Today, I present an essay focused towards people who are not familiar with Linux, explaining from an unbiased view (as unbiased as I could get) the differences and similarities between Windows and Linux.
Brief: “What are Distributions?”
I would like to start with a brief explanation of “what is Linux really?” to better the understanding of distributions and why they exist.
As short as I can put it: Linux by definition is a kernel. It manages the way programs interact with hardware on your computer. (All operating systems have kernels). Linux is not usually known as being “just a kernel”. Linux is usually associated with various distributions (or “completed” and “compiled” “prepackaged” versions of Linux.) A kernel on it’s own does not really do anything. The desktop interface is a program added to the kernel amongst many other things (command line, basic commands, etc). When all of these different elements gets put together, we often think of that as an “operating system” (a system of packages for operation…)
Different people (and later, different groups of people) believe that these operating systems should be different. Therefor, they have created many different distributions that may specifically apply to their needs. For example: Debian is popular for servers, but Ubuntu, which is directly based off Debian, is meant to be more user-friendly. Can anyone make their own distribution? Yes!
Questions? Post a comment!
Now to the essay:
Windows vs. Linux
At first glance, the Windows Operating System may seem better than the Ubuntu Linux operating system. An in-depth look at both of these operating systems can reveal something quite different. Differences in the graphical user interface, the standard applications included with both operating systems, cost, hardware and software support, and system requirements greatly affect how these two operating systems appeal to different individuals.
The graphical user interface (GUI) is certainly one of the most sought-after features of any operating system. A typical Ubuntu setup can have one of the three major Linux GUIs, including XFCE, KDE, and the most popular, Gnome. The fact that you have a choice is a huge plus when considering Linux as an operating system, but I will focus mainly on Ubuntu Linux systems with Gnome. Windows does not have other well-developed graphical interfaces, so you are stuck with only one style of desktop interface. Gnome also requires less memory than the Windows GUI. Gnome is a very clean interface that is much better organized than Windows. On Windows, the taskbar holds the Start menu, active applications, quicklaunch, the system tray, and the system time all in one space. On Ubuntu Linux systems with Gnome, the bottom taskbar has only applications, a small recycle bin icon and “desktop” icon, and the application switcher. The clock, system tray, start menu (which is the Applications menu in Linux), and quicklaunch icons are on a second bar located across the top of the screen. Linux systems with Gnome are far less cluttered than Windows systems, resulting in it being more visually appealing and easier to use.
Ubuntu contains many of the same standard applications that Windows comes with, plus more. Both Windows and Ubuntu contain a basic text editor, calculator, art program, music player, and a few basic games. In addition to these programs, nearly every Linux distribution comes with a fully-featured office suite called OpenOffice, which is free. OpenOffice allows you to do everything that Microsoft Office allows. A default Windows installation comes only with Wordpad, a basic text editor that allows for little formatting and does not have a spell-check feature. Ubuntu also comes with an advanced graphics editor called GIMP which is similar to Photoshop, an Internet Chat program that is compatible with all major Instant Messenger protocols, and a fully-featured email client similar to Microsoft Outlook. The majority of programs made to work with Linux are open-source (made by volunteer programmers) and are completely free. Ubuntu has many more preloaded programs than Windows.
The cost of any distribution of Linux versus the cost of Windows is what causes many people to switch to Linux. Ubuntu Linux is completely free, as is nearly every single Linux distribution. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium costs about $199. Buying a new computer with Linux instead of Windows automatically takes off over a hundred dollars from the price tag. Linux is much more affordable than Windows.
Hardware support for all Linux distributions can be lacking. Though hardware support is increasing greatly for Linux, the plug-and-play abilities of Windows far exceed those of Linux. Driver availability for Windows is still much greater than that of Linux; however, hardware vendors are realizing the potential of Linux as a home and business operating system and are making devices compatible with both systems. Anyone considering changing to any Linux distribution from Windows should check to make sure that their individual drivers are compatible with the Linux operating system. Though Linux is gaining in driver support, it may be a long time before the driver support of Linux is equivalent to the support the Windows operating system receives.
Software support is another disadvantage of Linux. Though efforts of making Windows applications work natively on Linux are making great progress, many applications developed specifically for Windows may not work on Linux. The answer to this problem has been to find alternative software made specifically for a Linux system that performs the same function; of course, sometimes a person may be required to submit a file or complete a project with a very specific program for his or her work. Software support is one of the major disadvantages of Linux.
The system requirements of the Windows operating system have required many people who feel they must upgrade to the “latest and greatest” to buy a new computer for each new version of Windows. Individual component upgrades and new computers both cost a lot of money. To use the basic features of Windows, you need at least a 1GHz (gigahertz) processor, a minimum of 1GB (gigabytes) of RAM (memory), at least 16GB of free hard disk space, and a graphics card device compatible with DirectX 9 or higher. If anyone read this far, you should really let me know and I might publish more often. These are the minimum requirements to run Windows. Ubuntu Linux, on the other hand, has minimum requirements of 512MB of RAM, 5GB of Disk Space, and a graphics card with the capability of displaying 1024×768 (which is a standard feature of any graphics card made in the last ten years). Ubuntu uses fewer system resources to operate than Windows.
Both Windows and Ubuntu have their own advantages and disadvantages. Both support various kinds of software; however, some people may want to stay with Windows due to lack of support for specific programs on Linux. The graphical user interface of Ubuntu is clean and uncluttered, but the Windows operating system may be more familiar to users. Some devices may be incompatible with Ubuntu, whereas Windows is more widely supported by many device manufacturers. Ubuntu costs much less than Windows. The required resources to run Ubuntu on a particular computer are much less than what Windows requires. Ubuntu is definitely a more affordable option for many.
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