Why you will prefer Linux over Windows
(Reading time: 10 minutes)
Linux? Yes, sounds familier, but whats is it? We know that for running a computer, we have to have an operating system on it. There are so many operating systems, and one of them is Linux. Linux is named after it's founder, Linus Torvalds. It is an operating system for your PC just as Windows is. We have been using Windows on our computers, and many of us may not know that Linux is actually better than Windows in many aspects, so thousands of programmers and general computer users around the world use Linux as thier favourite OS. This article will briefly guide you as to how Linux is better than Windows. Please take a look at it.
No Viruses
Your computer is always has a risk for a virus. The main reason for this is because it runs Windows. Linux hardly has any viruses. Linux makes it very hard for this to happen. Most people use Windows, so the pirates keep on targeting Windows. However, if anybody tries to make a virus for Linux, it will not work on Linux. The reason is Linux doesn't allow any information deletion or system change without authorization from the user. Whenever a new file has to do something with the system, an administrator password is required (and if you're not an administrator on this system, you simply can't do it). So the viruses can't just go around and delete or modify as they do not have the authorization for that.
Stable operating system
OS crash, shut down, automatic restart, hang, slowing down is common for windows. However, some operating systems can be so stable that most users never see their systems crash, even after several years. This is true for Linux. Here's a good way to see this. you can go on like that for years without having any trouble. Linux is a very stable operating system.
Computer protection
Viruses, trojans, adware, spyware... Windows lets all these enter your computer pretty easily. So you can either 1) install a firewall, 2) install an antivirus program, 3) install an anti-adware program, 4) get rid of Internet Explorer and Outlook (replacing them with Firefox and Thunderbird), and 5) pray that people trying to get into your computer aren't smart enough to overcome these protections.
Or you can install Linux and sleep soundly from now on.
Don't pay for your operating system or copy them illegally
If your computer came with a copy of Windows, then you have paid for it, even if the computer supplier didn't tell you about that. The price for a Windows license amounts to an average of one fourth of each new computer's price, so unless you obtained Windows illegally, you probably paid for it.
On the other hand, you can get Linux completely free of charge. That's right, all these guys all around the world worked very hard to make a neat, secure, efficient, good-looking system, and they are giving their work away for everybody to use freely.
No crap ware
If you've ever purchased a new computer running Windows, it all starts when you first turn it on: countless windows start to open, asking you to subscribe for services, activation of an antivirus, games you never asked for, productivity applications requiring you to create an account online, etc.
After you've owned your new computer for 30 days, new dialogs start to pop up, and you realize that some of these programs that you thought were free (for example, an antivirus) really aren't, all you have is a free 30-day trial.
None of that with Linux. No program will nag you about subscribing, paying after a trial period ends, or just slow your computer down and make you wait some more while it starts, just when you thought it was ready to be used. Linux comes with everything that you need to start working right away, without the crapware.
Yes, Freedom!
Linux and "Open Source" software are "free". This means their license is a "free license", and the most common is the GPL (General Public License). This license states that anyone is allowed to copy the software, see the source code (the "recipe"), modify it, and redistribute it as long as it remains licensed with the GPL. You're free to do (nearly) whatever you want with the software.
No Need to install anything after installation of Linux
Imagine you just installed your brand new copy of Windows. Now, your friend sends you an email with an attached PDF file and you don't have a program to read it. You need to go online, search for a website that will let you download Adobe Reader (or another PDF viewer), download it, install it, maybe even reboot. This step has to be repeated for every such program.
When you get Linux (such as Ubuntu, Mandriva, Fedora, etc., these are different "flavors" of Linux), you also get, without installing anything more :
Everything you need to write texts, edit spreadsheets, make neat presentations, draw, edit equations.
A web browser (eg Firefox) and an email program (eg Thunderbird, or Evolution).
An image editor (GIMP) nearly as powerful as Photoshop.
An instant messenger.
A movie player.
A music player and organizer.
A PDF reader.
Everything you need to decompress archives (ZIP, etc.).
No need to install drivers for Linux
Linux recognizes all the hardware of your computer and it has all the required drivers to use them. Linux takes your Video card, sound card, keyboard, mouse, motherboard chip-set, etc. The drivers are already included in the Linux kernel, the core of the system, and that comes with every single Linux installation. This is good as you have less trouble and it is less harmful to the planet because all these unwanted CDs.
Regular Updates for all your software with single application
Windows has a pretty convenient tool called "Windows update", which allows you to update your system with the latest updates available. But what about all your non-Microsoft software? Adobe applications? ZIP compressor? Burning program? Non-Microsoft web browsers and email clients, etc.? You need to update all of them, one by one. Linux has a central place called the "Package manager", which takes care of everything installed on your system, but also every single piece of software your computer has. So if you want to keep everything up-to-date, the only thing you need to do is press the "Install Updates" button. That's it.
