XBMC on 'buntu or Win7?
#1
...that is the question! Which would you pick, and why?

Here's my situation:

* Been running XBMCbuntu for 6 months or so on a netbook hooked up to our plasma (dual boot with Win7)
* Had a Xbox 1 running XBMC for about 4 years before that
* All media is downloaded and served from a desktop PC running Win7
* No real issues with the XBMCbuntu - save a couple of niggly resolution issues, and the occasional sound problem.

BUT:
* We do occasionally still use the netbook for surfing/emailing - I've had a cursory effort at running Chromium from XBMC (no-go, and didn't have the time to fiddle to get it going properly), and I don't want to have to log out / log in every time we want to use this.

So then, what are your thoughts? Better off with buntu? Or could Win7 be the better option here? Or is it in fact just six vs. two threes?
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#2
If your primary issue with XBMCbuntu is that you don't like the default Chromium web browser, you can easily install Firefox via Synaptics Package Manager, which can be found under System Tools.

From your post, it appears you want an easy way to access a web browser? If so, it's same process whether you are running XBMCbuntu, Linux or Windows. None of the examples below require you to log-out/log-in in order to switch from XBMC to a web browser and back again.
  • You can use the Executor or Advanced Launcher add-on to launch an external web browser session from XBMC. When you close your web browser, you are returned to XBMC.
  • Rather than booting up directly to XBMC, you can boot to your OS desktop and have a startup script launch XBMC. This gives you the option to use the Backslash key to "windowize" XBMC so you can get to everything available from your OS desktop, including the web browser. When you are done with the browser, hit the Backslash key again and XBMC is restored to fullscreen.
  • You can write your own script that can be executed via a Favorite, keyboard key and/or remote control button. This script can, for example, terminate XBMC and launch the web browser and, upon exiting the browser, relaunch XBMC automatically.
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XBMC on 'buntu or Win7?0