Choosing notebooks is becoming difficult to do because of so many choices and options to weigh. And if choosing hardware is not hard enough, notebook manufacturers bundle their products with softwares that are usually junk or something that you do not need.

One very common example is Windows Vista OS. Vista comes with every notebook, or computer for that matter, and buyers usually have to pay for it even if they do not want it. Some prefer to downgrade to Windows XP while some just have no other choice but to purchase the OS license only to wipe it off from their notebooks and replace it with Linux.

As a consumer, we have the right to choose which products we want to buy. And in some cases, notebook manufacturers do not seem to give buyers to choose if they want to buy OS or not. That really sucks because Vista OS licenses can cost at least $100, and customers are only paying for the license, therefore do not own the software. Why would you want to pay for something that you do not, and will never, own?

Fortunately, there are some people who actually read the End User License Agreement or EULA of Windows licenses and use it to their own advantage. Take for example uncle_benji, the author of equiliberate.org, who bought an HP notebook bundled with Vista. He chose to waive his purchase of Windows Vista license in favor of using Linux, and got his money back, almost the same amount of the retail price of Vista.

Read his full story here.

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I came across a very nice article from Channel Web Network that breaks down the differences of Linux and Windows Vista. I should mention that I am trying very hard not to be one-sided considering that both Operating Systems has its own strengths and weaknesses, but this is a Linux blog so, what the hell >

1. Hardware Requirements. By far, Linux beats Vista on this one. Vista requires 512Mb of Mem with 64Mb Video Mem as minimum requirement (not sure if you can run the desktop effects with these hardware specs) but judging that Vista recommends 1Gb of mem, I doubt that you run those card-flipping effects on your Jurassic age pc. On the other hand, Fedora 7 with KDE-Beryl tag-team (Beryl is a desktop software that makes your desktop squiggly and transparent) runs perfectly on my laptop with Intel Centrino Solo Core and 256 Shared Video Mem, without performance degradation whatsoever.
2. Security. Windows OS has always been the target of all sorts of virus and worms so anti-virus and anti-spam software companies get their milk and honey from Windows users. I have been a Windows user and technical support before and countless times I have or seen someone who has been victimized by that innocent looking link or program that leads to your pc’s doom. Some virus makes you a target of all those annoying pop-ups, some completely wipes away your hard disk. Not with Linux. I am not saying that Linux is totally free from virus attacks, but virus problems on Linux platforms are so minimal compared to Windows. My office pc is running Fedora for over a year without installing any kind of anti-virus. Still runs perfectly.
3. License. Windows has all types of licenses Bill Gates can think of. I mean there is OEM License, Volume License, Boxed License (I guess this one comes with the box? not sure, heh..), Upgrade License, Full Product License, Client access license, etc. Whew! And if you actually try to read the End User License Agreement (EULA), it states there that the software you are using is actually owned by Microsoft, hence you have only been given permission to use it, not to modify, reverse engineer, hack, crack or whatnot. In short, you do not own the software. You actually spent $100 on something that you, and will, never own. Linux only has one license, the GNU-GPL (GNU Public License) which basically means that the software is free to use, modify, reverse engineer, hack, crack and whatnot. Just as long you keep the license in the same form you received it when you distribute it (means if you received the software for free and you modified the software, you should distribute it as free since you got it for free in the first place, giving credits to all contributors.). And that is all there is to it. No yearly subscriptions, no calling to tech support to re-activate your license after formatting your disk.
4. Digital Content. Windows has come up with a feature that protects digital rights of publishers but sometimes prevents the users (even legal ones) from using the material. The Digital Rights Management (DRM) software checks the media loaded into the system and makes sure that you are not using pirated software. Great with business, bad with end users, not to mention headaches and hours of support calls. With Linux, you can play anything you want, just as long as you are using the legal stuff.
5. The Apps. You pay Vista for the operating system. Now you need office application to make documents. Pay another $100 for the Office Suite. And the anti-virus software. And the PDF Reader. All that 60Gb of space and I still need 2Gb more just for the apps? Linux comes with all sort of programs you need and not just half-useful programs. I am talking about fully packed, free and comes-with-the-installer programs. The good news? The apps work. My installation of Fedora is loaded with OpenOffice.org Suite, KPDF Reader, KNotes (software that makes Post-It! sticky notes on you desktop), Mozilla Firefox, CHM Reader, Media Player, K3B CD Burning Software, Development Tools, FTP Client, Bittorrent Client, etc. All of these in my 1 DVD installer taking up about 10Gb of my 80Gb drive. With all those apps, 10Gb is not so bad.

So there you have it. But wait! There’s more! Let’s talk about the biggest debate topic between MS and Linux: Desktop.

A lot of debate has been going on talking about Linux’s ability to provide desktop usability to (non-geek) end-users. Some say that Linux desktop has come a long way in providing ease of use to users and is now close, if not similar, to that of Windows. Some say that Windows is still reigns as the best desktop. I would say that in this category, Windows and Linux are same. I can get the same usability I want with my Fedora that matches up to my Windows XP. It’s all a matter of getting used to with what you have, I say.

So why use a thousand spoons when all you need is Linux?

Source: http://www.crn.com/software/202101693?pgno=1

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