One of the biggest questions in the world of Operating Systems is, will Open Source Operating Systems ever be able to compete with Microsoft Windows operating systems or even come reasonably close to it in terms of popularity?
The debate is never-ending. While open source advocates talk endlessly, and the Windows vs Linux discussion will go on forever about why Linux is superior to Windows, here are the reasons why I feel Microsoft Windows wins over Open Source operating systems.
Why the Windows operating system is better than Linux
A lot of folks who’ve experienced a lot of problems with Windows are usually told they need to switch over to Linux. Many thought this was a great idea until they ran back to Windows after finding out that Linux isn’t all that great.
Now, we already have an article stating reasons why you should abandon the need to switch to a Linux distro. But we believe a second take is required for the younger folks.
- Video games and more video games
- Support in terms of drivers
- Not enough quality software
- Too many Linux distributions
- Windows is not a complicated OS
Let us talk about this rivalry in more detail.
1] Video games and more video games
Yes, it is safe to say that Linux is making inroads where gaming is concerned. Several developers have released titles for Ubuntu and other popular Linux distros. Not only that, but Steam has long stood strongly behind the open-source platform.
However, when it comes down to Windows, it is the king of gaming. If you’re a hardcore gamer, then there is no better place to play PC games, and that’s a fact. Every game available on Linux is available for Windows. But you know what? Most titles on Windows cannot be found on Linux, and that won’t change any time soon.
2] Support in terms of drivers
Do you know how many Linux users have problems with their computers due to a lack of driver support? It’s an age-old problem, and despite improvements over the years, the issue still shows its ugly head quite often.
Windows, on the other hand, have a larger pool of driver support for almost all hardware. The Windows Update feature, in many cases, will deal with all driver problems in most cases, so there is little need to worry.
3] Not enough quality software
Let’s be honest here, folks. Linux does not have a huge pool of quality software. In fact, a lot of the apps we’ve used on Ubuntu fail to work properly or not at all. Some of them are old and haven’t been updated in years.
In terms of Windows, there are a ton of apps available both in the Microsoft Store and on the web. Not only that, if some haven’t seen an update in a long while, we can guarantee you’ll come across an excellent alternative in a short while.
At the end of the day, you won’t be able to find certain apps on Linux, such as PhotoShop, Microsoft Office, Adobe Premiere, and many more. Whether you like it or not, these are the facts.
4] Too many Linux distributions
Here’s the thing, when you go out to grab a copy of Windows, your options aren’t that massive. Yes, there are multiple variations, but they are variations of the same thing. Linux, on the other hand, is quite different.
There are many distributions, and most of them do not share the same design and feature set. There are even a few that strive to look like the Windows operating system. What’s the point of abandoning Windows, only to use an OS that looks like it? Makes no sense.
5] Windows is not a complicated OS
Let’s not beat around the bush here. Windows is easier to use than any available Linux distro. Sure, if you’ve been using Linux for multiple years, then definitely it won’t be a headache. However, for new users who just want to get things done on time, Windows 10 is their best bet.
After many decades the Linux movement feels like it is still in beta. The experience moves forward, but at the same time, it feels stuck.
Linux vs Windows Comparision
1. No operating system is as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows. No one wants to write numerous lines of code if he/she can get the same work done by a few clicks. The user interface of Microsoft Windows is much better and easy to adjust as compared to the Open Source Operating Systems. This is due to the fact that Microsoft Windows is designed in such a way that even the most basic users can adjust to its interface.
2. Windows commands a market share of around 90% while Linux is still languishing at around 1%, even today. Due to its large user base, Microsoft Windows has a wide ecosystem and supports a large number of software which provides its users an opportunity to select software programs as per their need – many of it being free software too. Open Source operating systems also have a huge collection of supported software but in comparison to Microsoft Windows, they lag behind; seeing that most of the software programs are built while taking Microsoft Windows into consideration.
3. Open Source operating systems like the server editions based on Linux Kernel are often called the most secure operating systems. If not better in this regard, Microsoft Windows Server Editions are equally secure and they are constantly being made better day by day. The fact is because Windows is used by most people around the world, malware writers find it more profitable to attack Windows, hence it is hammered at more often. After all, why would anyone want to target 2-3% of the operating system market?
Nevertheless, Windows Servers are known to recover faster from Security attacks than Linux. If Linux or Open Source was completely secure, would it have been possible to hack the Linux website itself? One has to understand and accept that, as the popularity of any OS increases, it too tends to come under the radar of malware writers, as we have seen in the case of Apple Mac also in recent times.
4. Microsoft Windows supports a wide range of hardware and most of the hardware manufacturers support their hardware in Microsoft Windows due to its larger user base. On the other side, Open Source operating systems have a comparatively smaller user base and hence only some manufacturers support their hardware in Open Source operating systems like Linux.
5. It is a hard task to find support for Open Source operating systems as they are not used by the majority of the population though some resources are available on the Internet in the form of Discussion Forums, eBooks and Community-driven websites. In comparison, Microsoft Windows includes its own help section and there is a vast amount of resources available on the Internet and many books are available in the market for reference.
6. The final release of Microsoft Windows usually has a negligible amount of bugs as it is tested by highly trained professionals at the Microsoft Corporation, its Beta testers, and MVPs, and it goes through various test stages before its release. Microsoft is also usually quick to release fixes if any are required. Open Source operating systems are also tested by professionals and they have both alpha and beta releases before their final release, yet they do have some bugs which are fixed by the updates and upgrades.
7. Then there is the question of costs. Now, this is one area where Windows loses out! Almost all of the Linux flavors are either free of cost or are available at a much lower price. Whereas for Windows, you have to pay! While for the desktop version, it may not matter much to many, in the Enterprise segment, this becomes important. The maintenance cost of Linux is said to be rather low as compared to Microsoft Windows. This is, therefore one of the fields where Microsoft Windows is facing tough competition from Linux Flavors, esp in the Server segment.
READ: How to create a Windows bootable USB on Linux
Please let us know your views also on this subject.
@Abhinav : This server is running Linux + Apache not Microsoft IIS.
Ask this website’s Admin why he is using an open source server OS (Bad Linux according to you) + WordPress (Open Source).
BE HONEST WHILE WRITING.
Why does this site like to promote inaccurate/fictitious MS hype rather than just write about the facts?
“It is a hard task to find support for Open Source operating systems…” PLEASE! Have you tried to get anywhere with MS Support these days? Unless you speak one of the many middle-eastern dialects and actually find a service rep who cares about actually doing their job….MS Support is as useless as tits on a boar hog.
“Windows Servers are known to recover faster from Security attacks than Linux.” True…but only because they have been built to recover quickly from security attacks rather than actually prevent them in the first place. BTW….Linux web servers far outnumber Windows web servers because Linux IS more secure.
“If Linux or Open Source was completely secure, would it have been possible to hack the Linux website itself!” NOTHING is completely secure…ever. So to make a broad based statement like that only demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge and an intentional attempt to distort actual facts.
Windows Club seriously need to get some contributes that are willing to write honestly rather than simply spout MS hype and BS….just sayin’
Ha Ha – I knew someone would mention this. Actually I am hosting this site on my friends server – and operating system was never a consideration. But yes – it is cheaper to host on Linux, no denying that!
When any MS tech related site promotes MS products – it is hype. But when any Linux related site promotes open source, it is fact! – Not fair. ;)
When Windows gets hacked its is full of holes, but when Linux gets hacked – ‘Nothing is secure’! – Not fair again! :)
Can you Linux lovers explain to me, why if Linux is SO good, is only 1-2% of the world using it? … Anyone???
Most of your arguments are either exaggerations or totally wrong.
1. You have probably not used a Linux OS since many years. Currently, Linux is as easy as Windows, and even easier in some aspects. (For example, you can do ALL your software updates with a few clicks. In Windows, only Windows and M$ programs can be updated with Windows Update.) Also, with Windows, when you have to change something that is not officially supported by a control panel or program, the nightmare begins. I prefer to have to edit a config file from time to time than to edit the Windows registry!
2. M$ has less than 80% of the market today, and Linux more than 5%. And if you add all “boxes” containing Linux Embedded (such as almost all modern DVD players, all routers and many media centers, Linux comes close to Windows. Of course, they are not full featured computers, and they do not need any software market, but it’s a fact that you should not ignore.)
3. It is true that since Windows7, the security is correct. But it was so weak in previous versions of Windows! You cannot compare it with Linux! It’s mainly because Windows was so easy to attack that the cyber-criminality has dramatically increased during 20 years!
4. Right, although most hardware is well supported under Linux.
5. Support for many Linux flavours is much better than the extremely bad automated support found on the M$ site. (You can often find answers such as: Not currently possible. Workaround: do not try to do it!) Thanks to the open source community, it is ALWAYS possible to find the answer to a question about Linux. (And don’t forget that if you are a programmer, you can also analyse the source code.) Due to the black box philosophy of M$, it is only sometimes possible to have a partial answer to a question regarding Windows.
6. Windows 7 is still full of extremely irritating bugs, and nobody at M$ seems to care! Vista has been the worst OS ever! It was so full of bugs that it must be considered as a pre-alpha release of Windows 7. But it has been sold! Yes, sold! And it was very expensive. How is it possible?
There are much less bugs in Linux, mainly because it’s a simpler OS, and that everybody can contribute to fix the bugs.
7. Absolutely correct! ;-)
That being said, I use Windows 7 most of the time, just because there are much more programs available for W7 than for Linux. And that’s true also for free programs. Open source programs (such as Open Office) originally written for Linux are usually also available for Windows, and Windows has a billions of additional little freeware programs that have usually no equivalent in the Linux world. IMO, it’s a pity, but it’s a fact. And it compensates more or less the price you have to pay to buy the Windows license.
I switch to Linux when I need to automate complex tasks. Computers are made to automate repetitive tasks, right? With Windows and the “mouse only” philosophy, it’s often impossible. A good reason to prefer Linux. (But I agree that automating tasks under Linux requires some knowledge.)
The Windows/Linux war is stupid. You may prefer Linux or Windows, it’s a matter of taste. They are, globally, equally good. Writing articles like this one is useless, and IMO misleading. Only an equilibrated debate is valuable.
I find it interesting that you’ve completely ignored everything Apple has done with the Mac OS – after all, Windows almost universally accused of copying the Mac OS and winds almost every shootout when it comes to “user-friendliness” – so Point 1 is misleading based on this omission.
Point 2 also misses its mark. The Mac and iOS ecosystem is nearly crushing anything MS is putting out these days. Apple continues to have record quarters upon record quarters with double-digit growth in both hardware and software. If you go back in time, most of the major software packages of today came into power on the back of the Mac platform. Certainly there are other apps that have always been MS only that have done well, but again – to not mention Apple anywhere in this conversation and limit the OS choices to just Windows and Linux is far from a balanced evaluation. Head off to a college campus somewhere, or a developers convention and Apple represents at least 50% of the crowd. Head over to the mall in the middle of the week in the middle of the day. The Apple store is typically packed wall to wall with people where all the rest of the retailers are standing around looking for customers to talk to (if there are any).
Point 3 finally mentions Apple, only as an excuse for the reason why MS Windows was such an afterthtought of security. It wasn’t until Windows was being crushed by spyware, malware, virus’ and other nefarious software that they redirected their efforts to come out with Windows XP SP 3 and fixed a good chunk of their issues. Yes I agree the Mac OS has its share of security issues which frustratingly Apple hasn’t done (in my opinion) a good enough of a job to address. But Windows of yesteryear was a magnet for virus activity. I once read a study that was done where Windows, straight out of the box, with no security on it could be infected in less than 20 minutes of being hooked up to the internet with no user interaction. That’s been fixed since (thank GOD), but even today users can get infected on Windows without their knowledge. At least on the Mac you have to actively agree to do something bad to infect your computer. Marketshare doesn’t mean you’re a target, it just means you have plenty of security opportunities.
