Everyone in the Linux world has been in shock over the past few days over the fact that Microsoft contributed 20,000 lines of GPL-licensed code to Linux.

I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but for everyone who’s excited: read this.

I really don’t want to build a reputation as some kind of bulldog guarding the gates of Ubuntu from articles from Digg’s Linux/Unix front page that try to point out Ubuntu’s deficiencies. We’ve already had this one, and I’m reluctant to write the one I’m starting right now.

But I would feel dirty inside if I let the “12 ideas Ubuntu should steal from Windows 7” slide by without a comment.

Before I get started, though, keep in mind that part of my problem is that Ubuntu “should” steal the ideas, and that it should be from “Windows 7.”

1. Better boot time: We already have this. Jaunty has an excellent boot time, and if Canonical says that Karmic’s going to have a better one, I wholeheartedly agree with them. Ubuntu should steal this from Windows 7? Why steal what you already have? Ubuntu: 1. Windows: 0.
2. Improved suspend and hibernate: Three things: 1) I’m the first to agree that it’s still a problem. 2) It has gotten a lot better with each new release. 3) With a 25-second boot time, the problem is less pressing, but still inexcusable. Ubuntu: 1. Windows: 1.
3. The taskbar: I agree that gnome-panel isn’t as pretty* as 7′s taskbar (unless you theme it heavily), but I think the question of functionality is more subjective (it’s dependent on what you need and how much work you’re willing to put into setting things up).  And Oxford (the author) even points out that you can get a great experience with Avant (he calls it combined with the panel “the best user interface of all three major OSes”). *That said, if your panel in Ubuntu isn’t both more functional and more attractive than XP’s, you’re doing something wrong. Ubuntu: 1.5. Windows: 1.5
4. Kid control: This is another matter of opinion. I’m in the camp that says “Ubuntu should have core functionality such that it will do anything the average user wants, out of the box.” So I think parental controls should be something you add (and they’re in the repositories–Dan’s Guardian is one for censoring the Internet, for example), not something you get. If you disagree, you could get them out of the box with a remix of Ubuntu, like Ubuntu Christian Edition. In conclusion: Something nice? Yes. Something Ubuntu should steal? I don’t think so. Ubuntu: 2.5. Windows: 1.5.
5. Help! : I’ve never been completely impressed with Windows’ Help, but I’ll agree that troubleshooting is something it has and Ubuntu doesn’t. There’s a lot to be said for using the Internet (Ubuntu’s online documentation, Ubuntu forums, Google…), but there should definitely be stuff available outside of the cloud. Ubuntu: 2.5. Windows: 2.5.
6. Drive encryption: Yeah… Ubuntu: 2.5. Windows: 3.5.
   —I really hate it when websites put one article on multiple pages. It’s downright sleazy. </rant>—
7. Side by side view: …is a Compiz plugin. And has been. Kind of like workspaces, expo, annotation, the cube…Windows just can’t seem to catch up. Ubuntu: 3.5. Windows: 3.5.
8. Better sound system: Media–and everything related to it–is my Achilles’ Heel of computing, so I’ll admit openly that I don’t feel qualified to discuss this. Sorry.
9. Windows Media Player: Again, I’m not good with media. But in my limited experience, Rhythmbox has always “just worked,” and WMP has had random issues. To quote OA commenter thinkdave: “….have you even used Rhythmbox? I just changed the genre tag for a bunch of songs by right clicking the song and going to properties you know exactly the same way as all other media players. And you think ticking ‘share my music’ in the music sharing plugin is convoluted.” Ubuntu: 4.5. Windows: 3.5.
10. That syncing feeling: …isn’t strictly Ubuntu’s fault, but it’s still a weakness. Ubuntu: 4.5. Windows: 4.5.
11. Better back-up: Ubuntu has a number of good backup solutions in the repositories, and the choice to include one by default or not is purely a matter of opinion. Ubuntu: 5. Windows: 5.
12. User Access Control: (Psst! Mr. Oxford! UAC stands for User Account Control…) And I don’t even want to hear about it. UAC is a poorly executed knockoff of *nix’s super users. UAC should try to learn from sudo/gksu, not the other way around. Why? There’s a consensus that sudo/gksu improve security, and are not intrusive, whereas UAC is marginally better than useless, and is extremely annoying to boot. Just for fun, let’s try doing things without enough privileges.
$ aptitude install thunderbird
...
E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock - open (13 Permission denied)
E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?


Final score: Ubuntu: 6. Windows: 5. On issues that were supposed to play to Windows’ strengths and Ubuntu’s weaknesses. Sigh.

Disclaimer: This is not a comparison of OSes. The numbers really don’t reflect anything significant about Windows–and are a greater indicator of Oxford’s decision-making when deciding what to include in his article.