Forum Thread of the Week: The Bet Is On! Ubuntu vs. Microsoft
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 5:32 pm. 5 comments
The forum thread of this week is by professor fate. Professor fate and his friend have a bet about Ubuntu vs. Microsoft and invited the forums community to observe the challenge.
Quoted from professor fate:
Hello,
I am here because of a bet I have with a friend. This is the deal: I have to use Ubuntu for 30 days. IF there is anything I can’t do on Ubuntu (except for games which he reluctantly conceded is Microsoft turf) that I can do on Vista, then I get a brand new laptop courtesy of my buddy. IF on the other hand, I lose, I have to pay for his new laptop.The rules:
1. I have to post any and all questions I have about installing and using Ubuntu on this forum.
2. I have to save all of my correspondence.
3. I cannot use any other OS for 30 days, except for my computer at work.
4. If I can demonstrate that Ubuntu isn’t neck to neck with Microsoft in anyway, I win.
5. I have to use open source software as much as possible. If there is no equivalent, then I get to use MS software, but using some sort of emulation software to run it on. (Buddy said I’d have to learn about it here).
6. My friend wanted me to use Feisty, but I told him to step up to the plate, so it’s going to be Gutsy. (I figure since it’s new, it must have lots of issues, so the better for me).Well, there it is. I plan on winning this bet, but I will be fair. All of this will start tomorrow. Tonight is the last evening of my beloved Microsoft for 30 days. I am downloading Gutsy and will install tomorrow.
Professor Fate
This forum post was recently on the front page of Digg, so this thread is getting a lot of attention.
Uh, isn’t it rather unfair for the one who wants to prove Ubuntu != windows is the one using it? Where is the motivation to be fair? Sure, he says he’ll be fair but human nature will ensure that he isn’t. I think the Ubuntu fan should be the one using it. S/he at least will make every attempt before conceding defeat.
Jim:
Although you raise a valid point, the fact remains that after exclusive use of Ubuntu for an entire month, he will most likely NOT want to go back to Windows. After Windows annoyed me for the last time, I switched to my Ubuntu install (had installed it months earlier on a lark) and I’ve been extremely reluctant to fire up Windows ever since. Ubuntu is far more responsive than XP (meaning it blows Vista out of the water in that regard), and that issue alone can be the clincher.
I say he’s gonna end up hooked before the month is through, and will actively seek to find solutions to his “switching pains.” The Ubuntu community is so supportive and helpful, I’d be amazed if he went back to Windows full-time.
IMO this is bullshit attention grabbing. It’s easy to find something that for all practical purposes can’t be done e.g. something as simple as using a GDI-printer only to have it pointed out, that one can run Windows in a virtual machine and pipe the print job though that. Similar usage examples are probably easily come by for Photoshop*, Office** or the little something that’s absolutely crucial to your workflow but only available from a small indy developer who only offers it for windows. Regular use, sure, no problem, but without a definition of what that is, and the weight of the 2 laptops difference behind it, the contest would be a recipe for disaster, if it were real.
* some colour stuff IIRC
** some Outlook/Access/Word Combo probably.