Windows vs. Linux vs. OS X: CIO John Halamka Tests Ubuntu

As part of his ongoing effort to find a secure, stable, user-friendly alternative to the Windows desktop operating system, CareGroup CIO John Halamka got to know Ubuntu.

By Meridith Levinson
Tue, July 31, 2007

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Ubuntu: A Consumer-Friendly Version of Linux with a User-Friendly Interface and Intuitive Management Tools

Configuration: Dell D420 subnotebook running Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (release 7.04). The OS comes with the OpenOffice productivity suite, which consists of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs, the Firefox Web browser, Evolution 2.10.1 for e-mail, the Gimp image editor, F-spot photo manager, the Rhythmbox music and movie player, and a vast library of free and proprietary software. Halamka added Adobe Acrobat, Flash, Java, RealPlayer and multimedia codecs to his computer from the library.

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Ubuntu is a consumer-friendly distribution of Linux based on the Debian operating system. The major difference between Debian and Ubuntu is that Debian adheres to a strict philosophy around free software—not free as in zero cost, but in the sense that users are “free” to modify and redistribute the software. Debian discourages the use of non-free, proprietary and copyrighted software by making users install such programs on their own. For example, if you want to install Adobe’s Acrobat PDF reader on a computer running Debian, you have to find, install and configure the software yourself.

Ubuntu, by contrast, gives users access to a broader array of software, including proprietary programs, and makes it easy for users to install those programs. To install Adobe Acrobat on a computer running Ubuntu, you simply select it from a software library that comes with Ubuntu, and the operating system installs it for you.

Debian’s stringent politics extend to the Firefox Web browser, too. Even though Firefox is open source, the browser isn’t bundled with Debian because the Firefox logo is trademarked. (Instead, Debian computers come with a browser called Ice Weasel; it’s exactly the same as Firefox except it has a different logo.)

Although Halamka supports the notion of free software—at least in theory—he knows Debian is not the right thing for his enterprise. He says:

“At the risk of sounding like a software atheist, I really care about getting my work done via a reliable, stable operating system and not about the philosophical subtleties of Firefox vs. Ice Weasel artwork. This is likely one reason that corporate CIOs are wary of Linux on the desktop: They have mission-critical operations to run, and worrying about which icon is used to launch a browser is about as relevant as arguing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.”

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