Linux versus Windows is the stuff of near endless controversy. Linux lovers trash Windows for being slow, unreliable, insecure and overpriced, whilst Windows bigots accuse Linux of being hard to use and clunky.

Who's right? Is there a middle ground between both lots of feuding fanboys? Fearlessly treading where others fear to follow, I decided to see just how the Linux penguin stacked up against clippy, Windows much maligned mascot.

So what's the big deal about both Windows Vista and Linux? Linux is a multitasking, multi-user operating system that has a reputation for rock solid reliability, its price (free or free-ish) is pretty hard to beat.

Cutting a long story short, I eventually settled on Open Suse Linux which is backed Novell and near idiot proof to install. My test platform was an ageing 1.6Ghz Centrino Acer notebook with 1Gb RAM and a pokey integrated Intel graphics and tiny 60Gb hard drive.

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