Linux easier to install than Windows?!?

I got a new work laptop the other day, an IBM (or rather Lenovo) ThinkPad T41. Before I start using it for real work I decided to try out the latest and greatest Ubuntu on it.

The new LiveCD based install is a doddle, and come reboot time everything worked. Networking (wired and wireless), hotkeys, sound, display. No tweaking, just worked.

How good is that?

I also threw XP at it just to see how that faired. It installed well enough, but you couldn’t do anything with it. No network, no hotkeys, no sound, and 800×600 display.

Although I should really be using Windows on it, I’m sticking with Ubuntu for now because I can’t be bothered ‘fixing’ XP enough to make it work.