Point 4 – you’ve got me there. Mac OS and iOS runs on Apple hardware – period. But on the flip side, if it is built for the Mac, it literally “just works”. It has never been the case on Windows. I’ve spent literally hundreds of hours over my career hunting down drivers, patches and fixes for all this variable hardware. While Apple may age their hardware out with OS updates (you can’t run OS X on certain hardware models) – this can be a benefit and a curse. I can go out and buy a brand-new Intel-based hardware and run DOS on it if I want – however there won’t be any drivers to speak of much less any I/O devices that will probably work with the PCI architecture inside. So MS is stuck continuing to have to hang onto legacy parts of their OS in order to be backwards compatable to an extreme. Case in point – I really doubt that USB would be anywhere near as integrated today if it hadn’t been for Apple showing the way by ditching the floppy and ADB ports in favor of USB and CD-drives. But at least the hardware is less expensive.
Point 5 – Your argument here is somewhat circular. For Linux you state that”some resources are available on the Internet in the form of Discussion Forums, eBooks and Community driven websites.” But then you talk about Windows “vast amount of resources available on the Internet and many books are available in the market for reference.” You mean this is the same Internet the resources are for Linux and Windows uses? And when was the last time you went to a book store? There’s TONS of books and resources out there for Linux and their respective applications – and I would dare say there are more resources for Linux than there is for Windows. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a problem with something on Windows and found just the same amount of crazy forums on the web with the same person having the same problem with no resolution. At least with Linux you stand a chance of actually getting an email back from the developers or the group developing it. Oh – and also, I thought you said Windows was the easiest to use of the OSes? Why would you need a help function?
Point 6 – Wow – so you’re going to judge an OS being better than another based simply on bugs? Interesting, but o.k. I agree Windows 7 is one of the best implementations MS has done. But Vista was absolutely horrible. So which version of Linux are you going to chastise for being buggy? And what are you determining to be a bug? Basically this whole point is one giant generalization.
Point 7 – No argument here on the costs other than it will truly depend upon the organizations needs. If we’re talking servers, then that cost is going to rapidly come down as we move to a cloud-computing based environment. Granted the companies running the hosting companies will have to tangle with the costs in their pricing structure, but the end-users won’t ever see them. Most folks who get Windows get it with their new hardware. They use the hardware until they can’t take it anymore and then buy a new computer with an OS. A Linux user is more likely to tinker all the time. But until Linux can pass my “Mom-test” it won’t be viable for the masses. Now the Mac on the other hand passes the “Mom-test” and runs everything one would need to function in today’s world.
Bottom line – this is a nice advertorial piece for Microsoft and Windows and not a real true analysis of what makes Windows “better” than Linux.
Probably because when you buy a new PC, it is bundled with Windows! (That’s an unacceptable method to promote a product IMO!)
Are you sure there would be a winner or looser at all? If your OS of choice has more market share does it mean winning of the game? When this game would end?! because winner or looser determined at the end of the game?
After all these philosophical facts, I’m happy with my windows 7, Linux mint debian and Gentoo linux operating system. Because I use them in their right place. I do expect linux to my new windows. Linux is linux not an equivalent of windows.
My router, My server, My phone and My backup system are based on linux not windows. Does it mean that windows is a looser? I don’t think so. I don’t think linux is winner eather.
Oh really – then why aren’t new PC’s bundling Linux?
“No operating system is as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows”
Apple may disagree :-)
Not a fanboy; just saying.
Didn’t Walmart try selling PCs with some form of Linux not to long ago? I guess it didn’t work out to well. I built my PC. I purchased and installed Windows.
Linux isn’t very user friendly. There are only about 1000 different builds to choose from. That really helps. I’ve tried Ubuntu and Kubuntu. I don’t really care to use either over Windows.
Of course they are more secure – hardly anyone uses them. Why would malware target something that is hardly used? The biggest security threat to Windows users are themselves.
Don’t open unknown attachments.
Don’t download crap you shouldn’t be downloading.
Don’t click on any popups.
Did he really just didn’t play the “Not fair” card like a 12 year old on the playground?
I keep for getting that in the world of MS…exaggeration and lying are considered good marketing strategies.
Because so many simple minded souls by into the BS/Hype spouted by people like Khanse.
BTW…I am a Windows user. I just dont kid myself about its capabilities…especially in the area of security. Nor do I allow myself to be snowballed by “fluff” articles like the one above.
“…The fact is because Windows is used by most people around the world, malware writers find it more profitable to attack Windows, hence it is hammered at more often. Nevertheless Windows Servers are known to recover faster from Security attacks than Linux. If Linux or Open Source was completely secure, would it have been possible to hack the Linux website itself?…”
There needs some correction here. MS is attacked so often because 1. the OS is so popular and 2. there is the ability to successfully attack Windows. Part of the reason for this is that Windows prior to Vista was incredibly insecure. Another reason is that there is a difference when Linux downloads come from secure repositories while Windows downloads can come from essentially anywhere. Those two reasons are not exclusive, obviously. Android phones are very popular and many of the apps come from repositories (for non rooted phones). There are very few Android malware/variants considering the total number of Android OS in use.
I don’t think it helps your case to speak about an operating system’s security based on whether a web site has been hacked since there are two totally different concepts in use.
I don’t think that we exaggerate or lie at TWC for marketing. We are here to just present our views from our own perspective. You guys have your own perspective and that is perfectly fine with us but don’t make false accusation on TWC
I don’t see why would you blame TWC authors. We have given our view on the topic and have not criticized Linux or any other Operating System. In fact, Linux too has been praised in the above article. Please refer to the point 7.
Get over it people I have 7 machines going in my home 24 hours all of them have both on them windows xp pro, win vista , 3 machines win 7home prem-ultimate-pro, win 8 beta, win me, and linux ubuntu, or kubuntu and mint or dual booted on all except the win me machine. So dual boot or shutup the only difference is windows cost more and is really not worth it am now trying a new mac air just soon as delivered this week.
Point 7 is the ONLY point in the entire article wit any truth to it…the rest is a load of crap.
The entire article is an exaggeration…and saying Windows is more secure than Linux is a flat out lie.
Windows has NEVER been more secure…except in the fantasy world of MS fanboys/TWC writers.
But I digress…it’s not like you can win a debate with a fanboy.
@Jim: You’re not helping Linux either with that attitude. I agree with you that the style of the article isn’t neutral but read the title of this website. Also it’s not clear if the untrue claims in the article come from ignorance, incompetence or just bad research on the topic (I suspect the latter). Also look at some pro-Linux comments here… there are false statements as well, eg. you couldn’t do automated stuff on Windows. There’s Powershell for that (which is much more capable than, say, bash imho) and a host of other scripting languages… Heck, there’s even windows binaries of the GNU software distribution, python, perl and whatnot.
Personally I prefer Windows on the Desktop for very simple reasons:
– Notepad++ – gedit is too simplistic for my taste, kate sometimes has issues with code folding and other stuff and vim or emacs have a too steep learning curve for my needs (though I might dive into it in the future when I’ve got some time on my hands)… I’ve yet to find an editor under linux that uses the scintilla engine as good as notepad++ does (go away with scite!)
– MS Office – OpenOffice doesn’t stand a chance since Office 2007, let alone 2010… it’s sad, but it’s true… Also I HAVE to be able to process office 2010 documents without a fuss at work
– Games – I played WoW in WINE a few years ago because pings were far better than under Windows and I could watch TV in another window at the same time. Nowadays I don’t play as excessively as then but I still play games regularly and I just don’t want to reboot just to play a game – especially because my desktop usage includes leaving a lot of stuff running at the same time that I would have to reopen/restore etc.
At least at work I could mitigrate that issues by running an instance of windows in a VM, but regularly working with ms office in a VM just isn’t fun (let alone setting it up in WINE)
That said I think the article wasn’t worth the read but so were most comments.
@Jim: You’re not helping Linux either with that attitude. I agree with you that the style of the article isn’t neutral but read the title of this website. Also it’s not clear if the untrue claims in the article come from ignorance, incompetence or just bad research on the topic (I suspect the latter). Also look at some pro-Linux comments here… there are false statements as well, eg. you couldn’t do automated stuff on Windows. There’s Powershell for that (which is much more capable than, say, bash imho) and a host of other scripting languages… Heck, there’s even windows binaries of the GNU software distribution, python, perl and whatnot.
Personally I prefer Windows on the Desktop for very simple reasons:
– Notepad++ – gedit is too simplistic for my taste, kate sometimes has issues with code folding and other stuff and vim or emacs have a too steep learning curve for my needs (though I might dive into it in the future when I’ve got some time on my hands)… I’ve yet to find an editor under linux that uses the scintilla engine as good as notepad++ does (go away with scite!)
– MS Office – OpenOffice doesn’t stand a chance since Office 2007, let alone 2010… it’s sad, but it’s true… Also I HAVE to be able to process office 2010 documents without a fuss at work
– Games – I played WoW in WINE a few years ago because pings were far better than under Windows and I could watch TV in another window at the same time. Nowadays I don’t play as excessively as then but I still play games regularly and I just don’t want to reboot just to play a game – especially because my desktop usage includes leaving a lot of stuff running at the same time that I would have to reopen/restore etc.
At least at work I could mitigrate that issues by running an instance of windows in a VM, but regularly working with ms office in a VM just isn’t fun (let alone setting it up in WINE)
That said I think the article wasn’t worth the read but so were most comments.
Why Windows is better? Software! enough said.
You are a xxxx idiot who likes to xxx xxxx xxxx.
Jim: Stop calling yourself a fanboy! :D
Why is Ubuntu/Linux better? Wine! enough said.
The one thing I always find that comes up in the Windows vs Linux debate is out-dated information. “No one wants to write numerous lines of code if he/she …” I haven’t found this to be true in years. Actually have my mother (in her 60s) using Linux and she’s no programmer. … and if your going to say “ya but you can support her” the questions I get are no different then the windows questions. Really the only lines of code I write these days are the NetBoot configuration so I can install install several computers at once without user intervention. (can even run the OS right from the network)
Let’s have a look at Gnome-Shell 3.2 (Fedora) vs Windows 8 vs Unity (Ubuntu) vs KDE 4.7 (Fedora spin). Then let’s talk about “user-friendly”. In my opinion it’s getting harder and harder to pick a “best”. I stopped reading after point 1… Would be nice to see these “comparisons” be a little more objective.
Oh and by the way seems Microsoft has taken down this link http://www.microsoft.com/canada/windowsserver/compare/reports.mspx
I was actually looking for it which brought me here.
My 2 cents… according to http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp it’s 5.1%… As for why… my take it’s almost impossible to buy a computer that doesn’t come with Windows (what I call the $100-200 windows tax). Linux is free, so futureshop, walmart, etc aren’t going to make any money by giving away the OS.
The line that Windows is better because it’s +80% of the market share is like saying one race is better than another because the breed faster… But that’s just my opinion.
Personally I like being in the 5% It settles telemarketing calls and online scams real quick… “… I don’t have a start button…. regedit says command not found…” ;)
Very true… but as I’ve asked others… what software you running. Most people I talk to say firefox, chrome, or something like that… Those run on Linux too.
So how true is that these days?
I can understand if your running AutoCad, or iTunes to power a AppleTV… (Both my father and I access windows via RDP) But 95% of our needs are met with Linux which in our circumstantial Linux is much faster and easier to manage.
I will agree that wine doesn’t run all Windows software, but it runs a lot for me. And I don’t use chrome or any other browser inside of wine. I use wine for games and other applications “exclusive” to Windows. And just in case, I have a dual boot pc, so if I absolutely need to, I can run the software on my Windows partition. But I haven’t had to boot into Windows ever since I switched to Ubuntu, and I hope I never never have to again!
Besides, I have found a free alternative to every exclusive Windows app on Ubuntu. Plus, Ubuntu is much faster than Windows 7 for me.
This is quite unfortunate that Windows gets a pro just because it is more popular. This does not mean Linux is not good.
