148
150
enterprises and home users.</para>
152
<title>Features</title>
153
<para>Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows can be differentiated by many characteristics. The aspects of cost, release cycle, security, customisation and mobility are presented here.</para>
155
<title>Difference on the basis of Features</title>
159
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Feature</emphasis></para></entry>
160
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Ubuntu</emphasis></para></entry>
161
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Microsoft Windows</emphasis></para></entry>
166
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Costs</emphasis></para></entry>
169
<listitem><para>Free of licensing charges</para></listitem>
174
<listitem><para>Charges per user license for fixed term</para></listitem>
179
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Versions Released</emphasis></para></entry>
182
<listitem><para>Same version and features for home and professional users</para></listitem>
183
<listitem><para>Six-monthly fully supported free release</para></listitem>
188
<listitem><para>Increased security for Professional editions Vs. Home editions</para></listitem>
189
<listitem><para>Unpredictable release schedule</para></listitem>
194
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Security</emphasis></para></entry>
197
<listitem><para>Locked administrative user root</para></listitem>
198
<listitem><para>Rarely targeted by malware and viruses (?)</para></listitem>
203
<listitem><para>Enables easy access to administrative
204
user</para></listitem>
205
<listitem><para>Susceptible to malware and viruses (?)</para></listitem>
210
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Customisation</emphasis></para></entry>
213
<listitem><para>Easy to design and personalise</para></listitem>
214
<listitem><para>Runs different flavours of Ubuntu in
215
parallel</para></listitem>
220
<listitem><para>Standard OS with limited options to
221
personalise</para></listitem>
222
<listitem><para>Paid for additional applications</para></listitem>
227
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Data Storage</emphasis></para></entry>
230
<listitem><para>Easy to upgrade and downgrade</para></listitem>
231
<listitem><para>User data stored in home directory</para></listitem>
232
<listitem><para>Easy to migrate and replicate user data and
233
configuration to another computer</para></listitem>
238
<listitem><para>User data saved in multiple
239
locations</para></listitem>
240
<listitem><para>Difficult to backup and migrate
241
to computer</para></listitem>
248
<para>Looking at each element outlined in the table in greater detail:</para>
249
<para><emphasis role="strong">Associated Costs</emphasis></para>
250
<para>The Microsoft Windows OS is expensive and proprietary, with prices increasing
251
with added functionality and applications. Not only are customers paying for Microsoft
252
applications but often additional third party, closed source products as well. If you
253
select Ubuntu as the OS, you do not have to pay anything because it is free of software
254
licensing charges and grants you all the rights associated with software freedom.</para>
255
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Cost Comparison</emphasis></title>
256
<mediaobject><imageobject>
257
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_001.png" format="PNG"/>
258
</imageobject></mediaobject>
260
<para><emphasis role="strong">New version releases</emphasis></para>
261
<para>There is only one released version of Ubuntu and therefore features available
262
to home and professional users are the same. On the other hand, the Home and Professional editions of
263
Microsoft Windows are not the same. For example, Microsoft Windows Professional editions have
264
more security features than Home editions.</para>
265
<para>New versions of Microsoft Windows are also few and far between. Users waited
266
more than five years between Microsoft Windows XP and Vista. In the mean-time, new versions of Ubuntu
267
are released every six months, making it very quick for users to have access to all the latest
268
applications. An upgrade from one release to the next is free and fully supported.</para>
270
<para><emphasis role="strong">Security aspects</emphasis></para>
271
<para>Ubuntu is rarely targeted by malware and viruses. By default the administrative
272
user root is locked in Ubuntu and only certain tasks are run with administrative
273
privileges. Microsoft Windows on the other hand provides an environment where people
274
easily access administrative user directly.</para>
275
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Ubuntu Security</emphasis></title>
276
<mediaobject><imageobject>
277
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_003.png" format="PNG"/>
278
</imageobject></mediaobject>
281
<para><emphasis role="strong">Customisation</emphasis></para>
282
<para>As you will discover throughout this course, Ubuntu desktop is yours to design
283
and personalise. You can have different flavours of Ubuntu running parallel, for
284
example, you can install the Kubuntu (KDE) desktop together with Ubuntu (GNOME) and then
285
select the desktop environment you want to use. All flavours of Ubuntu share the same
286
software repositories and applications. More than 17000 packages are available and easily accessible through the Internet. As a result, you are not stuck with using one version because it was the first you installed.</para>
287
<para>Microsoft Windows on the other hand provides standard OS with few options
288
for customization. While many applications are available, most are proprietary software which incur a license fee.</para>
289
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Desktop Customisation</emphasis></title>
290
<mediaobject><imageobject>
291
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_004.png" format="PNG"/>
292
</imageobject></mediaobject>
295
<para><emphasis role="strong">Data Storage</emphasis></para>
296
<para>User data is often scattered in multiple locations on Microsoft Windows,
297
which makes backing up and migrating from one computer to another difficult.
