Thursday Special: Windows vs Linux

In this day and age, as tehnology becomes more and more advanced, the software needed to run it also becomes more advanced and resource hungry. With the Windows 7 operating system almost knocking at the door, we can only ask ourselves if it’s worth it to buy an operating system only to be obsolete in the next couple of years. So this week’s feature is a comparison between the Windows platform and Linux (or vice-versa).

We won’t get into the different distributions or Windows version because this article is only a bird’s eye view of the differences and thus should only be used as a general guideline.

The first and most obvious aspect to discuss is the price. Everybody knows that most Linux distributions are free (or almost, if you want to have a CD and manual) and thus have a huge advantage over the Windows OS. This is true for home users and corporate users alike, especially for servers.

There is a signifficant difference with the software and because of this Windows has the upper hand. But this doesn’t mean that Linux is without alternatives, and important to note, free ones. Of course, if one would really need to run a specific software, virtual machines like Vmware or VirtualBox are the answer.

Let’s talk about security for a bit. Windows is the most vulnerable OS because the majority of malicious software is found under it, be it viruses, worms, trojans and so on. Thus the need for antivirus software, firewalls, anti-spyware. Linux on the other hand is almost trouble-free from this point of view because of the root user (among other things). Traditionally, Linux is known to be generally more secure than Windows, especially if you know what to tweak and where, and almost all distributions can be made really secure.

Some people will surely remember the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) found in Windows 98. It’s true that in time Windows has become more and more bug free, but let’s face it, it still doesn’t compare with it’s Linux counterparts mainly because of the different methods used in each of the platforms. Time has proven again and again that Linux is more stable. The frequency of the updates to fix the bugs found in the operating sysyems is also important and Linux is the winner here.

Regarding the hardware, Linux can run on various systems and configurations because it is less resource intensive (especially if run without the GUI). Of course, regarding looks, Linux can shine too and if you want to see something interesting, take Ubuntu with Beryl for a spin and see for yourself. Regarding peripherals, Linux is at a slight disadvantage, but it’s steadily catching up with the support for newer and newer hardware.

This concludes our glimpse of the differences in the two platforms. Of course, it wasn’t intended in the first place to put one or the other in the spotlight, but only to remind people that there is an alternative and (mostly) a free one to boot.