The good: Ubuntu is free; will read Windows- or Mac-saved Office files; comes with Firefox and OpenOffice preinstalled; comes with several multimedia applications and a VoIP application preinstalled as well.

The bad: Ubuntu won't run most popular software, so you'll have to learn new applications for word processing and spreadsheets; the new Desktop Effects is still experimental and produced a handful of glitches; some wireless and Webcam drivers are missing; the operating system was unable to wake up sometimes and kept losing time or gaining it on our test machine.

The bottom line: Ubuntu is very user-friendly but not right for everyone. Oddly casual computer users and advanced users will find this operating system wonderful, while day-to-day users may rail against Ubuntu's incompatibility with certain popular software applications, such as iTunes. Still, this is a great leap forward for Linux with the mass audience.