298
Ubuntu saves user information in one place - the home directory. This makes the migration of data from an old computer to a new
299
one easy, as well as keeping user specific backup data separate.</para>
300
<para>If Ubuntu was installed with user home directories on a separate partition,
301
then it is easy to migrate from one version of Ubuntu to another - even downgrade
302
- with no danger of data loss. In addition, with Ubuntu it's possible to easily
303
copy a user's home directory from one computer to another which will replicate all
304
user data and application configuration in one go.</para>
306
<title>Installation</title>
308
<title>Key Differences</title>
312
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Installation</emphasis></para></entry>
313
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Ubuntu</emphasis></para></entry>
314
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Microsoft Windows</emphasis></para></entry>
319
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Installation</emphasis></para></entry>
322
<listitem><para>Freely downloadable from the Internet or using
323
a free CD</para></listitem>
324
<listitem><para>OS can be used directly from the
325
live-CD</para></listitem>
330
<listitem><para>Needs to be purchased</para></listitem>
331
<listitem><para>Has to be installed on computer harddrive</para></listitem>
336
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Software Installation</emphasis></para></entry>
339
<listitem><para>Variety of applications are available by
340
default</para></listitem>
341
<listitem><para>Allows users to add software using the
342
Add/Remove Applications</para></listitem>
343
<listitem><para>Many freely downloadable from the Internet.</para></listitem>
348
<listitem><para>Limited selection of software available
349
by default</para></listitem>
350
<listitem><para>Additional software needs to be
351
purchased</para></listitem>
352
<listitem><para>Users can purchase and download
353
software online</para></listitem>
361
<listitem><para><emphasis role="strong">Installation</emphasis></para>
362
<para>Both Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu come as pre-installed OSs on computers.
363
However, to install after purchase, Ubuntu can be freely downloaded from the
364
Internet or a free CD can be requested. Any Microsoft Windows version
365
will need to be purchased.</para>
366
<para>Ubuntu comes in live-CD mode which means you can use the OS directly from
367
the CD without installing it on a host computer. If you like what you see, install it. If you don't,
368
pass it on to a friend. The live-CD option is also useful for system recovery.</para>
369
<para>The installation of Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu is easy and conducted by running
370
the installation CD and booting the computer. While in Microsoft Windows the installer starts
371
right away, Ubuntu presents you with the option to explore it via a live-CD. On
372
the Ubuntu live-CD desktop the installer can be started and after answering seven
373
questions, Ubuntu will be installed. Both installations vary in length according
374
to the computer specifications.</para>
375
<para>In both OSs, you can select disk partitioning schemes for an existing disk
376
and manually edit partitions. Therefore, you can install Ubuntu on a computer on
377
which Microsoft Windows XP is already installed. Ubuntu Migration Assistant
378
imports your files and documents from your XP installation. The Internet Explorer
379
(IE) settings, wallpapers, user avatars and contents of the My Documents, Music and Pictures
380
folders can also be imported using this application.</para>
382
<listitem><para><emphasis role="strong">Software Installation</emphasis></para>
383
<para>You can add software on Ubuntu by using the Add/Remove Applications and
384
