Upgrading operating systems

How would you respond if I told you that all it would take is a few clicks to upgrade your Windows XP to Wndows Vista?  That it would be able to download and upgrade the entire system in a matter of hours (depending on the speed of your Internet connection).  What if I said it would also upgrade your word processor, web browser, and most of the other commonly used applications?  What if I said it wouldn’t even cost you a thing?

While this will most likely never be true for Windows, it is currently the case with Ubuntu Linux.  With about half a dozen clicks, I was able to download and install the latest version of the operating system and most of my applications, just like that.  All my data, documents, and preferences are preserved, because the updater is good at upgrading the system while leaving user files alone.

Another difference between Windows and Ubuntu Linux is that I didn’t have to wait 5 years for the latest release.   In fact, I updated just six months ago.  But there has been a lot of improvements and changes in the last six months, and I appreciate being able to take advantage of all the updates immediately.  Since upgrading is so easy, it isn’t a big deal to have to upgrade.

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