Potential Drawbacks
This all sounds great, but are there any disadvantages to using Ubuntu? Below are a few common challenges Ubuntu users may encounter.
1. Installation
The biggest disadvantage is that whereas Windows and OS X usually come pre-installed on your PC or Mac, a lack of widespread retailers offering pre-installed Ubuntu often means that you must install the system yourself. A technical audience may be familiar with installing operating systems, but the average user will want to avoid this process at all costs.
Ubuntu works hard to make the installation process as easy as possible for the everyday computer user. The installation files for Ubuntu, which you can download and copy to a CD for free, are "live," meaning that you can preview the operating system and applications on your computer directly from the CD without having to install anything onto your hard drive. While your computer may run a little slower because it's running directly from the CD, this offering gives you a good way to test out Ubuntu and determine if it works well with your computers before deciding to install it on your hard drive.
A growing number of retailers are beginning to offer computers pre-installed with Ubuntu, however. The highest-profile vendor to announce this offer in recent months is Dell, but there are other retailers as well, including System76, EmperorLinux, and ZaReason.
2. Hardware Compatibility
Another potential disadvantage related to the lack of widespread pre-installed Ubuntu is the issue of hardware support. A small number of wireless networking cards and display drivers may have issues or reduced functionality because some hardware manufacturers do not release the drivers that are Linux-compatible. This is another area where things are improving as the number of users increases ― Intel has very good Linux support, as does their main competitor AMD and many other manufacturers. Again, the Live CD can help determine if a computer's hardware is well supported in Ubuntu before you commit to installing the system.
3. Software Availability
A final area that is a potential problem for people switching to Ubuntu from Windows or Mac OS X is the availability of compatible applications. However, with the exception of commercial games, in almost every case there is an equivalent application available for Linux. Ubuntu comes with a program in its System menu that allows users to browse a directory of available software and install with a single click. Another approach to the issue of application compatibility is a program called Wine, which allows many Windows programs ― including iTunes and Photoshop ― to run on Linux.
Bottom line? Users should not be put off simply because Ubuntu is different; the differences between Windows XP and Windows Vista, or MS Office 2003 and MS Office 2007, are arguably just as difficult to overcome as any differences between Windows and Ubuntu.
Linux has a reputation for requiring technical wizardry to operate, but Ubuntu has gone to great lengths to make things "just work" as much as possible, and to offer a user interface that's simply laid out and easy to use.
Technical and non-technical workers alike have been able to get started with Ubuntu within the first few minutes of installing the operating system.
The good news is that Ubuntu is no-risk. Ubuntu can be tried out in a number of different ways without removing an existing operating system altogether. In a "dual-boot" configuration, every time the computer starts up, the user is presented with a choice of which operating system to run. A fast computer with a lot of RAM can also run Ubuntu in a virtual machine, which treats the entire operating system as a program.