Is it Linux mistake that manufacture’s dont make drivers for it?
I am huge fan of windows too but this not mean I would say its ” better ” .
Also, I agree to some of your point but definitely not that hacking point of linux website. If Linux people start talking about hacking windows server, then it would put it to shame as there are much more examples for windows hacking.
Because Microsoft gives the OEMs the operating system for less than a tenth of what MS will charge you for the first upgrade. OEMs perpetuate the MS lock-in because they know most people (like the author of this article) don’t know anything about non-Windows operating systems and their relative merits.
The simple fact of the matter is that unless you’re a Windows gamer, Linux is every bit as good as Windows – even better in a lot of areas, and not run by company that has continually acted in an anti-competitive anti-consumer manner. If you are a Windows gamer, then you probably want Windows.
I am using linux and only linux from past 5 years. I have added( very easily in deed) new printer( using driver from the printer vendor). Many of my friends and colleagues are using it in their laptop and netbooks( they are using wireless adapter to connect to internet). Just see the community page of any linux distribution for supported hardwares. You will see the fact.
Ubuntu( like this there are plenty of distributions) can be installed with 5 mouse clicks. Can Windows be installed like that? Ubuntu(like this there are plenty of distributions) can be used with live cd or a pendrive. Can windows be used like that?
Android is becoming very popular and it’s kernal is Linux. Total market share will change to Linux’s favor.
@ Pint 6. Windows releases updates quickly? , lol. Being open source linux gives updates very quickly after finding the problem. There are many developers who scan the code. In windows only Microsoft employees see that and their resource is limited compared to Linux’s.
I am complaining Microsoft’s business model. It was good and it made them great. Now, this is time for change. Open source business model is better then closed source model in certain categories and operating system is one among them.
well i tried ubuntu and i think it looks nice, and its real easy to use just up until the point when you want to change something. then it gets real complicated. like adding chrome flags to disable disk cache and media cache. in win7 it’s one right click and typing the flag. in ubuntu i’m suppose to install unity launcher editor which then complains that i havent told some launchpad my login? or when i want to see what’s on c: and what’s on d:, i go to the file manager, nautilus i think it is, and i only see folders but not what drive they’re on? or that stupid envelope on the unity panel, i deinstalled all the connectivity stuff, since i don’t need ubuntu one, or that messenger it comes with, but the envelope just stays their. what i did like is that chrome 64 bit scored around 20% higher on peacekeeper than 32 bit chrome on win 7 64bit. hope google moves chrome for win to 64 bit too soon.
how much you get paid to say all that good stuff about windows and tear down linux, because personally I would never buy another windows os esspecially win 8 , i been using linux versions for 7 years and will keep using it and now will no longer be checking this site out everyday since you are all this about windows and downing linux software wait till i copy all this info you said onto my linux blog maybe other people will quit reading here.
Wine is a joke! I had many problems trying to run Windows programs on Wine.
Ubuntu is getting locked down worse than Mac and most certainly not a representation of diverse Linux market. It is still far more flexible than Windows™ Debian based systems are statistically more stable and ‘user friendly’ but ‘user friendly’ is a subjective term. Changing a variable from 0 to 1 versus navigating through GUI. Linux assumes by default you know EXACTLY what you’re doing while Windows™shapes your knowledge. User market share is defined by convenience and your average user. To simplify it’s like changing your own oil vs taking it to service station. In both cases there are set of benefits and drawbacks. Linux was never meant to be a commercial and widespread OS simply because majority of people don’t think in code.
as for server space, cost, flexibility and scalability always win over convenience. I will not touch security as it’s probably more subjective than ‘user friendly’
Money money money. I prefer to say that Windows is being sold with PC’s, in stead of bundled. Shops aren’t gonna install Linux just for the consumer when they can’t charge for it.
lmao this article is amusing. Just so you know, ive single handedly converted over 35 people to linux right at the moment their windoze machine had a virus, crash, or myriad of other common windoze problems. Im off to add yet another later today. To answer the much asked question “would you like to reboot now?” NO. I dont want to reboot. I want to use my ******** computer, thanks anyway.
LOL you are a stupid idiot asshole. you never know how much effort those developer done to make wine. idiots motherfucker.
And you pirate software I know XD. Even I bet you are running a pirated windows OS.
Effort does not equal quality.
Wine does work, but it is not nearly as good as just using Windows (I have used Wine many times, and always find it lacking somewhere [sound, video, even getting a Windows program to install]).
I have used Linux off-and-on for over 8 years. I can say that Linux is not ready for normal, non-tech savvy people.
Until the day where Windows users can use their software and hardware on Linux without much if any trouble, Linux will not get anywhere close to Windows.
(If stores sold all Linux computers, then they would probably hear from many many customers about problems they have encountered.)
Windows is more user-friendly in my opinion.
Windows is used by a ton of people, hence almost everyone will know how to use a little bit of it.
You lousy piece of shit! You have absolutely no idea how much trouble I went through trying to get them to work properly on Wine.
1. No operating system is as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows. No one wants to write numerous lines of code if he/she can get the same work done by a few clicks.
I myself find Linux Mint much more friendly than Windows.
I have used Windows off-and-on for over 8 years. I can say that Windows is not ready for normal, non-tech savvy people.
Until the day where Linux users can use their software and hardware on Windows without much if any trouble, Windows will not get anywhere close to Linux.
(If stores sold all Windows computers, then they would probably hear from many many customers about problems they have encountered.)
Linux is more user-friendly in my opinion.
Linux is used by a ton of people, hence almost everyone will know how to use a little bit of it.
—-
Interesting how the operating systems could be reversed in your comment and make just as much sense…
Linux is not user friendly. If it were, then why would so many people use Windows?
What is more user-friendly to the average user (i.e. someone’s grandma) in Linux than Windows?
If I installed Linux on all my family and friends computer, they would be calling me up all the time asking for help, something does not work, my new printer/scanner does not work, my new camera does not work, my dual-monitor setup does not work, all (or probably most if using Wine) my Windows software does not work, my new video game does not work, etc.
Until the day where Windows users can use their software and hardware on Linux without much if any trouble, Linux will not get anywhere close to Windows.
1. Whether Linux is user friendly is rather subjective. If one really looks at both OSes, the day-to-day stuff that most users do (email, web browsing, music, run the occasional application) is pretty straight forward in both operating systems. So I’m having a hard time believing that one is easier than the next. If anything, the vast majority of Linux distributions have a repository where a user can search for software and install it with little effort (I’ll use Ubuntu here for examples for consistency).
2. It’s not an issue of *more* user friendly (which I might argue is true regardless), but is Linux good enough for the average user? I believe that it is: the kernel is monolithic, with the vast majority of hardware already supported (ie. no driver installs or hunting hardware manufacturer’s websites to find the right driver while using a ‘broken’ OS); software is easily installed with packages like Ubuntu’s Software Center or Aptitude; plus, there is a plethora of available software–far more free, open software than Windows.
3. Perhaps this was the case 5+ years ago, but the current state of Linux is very usable for the end-user. I have a dual-monitor setup in Unity which was instantly recognized on install, printers have made leaps and bounds improvements with support (even including wrappers which can support Windows drivers for the really pesky devices). Essentially what I’m attempting to say is that the hardware support is much better under Linux for many devices than Windows.
I had an older Wifi card which only had drivers for Windows XP not that long ago. Windows 7 *would not* use the old drivers, however there were drivers in the Linux kernel which were pre-installed by Ubuntu which allowed it to work just fine. Despite searching for hours, I was not able to get this card to work on Windows 7…I was forced to replace it with a newer model.
As for Windows software not working on Linux…well, what do you expect? It’s a different operating system. Would you argue the same for a Mac? 25 years ago, there were multiple different ‘PC’ architectures like Amiga, C64, IBM PC, and Apple with no interoperability of software between the two; this is nothing new. Take this another way: I want to run Gnome on Windows 7. Can I? Nope. It’s for UNIX-based systems only. But I should be able to…right?!?! Microsoft needs to fix this!
To address the difficulty of Linux point, I have put Linux on computers of computer-illiterate family members, given them a short tutorial, and away they went. There were a few hiccups when it came to running Flash videos and some proprietary formats like DVDs, but those were easily resolved by a quick email with detailed instructions. And before you jump on that, those things are left out of the default install on purpose–they are proprietary formats and are not able to legally be installed along with the OS (even Windows doesn’t install Flash out of the box. DVD codecs require a licence, which Microsoft pays for each install of Windows).
4. Again, I don’t buy this argument. It has nothing to do with hardware and software being able to be run on Linux, it has to do with public perception and marketing strategies by a for profit institution versus the perception that Linux is ‘hard’ by the public and spreading via word of mouth and the efforts of a company like Canonical which is nowhere as big as Microsoft and hasn’t been ingrained in the PC market like Windows has.
1) Most people go to the store and/or shop online for software. Probably 90% of that is Windows only.
Also Linux may not have software that the customer needs to use or is used to using.
Trying to change someone over from using a program (like Photoshop or Microsoft Outlook/Office/Excel]) on Windows to something on Linux is not going to be real easy in my opinion.
2) Linux does not support devices like printer and scanners very well. Try to buy a new printer from Office Depot or Best Buy and see if it works out of the box in Linux without much hassle. Windows, most of the time for me, works with little or no hassle at all when installing drivers. Hence, for me (and many other people) Windows is more user-friendly in this regard.
3) I cannot say that all dual-monitor setups won’t work with Linux, but since I (and I assume you) have not tried all the monitor hardware on Linux.
Linux runs smooth when it is used for basic things.
However, in my opinion, most people would hit road-bumps when they start using Linux for anything other than web browsing, word processing (without trying to print or scan), e-mail, maybe instant messaging, etc.
I do not disagree that Linux can run several pieces of hardware out-of-the-box. However, for devices like printers, scanners, video cards, maybe even sound cards you would probably want a driver from the manufacturer (which even if they do have a driver, it might not be compatible with your Linux distribution, unless you compile from source, assuming they give you the source code) and if it is compatible with your Linux distribution, it would probably be a 50/50 chance of it installing smoothly.
However, Windows can also run several pieces of hardware out-of-the-box (I would still recommend installing the drivers from the manufacturer though; drivers for me 98% of the time are very easy to install).
I would have much more confidence in buying a printer, video card, or even a dual-monitor setup with using Windows.
Also, even though there are proprietary things that Linux leaves out for legal reasons, no average user is really going to care. All they see is “it does not work right away like Windows” (or even Mac OS X). Which this makes that distribution of Linux not user-friendly.
4) It does have to do with hardware and software. If Linux would run every piece of hardware almost flawlessly and almost every Windows software flawlessly (using Wine or had good equivalents), then you would have a massive amount of people switching to Linux.
People want things to just work, not having to worry about “will Linux ‘approve’ of my setup”.
I know there are alternative programs in Linux to replace Windows programs, but a professional photo editor would probably prefer to keep using Adobe Photoshop, instead of Gimp (which he probably has either not heard of before or never used before even if he has heard of it).
People want to use software they know work and are comfortable with (there are many people who would switch to a Linux alternative if it was a real alternative, not something that is just not-that-polished unlike the Windows program.
People would except to use all of their software they paid for, not having to find free alternatives to replace all the software they spent money for (and some they found that worked well and is free on Windows).
I would like to run my expensive video card with the assurance that nVidia will do their best to write drivers that will work well with Windows.
No company would want to shovel out a lot of money to pay programmers to write drivers for Linux that has no real company or person behind it (it is a free-for-all OS).
In the end, Windows and Linux are operating systems that run tasks for people. It is up to you, me, and others to choose what each of us like best. There is no one correct answer to this.
Windows allows people to just do several things without a lot of hassle most of the time. Linux allows people to run a lot of stuff for free and to tinker with the OS (while, in my opinion, it can be easily used if only doing basic stuff). There is nothing wrong with either of them. They both satisfy the needs of people.
