I just read a great and surprisingly even-handed three-part review (more coming eventually) over at DesktopLinux.com that charts one very savvy user’s experience dual booting Linux and Vista on a recent desktop system in order to compare how well each works out of the box in terms of installation and hardware support. It was an eye-opener, with lots of revealing details and workarounds along the way. Here’s a tasty quotation for the Linux fans:
Yes, I know you’ve been taught to think that Windows runs everything, and that Linux is the one with hardware driver problems. Well, yes, Linux does have some shortcomings with drivers thanks to proprietary drivers, but Vista has its troubles, too.
And one for the Mac OS X fans:
I have to say that my last thought on both Vista and Linux is that if you really, really want the best possible graphics… get a Mac.
Disclaimer: I have no intention of upgrading to Vista on any of my home machines. The next boxes I buy will be Macs that dual boot to WindowsXP, which is what I support at work and something I occasionally need.