[TriLUG] eWeek: "Ubuntu 8.04 Is Ready to Take On Windows"

[Tom Roche]

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Linux-and-Open-Source/Ubuntu-804-Is-Ready-to-Take-On-Windows/ 
(excerpted)
 > 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.

...

 > I used my second test machine, an Athlon 64-based desktop running
 > Windows Vista, to try out Ubuntu 8.04's newest installation option,
 > in which Ubuntu installs itself in a couple of large files on a
 > preexisting Windows installation. The last few Ubuntu releases have
 > shipped in a LiveCD format that enables users to boot into a
 > temporary Ubuntu desktop suitable for trying out the system before
 > either devoting an entire system to Ubuntu or resizing existing
 > Windows partitions to make way for Ubuntu in a dual-boot
 > configuration.

 > LiveCD setups are handy, but they often perform too poorly to give a
 > clear idea of how a system would run on your hardware. On the other
 > hand, I've seen enough fouled dual-boot installations to regard
 > repartitioning with suspicion, so the new installation option is a
 > good choice for Windows users looking for a low-risk way to try out
 > a Linux desktop.

 > I popped the Ubuntu CD into my running Vista box, opened the
 > installer application, and directed the installer where to store
 > Ubuntu and how much space to assign it. Shortly thereafter, the
 > application prompted me to reboot, after which it completed the
 > installation process. According to documentation on the Ubuntu Web
 > site, there's a performance hit associated with this sort of
 > install, but I didn't detect an appreciable slowdown.

 > The Ubuntu desktop I'd installed within Windows seemed no different
 > from the one I'd installed on its own hardware, and I was pleased to
 > find that the files from my Windows instance were accessible from
 > Ubuntu.