Synaptic Package Manager. The Add/Remove Applications allows you to search the
385
entire directory of free applications. These applications are recommended for
386
Ubuntu, and you can install them with little effort. Compare this with Vista's
387
Digital Locker feature that allows users to purchase software online and download
388
it in a protected manner.</para>
389
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Installing Software Applications</emphasis></title>
390
<mediaobject><imageobject>
391
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_006.png" format="PNG"/>
392
</imageobject></mediaobject>
398
<title>Applications</title>
399
<para>The table below displays a comparison between Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows applications:</para>
401
<title>Application Based Differences</title>
405
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Applications</emphasis></para></entry>
406
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Ubuntu</emphasis></para></entry>
407
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Microsoft Windows</emphasis></para></entry>
412
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Networking, Web browsing and
413
E-mail</emphasis></para></entry>
416
<listitem><para>Firefox Web browser by default</para></listitem>
417
<listitem><para>Evolution e-mail client by default</para></listitem>
422
<listitem><para>Internet Explorer Web browser by default</para></listitem>
423
<listitem><para>Outlook e-mail client by default</para></listitem>
428
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Word Processing</emphasis></para></entry>
431
<listitem><para>OpenOffice.org suite</para></listitem>
437
<listitem><para>WordPad by default</para></listitem>
443
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Multimedia</emphasis></para></entry>
446
<listitem><para>Includes several default multimedia programs,
447
such as Sound Juicer, Rythmbox, Serpentine, Movie Player and
448
Sound Recorder</para></listitem>
453
<listitem><para>Includes Microsoft Windows Media Player
454
11 (WMP) and Microsoft Windows Media Center (WMC)</para></listitem>
459
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Image Editing and Picture
460
Management</emphasis></para></entry>
463
<listitem><para>F-Spot photo manager</para></listitem>
464
<listitem><para>Gimp for image editing</para></listitem>
469
<listitem><para>Picture Gallery application </para></listitem>
470
<listitem><para>Paint</para></listitem>
475
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Backup/Restore</emphasis></para></entry>
478
<listitem><para>Provides Konserve to backup a directory in the
479
form of an industry standard compressed archive</para></listitem>
480
<listitem><para>Allows setting up multiple backup profiles and
481
executing them on schedule or demand</para></listitem>
486
<listitem><para>Provides a backup tool to backup files of a
487
specific type only</para></listitem>
488
<listitem><para>Requires booting the Vista CD and plug in
489
whatever media you backed up the data to</para></listitem>
497
<para>Looking at each element outlined in the table in greater detail:</para>
498
<para><emphasis role="strong">Networking, Web browsing and
499
E-mail</emphasis></para>
500
<para>Network setup on both Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows is easy. Web
501
browsing features are relatively the same on both OSs.</para>
502
<para>Mozilla Firefox is loaded as the default browser on Ubuntu, and
503
Internet Explorer is the default browser on Vista. You can also install Firefox on
504
Microsoft Windows.</para>
505
<para>Evolution is the default e-mail client on Ubuntu. It connects
506
to POP accounts, conventional UNIX mailboxes and Exchange servers
507
via Outlook Web Access. Evolution also has a built-in Personal
508
Information Manager (PIM) and a calendaring and appointment system.
