If you know me, you'll know I run a very trimmed down version of Ubuntu. I love the Ubuntu community and the OS. However, I do feel it's somewhat bloated. I've setup my system to be very lean.

I recently upgraded to 9.10 and then decided to drop back to stable. This involves reinstalling the base system and reinstalling all the packages. My sister complained about her system being incredibly slow. I decided to reinstall both at the same time to compare the time it takes to do them at the same time.

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Backup:
Linux: dpkg --get-selections > ~/packages.list
Vista: Burn everyting to a DVD, make a copy of installed apps and forget about the extra junk that she doesn't really need.

At this point, Linux is about one hour ahead of Vista.

Reinstall:
Linux: Pop in CD, follow defaults except for partitioning, don't format /home partition.
Vista: First install failed, tried again and it worked. I got the BSOD right before the install was nearly finished.

At this point, Linux is about three hours ahead of Vista.

Verify legit system:
Linux: Done
Vista: Start > My Comp > Properties > Activate; probably need to call in system

Update:
Linux: aptitude update && aptitude full-upgrade && reboot
# A kernel update is usually included here so we do reboot.
Vista: Run the update utility, let the update utility update itself, check for updates, install updates, reboot, REPEAT(check for updates, install updates, reboot) about 15 times, Install SP1, reboot, REPEAT(check for updates, install updates, reboot) about 3 times, install SP2, reboot, check for updates, install updates, reboot

Keep in mind here that Vista also installs the updates again during shutdown and startup.

Remove bloat:
Linux: Done
# I installed a cli system
Vista: Uninstall extra junk and also remove bloat from the start menu, disable bit defender (can't be removed)

Install extra protection:
Linux: Done
Vista: Find website and go through a maze to get to the download package for Spybot, Ad-Aware, and AVG, install

Install extra packages:
Linux: dpkg --set-selections < ~/packages.list && aptitude full-upgrade
Vista: Find the software CD's you need, go online and find downloads for whatever you need, install it all, usually need to do a single install at a time. Forced reboot after half of it.

Install additional drivers:
Linux: Done
Vista: Go out to computer support site, find download page for drivers, download correct drivers, forced reboot after most installs (forces one install at a time)

Further updates:
Linux: Done
Vista: check for updates, install updates, reboot, check for updates, install updates, reboot

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Conclusion:
Linux: This was an incredibly painless process. I had no worry of data or settings losses.
Total Time: ~1hr
Vista: I couldn't imagine a more painful process. The constant rebooting and lack of any sort of repo made this one of the worst experiences this year.
Total Time: ~40hr