As a business environment research project I downloaded and installed Ubuntu Linux on one laptop and Windows 7 RC (release candidate) on another. Now you have to understand, the people using the laptops in the work environment only need Office, email, a web browser and a wireless Internet connection.
Ubuntu is an easy download on DSL, under 700 MB. You must install an ISO burner to burn it to a CD. The first thing that amazed me about the Ubuntu is that it installed and worked without installing the time-consuming Windows driver installs. Right "out of the box" I had a working email program, OpenOffice and a DSL cable connection. However the wireless connection utility was not connecting. I have to admit that I am so much a newbie with Ubuntu that I didn't know how to install the utility needed to make it work. But...when I found the right support it was a breeze! Everything works from a drop-down menu from a task bar at the top of the page. I love it! However---IMPORTANT---before you go formatting your drive and installing Ubuntu, remember Windows applications won't run on it.
The next laptop got the mega install, 2.3 GB download---took 5 hours! Since this is also an ISO image, you must use an ISO burner to burn it to a DVD, since a CD isn't large enough. The machine you install it to must also have a DVD player, so it can read it. Anyway, Windows 7 is an upgrade of Vista, and honestly I haven't figured out why anyone would want to drop that much moola into a program which looks pretty much like the one they just paid a lot of moola for. I did find out that avast! antivirus works on Windows 7. However it does NOT come with an email client. I downloaded Windows Live mail and I don't like it, so I installed Thunderbird instead.
So, I expect to be testing these two laptops for awhile.
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