509
The Microsoft Windows Mail application in Vista is a rewritten
510
version of Outlook Express, with a stripped down calendar or appointment
511
application, Microsoft Windows Calendar. An upgrade to Outlook is suggested if you
512
use the calendar often or if you have a full PIM. An Ubuntu user is able
513
to use a full-feature e-mail application from the start. Ubuntu users
514
enjoy the out-of-the-box mail client setup facility.</para>
515
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Evolution E-mail Client</emphasis></title>
516
<mediaobject><imageobject>
517
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_008.png" format="PNG"/>
518
</imageobject></mediaobject>
521
<para><emphasis role="strong">Word Processing</emphasis></para>
522
<para>The OpenOffice.org suite is installed on Ubuntu by default and
523
provides many features of Microsoft Office but is free and open sourced software.</para>
524
<para>Vista comes with WordPad, a simple word-processing program that has not
525
been significantly modified for years. Microsoft offers the full version of
526
Microsoft Word (or Office) for Microsoft Windows, but this is an additional cost.</para>
527
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">OpenOffice.org Writer</emphasis></title>
528
<mediaobject><imageobject>
529
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_009.png" format="PNG"/>
530
</imageobject></mediaobject>
533
<para><emphasis role="strong">Multimedia</emphasis></para>
534
<para>Several multimedia programs are configured by default on Ubuntu,
535
such as Sound Juicer, Rythmbox, Serpentine, Movie Player and Sound
536
Recorder. Sound Juicer is the default application for playing audio
537
CDs; it can rip audio tracks from CDs to your home directory. If you
538
plug-in an iPod on Ubuntu, Rhythmbox organises music and creates
539
playlists for you. This is similar to Microsoft Windows Media Player. You can use
540
Serpentine to author audio CDs. </para>
541
<para>To play the mp3 format on Ubuntu, you need to install a codec pack. This is because Ubuntu is not distributed with mp3 codecs due to licensing restrictions. Playback of mp3 files is enabled by default on some versions of Microsoft Windows, but not on all versions.</para>
542
<para>Vista has two multimedia programmes, WMP11 and WMC. WMP is best
543
for playing music, and WMC is useful if you are using the computer as
544
the centre of your entertainment system. WMP can contain a large music
545
library. With the index search system of WMP, you can search music
546
numbers by a particular artist or search for specific numbers. WMP can
547
rip to Microsoft's own formats such as WMA, WAV or MP3. The patent-free
548
AAc and OGG Vorbis formats are not supported for ripping.</para>
550
<para><emphasis role="strong">Image Editing and Picture
551
Management</emphasis></para>
552
<para>With the Picture Gallery application of Microsoft Vista, you can
553
upload thousands of images and add tags. You can also organise the images
554
quickly and work on them easily because you can tag them with one click.
555
Ubuntu's F-Spot photo manager organises your personal photos on Ubuntu.
556
It integrates seamlessly with popular Web based image databases, such as
557
Flickr and Picasa Web.</para>
558
<para>Ubuntu provides Gimp for image editing which is a powerful Photoshop-like application.
559
Microsoft Windows Vista provides 'Paint' which offers basic image editing capabilities.</para>
560
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">GIMP</emphasis></title>
561
<mediaobject><imageobject>
562
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_010.png" format="PNG"/>
563
</imageobject></mediaobject>
566
<para><emphasis role="strong">Backup/Restore</emphasis></para>
567
<para>It is always advisable to backup your data. There are different
568
ways in which Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows Vista handle the backup process.</para>
569
<para>Ubuntu provides several backup tools as part of its software
570
library. Vista also has a native file-and-whole-system backup tool. The
571
easiest way to create a backup on Ubuntu is to select the directory to
572
be saved from the file browser and select create archive and then store
573
this archive on a backup media. Additionally dedicated backup tools exist,
574
such as HUBackup that specialized on creating backups for a home user's
576
<para>The backup tool for Vista is not as flexible when it comes to
577
defining backup sets. You can backup files of a specific type but not
578
everything on your computer's hard disk. Vista now has a feature of
579
full-system backup and restore utility. When using this feature, you
580
need to boot the Vista CD and plug in whatever media you backed up
586
155
<title>About Ubuntu</title>
587
156
<instructornote><title>Instructor Notes:</title><para><emphasis role="italic">The focus of this topic is to make the students
846
406
and comply with stated licensing terms. The packages in this component
847
407
do not come with any support or security updates. Examples of these
848
408
packages include VLC and the Adobe Flash plugin.</para>
849
<instructornote><title>Instructor Notes:</title><para><emphasis role="italic">Software from the multiverse component could be
850
hindered by patents or other forms of restriction on usage and distribution.
409
<instructornote><title>Instructor Notes:</title><para><emphasis role="italic">Software from the multiverse
410
component could be restricted by patents or other forms of regulation on usage and distribution.
