XP Windows Vs. Eeebuntu

Now I am aware that there are online Windows-Linux wars going on, all over the internet, but I just wanted to provide what I think is a balanced view of things based on my experience with both operating systems. I am admitedly a Linux advocate, but I also highly regard any system that "just works".

Recently I bought an EeePC which I was very satisfied with. It is one of the most fit-for-the-job pieces of computing hardware I have ever used. I commend Asus on their product development. It's cool looking, light, the battery lasts for ages and it's powerful enough to be useful for the vast majority of things I want to do on a computer (emailing, blogging, browsing and light image editing).

A friend told me he had bought his EeePC a while back in the UK and was satisfied with it. His machine came  with Linux pre-installed, which I believe he found userfriendly enough. So, being a user of Ubuntu already, I went shopping for a Linux loaded EeePC machine. Unfortunately, my efforts were to no avail because here in Malaysia (according to the computer vendors) Linux installed EeePC machines are not available. If I wanted my machine of choice I would have to go with XP. I was a little annoyed that I would have to pay the "Windows tax", but that was just the way it was.

Upon returning home, I immediately set out to install a net-book specific Linux OS. I read good reviews about EasyPeasy and Eeebuntu. Since it seemed that EasyPeasy was more generally for netbooks of all brands, I went with Eeebuntu. I was all set to write to Asus demanding a refund for a piece of software that was useless to me and that I would not have bought given the choice. After I installed Eeebuntu however, the initial pleasure I gained from seeing such a nicely laid out desktop display was immediately dashed by the fact that the wireless networking wasn't working.

Wireless networking has been the number one problem I have run into with Ubuntu. It's a dibiltating problem because if your network isn't working (and you don't have another PC) you can't search for a solution and download fixes. Here again in Eeebuntu, networking was proving a major problem right from the off as even the ethernet wasn't able to connect. A little Googling on my other computer found a kernal update that fixed the problem.

At this point the Linux advocates will no doubt pipe up with "it's not the Linux developers' fault, it's the hardware manufacturers not supporting open source" and other such arguments that are banded about. No doubt these are all true - it stands to reason that manufacturers distributing open source and OS independant drivers for their hardware would fix the problem. We know that's the problem, but at the end of the day I believe we have to be more user-experience focued. In this situation the end user is there with a system that just doesn't work.

Without some degree of technical expertise and understanding of Linux, the user can't fix the system and would just move on to another product. The kernel update I applied didn't fix the problem entirely. To this day, if my wi-fi signal is below about 65% the connection is lost - so throughout most of my house my EeePC is unuseable on Linux. So in my case, even with a degree of technical knowledge, I have just moved back to using XP.

There are many things I prefer about Eeebuntu over Windows XP. For a start its slick looking interface, optionally loaded with what they call a Netbook Launcher (NBL). The NBL fits nicely on the EeePC screen and it's icons are suitably sized. When programs are open they are represented by on the panel (task bar) by a small button containing the icon of the program, so as not to take up too much space. I love the preloaded programs and additional security features such as stong encryption.

So, despite my strong preference for the Eeebuntu layout, for I am forced to use Windows XP with its inferior interface. To me it feels old (well it is), the icons and menus are much too big for the little EeePC screen, it has too many annoying notifications. In short, it's a one size fits all solution that doesn't fit very well on this little netbook. To make matters worse, my installation of XP, which is only about a month old has a bunch of other problems including:

• it often doesn't shut down after being told to (causing me to need hit the power button)
• the network manager crashes, especially after the machine being hibernated
• it has already been infected by viruses (despite having anti-virus and firewall)
• it runs very slowly at times (probably because of virus scans)

Despite all of these problems and the security risks from using XP, it is a system that just about holds together enough to be useable and for most people that means they'll never look for another solution.

In my experience, most of my friends and family use computers on the background of almost zero knowledge of how they work, and that is fine. I mean not understanding the internal combustion engine never stopped you getting from A to B in the car right? For these people, and I suspect the vast majority of computer users on the planet, a just good enough system is all they need to keep them from looking elsewhere.

For people who have a deeper understanding of any particular subject their perspective makes it is very hard to understand why other people just don't get what they do. The Linux community is made up of people like this is seems. To them it is extremely hard to get the reasons why a problem which can be fixed by issuing a simple bash command would stop someone in their tracks. However, until Linux starts to "just work" and more useable from a complete novice's perspective, then it can't become widely popular.

Also posted on jameswestwood.me