P.S. I don’t just-not-use-Linux (I use it on my home router and use it to help me run web-server performance tests), but I just prefer using Windows.
Linux also have bad users… and guess what happens when somebody opened an unknown attachment, downloaded crap that shouldn’t have downloaded or click on popups?
Let me tell you “Permission denied”
What happens when you do the same thing on Windows?
Pop ups all over your computer telling to download emoticons.
I don’t think you’re right. The other day I was trying to install a Printer in my Aunt’s computer and I couldn’t do it without the drivers, and there was no internet connection available to download them. I told her: “Let me plug the printer into my laptop” because she really needed to print something, and the printer worked right away… no configuration.
She wondered why? I told her because it’s linux and it works out-of-the-box there’s no need to tweak or code anything if you don’t want to.
people don’t buy things because of its user friendliness… it comes built-in that’s why it has a huge market share. Microsoft convinced (paid) companies to accept this deal. Apple is way more user friendly than Windows by far.
Also… most phones, DVDs, GPS and other embedded devices come with a flavor of Linux installed. Did you know Sony allowed to install Linux on the PS3? Why Linux? why not Windows? Because Linux is better.
People may not always buy things because of user-friendliness, but once they try Windows and Linux, they more than likely will find Windows to be much more user-friendly.
Linux being chosen to be put on the PS3 does not mean that Linux is better than Windows.
You got lucky. Try buying two or three different printers from Best Buy or Office Max and see if they work out of the box (with the scanner working too if it comes with the printers).
A lot of hardware works out of the box with both Windows and Linux. If I bought a brand new nVidia graphics card, it would more than linkly run much better on Windows than Linux.
Don’t think I hate Linux, but I really prefer using Windows.
http://scalibq.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/linux-unix-bsd-what-does-it-all-mean-and-where-does-windows-fit-in/
Really it is the user’s fault if they open up unknown attachments.
If more Windows users would run Windows without Administrator privileges by default (UAC in Windows does help, but I doubt it is full proof), there would be less OS mess-ups.
The best thing for a Vista/7/8 Windows user to do is make themselves a separate limited user account. Then when they need to access something that requires Administrator, they type in their username and password to gain access to Administrator privileges.
UAC is like an instant sudo. However running an account with limited privileges, is like running accounts of off Linux.
Running Windows XP as Administrator (not limited account) was like running Linux in root all the time.
If more users would have run limited accounts, there probably would have been fewer compromised/messed-up Windows XP computers.
Ah, shut up, you lousy Linux zealot! Go crawl back under your rock.
Wow, what a compelling comeback. Why dont you scan for viruses, and reboot or something.
Because Microsoft has a monopoly and the general public is completely unaware there is a better way.
This is completely false. I experience quite the opposite. When I set someone up with linux, I never hear from them again about problems. Stop with the FUD.
Yes, they can charge for linux installations. You misunderstand the situation.
Dont download crap you shouldnt be downloading, attachments or popups. lmao
With all due respect, Windows is more user-friendly than Linux (Ubuntu is one of the more user-friendly Linux distributions).
Linux is not overall user friendly for most people. I pretty much can guarantee you that if I setup Linux for my family member’s computers, they would be coming to me frequently asking me questions about how to do different things.
Why does my printer not print or scan? Why does Microsoft Office not install? Why don’t all my games work fine under wine? (I have gotten games to work under wine, so it does work, but the success rate is not very high)
I am not spreading FUD. I have used Linux off and on for over 7 years. I know I can make due with Linux if I had/want to, but, in my opinion, a lot of average computer users would not like to use Linux.
It’s 2013 and Linux still hasn’t gotten far (it is getting better, but not perfect) with user-friendliness. If all the Linux programmers (and anyone else working on Linux) would
work together to make one distribution, we might see faster improvement in the
user-friendliness department (since everyone would be focused on one distribution, not 50+ distributions).
This is such a non argument. It takes no special knowledge to use a computer running linux. These arguments that are being made make it seem like 1997 in here. They are invalid. Grandma can use linux and does.
Doing basic stuff with Linux is easy. However, when you start needing to look for that driver (for your printer and/or scanner, camera, game controller, gaming keyboard [not your typical keyboard], etc.) because the device ends up not working out of the box, you can have trouble (like no Linux driver at all or no driver for the distribution of Linux that you are using) then you are stuck (unless you want to make a driver for it yourself).
From my experience, Linux just is not ready for the public (Android is a great example of Linux working well for the public, however a comapny, Google, is behind it (similar to Microsoft behind Windows and Apple behind MacOS X).
Windows succeeds, not because Windows does everything better than Linux (like acting as a router for your network and Internet), but because the user can actually sit down and 90% of the time stuff will work out of the box, or they just have to pop in the CD/download the drivers off the Internet and install them, then the device(s) start working or the device(s) may work even better than the generic driver(s) that Windows gave you.
I would say, a lot of companies would not want to shovel out a lot of money to pay programmers to write drivers for Linux that has no real company or person behind it (it is a free-for-all OS, more than one company supports their version of Linux, unlike Windows and MacOS X which have one company that mainly supports them).
In the end, Windows and Linux are operating systems that run tasks for people. It is up to you, me, and others to choose what each of us like best (and even need to use).
Linux > Windows because its free. Unless of course it doesn’t work. Then the $600 cost of win server looks pretty good compared to the team of 3 $100 an hour techs that you have to bring in to fix the linux setup for the week.
Drivers. Device drivers are included in the Linux kernel. When you install Linux, you immediately have a working computer. I submit that it is easier to install Linux because of this. Its to the point where I find windows a huge pain in the ass to use. You spend more time babying it to get it to keep running with viruses scans, etc.
Popping in the CD that is 99% of the time nowhere to be found just is not that convenient when you have no driver for ethernet. Im not talking about myself or yourself because I know that you and I know where our CDs are.
Windows has succeeded in the past because they have monopolized the market with their inferior software. Windows 8 is the most ridiculous release I’ve ever seen, and I believe it is the beginning of the end for Microsoft. Granted, they may well be around another 10 or 20 years, but they do not innovate on the level that open source does.
I could go on and on with this tired argument, but yes, in the end use what you want. I am just very well aware of the differences, and I really am unable to use microsoft any longer due to the way it works compared to Linux. I wish that people were not so afraid of the word Linux. It is kind of sad really. It is nothing to be afraid of and really is better in the opinions of us who know.
Maybe we need to change the name from Linux to Happy Butterflies.
[Please note that I mean no disrespect with my replies.]
Remember that not every single device driver will be included in the Linux OS (the same applies for Windows as well). Of course, a lot of typical devices will be supported out of the box (with the main exception of printers/scanners).
Windows has worked, for me, almost everything I have plugged into the computer. Of course, I would want (for the exception of my on-board audio device), use the manufacturer’s driver(s) for my device(s).
Sure, my video card would work ok with generic Microsoft drivers, but nVidia’s drivers work better.
If I bought a $200.00 capture card, and the only drivers that were available from the manufacturer were Windows (and maybe MacOS X) drivers, would I be happy? Nope. Would I want to search the Internet for one driver that *might* work? Nope. Would I have to use Windows? Probably (unless I “struck gold” finding a compatible driver).
Yes, of course, it is always a good idea to find out if the device you are going to buy will work with Linux, but who wants to do that?
————–
“Popping in the CD that is 99% of the time nowhere to be found just is not that convenient when you have no driver for ethernet.”
True! However, I have *very* rarely had *on-board* Ethernet not work out of the box in Windows or Linux. However, Windows will need a driver for a PCI Ethernet card, or a wireless card (at least that was the case for me every time I used PCI Ethernet/Wireless cards on Windows; may not be the case for other people).
Linux I know will work fine (in my experience) out of the box with both PCI Ethernet cards and wireless cards, but how do I know that the driver Linux is using to run my PCI Ethernet card/wireless card is making the most out of my hardware (probably will be a generic driver).
————–
“Windows has succeeded in the past because they have monopolized the market with their inferior software.”
I don’t disagree that Microsoft has taken over a lot of the desktop market, but I would not call all Microsoft software “inferior software”.
Windows works well for many people. Why would someone want to switch from something that works to something else that may not work for them? Don’t fix what is not broken!
I like the fact the Windows uses ACLs (Access Control Lists) for managing permissions. ACLs allow you to be more flexible in setting security permissions, unlike the Read/Write/Execute permissions on Linux. Linux can use ACLs too, but I have never come across a Linux distribution that used ACLs by default (instead of the Read/Write/Execute permissions).
Quote from a blog comment (source link below the quote):
“Jed, one of the points of ACLs compared to
traditional unix user/group is that it’s a fair amount more flexible (not just with the actual permissions, but also the specific users and groups) – and it would seem that even *u*x users agree, since there’s work on supporting ACLs for both Linux and BSD (they were rather limited
last time I checked, though). And it’s not like this is some new and evil MS/Windows creation, the idea was adopted from VMS.
The way security is implemented on NT also lets you *drop* rights, something that afaik isn’t possible with vanilla posix (but eventually the linux guys Saw That It Was Good(TM) and implemented special APIs for
it…).
You don’t just SET permissions on created objects, controlling which entities can access them, you can also specify the permissions you need
when *opening* an object – so even if your process was exploited, you can mitigate how much damage can be done.
It’s also baked into pretty much every part of the NT kernel, everywhere you deal with objects… there’s a LOT of APIs that take a SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES.”
– Source: http://scalibq.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/os-xsafer-by-design/#comment-279
http://www.suse.de/~agruen/acl/linux-acls/online/
Quote from blog post (source link below quote):
“As for Windows vs linux… The above has shown that Windows is still the OS to beat when it comes to graphics/gaming. And Direct3D is still outperforming OpenGL. And if you’ve been using Windows as a serious desktop system, you were probably already aware of its rather aggressive scheduling of applications, which makes the system very responsive. I
have recently gotten some Mac Mini G4 machines, at 1.42 GHz, with OS X 10.5.8 on them. And I quickly got annoyed by how unresponsive they became when you tried to do some serious stuff. Clearly OS X is not as
good as Windows when it comes to priority boosts and such. I’ve used Windows on much slower single-core systems than a G4 1.42 GHz, but the responsiveness was certainly better than on the G4s. My experiences with desktop linux and FreeBSD were much the same as OS X: the OS does not seem to put a lot of effort into making the GUI responsive. As they say: you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”
– Source: http://scalibq.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/linux-the-dunning-kruger-os/
————
Well, let’s go and enjoy the operating systems we use!
Also, I remember when MS strong-armed all OEM’s into having to have windows on every machine they sold, if they wanted to be able to sell MS on any machine what so ever. That was back in 95. I also remember some of the scare tactics MS used and incorporated in their older OS’s to frighten people away from any alternatives. Very poor, but effective practices. Why couldn’t they win on excellence rather than deceit? I also worked at Wordperfect back in the day. MS was very underhanded in their stealing of technology developed by others. For some reason, they really had a hard time coming up with innovations back then. They had to steal the best idea’s cuz they floundered in that arena. Sad :(
Is this a troll website? 6- bugs, bugs, and more bugs – why else would Windows constantly have to update? What’s more, it does so in the most annoying way possible- constantly bugging you and shutting down randomly regardless of whether you’re doing something. With linux, you control when you update, and the software you update is stuff you actually see…like firefox. That, and it updates everything. With Windows updates, it’s always some weird security hole in the OS that gets repaired, and each program has to ask you to update it independently. 5 – tons of forums, wikis, etc, which are actually useful (unlike MS forums- where the mods don’t even know what a kernel is) + call centers for Suse and RedHat and a few others; 4 – You’ve got to be kidding me. I have linux on my iPhone, my Playstation 3, all of my computers (from 95 to 2013!), and my ARM tablet. I can’t find a single MS port for any of these (save the computers)…;3 – less than 50 viruses over all time for Linux vs over 100,000 for Windows….and most servers run Linux (around 58% (conservative case) compared to Windows’ 38% (high case)) – including a much stronger majority of Fortune 500 servers, so if anything Linux should be a bigger target; 2 – there is much more software for Linux than there ever will be for Windows – and it’s more easily accessible and reliable than stuff you have to find floating on the internet since it can be taken easily from package managers and trusted repositories; 1 – a recent study showed that nursing home patients who’ve never used computers found Ubuntu more user-friendly than Windows.