851
411
It is the responsibility of the user to determine if the software of question
852
412
can be used in its jurisdiction and to comply with local laws.</emphasis></para>
853
413
</instructornote>
417
<title>Ubuntu Vs Microsoft Windows: Key Differences</title>
418
<para>Open source differs from the proprietary software model in that it:</para>
420
<listitem><para>Encourages customisation and variation as opposed to a one size fits many approach.</para></listitem>
421
<listitem><para>Relies on a 'services attached' business model rather than per license and seat basis.</para></listitem>
422
<listitem><para>Believes that the benefits of collaboration and multi-developer contribution outweigh those of
423
controlled project work of smaller paid developer teams.</para></listitem>
425
<para>Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows can be differentiated by many characteristics. Elements of cost, release cycle, security, customisation and mobility are presented here.</para>
427
<title>Key Attributes</title>
431
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Attribute</emphasis></para></entry>
432
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Ubuntu</emphasis></para></entry>
433
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Microsoft Windows</emphasis></para></entry>
438
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Costs</emphasis></para></entry>
441
<listitem><para>Free of licensing charges</para></listitem>
446
<listitem><para>Charges per user license for fixed term</para></listitem>
451
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Versions Released</emphasis></para></entry>
454
<listitem><para>Same version and features for home and professional users</para></listitem>
455
<listitem><para>Six-monthly fully supported free release</para></listitem>
460
<listitem><para>Increased security for Professional editions Vs. Home editions</para></listitem>
461
<listitem><para>Unpredictable release schedule</para></listitem>
466
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Security</emphasis></para></entry>
469
<listitem><para>Locked administrative user root</para></listitem>
470
<listitem><para>Rarely targeted by malware and viruses (?)</para></listitem>
475
<listitem><para>Enables easy access to administrative
476
user</para></listitem>
477
<listitem><para>Susceptible to malware and viruses (?)</para></listitem>
482
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Customisation</emphasis></para></entry>
485
<listitem><para>Easy to design and personalise</para></listitem>
486
<listitem><para>Runs different flavours of Ubuntu in
487
parallel</para></listitem>
492
<listitem><para>Standard OS with limited options to
493
personalise</para></listitem>
494
<listitem><para>Paid for additional applications</para></listitem>
499
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Data Storage</emphasis></para></entry>
502
<listitem><para>Easy to upgrade and downgrade</para></listitem>
503
<listitem><para>User data stored in home directory</para></listitem>
504
<listitem><para>Easy to migrate and replicate user data and
505
configuration to another computer</para></listitem>
510
<listitem><para>User data saved in multiple
511
locations</para></listitem>
512
<listitem><para>Difficult to backup and migrate
513
to computer</para></listitem>
520
<para>Looking at each element outlined in the table in greater detail:</para>
521
<para><emphasis role="strong">Associated Costs:</emphasis>
522
The Microsoft Windows OS is proprietary and price does increase with added functionality and applications. The
523
associated price is sometimes a factor of using third party applications and not just a Microsoft decision. With Ubuntu
524
new release versions and applications are free.</para>
526
<para><emphasis role="strong">New version releases:</emphasis>
527
There is only one released version of Ubuntu and therefore features available
528
to home and professional users are the same. The Home and Professional editions of
529
Microsoft Windows are not the same. For example, Microsoft Windows Professional editions have
530
more security features than Home editions.</para>
531
<para>Ubuntu's 6 monthly release cycle also makes it very quick for users to have access to all the latest
532
applications. An upgrade from one release to the next is free and fully supported. Plans around Microsoft releases
533
are less frequent and less visible to the public.</para>
535
<para><emphasis role="strong">Security aspects:</emphasis>
536
Ubuntu is rarely targeted by malware and viruses. By default the administrative
537
user root is locked in Ubuntu and only certain tasks are run with administrative
538
privileges. Microsoft Windows provides an environment where people
539
access administrative user directly.</para>
540
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Ubuntu Security</emphasis></title>
541
<mediaobject><imageobject>
542
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_003.png" format="PNG"/>
543
</imageobject></mediaobject>
545
<para><emphasis role="strong">Customisation:</emphasis>
546
As you will discover throughout this course, Ubuntu desktop is yours to design
547
and personalise. You can have different flavours of Ubuntu running parallel, for
548
example, you can install the Kubuntu (KDE) desktop together with Ubuntu (GNOME) and then
549
select the desktop environment you want to use. More than 17000 packages are available and easily accessible through the Internet. As a result, you are not stuck with using one version because it was the first you installed.</para>
550
<para>Microsoft Windows is a standard OS with some options
551
for customization. While many applications are available, most are proprietary software which incur a license fee.</para>
552
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Desktop Customisation</emphasis></title>
553
<mediaobject><imageobject>
554
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_004.png" format="PNG"/>
555
</imageobject></mediaobject>
558
<para><emphasis role="strong">Data Storage:</emphasis>
559
User data is often located in multiple locations in Microsoft Windows,
560
which makes backing up and migrating from one computer to another sometimes tricky.
