Wired – Ubuntu 7.1 is certainly easier to install and set up than Windows Vista, and it’s very close to matching Mac OS X when it comes to making things “just work” out of the box. Wi-Fi, printing, my digital camera and even my iPod all worked immediately after installation — no drivers or other software required.
Ubuntu 7.1 ships as a “live CD,” which means you can boot from your DVD drive and test Ubuntu without touching your existing system. If you choose to dual boot Ubuntu with Windows, you can tell Ubuntu to import all your settings and files. This is what most new Ubuntu users will be doing, so I tried it. Including the importing, installation took under 20 minutes.
If you’ve been considering making the switch from Windows or Mac, Ubuntu makes the process painless. It’s ability to seamlessly import your settings, music and data from a Windows partition erases one of the most pressing barriers for new users. And once you’re in, the learning curve is minimal. In fact, besides requiring a little futzing to get multimedia playback set up, Gutsy Gibbon is about as easy as Linux gets. Link.