Linux and all software are free. Always....
If you run Linux and install free software, you will have most of free (as in free speech) software is free (as in free beer). You can find a free replacement for most of the commercial software out there. They might lack some of the advanced functionality, but they'll be more than enough for most people.
Linux is ready for new generation of desktops
Linux can do better with all the new system you have, for free, and with much less demanding hardware requirements.
No fragmentation of drives
If you already know what fragmentation is, and are already used to defragmenting your disk every month or so, here is the short version : Linux doesn't need defragmenting. The more you use Windows, the slower it is to access files ; the more you use Linux, the faster it is. The choice is up to you!
Choose how your desktop looks
Pretty much all Windows users have the same desktop. You can still change your wallpaper, or the color of your windows decorations (default is blue), but basically you'll still end up with the usual Windows interface. With Linux, choice has been brought back to you. You're no longer forced to accept the one-and-only way to manage multiple windows: you can choose among many programs, which are called "desktop environments". But don't worry, you won't need to worry about that, since you'll have a pretty good default. The point is you can change it if you wish.
Linux does not get slower with time
Windows has a number of design flaws, resulting in it becoming slower and slower and not lasting very long. You've probably heard more than once someone say "My computer is getting sluggish, I am going to reinstall". Reinstalling Windows solves the problem but temporarily... only until next time. Linux does not get slower with the time. It lets you spend more time working, less time reinstalling over and over again.
Enjoy free and unlimited support
One of the great assets of the Open Source community (and Linux in particular), is that it's a real community. Users and developers really are out there, on web forums, on mailing lists, on IRC channels, helping out new users. They're all happy to see more and more people switch to Linux, and they're happy to help them get a grip on their new system. So if there's something you don't understand, a program that doesn't behave the way you would expect, or a feature that you can't seem to find, don't hesitate to go and ask for help.
Easy start menu
If you use Windows and have installed quite a few pieces of software on your computer, chances are your Start menu gets bulky and you will be not able to find your programs easily.
All installable pieces of software for Linux come with information on what kind of software they contain, so that the user (that would be you!) doesn't need to do anything to keep applications neatly sorted into categories.
Reporting bugs
Nearly all open source software (including Linux distributions) have a bug tracking system. You can not only file bug reports (and you're encouraged to do so!) explaining what the problem is, but you can see what happens next : everything is open and clear for everyone. So here you have people taking care of your problems, keeping you informed about it, and all that for free! If the problem is solved on your system, it will be on everyone else's : it's in everyone's interest to work together to make software better. This is how open source works.
No Computer restarts
Linux basically doesn't need to restart. Whether you install new software (even very big programs) or perform routine upgrades for your system, you will not be asked to restart the computer. It is only necessary when a part from the heart of the system has been updated, and that only happens once every several weeks. Windows have annoying restarts for petty reasons.
Linux works better on old computer
Linux runs perfectly well on older hardware, on which Windows could probably even refuse to install, or leave you waiting for 20 seconds after each click. Of course, Linux won't make a race-winner out of your 12-year old computer, but it will run very well on it and allow you to perform usual tasks (surfing the web, writing documents, etc.) just fine.
Games for free
Hundreds of games are released under a free (as in "free beer" and as in "free speech") license: 2D, 3D, puzzles, war games, online multiplayer games, you name it!
Help other countries, and your own
With Free Software (e.g. Linux), the economy (and IT professionals' knowledge) of your country could improve, since there could be a lot of small/medium companies customizing solutions, providing support, consulting, etc from your country and other countries.
People who know how to do things and retain money in your country will benefit from it, rather than people who just sell boxes with a predefined sales pitch, sending your money offshore, leaving IT professionals without real knowledge about how things work.
Use MSN, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, with a single program
You may have accounts for several instant messaging services, such as MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Jabber, AIM, Facebook chat, etc. While running Windows or Mac OS X, you probably need one program to connect to each one of those : MSN Messenger for MSN, ICQ for ICQ, etc. With Pidgin, the instant messenger for Linux, you can connect to all these services at once, with this one program, and see all your buddies at the same time.
Get a great music player
Everybody likes music. Linux has many music players (including AmaroK, Rhythmbox, Banshee, etc.), and some of them are great. Check out AmaroK, it manages and plays your music perfectly, learns which tunes you prefer, automatically fetches their title (and lyrics) on the Internet, and even gets the CD covers for you!
So why wait? Install Linux OS on your PC today! Visit the links http://www.ubuntu.com or http://www.linuxmint.com to download and install Linux!