561
Ubuntu saves user information in one place - the home directory. This makes the migration of data from an old computer to a new
562
one easy, as well as keeping user specific backup data separate.</para>
564
<title>Installation</title>
566
<title>Installation Differences</title>
570
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Installation</emphasis></para></entry>
571
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Ubuntu</emphasis></para></entry>
572
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Microsoft Windows</emphasis></para></entry>
577
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">OS Installation</emphasis></para></entry>
580
<listitem><para>Freely downloadable from the Internet or using
581
a free CD</para></listitem>
582
<listitem><para>Can be used directly from the
583
live-CD</para></listitem>
588
<listitem><para>Purchase required</para></listitem>
589
<listitem><para>OS must be installed on computer hard drive</para></listitem>
594
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Software Installation</emphasis></para></entry>
597
<listitem><para>Variety of applications available by
598
default</para></listitem>
599
<listitem><para>Many freely downloadable from the Internet.</para></listitem>
604
<listitem><para>Limited selection of software available
605
by default</para></listitem>
606
<listitem><para>Users can purchase and download
607
software online</para></listitem>
615
<listitem><para><emphasis role="strong">Installation:</emphasis>
616
Both Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu come as pre-installed OSs on computers.
617
However, to install post-purchase, Ubuntu can be freely downloaded from the
618
Internet or a free CD can be requested. Any Microsoft Windows version
619
will need to be purchased.</para>
620
<para>Ubuntu comes in live-CD mode which means you can use the OS directly from
621
the CD without installing it on a host computer. If you like what you see, install it. If you don't,
622
pass it on to a friend. The live-CD option is also useful for system recovery.</para>
623
<para>The installation of Microsoft Windows and Ubuntu is easy and conducted by running
624
the installation CD and booting the computer.Both installations vary in length according
626
<listitem><para><emphasis role="strong">Software Installation:</emphasis>
627
You can add software on Ubuntu by using the Add/Remove Applications and
628
Synaptic Package Manager. The Add/Remove Applications allows you to search the
629
entire directory of free applications recommended for Ubuntu. Microsoft Vista's
630
Digital Locker feature enables users to purchase software online and download
631
it in a protected manner.</para>
634
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Installing Software Applications</emphasis></title>
635
<mediaobject><imageobject>
636
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_006.png" format="PNG"/>
637
</imageobject></mediaobject>
643
<title>Applications</title>
644
<para>The table below displays a comparison between Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows applications:</para>
646
<title>Application Based Differences</title>
650
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Applications</emphasis></para></entry>
651
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Ubuntu</emphasis></para></entry>
652
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Microsoft Windows</emphasis></para></entry>
657
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Web browsing and E-mail</emphasis></para></entry>
660
<listitem><para>Firefox Web browser by default</para></listitem>
661
<listitem><para>Evolution e-mail client by default</para></listitem>
666
<listitem><para>Internet Explorer Web browser by default</para></listitem>
667
<listitem><para>Outlook e-mail client by default</para></listitem>
672
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Word Processing</emphasis></para></entry>
675
<listitem><para>OpenOffice.org suite</para></listitem>
681
<listitem><para>WordPad by default</para></listitem>
687
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Multimedia</emphasis></para></entry>
690
<listitem><para>Includes several default multimedia programmes,
691
such as Sound Juicer, Rythmbox, Serpentine, Movie Player and
692
Sound Recorder</para></listitem>
697
<listitem><para>Includes Microsoft Windows Media Player
698
11 (WMP) and Microsoft Windows Media Center (WMC)</para></listitem>
703
<entry><para><emphasis role="strong">Image Editing and Picture
704
Management</emphasis></para></entry>
707
<listitem><para>F-Spot photo manager</para></listitem>
708
<listitem><para>Gimp for image editing</para></listitem>
713
<listitem><para>Picture Gallery application </para></listitem>
714
<listitem><para>Paint</para></listitem>
722
<para>Looking at each element outlined in the table in greater detail:</para>
723
<para><emphasis role="strong">Networking, Web browsing and
724
E-mail</emphasis></para>
725
<para>Network setup on both Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows is easy. Web
726
browsing features are relatively the same on both OSs.</para>
727
<para>Mozilla Firefox is loaded as the default browser on Ubuntu, and
728
Internet Explorer is the default browser on Vista. You can also install Firefox on
729
Microsoft Windows.</para>
730
<para>Evolution is the default e-mail client on Ubuntu. It connects
731
to POP accounts, conventional UNIX mailboxes and Exchange servers
732
via Outlook Web Access. Evolution also has a built-in Personal
733
Information Manager (PIM) and a calendaring and appointment system.
