me, but when I booted ubuntu for the first time (several versions ago) and typed "ssh user@ip.add.re.ss" (or something to that effect) and it puked saying ssh was not found... (and the list goes on and on of what it didn't have out of the box, which are the things I use *nix for) I moved on, not really emotionally or spiritually affected one way or another. Again, maybe I just couldn't find those bins, but for crying out loud, for even a modestly experienced *nix user, why should I have to search further than "which" to see where a command lives... (in which case it would be in my path anyway) or why should I have to do a find on the most basic *nix commands? As it turns out, I didn't, I just had to toss the ubuntu cd in the trash.

thanks Randall, I look forward to your future articles.

Surely, as a "Director of Research for Competitive Systems Analysis" you should understand the difference between comparing a video that you found on the Internet to the actual thing?

You get paid to write this? I got a 12 year old that needs a job. With this childish article response with someone with no valid points here, and no realistic uses that an end user does frequently.You sound more like a child which only lived in a box and spoon fed what to say, hear, and write.

Quote from a previous post by this editor
-----------------------------------------
This guy didn't even try to provide any sort of hard data. He just spewed his anti-Microsoft bile all over his blog page.
----------------------------------------

Funny how you attack him for doing the same crap you did. HYPOCRITE!

Next Up: Life in Faux Journalist/Microsoft Shill purgatory.

We get it, you love Vista, you REALLY love Vista, You're not just saying Vista is great because of some shady backroom deal or something, you're completely sincere. SO WRITE ABOUT VISTA, cause this is useful to nobody.

you might want to consider trying compiz fusion yourself.... and you'll see that it can do all of the things aero does. most of these things (sane minimizing,maximizing,highlighting@alt-tab switching, etc) are also the defaults of ubuntu gutsy (to date the only default copmiz linux). however it also does exposé and spaces like OS X Leopard...
yes it can do more - mostly insane stuff to show off... like any human, compiz can be turned into a crack junkie on steroids... but it can also be the most efficient and intelligent servant...

just tell it what you want it to be... THAT IS above all THE POWER OF COMPIZ-FUSION that neither aero nor quartz

Hey !

Thanks for the biased articles (part 1+2) about this.

After reading them, I was reminded - once again - to get rid of InfoWorld in my RSS-reader, bookmarks and everywhere else I have any kind of reference to biased journalists who get to write on (apparently) biased sites.

Thanks again, and goodbye - no more time to waste on InfoWorld.

It's not the bias that makes these articles the most loathsome professional flame bait I've seen in a long long time. They're just dumb articles. To quote someone who posted in Linux Today : "What sort of moron makes IT descisions based on eyecandy? Anyone with an IQ over 70 doesn't need an animated 3D desktop to make his screens "easier to understand". A responsible IT manager isn't going to want to spend a lot of money so that employees can see 3D screens dancing around, whether in Windows or Linux. He's going to want to know how to keep down hardware and software costs. Just how far will you go to avoid real issues?

Next up: why Solitaire in Ubuntu isn't as good as Solitaire in Vista.

1d10t 4nd t0t4l r3t4rd !

the kindest xpressions i feel about you

Let's judge the interface of an OS based on a Low-Res YouTube video made by an antisocial 16 year old living in his mom's basement instead of actually using the OS ourselves, shall we? I used to have Vista Business. I looked forward to it more than anybody I know, and when it finally came, I went "huh? this is it?" Two days later, I was back to my ol' friend, XP. Two months later, Ubuntu 7.04. Now running 7.10, with no desires to go back.

This is worse than the usual clueless Windows user forced to reluctantly write something about Linux.

Really, you're just trolling for flames, aren't you? Now we're going to see an article on those C-R-A-Z-Y Linux fanboys, going ballistic when confronted with objective analysis from our hard headed, calls-it-like-he-sees-it reporter. I'll bet he was writing it in his head before part 1 of "Ubuntu Sucks" was up on the site.

Going back through his articles, I see that he's offended Vista fans, too-- so don't you call him biased! He's an equal opportunity offender of intelligence, a "curmudgeon".

I think it's just schtick, to cover his laziness. I've now read two articles from this guy, and find scarce evidence that he knows how to plug a computer in. I'm not saying that he doesn't know anything about computers. I'm saying that what he knows about computers isn't in the story. People worked hard on Ubuntu, and they deserve a little effort.

It's like he not only phoned it in, he phoned it in on his cell phone. While driving. With the kids in the car.

Excuse me, but Ubuntu have the same effects, thumbnails, and when you minimize, maximize a windows it have an effect like Mac OS X like a "Magic Lamp Effect", and the exposè effect, puts all the windows smallest in the desktop in an overview to see more clearly all the open applications, I'as sorry, but, Ubuntu is better than Windows Vista, from de eye candy point and functionality.

PD. Sorry for my english.

