The most dramatic results for Linux were seen on boot speed, which for the final release of Ubuntu Jaunty measured around 3. Fedora 1. 1 close on its heels taking 3. Windows 7, by comparison, took almost twice as long, leaving us waiting 6. We also found that a default installation of Fedora 1. Gnome desktop uses significantly less memory than Windows 7, at only 2. MB. Windows uses 4. MB, which is nearly twice as much memory. Compatibility. But benchmarks and system monitoring is only a small part of the story. Every fresh Windows install feels fast and responsive, and its only after several months constant use that any weaknesses will begin to show. In the several weeks weve been using Windows 7 alongside our Linux boxes, we found it to be much more stable than XP, and snappier than Vista. We did have one problem with a corrupted filesystem while crash testing the machine with a reset, but as this is pre release software it wouldnt be fair to criticise Windows 7 until the final version is available. Theres little doubt that Windows 7 is a solid improvement over its predecessor, and we would guess that most Windows users who were previously reluctant to upgrade XP will be happy with Windows 7 running on a new machine. Windows greatest asset is the variety of software available, and Microsoft is going to offer an XP compatibility mode as an add on to Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate. This solution bundles Microsofts Virtual PC virtualisation software along with a copy and a licence to run XP. Its not native, so its unlikely to run your favourite games, but it will enable you to run essential XP only software in a window on your desktop. This stands in stark contrast to the cavalier attitude to backward compatibility that Microsoft took with Vista, and its a step thats likely to make Windows 7 an essential upgrade for many XP users. The same isnt quite so true of hardware, which still suffers from Vistas over zealous attitude towards hardware signing and backwards compatibility. Even if your hardware is capable of running Windows 7 its unlikely youll be able to exploit its capabilities unless the officially signed drivers are available for your device. With no Direct. X 1. Aero Glass effects on the desktop, which is one of Windows 7s best features. Worst of all, youre locked into the resolution data provided by your screen. Our test system uses two 1. D cheap screens from Hanns G. Theyre perfectly capable devices that work well with Linux, but we wasted days trying every trick we could think of to get them working with Windows 7, and in the end we gave up. If you found Vistas hardware installation frustrating, youre likely to have the same problems with Windows 7. Performance. Windows 7. Better at synthetic benchmarks. Faster transfer of large files. Final version likely to improve. Suspendresume works Linux. Faster booting. Less memory usage. Smaller install size. Broader hardware compatibility. Round 2 Desktop warfare. Despite the hyperbole surrounding performance tuning and increased efficiency, the battleground for success is going to be the desktop. This is where we spend the most time, and its where small changes can make a massive difference in productivity. Windows 7 promises big improvements, but at first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that very little has changed since the release of Windows XP, which never seems too far beneath the surface. The old device manager, for instance, is identical to the now discontinued version and there are many aspects of the desktop that feel the same. But to give the new desktop a fair crack of the whip, well take Microsofts own list of whats good, and compare that with what Linux has to offer. New features, according to Microsoft. Top of the list of usability improvements is the new task bar and full screen previews. Its now easier to add your own applications to the task bar, using a process called pinning, and while this has always been possible through the use of the Quick Launch tool, Microsoft is making a big deal out its new easiness, as well as another major addition larger icons. No, really. Another much touted usability improvement is the window thumbnail that appears when you hover your mouse cursor over a minimised application. Each one of these features has been part of the modern Linux desktop for some time. And while features such as the thumbnail preview of an application were initially a cutting edge part of Compiz, we now take their inclusion on a modern desktop for granted. In KDE 4. 2, for example, you get exactly the same task bar functionality, and if you use a cutting edge distribution such as Fedora 1.