734
The Microsoft Windows Mail application in Vista is a rewritten
735
version of Outlook Express, with a stripped down calendar or appointment
736
application, Microsoft Windows Calendar. An upgrade to Outlook is suggested if you
737
use the calendar often or if you have a full PIM. Ubuntu users enjoy the out-of-the-box mail client setup facility.</para>
738
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">Evolution E-mail Client</emphasis></title>
739
<mediaobject><imageobject>
740
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_008.png" format="PNG"/>
741
</imageobject></mediaobject>
744
<para><emphasis role="strong">Word Processing:</emphasis>
745
The OpenOffice.org suite is installed on Ubuntu by default and
746
provides many features of Microsoft Office.</para>
747
<para>Vista comes with WordPad by default; the full version of Microsoft Word (or Office) for Microsoft Windows,
748
is available at an additional cost.</para>
749
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">OpenOffice.org Writer</emphasis></title>
750
<mediaobject><imageobject>
751
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_009.png" format="PNG"/>
752
</imageobject></mediaobject>
755
<para><emphasis role="strong">Multimedia:</emphasis>
756
Several multimedia programmes are configured by default on Ubuntu,
757
such as Sound Juicer, Rythmbox, Serpentine, Movie Player and Sound
758
Recorder. Sound Juicer is the default application for playing audio
759
CDs. If you plug-in an iPod on Ubuntu, Rhythmbox organises music and creates
760
playlists for you. This is similar to Microsoft Windows Media Player. You can use
761
Serpentine to author audio CDs. </para>
762
<para>To play the mp3 format on Ubuntu, you need to install a codec pack. This is because
763
Ubuntu is not distributed with mp3 codecs due to licensing restrictions. Playback of mp3
764
files is enabled by default on some versions of Microsoft Windows.</para>
765
<para>Vista has two multimedia programmes, WMP11 and WMC. WMP is best
766
for playing music, and WMC is useful if you are using the computer as
767
your core entertainment system. WMP can contain a large music
768
library. With the index search system of WMP, you can search music
769
numbers by a particular artist or search for specific numbers.</para>
771
<para><emphasis role="strong">Image Editing and Picture Management:</emphasis>
772
With the Picture Gallery application of Microsoft Vista, you can
773
upload thousands of images and add tags. You can also organise the images
774
quickly and work on them easily because you can tag them with one click.
775
F-Spot photo manager organises your personal photos on Ubuntu.
776
It integrates seamlessly with popular Web based image databases, such as
777
Flickr and Picasa Web.</para>
778
<para>Ubuntu provides Gimp for image editing which is a powerful Photoshop-like application.
779
Microsoft Windows Vista provides 'Paint' as its equivalent.</para>
780
<figure><title><emphasis role="italic">GIMP</emphasis></title>
781
<mediaobject><imageobject>
782
<imagedata fileref="images/Lesson02_images_010.png" format="PNG"/>
783
</imageobject></mediaobject>
856
790
<title>Lesson Summary</title>
857
791
<para>In this lesson, you learned:</para>