It’s honestly hard to believe that this website and this forum isn’t made by people who want a good laugh. Anyone with any familiarity between the two operating systems can see the falsehood in everything here except number 7.
Enjoyed reading your post.
No, this is not a troll website, but you do sound like one! Windows gets attacked, because it is used by around 90% of the users. Now that Mac share is touching 10%, you suddenly have a lot of Mac malware reports and security companies launching antivirus software for Mac. After all, who would want to attack an operating system which has a market share of just 1-2%. :D
I installed Linux Mint to my grandma’s computer. She is calling me and asking for help, mostly because she doesn’t know where to type “facebook”. Often, she forgets to hit Enter and wonders what went wrong. In other words, all problems she has on Mint are computer-newbie problems she would have on Windows too.
Curiously enough, only thing that isn’t always working properly on her computer is Skype, which is, incidentally, maintained by Microsoft.
Microsoft software is generally poor. All market share they have was won by a few great business decisions and insane amounts of marketing. And they kept abusing that influence ever since in order to keep the monopoly.
There is very little truth in this article. Points number 2 and 7 are valid, but do some research on the rest, because I’m too lazy to dismiss them one by one.
Why didn’t Sony allow Windows to install on the PS3? Erm, maybe because there’s no PowerPC version of Windows? Stupid argument.
Well that’s the exact opposite of my experience.
I don’t care about all the hype-it’s everywhere, in every OS forum. What I care about is the UI- Windows 8.1 vs PickADistro(no 3rd party apps). Winner: PickADistro, cuz every distro has better UI than Windows 8.1. And BTW, the Windows login screen is a LIE – the OS is still loading after u sign in. File copy is also a lie – Windows keeps copying files in the background, even after the operation is complete (but Windows is smart enough to normal-copy on USBs and portable drives – have you noticed the faster USBs copy slower than internal HDDs?) Don’t get me started on security: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_malware a little info about malware on Linux; some info of the “latest and most dangerous LInux virus” http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/34349/hand-of-thief-trojan-has-no-claws/ ; if you use Windows, u MUST have heard about PCWorld – one of the less hyped magazines. So take a look at that: http://www.pcworld.com/article/202452/why_linux_is_more_secure_than_windows.html . Enough? Glad to hear it. Have a nice day!
I loved number 1. “Nobody wants to write code when you can get things done in 1 click”.
Windows if for techs who dont want to have to think..go through install wizards and have their hand held without really having to learn how things work.
Oh crap..a bug..I guess ill just wait for an update from Microsoft…oh look now I need to reboot…darn. Downtime.
A smart linux tech will look at the code and if hes smart enough, fix it himself and then spread the word. Collaboration beats waiting for Microsoft to come around whenever they please.
I thought it was funny how this site runs iff Linux too. For an end user at home, ill give it to windows. As far as servers go, no way Windows can win. Just no way.
I didnt make it to your #2 point I am afraid to see whats next. Lol
Omg I couldnt help myself but read some more.
“Windows supports more hardware platforms than Linux”
Ok im done. Im out of here.
Wow.
HAHAHAHAH, what a joke, 3,000,000,000 attacks stopped by Kaspersky in 2012 alone. Encrypt home folder, don’t install software you odn’t know. Its fairly simple. Windows litterally dies when you sacre it, Linux on the other hand, I’ve kicked in the teeth and dragged through hell and back, and not a crash, or reinstall.
It is not Linux, it is GNU/Linux. And Linux is the most used kernel.
1. No operating system is as user-friendly: Seriously? The linux CLI is better, IMO.
2. Windows commands a market share of around 90% while Linux is still languishing at around 1%, even today: Oh yeah!? what runs the supercomputers you rely on for weather forecasting, scientific data processing etc? What runs on the PC’s of those who don’t/can’t buy windows?
3. Open Source operating systems like the server editions based on Linux Kernel are often called the most secure operating systems. If not better in this regard, Microsoft Windows Server Editions are equally secure and they are constantly being made better day by day.: And, make it better everyday, patching it one by one, making more money. period.
4. Microsoft Windows supports a wide range of hardware: and requires equally shitty drivers for all the same. Linux, the drivers are embedded in the kernel. You just need to get the config right.
5. It is a hard task to find support for Open Source operating systems: Dude. Ever been to askubuntu?
6. Starting with Windows 7, final release of Microsoft Windows usually have a negligible amount of bugs as it is tested by highly trained professionals at the Microsoft Corporation: Who are your highly trained professionals? people sitting around making ideas that maximise profits?
7. you betcha. most webhosters, developers, deployers, employers, etc, etc, run linux, because it is free; free as in free speech, not as in free beer.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/microsoft-windows-open-source-operating-systems
“1. No operating system is as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows.”
Incorrect. If you had said, “No operating system is as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows WAS,” you’d be correct, but RIP XP. Mint is better and more user-friendly than 7 and 8. Here is just one example of how goddamned complicated Windows can be for something that should seemingly “just work”: http://scootercomputers.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/how-i-made-sony-usb-wi-fi-adapter-uwa-br100-work/ Note that the WiFi adapter worked instantly when plugged into the same computer running Linux Mint, but under Windows on the same computer, the WiFi adapter would not work without this gigantic rigmarole.
“2. Windows commands a market share of around 90% while Linux is still languishing at around 1%, even today.”
Somewhat incorrect. Yes, it is true that Linux’s market share is but a fraction of Windows’ market share on desktop computers. However, you are forgetting that Android derives from Linux and that most smartphones running today are running on Android. Microsoft’s Johnny-come-lately attempts to push Windows smartphones into a market that is completely dominated by Android and iOS have completely failed. When dealing with smartphones and tablets, it’s Windows that has the 1% market share with Linux’s Android baby commanding the majority of handheld devices.
Also, “Languish” means “becoming weak and feeble.” The Linux community is growing everyday and is full of piss and vinegar. It is becoming stronger and more prominent. A large part of the recent upsurge in Linux’s popularity is thanks to XP being retired. So thanks for that push, Microsoft. Linux is doing the complete opposite of “languishing.”
“3. Open Source operating systems like the server editions based on Linux Kernel are often called the most secure operating systems. If not better in this regard, Microsoft Windows Server Editions are equally secure and they are constantly being made better day by day.”
That’s a ridiculous lie and you know it. I’m shouldn’t bother with the kind of lunatic who would make an outlandish claim like this, but I’ll bite. It’s especially ridiculous to make this claim in light of the recent “hiccups” that have occurred across Windows systems across the globe thanks to Windows’ latest updates. Pick a source, any source. Here’s one: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2465631/microsoft-pulls-august-windows-update-after-crashes.html
There are so many different people working on Linux stuff across the globe, and it’s all out in the open. The point is, there are many different eyes watching over it. Any vulnerabilities are quickly found and fixed. However, with Windows you have just a few Microsoft employees trying to stay on top of a closed-source operating system that has been repeatedly demonstrated to be insecure. You lie like dog.
“4. Microsoft Windows supports a wide range of hardware and most of the hardware manufactures support their hardware in Microsoft Windows due to its larger user base.”
See http://scootercomputers.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/how-i-made-sony-usb-wi-fi-adapter-uwa-br100-work/ again if you need to. Oh, here’s another example of how random hardware “just works” with Linux but requires some convoluted process to make it “kinda work” with Windows. I just got a mechanical keyboard with media buttons a couple days ago. I have a desktop computer that dual boots both Windows 7 and Linux Mint. The keyboard worked immediately with Mint. I’d press the volume up button on the keyboard, and a little speaker display would pop up on the screen with an increasing volume bar. But under Windows with the same keyboard, Windows refused to recognize that the keyboard had media buttons. I’d press them and nothing would happen. I eventually had to use the third-party KeyTweak software and configure the program myself to make the media buttons work like they’re just supposed to with Windows. So STFU with your hardware support and user-friendliness. It’s a myth.
“5. It is a hard task to find support for Open Source operating systems as they are not used by majority of the population though some resources are available on the Internet in the form of Discussion Forums, eBooks and Community driven websites.”
Bullshit. Just total bullshit. Are you expecting people to just believe you and take your word at face value? You’ve already been proven a liar. Finding solutions to any problems in Linux is as simple as a Google search. And the best part is, advice about any Linux problems comes from knowledgeable people. If you Google a Windows problem, you’ll be directed to scam websites that try to make you download garbage software so they can lock down your PC and extort money from you, or stupid people who don’t actually know the answer to your problem, but love to offer possible solutions anyway because it’s fun to make posts on the Internet.
“6. Starting with Windows 7, final release of Microsoft Windows usually have a negligible amount of bugs as it is tested by highly trained professionals at the Microsoft Corporation, its Beta testers and MVPs, and it goes through various test stages before its release.”
Remember what I said before about the many different eyes watching over Linux? You lose again.
“7. Then there is the questions of costs. Now this is one area where Windows loses out!”
This is the seventh area where Windows loses out, actually.
Tah-tah for now.
No disrespect intended with my replies.
Reply to #1: Actually it depends on what you are doing. For most average computer users, Windows’ GUI interface will be much more user-friendly than a Linux command line.
Reply to #2: I suspect Linux is used the most on supercomputers because it is free (companies can save money), not because it is “better” than Windows. If Microsoft ever decided to give Windows out for free for supercomputers, you would probably notice a pretty good drop in Linux market-share for supercomputers.
Reply to #3: Both Windows and Linux can be setup to be secure. If someone does not know what they are doing on either Windows or Linux, then they can (and probably will) have security problems.
Reply to #4: It is a good idea to install the manufacture’s drivers (whenever possible) for your hardware, instead of using drivers that come with the OS (goes for Windows and Linux).
Reply to #5: A lot of support can be found for both Windows and Linux on the Internet.
Reply to #6: Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 have *all* been very stable operating systems. I have had very little trouble with any of them.
Reply to #7: A lot of people like the fact that Linux is free. If Linux was paid software, probably at least a good-half of its current users would not be using it now.
P.S. I use Linux too (for a router, my phone (Andorid), and as a audio player that I setup for a business).
Surely using the wrong logo for Linux shows the bias of the author.
Even if they were to give out Windows for free for use in supercomputers, I seriously doubt if there would be a drop in Linux market share for computers…..
Maybe…but the only way to know is if Microsoft were to give Windows out for free for supercomputers. Anything else is pure speculation.
“Reasons why Windows is better than Linux”, by er, TheWindowsClub.com. Yawn. Fact check – most people who don’t have a specialist professional application platform requirement for Windows running on a works desktop/laptop (that’s most people btw) now use tablets and smartphones to satisfy their everyday personal computing needs. Android has 50% of that share, and Android is Linux. Windows has 7% market share. You have some catching up to do.
1. Since when I have to write countless lines of code to browse your web site?
2. Yes, Windows is top in the PC market share, but what’s running the server and most other servers? (Honestly)
3. Yes, virus makers target Windows, so your telling me it more secure? – Are you mad?
5. Google it, it stop you from waste huge amounts of money at a computer shop when all they do is defrag your harddrive. There’s huge support communities out there.
6. I’ve had countless BSOD on Windows and never had a Kernel Panic on Linux. – So much for Windows “Bug testing”
7. You forgot all the software for windows, $200(Windows) + $230(Office home) + $230(virus protection) + other I forgot = $660 vs $0(distro) + $0(Libre or Kingsoft office) + $0(no virus protection needed) = $0
Forgot 4, I’ve installed Linux distros on many computer without ever come across a single hardware issue.
No disrespect intended with my replies.