You do realize that the whole point of that video was to show what Compiz can do. You can change the settings in Compiz to make your desktop look like something out of the 90's, make it equal to Windows Vista or Mac OSX, or make it so your eyes get cavities from all the eye-candy. Do you do any actual research at all or do you just say "I think I will watch a home-made six minute YouTube video and it will tell me all I need!"

Here is my comments on your nonsense openions:

http://dailyconcerns.com/2007/10/adding-my-owns-to-the-list/
http://dailyconcerns.com/2007/10/just-upgraded-my-opensuse-box-to-103/

On a closer, reading, it just gets worse. In both articles, the author describes Vista in much greater detail than Ubuntu. He barely mentions Ubuntu. Didn't he have to run this article past anybody, what kind of Chicken**** organization is info world anyway?

I happen to be a Linux user (NOT a fan of Ubuntu), but if I found an article called "Vista sucks" that was all about Ubuntu, I'd be almost as indignant, and much more embarassed for the Linux community.

I like it; what a great argument. Vista isn't as good and this is why that means its better!!!

This.
Is.
Hilarious.

(1) VISTA is a "me-too" of compiz..
(2) VISTA has always the same animations. Compiz can change them. I guess that if you can change your desktop animations when you are tired, you improve your experience. Is this "useless" like you said?
(3) My god your speech is, from the beginning to the end, totally M$.

-- I shouldn't have commented this.
-- I spent more time to be able to write this answer, that you have ever spent in Linux.
-- It's just equally sad to see some type of comments in this post. Totally dirty and addicted minds talking.

Seems like arguing religion.
But i least i had a closer experience with both gods =)

Cheers mate,
Phk

You're judging Ubuntu on the basis of a _Youtube video_ that you didn't like? (and for which you provide no link)

I notice you know exactly how the desktop works in Vista, right down to the maximizing of windows, but there's not a single word mentioned about Compiz, which makes me seriously doubt you have ever even tested the thing you're deriding!

This is the most opinionated piece of drivel I've read in a long time. I hope you get paid a lot of money from Microsoft to write this crap, otherwise you're even more of a moron than I thought.

I'm wondering if your editor knows you're just watching Youtube videos all day instead of doing real research.

I'm very happy for you that you've been blinded by the focus group work MS has done in order to construct a default GUI that appeals to the lowest common denominator. I, for one, happen to like the fact that I can make Compiz do anything I want by adjusting or adding plugins.

Maybe I don't _need_ to have my eye drawn down to the taskbar every time I minimize a window. In fact, I don't even need a taskbar. I can change things around however I please in Gnome.

And don't even get me started on the 3D Flip thing in Vista. This has got to be the most moronic piece of GUI bling I've ever seen. It's just like the intolerable 'cascade' window arrangement that has haunted Windows since its inception, only in 3D and EVEN MORE useless.

I think you saw the wrong Youtube video: The Vista Vs. Ubuntu Video with the "Here comes the hotstepper song (from Ini Kamoze)" is a comparison of Beryl Vs. Windows Vista.
Compiz Fusion can do much more than Beryl + it feels smoother. At least compare Vista to the right video on youtube. And post a link to it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeTOIcmSYB8 is a copy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC5uEe5OzNQ)

ROFL, very funny article, hahahaha....

I once saw another OS review of this standard. The reviewer got called an "Ass hat". I'm not exactly sure what an Ass hat is but ever since seeing the insult I have been just itching for the day when I would read something so cretinous, so moronic, so inept, that the author deserved that same insult.

Randall Kennedy! You're an Ass hat!

I think the real question here is, how long will vista run without crashing? I've already seen it crash twice on my home pc, and once at work.

Ass hat!

Adding to the comments already posted, show me where Windows Vista Aero's accessibility functions are located. No, really. Show me Aero's inbuilt screen zoom. Show me where my ADD-suffering friend can get Aero to dim and desaturate all background windows so he can get all his work done. And you're lucky you're neither colourblind nor suffer from bad eyesight, otherwise you'd basically be stuck using Linux and Compiz (which you hate).

Compiz is eye-candy. But I have to take my hat off to its developers for turning a 3D composited window manager into such a powerful accessibility program.

Hmm. I find it funny that most of the people that say "Oh, linux sucks," have only ever used windows, while the people who say "Windows Sucks," actually know what their talking about.

Well, Vista Ultimate, where to start with eye candy ? It makes more sense, is more intuitive ? You sound like Steve Jobs telling me I don't care about what's under the hood of my computer, even though it's what it takes to run this wonderful software ?

Vista depends upon what era of hardware you run it with. I ran the beta at home, it took 400 MB to load on a system that only had 512 MB. The ultimate version at work I've observed runs on a brand new Dell and on a system with 2 GB's of memory. Vista takes over 800 MB to load. Doesn't leave a video or graphics user much to work with now does it if you have 1 GB of memory. The solution with Windows, throw even more money at it by upgrading hardware just to get the most out of aero glass.

