Hi there…
Currently have Win7 64b and the space it takes up is unbelievable. Is Linux lighter on space?
Cheers
Generally yes Linux is lighter. There are very very light versions of Linux, but some of the software repositories are outdated and very restricted.
Ubuntu tends to be the Linux distro of choice, although saying that there are 1000s of different variations of Linux. There are distro’s such as Fedora, Suse, CentoOS & Gentoo just to name a few.
You can see what Linux distro would suit you by downloading and burning a LiveCD or LiveUSB. That way you can take the distro of choice for a “test drive”.
Remember, Linux is a bit of a learning curve at first but I think you’ll far enjoy it more than you did Windows.
You can see the different distro’s from one of the sites below:
Linux won’t be able to run Windows programs. Although you can run some through WINE. (Wine Is Not an Emulator).
The short answer to your question is YES Linux takes up less hard drive space than Windows 7
There are MANY different Linux distributions, and their default installations vary in size … some of the lighter distributions will be quite happy to install in 256 mb with applications included.
There are smaller distributions, but they tend to be less functional, harder to use (ie. command line only), or specialist.
A default install of a more “normal” distribution such as Ubuntu will weigh in at about 1.2gb (don’t quote me on that, but it’s somewhere around that) but that is with a FULL compliment of software included such as the LibreOffice suite, Media players, PDF viewers, Burning software, Photo management software, Archive management software, web browser, email client, IM client, etc. … which are all installed along with the OS but can be removed or changed at will.
Mmm, it’s a bit like asking if Indian food is more fattening than Chinese … it really depends on how much you eat in a given instance!!
General rule of thumb; Linux is more proficient and more efficient than Windows.
Over the next week or two I’m going to post something on Windows Licensing that’ll make your hair stand on end and make the amount of disk space it uses seem a little irrelevant … 
OK, that’s peaked my interest 
I’m still waiting to see what MP is going to post. 
Ok, turns out I don’t have as much time as I thought, but as you’re waiting …
Let’s assume the cost of Windows Server 2003 is in the £500-£1000 range and let’s assume you’re managing lots of pre-existing machines.
Now let’s take a couple of scenarios;
a. Your disk controller fails
So, you replace it, simple! (you’d be surprised how flaky some disk controllers are, mentioning no names Mr Michael D!)
Unfortunately, when you change your disk controller, Windows has a nasty habit of wanting to “revalidate” itself. And imagine your surprise when it fails to validate. No problem you think, I’ll log in, grab a copy if the license key, then call M$ and do a telephone activation.But, Oh no, that would be too easy, it won’t let you log in UNTIL you activate Windows.
So, you get a copy of the license key off the side of the machine and try again, and apparently your license has been activated too many times!
Solution: large hole in pocket
b. You want to move your machine to the cloud
So, you use VMWARE convert and suck the machine onto the cloud, all looks great, you boot up, hey presto, activation failed, can’t log in until you activate Windows … etc …
The moral of this story is, even if you fork out for a valid Windows license, a time will come when you want to modify the machine in some way shape or form, at which point, get ready to bend over!
I think my point here is that you can be doing everything “right”, yet through no fault of your own be denied access to your own server on “licensing” grounds - which if it’s a live / critical server is just an unthinkable state of affairs (!)
AND, we had a Windows 2003 server last year that was not modified in any way (as far as we could see) that slid into this state and demanded activation before we could log in … did a telephone activation a couple of weeks later, and the same thing happened again!
Ended up utilising a drive share to copy the data off and then just scrapped it.
My dictionary entry for the word “liability” points to M$.com …
Still worried about distro size?
(**) Yes I know if you replace a controller with the SAME make/model it won’t try to revalidate, but it you have an “older” server, in many instances you just can’t get the same controller.
I remember scenario a, VERY well. I was out doing work experience for a company called “Cape Industries ltd”, and they ran a 2003 Windows servers. The techie was going on and on about how he got his MS certification and his Sun Microsystems certification too, and he was showing me how the server worked. However through no fault of his own, there was one day in the week I was there that he had to do some maintenance on them. Everything was fine until he changed a disk controller and Windows started to demand an activation key.
Now that I look back on it, if I had known about Linux then I would’ve handed him a liveCD and said, “Go on, you know you want too” ;). It’s actually funny.