Windows 7

Windows 7 recognized almost all of my hardware! Almost as good as Ubuntu with only 5 times the bloat.

I installed Windows 7 on my laptop on Sunday. I was pleased to see that I didn't need to install WiFi or NIC or VGA drivers. I did have to install my Realtek audio drivers and Synaptic touchpad drivers, which I would think would be obvious drivers to include. Also, Windows 7 had no problem connecting to my HP OfficeJet 6500.

All this is great, and it blows XP out of the water. However Ubuntu has been doing this well since at least Gutsy. With Feisty, everything but my card reader worked. Since Gutsy, ALL of my hardware works out of the box.

I think Microsoft has done a great job with Windows 7, and I really hope they overcome the stigma they earned with Vista. So far, I am enjoying my Windows 7 experience. It's snappier than Vista was, and prettier than XP. My favorite part is the new taskbar that replaces Quick Launch. Absolutely brilliant design.

With Gnome-Do, Ubutnu still takes the cake in my opinion though.

Chrome on Linux!

Since my last post was a million years old, and Chrome on Linux was brand spanking new, I thought it would be nice to post an update. I didn't land the Google Summer of Code spot working on Chrome for Linux that I wanted. Although, since school is year-round for me, and I took an extra consulting gig this summer, it probably worked out for the best.

Whoever did get that spot seems to have done some great work though. I've been using Chrome on Ubuntu for several months now, and it gets better every day! It is super fast, pretty stable, and I can even watch YouTube now.

Shortly after the announcement of Chrome OS, I was discussing Google's new move with a group of local IT professionals. They were not as excited as I was. Most are Microsofties. Even the guy who introduced me to Google Apps didn't think much of Chrome OS. For me though, it is not so much that I'm excited about Chrome OS itself, but rather what it means for Chrome. If Google is going to be remotely successful with Chrome OS, they will have to:

• Make Chrome work like a dream on Linux
• Make all of their web services work correctly in Chrome
• Bring Google Voice and Video to Linux

Since I am a Google junkie, having all of their products working on my Linux desktop will make my day.