Let's see, Ubuntu, fully loaded Beryl, 165 MB, gee, the 1 GB of memory in a system that has remaining available is what it would take to load Vista ultimate ?

Now, let's compare it to Mac OS X Leopard. I've been using spaces in non 3-d since RH 7.2 from 1999 for free and it's been around much longer than that. Been using it with Beryl in 3-d cube for the last 6-7 months for free.

So convince me again, why does Ubuntu s*ck ?

kid, you are very moron.
you are vista blinded. you cannot speak of what
you dont know.
linux is about difference, stability, security.
youre lacking several items in your opinion.

go check the major linux distros like ubuntu, mandriva, fedora, or even solaris / opensolaris / nexenta.

you dont know what youre talking about.
fuka moron

You are a moron. I use compiz fusion on a p3 with 256 megs of ram and it is faster than my core 2 with 2 gigs of ram with aero.
Also Apple NEVER used 3d graphics. Their graphics are nice looking 2d graphics.
Aero is a bad copy off compiz that is a bad attempt to get with the times (MODERN TIMES!!!)
The 3d cube is far more useful than that window flipper shit. It is easier to see everything in full screen mode. Without multiple desktops I get claustrophobic.
You would have to be on crack yourself if you think aero is that good. YOU ARE HIGH!
Finally Bill Gates is EVIL he has his own charity not for the children, but to have to pay less taxes.
I'll withdraw all of this if you admit that you are saying this because Microsoft is keeping you hostage, except the last one.

You're an idiot AND a moron. Vista is THE biggest piece of crap OS to EVER hit the streets. Well, maybe MS Bob was worse but you have to remember, Bill Gates' current wife, Melinda French at the time, headed up the 'Bob' project, and they were just dating at the time.

Let's face it, geeks (especially Bill Gates) will do ANYTHING to get laid --- which explains why 'Bob' came to be. Maybe Bill has a mistress on the side now, and that's where Vista came from.

It (Vista) SHOULD be called Vista-Shmishta. In my 40+ years as a developer and user, I've never used a more irritating or buggy operating system. It's slow, it's ugly, it's hardware UNfriendly --- it's basically a bloated PIG of an OS and the only way to fix it is to completely scrap it and start over again. It is, actually, a software version YOU.

How you can even compare Aero-Shmarrow to Compiz-Fusion just demonstrates what a complete idiot you really are. Your parents should have killed you at birth and then we ALL would have been saved from your blatantly moronic dribble.

Do the world a favor --- jump off the tallest building you can find and land on a box of Vista-Shmishta (sounds like a new cereal, actually).

Vista-Shmishta --- the ALL weather cereal! Loaded with crap to make you even more stupid than you already are!

Wow, you're a fucking idiot. You have your head so far up Microsoft's ass. Why don't you go play in traffic with all that bullshit you are spitting out. You fucking dunce.

Great article. As soon as I get my money back from Ubuntu, I'm getting Vista. I don't want stupid visual effects reminiscent of illegal drugs - they might corrupt my children.

I have a question. Does Vista have the animated dog to guide you through file searches? That's a functional piece of eye-candy that I miss a lot from Windows XP. Maybe now it's a squirrel or a monkey. Just wondering, because Ubuntu doesn't have that feature. It doesn't even have a talking paper clip!

Complete bull crap, Sir, if you deserve to be called 'Sir'. I admit that I'm using Windows now, but that is only because it is only recently that I came across a Linux distro. Believe me, Linux is far better than Windows XP. Eye candy apart, what other feature of Vista, do you think, makes it better than Linux?(please don't tell me its the context search feature)... As it is apparent from your articles, and is also the opinion of almost every poster above me, you probably have spent lesser time working on Linux than the time it took M$ agents to grease you. Piece of advise to you, grow up, don't be afraid to learn a Linux. Its not that hard.

Hope to see an article in the future by you on how bad Windows Vista is.

Cheers!

well i have privoxy enabled so i never had to see the ads attendant on this drivel.
as some one who has used every available mainstream o/s ie solarius/linux/ windows and bsd
each has their strenghs and weaknesses because they are tools not religions
but without question vista is a steaming pile.
ubuntu is not linux its a linux distro of which there are several hundred for intance this is being typed on a system running debian sid and is cosiderably faster and more stable than windows despite being composed of experimental alpha and beta software.
if your rich enough that money has no meaning to you load up mephis or pclinux and give the $300.00 to charity
sure as hell microsoft dosnt need the money

i'm a windows user since i can remember (currently on XP), i'll admit i have made attempts to start on linux but haven't been very successful, and even i can't digest this kind of attack on Ubuntu, specially since the basis for comparison is Vista, are you out of your mind, gone extreme fanatic of microsoft or just paid a 5 figure amount of cash for this article? i really hope it's one of the first 2.