This is a link to a review of Ubuntu by Brian Boyko, a self-described power user who tries to test systems using real-world hardware. He's done the same thing for WinVista and Mac OS X. He seems quite objective and even-handed.
I'm trying out Ubuntu myself. I installed it with wubi, which I found to be painless and smooth. That's not what Brian did, though; he's got dedicated hardware.
So far I've found it to be a much smoother OS than WinXP, more responsive even through it's running on a separate hard drive. I haven't done a lot with it so far but will let you know how it goes.
Comments
Booting Ubuntu is faster than XP, even though it's on a separate hard drive connected via a USB cable. A little applet called Weather Report can be added the main panel bar at the top of the desktop. This gives me national weather service information quickly and easily. And no performance hit.