Reply to #2: According to W3Techs, UNIX ( I assume they combined Linux with UNIX in their statistics) is at 67.1%, while Windows is at 32.9%.
http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/operating_system/all
However, market-share does not really determine what OS to actually use and also does not determine which is “better”. That depends on your needs and/or wants. Operating systems are just tools for people to use.
Reply to #3: Windows does have more malware. That makes since hackers would want to target the OS with the most people to try to gain access to sensitive information (ie. identity theft). If it were the other way around in the desktop market-share, Linux would probably have a lot of malware.
Also, Windows may have more malware, but that does not mean that Windows is guaranteed to get a virus, nor is Windows necessarily easier to infect. If someone runs as Administrator all the time, they are begging to be hurt by malware. Same goes for a Linux user running as root all the time.
Reply to #5: Taking your computer to get fixed due to a hardware issue, is not the fault of either OS. However, if it is a software issue, then who’s at fault could be difficult to determine.
If the user has malware on his system, but admits to not running as anti-virus scanner and/or running as Administrator all the time, and/or just installing anything on the computer, then that would be the user’s fault not Windows.
Reply to #6: You will probably find that in most cases, this is due to bad hardware and/or drivers. This would, of course, apply to both Windows and Linux.
Windows (7 ===> 8.1) have been very stable operating systems. If you have been getting a lot of blue-screens, I would check the dump file that Windows made and see if you can determine what the issue is. In my experience it is usually bad memory.
Since Linux does not use as much memory as Windows (RAM usage will very between distributions and what the user installs), you may not be hitting the bad part(s) of your memory.
One guy on the WebHostingTalk forum switched from Windows to Linux to try to solve a stability problem. He later admitted that switching from Linux did not solve the issue he was having.
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showpost.php?s=197e5f374bf0d33a54291ae1700e6f1a&p=4307417&postcount=21
Reply to #7: There are open source software available for Windows (VLC Player, Open Office, Gimp, Blender, Thunderbird, Firefox, etc.)
Also, saying that you do not need anti-virus protection for Linux is a myth.
Linux can get malware (even though there is a lot less, than say Windows). However I believe almost no one who uses Linux actually uses an anti-virus (like: AVG [which happens to be free for Linux, link below]), how do you have the potential to know if you do have malware or not on your Linux box?
http://free.avg.com/us-en/down…
This is like saying, I don’t get cancer, and I probably (or definitely) will never get cancer. Hence, I don’t need a doctor. How do you know if you are not checked by a doctor? The doctor is not going to be 100% accurate in his diagnosis, but you still have the potential of finding out whether or not you actually have cancer. The same applies to an anti-virus software solution for an OS.
Reply to #4: All my hardware for my desktop computer work *out-of-the-box* (basic functionality) in Windows 8.1.
I still go ahead and install the manufacturer drivers for my video card, motherboard chip-set, SATA driver, Ethernet driver, sound driver, my gaming Logitech G510 keyboard, etc.), but all the basic functionality still works out of the box on Windows 8.1.
LOL
Linux is the best :)
It is not just because Windows is bundled with pre-built computers that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Best Buy.
It is also because a lot (and I mean *a lot*) of the every day-to-day software used by millions of people are written for Windows. Photoshop, Microsoft Office, almost all of the PC video games are for Windows (thousands of pieces of software right there!), a ton of consumer hardware drivers are written for Windows (printers, scanners, cameras, video capture cards, TV tuner cards), etc.
Many people cannot afford to switch operating systems even if they wanted to.
Here we go, going to debunk every argument this list makes
1. “No operating system is as user friendly as windows” yes, because my desktop is definitely a terminal (see http://i.imgur.com/kioAApn.png for an actual screenshot, which btw, was about as easy as pressing PrntScr on my keyboard). One study even went into a seniors home, presented people who have never used a computer in their life before with 2 computers, one using Windows, and one using Ubuntu Linux, and actually found that the Ubuntu Linux machine was not only more popular amoung the test subjects, but was also found to be easier to use.
2. “Microsoft Windows has a wide ecosystem” including over 100 flappy bird clones, yet still manages to miss a couple of important pieces of software i use on a near daily basis, of which would be laughable to port over
3. “Microsoft systems are just as secure” funny enough, a simple nmap scan (sudo nmap -v -O thewindowsclub.com) reveals that this website is running on linux and not windows (Linux 2.6.24 (Ubuntu 8.04) if you actually want to get picky). also, chances are you probably used google to get here. Google runs linux too (and so does facebook, amazon, and practically every other website on the web). numbers aside (because they really don’t matter), Linux is more resilient to attacks than Windows is,
4. “Windows supports a wide variety of hardware” yet again, my laptop, which came with Windows, had among the crappiest drivers i have ever used, but linux based operating system Ubuntu 14.04 (not even the latest release) supported them right off the USB. like, i didn’t even have to install any drivers for it, everything worked right off the USB
5. “It is a hard task to find support for Open Source operating systems”. Companies such as Red Hat and Canonical actually do have 24/7 support, and tbh, the service is many order better. ever had to deal with Microsoft Customer Service? “Microsoft Windows includes its own help section” so does Linux, plus there is also forums, IRC channels, man-pages, the source code itself (which Microsoft only provides to big companies, and i see why. its a mess, an ugly disgusting mess), so there is really no lack of help in the linux side of things
6. “Windows is more extensively tested”(paraphrased) actually, this would not be true. There are tens of thousands of developers constantly pushing out features and bug fixes to linux on a daily basis. Every single person using it, is in essense, helping to find bugs. Even the source code is available so if you were a capable programmer, you could actually fix the problem you were having on your own machine and send the changes back so everybody could benifit, which Microsoft doesn’t allow (even though they could build a much better OS with the free work people would probably be happy to do)
7. there should be no argument that linux costs less than windows. Even the paid distributions of Linux cost less. With Windows, you are basically guaranteed to pay for the OS (which even Windows 7 Ultimate fails to support all hardware intentionally [you honestly try using more than 8 gigs RAM in Windows 7 home premium]), the office suite (even though there are such things as LibreOffice available), and any future system upgrades, as well as the insane amount of other “premium” software out there
No disrespect intended with my replies.
Reply to #1) Windows and Linux are really in different leagues. Microsoft Windows *is* designed for the average user to work with. Linux has been playing catch-up in the user-friendliness department for years.
Reply to #2) What two pieces of software are you referring to?
Reply to #3) Just because many people and companies use Linux *does not* mean that Linux is “more secure” than Windows. Windows has more malware available for it, but that does not mean that Windows is guaranteed to get a virus, nor is Windows necessarily easier to infect.
Reply to #4) What drivers were bad?
Reply to #5) People can find a ton of help via online for both Windows and Linux.
Reply to #6) Most computer users are not programmers. How would they be able to take advantage of Linux’s source code, if they know nothing about programming? They are just as dependent on other people’s fixes as they would be on Windows or MacOS X.
1) The study itself was quite old, and i can’t find the exact study, although the first results were populated with results of how elderly people were actually impressed by how few issues consumer-friendly linux distros were giving them. consider that you say Linux has been playing catchup, this should really put Linux (the consumer focused ones anyways) far ahead of windows. If Windows is designed for the average user to work with, why are people claiming its so difficult to use lately? why can i simply open Software Center and download any program with just a few clicks knowing i won’t catch any nasties on my system? ordinary people have borrowed my Ubuntu-based laptop and had literally 0 issues.
2) recordmydesktop and kdenlive are huge considering i use them both for actually showcasing what i have been working on (considering i do a lot of dev work). stuff i use for development aside, Springseed (note taking app), Shotwell (image organizational program), and Banshee (Music Player, not in Windows in any stable form) are all basic programs that most users would need to get through the day, but yet, aren’t on Windows, either at all, or not in a usable form.
3) congradulations, you found only 117 vulnerabilities (consisting 90% of DoS attacks) that have most likely been patched out unless you have chosen not to upgrade in the last 6 months. the amount of Linux viruses is a total of 43, and all have been nerfed, making them all but little harmless blobs of useless code. counting the amount of Windows viruses is near impossible
4) The drivers for AMD Kaveri cards were terrible, crashing frequently, and just never doing anything right. Networking was extremely buggy and would barely work using my Broadcom BCM43142 wireless card, which made stuff insanely difficult to work with on a daily basis
5) Actual Microsoft customer support is among the worst i have ever had to deal with. the rest is totally unofficial and completely unsupported by people simply guessing at how Windows works. Either way, neither Microsoft customer support nor any forums truly knows how Windows works, which makes fixing any problems an utter nightmare
6) true that not everybody is a programmer, but those who are programmers, can’t contribute to Windows in any way. you would think that Microsoft would be ok with free slave labour, but whatever. its their decision to impede progress and hide their code from the modern world. i think you are forgetting that Linux isn’t a company, so much as it is a collective knowledge. with Linux, most likely somebody has already found the source of the problem, and posted a fix somewhere on the web
Reply to #1) Who is claiming that Windows is difficult to work with? How do you know that you will not get malware from software form the Software Center (I assume you mean on Ubuntu)? Since Windows 7, I have had almost no trouble with malware successfully infiltrating the system.
This is mainly because Windows Vista (and above) have had the users running in limited accounts that requires manual intervention (via UAC) for administrator access. If you are an administrator already on Vista and above, by default, you still run in limited account until being elevated by UAC.
Reply to #2) One screen recording software for Windows is CamStudio.
Reply to #3) The 117 vulnerabilities are for 2014 only. Windows gets patches regularly (Patch Tuesday).
Look here: http://www.cvedetails.com/product/47/Linux-Linux-Kernel.html?vendor_id=33
Reply to #4) Well bad drivers are not Windows’ fault.
Reply to #5) What makes you say “…nor any forums truly knows how Windows works,…”? With all due respect, that is wrong.
Reply to #6) How is Microsoft impeding progress by not letting people work on their code? It’s their code! They have the right to say who gets to look at it! More people looking at source code is *not* an indication that the code is better. The bash shell vulnerability existed for a long time (since 1994; Source: https://shellshocker.net/) before anyone found it!
No, you want to Ubuntu to be the same of Windows… Ubuntu is Linux, everything is on /.
You sart by stating “No one wants to write numerous lines of code if he/she can get the same work done by a few clicks”, this is the first thing you got wrong and a great example of why your post is garbage.
With all due respect, how does the author having his website hosted on a friend’s Linux server make the author a “liar”? That is pure nonsense! His friend decided to put Linux on *his* own server. The author did not have any say in it (according to the author).
I make use of Linux even though i prefer to use Windows. I’m not a fanboy of Windows (I do like using Linux for my cell phone and *will* use Linux if I have to, to get a job done), but I do prefer to use Windows whenever I can.
With all due respect, what technical reasons are there that would *prove without a shadow of a doubt* that Linux **is** more secure than Windows?
I hear a lot of “talk” from Linux people saying that “Linux is more secure than Windows”, but *none* of them (that I have read / talked to) can give real, honest-to-goodness technical reasons why!
I have used Windows desktops and servers **for years (!)** and never have known to be hacked!
Also, I ran a Windows Server (with the Hyper-V role installed) without anti-virus for about 5 1/2 months. When I finally did put an anti-virus on there, did the real-time scanner find anything? Nope!
If you prefer to use Linux over Windows (or any other OS) then I respect that (I make use of Linux myself, and am *not* a Windows fanboy). However I grow tired of hearing anti-Windows propaganda that is nothing more than “Linux is more secure than Windows!”.
#2: SLES is paid, but free.
#3: Windows has a backdoor, how can it be secure?
#6: I had trouble with Windows 7 and 8. Freezes every time!
Reply to #3: Where is your proof (hard-proof) that Windows has a backdoor? Until good proof surfaces, this is just speculation.
Also, it is interesting that Linux has a kernel add-on called SELinux (SELinux is not in every Linux distribution, but I know it is in CentOS and Android). SELinux was originally written by the NSA themselves! Even my Android phone has SELinux in a “enforcing” state! SELinux is supposed to help to keep a Linux install secure, but is this it’s real reason for existing? Who knows!
Linux users are quick to bash Windows, without even thinking about their own operating system having possible back-doors inserted inside them.
Read: https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/press_room/2001/se-linux.shtml
Reply to #6: I would say (more than likely) you have a hardware problem or you are doing something wrong, if Windows keeps freezing on you. Make sure to do a RAM test using MemTest86+ (at least 3 passes), and verify that your computer is not overhearing.
These are, of course, just a couple of tests. You also could have a bad driver (not the fault of the OS) causing the lockup.
“The United States National Security Agency (NSA), the original primary developer of SELinux, released the first version to the open source development community under the GNU GPL on December 22, 2000.” — Wikipedia.
That does not mean that there *is not* anything in SELinux that is designed to be a backdoor. Being GPL *does not* equal secure. With all due respect, to reason that since SELinux is GPL, that means that SELinux is alright, is foolish.
Just look at the Bash Shell-shocker vulnerability. While it was not a backdoor, the vulnerability lasted for over 18 years and according to https://shellshocker.net/, the vulnerability is not 100% fixed! Bash being GPL did not help there.
Have you *read* *all* of the SELinux source code, and *understand* what it *all* does, for you to have a pretty good idea that SELinux does *not* have a backdoor? Trusting someone else to do it is having faith that they are not working for the NSA, and / or not going to exploit some possible backdoor for themselves, since they could just claim that they did not find anything and then go ahead and exploit what they found.
Something being open-source does not mean that it has no vulnerabilities or backdoors. I make use of open-source software everyday, am a Windows and Linux administrator myself, and I like using Linux on my phone (Android), but I do not pretend that there are no backdoors and vulnerabilities on Linux, even though it is open-source.
Very true. I have a good deal of experience in. Windows PC support. The cost of repair exceeds the value of the system frequently if not usually. Restorations and replacement are often the best option without access to someone like me.
When speaking of non-technical novice users WIndows is extremely challenging. In terms of the assessment, searches, differentiation, solutions implementation and followup
Your reply is to my knowledge highly accurate and objective. It places linux’s weaknesses in a more appropriate historical perspective without minimizing the many positive features of Windows.
“No company would want to shovel out a lot of money to pay programmers to write drivers for Linux that has no real company or person behind it (it is a free-for-all OS).”
I don’t agree with that comment but I gave you a vote.
That’s terrible idea but maybe some focus on ?Ubuntu? as the common man’s unix might not be all bad. Then we’ll port what we like to the other 49 and add a few bugs and tweaks along the way.. :)
Truth
Windows systems themselves don’t always work out of the box. Nowadays providing support is 75% online research, 25% problem solving, 17% deductive reasoning and -3% math skills. (joke)
The days are fortunately gone when you have to reboot a Windows every 3 days. However determing the cause of long term performance degradation can be a nightmare. The solution in some corporations seems to be the same as with PCs, a factory (most recent bundled image ) reset and data restore. Windows systems can also become unstable when downloaded updates are waiting to install; explain that.
Windows systems are user friendly and easy to use, yes. Except when they are not. This debate seems to mainly focus on peripheral hardware and driver support which is only one of many issues.
I am not taking a position that Linux is better.. I do feel that Microsoft is advancing in some of these areas too but HW and driver support appear to be the one remaining claim to superiority beyond being the platform of choice (or only choice) for many popular packages.
I would add.a further comment on what’s going on under the hood.. I have seen some examples where Microsoft and their developers show a deep understanding of applied object oriented design and programming.
That should open a can of worms.
I agree that the morality of the company should be in question if the backing of the company is claimed to be one of the stongest selling points.
I trust MS has learned the error of their ways and is sticking to buying the other guys.
Funny that Google gets support as a result of all that. Linux too of course.
An illogical aurgument
Two out of three of those should not cause a problem but might
That has been highly problematic leading to products like drop my rights . Certainly not doable in a user friendly way.. I actually use UAC these days.
Because pop-ups are impossible to secure a computer from????
Point six is pure fluff. I have seen many issues reported on sites ignored for years as well as bugs in the OS. persist across many releases of the OS. I expect my OS and SW to have bugs that are addressed in a prioritized fashion. Sometimes that is not to my advantage but to other poeples; fair enough.
Parts of this article ring of that objective sounding but blatant promotion /propoganda we so often see. This includes point six and of cousre that childishly idiotic and transparent comment about security and hacking the the web site.
I consider the article an insult to the intelligence and sophistication of many of the Windows club members
Logically there would be a competitive advantage in selling Linux. At a profit as allowed.
Oh brother. How many open source software projects exist? Probably well over 100,000. Again, drivers are included in the kernel with linux, and you dont have to randomly search the internet for them.
Yes, people can “afford” to change operating systems, and will find themselves far happier if they do.
Linux has an adult feel about it. Looking at any version of windows looks like the graphics were created for a child to look at.
I disagree. Most people are happy with what they are using and won’t switch just because “they can”. Why switch when everything is working fine to begin with?
Not all drivers are included with the Linux kernel. One wireless network card would not work for me on CentOS 5, a few years ago).
Actually, in my opinion, most average computer users would find Linux to be a mess compared to Windows and MacOS X.
Linux has many different desktops, and in my opinion, most average computer users would not want (nor care) to bother installing another GUI (via command line), when they have a GUI that works for them already (Windows and MacOS X).
Windows and Linux are just tools for the users that make use of them. For 99% of what I do, Windows works fine for me. For someone else, it may not.
How is having 50+ Linux distributions any better?
Probably most (if not all) companies would *never* support their software on *all* the Linux distributions out there. There just is too many that they would have to keep up with!
Until the Linux desktop market-share goes up enough, companies, in my opinion, most companies won’t want to pay money to have drivers written for Linux (there are ones that do, however).
Linux is not made for faint-hearted. Programmers, System Admin., data scientists across the world mostly use it not only because it’s free but it provides flexibility and freedom. To programmers and Sys Admin. the so called “use-friendliness” hardly matters. Linux provides many tools for such people which simply absent in Windows, such as grep, awk, sed, etc. Many Windows software has equivalent Linux software (Libre office). Some of the Linux desktops has really great user interface (OpenSuse). But you need to see Linux through the eyes of a programmer, data analyst or sys admin to appreciate its value.
Computerworld reported in July 2014 that Microsoft’s share of computing devices was down to 14%.
You said: “Programmers, System Admin., data scientists across the world mostly use it not only because it’s free but it provides flexibility and freedom.”
Linux is only “freedom” to people who know how to modify it (i.e. programmers). Most average users have really no more “freedom” with Linux than if they used Windows or MacOS X.
You said: “Linux provides many tools for such people which simply absent in Windows, such as grep, awk, sed, etc.”
You can use Windows PowerShell.
PowerShell equivalent to “grep”: Select-String -Pattern
Source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15199321/powershell-equivalent-to-grep-f
PowerShell “equivalents” to “awk”: http://windows-powershell-scripts.blogspot.com/2009/06/awk-equivalent-in-windows-powershell.html
PowerShell can emulate “sed”: http://opensysblog.directorioc.net/2013/03/emulating-sed-command-with-powershell.html
You said: “Many Windows software has equivalent Linux software (Libre office).”
Sometimes software that is equivalent won’t work for people who are needing specific features. For example, probably most photo editing people out there use Photoshop. What if there was a special feature in Photoshop and GIMP simply did not have (that was necessary to get his work done properly)? Would GIMP be useful to the user in this situation? Probably not.
You said: “Some of the Linux desktops has really great user interface (OpenSuse).”
Whether a Linux desktop is “good” or “bad” is just the opinion of the user.
You said: “But you need to see Linux through the eyes of a programmer, data analyst or sys admin to appreciate its value.”
Not all IT people, programmers, scientists, etc. will necessarily like to use Linux over Windows (or another OS). Windows and Linux are just tools to get things done with.
I have converted 50+ people over to linux. They were tired of the problems with windows, and I let them know there is a better way. Many of those people are in their 50s and 60s. Everything is not working fine to begin with as you say with windows. Or it is, then slowly degrades over time to non functioning. The truth of the situation is they are completely unaware there is a choice when computers come preloaded with microsoft.
The nit picking arguments about drivers, all included except on (yours) are lame. Im aware of the special situations, and the fact is 99.9% of the time, the drivers you need are there already there.
With all due respect, how is my argument about driver’s lame?
Not every driver will be included with the Linux kernel (i.e. proprietary Linux video drivers such as nVidia’s which you will probably want over the default video driver).
You said: “Everything is not working fine to begin with as you say with windows. Or it is, then slowly degrades over time to non functioning.”
How does Windows slowly degrade over time?
You said: “The truth of the situation is they are completely unaware there is a choice when computers come preloaded with microsoft.”
Not everyone is unaware of alternatives to Windows (such as MacOS X).
I believe I stated why in the sentence directly after regarding drivers. Thats what I would like know also, what makes windows degrade over time, lol. Anyway, we are getting nowhere fast. I love Linux, you love windows i guess. Enjoy.
With all due respect, you *didn’t* give any reasons for why Windows “degrades” at all! You just said that it does!
I myself don’t hate Linux and use it in more than one way. I just prefer to use Windows, that’s all. They both are tools to be used to get jobs done.
The title of this biased article is why microsoft is better than linux. Its a lame article that I highly disagree with. You dont appear to be comprehending my statements. I have told you that I do not know what causes windows to degrade over time. I have a general idea, but it is quite difficult and a HUGE waste of time to try to track down that answer on a windows machine. Linux installs in 15 to 20 minutes, then another 20 minutes to apply security updates that do not interfere or slow down your work. Then it just works and does not get in your way. I cannot even use windows any more due to it being absolute frustration to use (slow, gets in your way, and uses lots of resources) Linux is much faster in so many areas.
Well if Windows is giving you problems (slow performance, lockups, etc.) more than likely its a driver and/or hardware problem (or even slow hardware), or you are doing something to cause it to happen.
You said: “I cannot even use windows any more due to it being absolute frustration to use (slow, gets in your way, and uses lots of resources) Linux is much faster in so many areas.”
If you used a full-blown desktop Linux OS (such as Ubuntu) you would have resources taken up similarly to that of Windows.
There is a linux distro for every use, customizable to however you like, including low resource distros like puppy linux, small and fast, yet gets the job done. Also light weight desktop environments such as XFCE which is what I use.
It is far more likely you will have malware, viruses, or spyware that is slowing your windows down than it is a driver or hardware problem.
Drivers or slow hardware do not affect a linux install of the proper distro and or desktop environment. In fact computers that are classified as “too old” to use on newer versions of windows, work just fine, and faster than they ever did when they were brand new with windows.
Ive seen i3 machines at the local goodwill which makes me laugh as I purchase them and install my favorite linux distro. Granted, junior must have got a new top of the line i7 for christmas, but an i3 is not junk. Or maybe he thought so because it was “slow” running windows, lol.
You said: “It is far more likely you will have malware, viruses, or spyware that is slowing your windows down than it is a driver or hardware problem.”
Since most of the desktop world uses Windows, the malware writers are going to target the most used desktop OS (Windows). If it were the other way around, Linux would probably have the same problem. Also, while there is more malware for Windows, that does not mean that you are going to get malware when using Windows.
You said: “Drivers or slow hardware do not affect a linux install of the proper distro and or desktop environment. In fact computers that are classified as “too old” to use on newer versions of windows, work just fine, and faster than they ever did when they were brand new with windows.”
Bad drivers will affect a Linux setup just as much as a Windows setup, irregardless of the Linux distrobution. Also, while Linux works well with slow hardware, more than likely if someone was going to do something serious with their Linux system, they probably will already have a fast system (or at least a “faster” system) to begin with.
You are nit picking my sentences, while avoiding the real world experience of the situation. I KNOW THAT BAD DRIVERS ON ANY OS WILL AFFECT ANY SETUP. The fact of the matter is I never have issues with drivers on linux. I have built a lot of machines over the last 15 years, I know the situation.
It proves you have a passing experience with linux, and really are unaware. All of us were at some point, I encourage you to investigate far further than “ubuntu” which I personally cant stand these days.
Also your last sentence makes no sense. You can do something “serious” with most machines currently plugged in these days. Ah, but let me guess, serious to you is call of duty, right? Adults and programmers like me just want their machines to work, and dont have time for the bs.
Trust me, no matter what you say, everything I’ve stated about my linux experience in the real world is quite true.
You said: “It proves you have a passing experience with linux, and really are unaware.”
I have more experience on the server side of Linux than the desktop side, however I *do* have some experience with the desktop side of Linux.
You said: “Also your last sentence makes no sense. You can do something “serious” with most machines currently plugged in these days. Ah, but let me guess, serious to you is call of duty, right? Adults and programmers like me just want their machines to work, and dont have time for the bs.”
What I mean stuff like: running a server that needs to stay up 24/7, rendering animated video, doing video editing, running multiple virtual machines, etc. Running an old 2-core computer would probably not cut it.
You said: “Trust me, no matter what you say, everything I’ve stated about my linux experience in the real world is quite true.”
I never told you that what you were telling me was not true. I’m sorry if I offended you in any way.
“What I mean stuff like: running a server that needs to stay up 24/7,
rendering animated video, doing video editing, running multiple virtual
machines, etc.”
I have and currently do all of these things with linux servers, and desktops. It really is an awesome os. Linux runs multiple virtual machines quite simply. I run my pbx servers this way.
I will leave this article
“Why Microsoft Windows Is Better Than Open Source Operating Systems” (lmao) with this parting gift. – If windows was truly better, why are these entities not running it?
http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/fyi/50-places-linux-running-you-might-not-expect
” running a server that needs to stay up 24/7, rendering animated video, doing video editing, running multiple virtual machines, etc..”
I didn’t mean that Linux was not capable of doing those things. I mean that someone would probably be using a newer and faster computer when doing those things.
Any answer you want (even outside of linux) handily appears on the internet within seconds of clicking a link.
I just noticed much of my discussion has been erased on this page. Gee I wonder why.
So Ill leave you with this. If windows is better than linux or open source, then why do these entities not run windows?
http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/fyi/50-places-linux-running-you-might-not-expect
No comments have been erased by us.
(Those ugly Windows 8 icons…)
Look at RAVEfinity.
+3
Click here to fix Windows errors and optimize system performance is wrong, should be Click here to download a good operating system.
If your time has no value. And you don’t need support.
Because it costs vendors loads more to support Linux than Windows – there tend to be lots more problems and issues that users can’t fix themselves. Dell etc. have tried…
How do you know it’s more secure? The reason Windows seem less secure is because of its market share, which makes it more attractive to virus writers and hackers than Linux. But here we are 3 years later, and it looks like Android is the new target because of its market share. And look at all the security wholes that were found in that OS in just a couple of years! Can you guess which OS its running? Ha!
on hardware support, you may think Windows is better, but it’s not. Windows is worse, MUCH worse. it does have ok hardware support, and there are a lot of devices that support it, but it’s not the manufacturers writing the drivers, it’s the community, and it’s built in to the kernel. Linux does support more hardware and supports them better. a good example is the graphics driver. on Windows, the default graphics driver is pretty bad, 3D Acceleration is not supported, OpenGL doesent work and, Colors on some chipsets are terrible (Like 4 or 8 Colors), and the resolution is low. the worst you will get with most linux distro’s is a low resolution, but most distro’s work pretty good out of the box.
there was a test once saying that Linux was easier to use than windows for old people.
I am using Windows, Mac OSX and Linux day in day out. Nothing has gone far compared to Windows’s ability to make my life more efficient. I am hard core developer by the way.
How a malware fitted operating system can be user friendly? LOL
It is funny because if you walk into any major company, even Microsoft, you will find a majority of the servers running Linux. It is also funny that they think Windows is more secure. Windows has not fixed any major security holes in years because it is impossible to do so. The software runs in the operating system instead of a sort of run time container. Open Source ensures that any security holes found can be fixed within minutes of finding them. Windows has to officially release patches for every fix and those fixes can only be made by Microsoft.
I don’t think you understand fundamentally how the Windows operating system works from the perspective of a low level developer. If you look at the Windows source you will see that it has almost not been touched since XP.
Final point is that Ubuntu, which in the Linux community is considered Windows with a custom theme, has that title for a reason. Besides being pure Linux on the backend, the front end is basically the same as Windows. It is also one of the biggest Linux communities in the world. If you have a problem, you can find a solution normally within a few minutes by asking online in any Linux community weather it is programming or general usage. I should know because I use Linux as my main OS. You have the question as well, infrequent tested patching or ultra frequent fixes that can quickly be refined by a large userbase that puts it through actual non-simulated testing. The answer is obvious.
I am just commenting for not a fanboy of windows or Linux. I am sorry to say that “Linux SUCKS” But It rocks Under the Hood. “Windows Also Sucks” but good for business.
I have both Vendor windows and Linux. In my company the mainframes are backed by Linux SUSE and Windows server’s with hyper V. Linux Is Fast, Not so secure, stable and windows is Secure ” Until any Update or patches for malware, User friendly can be done work fast, not to write code 100 lines like linux.
Please both OS has their worst part and good part.
Apple is not user friendly, It is a over hyped OS. There is no difference between Linux and Mac-OS as both are made up on Unix system. i have experience in all three OS. Window is far better in user interface and more friendly if compare to Mac-OS and Linux. Only bad thing of window is background resource usage is way high than Mac-OS and Linux.
Few things:
OSX is a Unix system, and Linux was created to be as close as possible to UNIX™. Notice the difference between Unix and UNIX™. So saying taht there is no difference between Linux and OSX, it’s just oversimplifying things.
About user friendliness, if that’s what you think good for you. I have no wish to participate in a flame war about which OS is more user friendly.
Man, I LOVE the RAVEfinity design project! Far better than that ugly orange Numix.
Because that “market share of just 1-2%” OS is used for the most critical tasks.
Good luck, because that “inferior OS” is running your network, your company, the transport you use (your car, planes, trains, ships and whatnot), your refrigerator, your air conditioner, AND the military.
Murphy’s law apply to this?
“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”
You know, Linux developers (even Linus Torvalds himself) review EVERYTHING that goes into Linux. Torvalds is especially picky.
Awesome desktop :)
Linux does not require code, not now. See my desktop. (Too lazy to upload screenshot to Imgur)
I would share this article as a funny article only for amusement purposes
I’ve worked with both Windows and Apache2 servers, and Apache2 is by far the easier of the two to work with.
When it comes to ease of use, there’s nothing that can compare to the simplicity of tweaking Apache configuration files, or being able to download any program you need from the terminal using “sudo apt-get install …”
this website is running on linux server. proofs that this articles is full of lies
Absolutely. Next stop: gaming. With the help from Valve.
YES AND NO
Windows is best for everyday computing.
Linux is best for servers, appliances and certain other specialized uses (often in business).
I find it annoying how both sides keep treading into each other’s territory.
Writing CODE is a tedious task, wrinting good CODE even takes longer, and there’s a lot you have to do, Kernel, Drivers, OpenGL, SQL, integration, and a million more tools, LINUX is mostly done by non payed people, well there’s a some companies supporting it but just because they want to enhance a specific portion of it with the free help of others, and those companies go away when they have what they neeeded, Apple is a good example of that…, so it’s a slow process, also, being free does not help, you can’t have full time programmers working on it if they can’t afford living from it… this is the reason for example Java is so sucessfull, because when you do Java code, it will run in pretty much all Operating Systems out there, most of the tedious complicated work is done on the Java Virtual Machine to be compatible with those different OSs. Apple and Microsoft don’t want Java virtual Machines because it will make apps available in all plataforms making the decision of what Operating System to use a personal choice of the user. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, have a mix of closed code and OpenSource code, closed code so they can make their users migration for alternatives almost impossible, OpenSource Code when they want free work to be done for them, and when they have what they needed they go away… No Linux have great ideas and in lot of things is better that Windows for example, most people like good Graphical User Interface and Linux is getting better in that, but we use computers for work, productivity, we need apps like CAD, GIS, Games, all those companies want to make money of it so, because of the reasons stated before, is this need to get payed for work that OpenSource is not such a good idea… now imagine, intelectual propriety, patents, mutual interests between hardware and software companies and so on…
This article has much wrong information, the author either he tries to lie or he did not know anything about Linux. The near future is For Linux even if you do not agree
No operating system is as user-friendly as Microsoft Windows. What stupid argument is this ? Do you think iOS is user friendly? It is just how you have used computer… If you have used Linux from the beginning you will feel that it is more user friendly than Windows and vice versa…
Due to its large user base, Microsoft Windows has a wide ecosystem – With all the servers running on servers and you just use browsers to access it why do you need software running on Windows?
It is a hard task to find support for Open Source operating systems It is just one company versus the community… Who has more developers?
Starting with Windows 7, final release of Microsoft Windows usually have a negligible amount of bugs as it is tested by highly trained professionals at the Microsoft Corporation, – Ha ha….
Then there is the questions of costs. Now this is one area where Windows loses out! Almost all of the Linux flavors are either free of cost or are available at a much lower price. – You should not have written it under “Why windows is better than linux?” .. You can’t even list out 10 reasons.. On 7th point you started supporting Linux…
Microsoft Windows supports a wide range of hardware and most of the hardware manufactures support their hardware in Microsoft Windows due to its larger user base. – Specify a successful product which doesn’t have drivers for Linux or iOS?
“Better” is such a relative term. The “better” OS is the one that meets your individual (or business) needs. Beyond that it just becomes another silly religious war.
LOL, okay, so being a Linux kernel dev, I just would like to point out my friend, that when people here the terminology “Linux” they actually mean GNU/Linux. Linux is only a kernel; and GNU is the secure, very actively developed software suite on top.
For google products such as android, they DO NOT USE GNU. They use their own homemade software written by Google employees, many of these projects that barely are contributed to. By architecture, google applications that make up the Android system in tandem with Linux are insecure by nature, due to the horrible design of each component. (Like their HAL ABI)
LibreOffice perfectly opens and edits word docs, excel sheets, etc. You can still run proprietary software such as photoshop on top of Linux with things such as WINE. And it isnt HARD. Let’s say you use Ubuntu, you literally just open your software center app, search for Wine, INSTALL, then double click on your EXEs that you want to open in Linux. Windows often has way harder steps to getting things done.
I realize this is old and such, but I have used many Linux distros and every Windows just about daily since 3.1. The way Apple’s interfaces work SUCKS. It defies logic just to be different in many areas, not user friendly for people used to getting actual work done. Thank god I don’t have to work with those things daily.
2% clients, but 90% of the world’s servers are Linux.
Also mention that 90% of windows users don’t even know that there a thing named LINUX,
Also mention that you have 0% knowledge of linux
Much of this is simply no longer true
Funny to see that Windows is so much better than Linux. This must be the reason why Microsoft are developping their own Linux kernel for IoT and their are integrating Linux shell in Windows 10. Must be because windows is so much better… Windows has a market share of 30-35% percent max (all devices included) and yet they are the most target by scammers, spammers and virus/malware writers. Why so? Because it is way easier to hack into an OS full of holes than through a secure one. MS security philosophy is : “Let’s put effort into patching it once someone find a breach” while Linux’s one is : “Let’s put effeort into preventing breaches”. Man, this community is such a bad joke…. *sigh*
Yay! More companies need to as well.
Who said he was a liar? Nobody actually said that. Using the find tool in Google Chrome, you seem to be the only person who used the term “liar” in the entire webpage.
You’re completely right. It isn’t fair at all. That’s why you need to use Linux.
Nah, that’s Apple.
That’s very interesting info. I need to learn some things from people like you.
Technically that’s not true. It may be on desktop computers because Microsoft holds a monopoly on operating systems, but almost everyone uses Linux. I guarantee you do too.