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24 Reasons To Dump Windows |
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Main Eirik P.
Slettebakken
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Intro: Now lets look at 24 reasons why you don't want to be playing with Windows. There may well be thousands of them, but we've narrowed down our ideas about why you should never use an operating system beginning with the letter W again, and of course, why you should be running Linux, in the ultimate – nay definitive – Linux vs Windows feature of all time. Well, at least in the whelm of these pages. 1. Linux is more secure How long do you spend on the Internet? We're not going to suggest that other operating systems are full of security flaws, but how many security updates, plugging various holes, have appeared for, er, other operating systems? Most Windows setups will not protect you from malicious crackers when you're online. Remember, as well as being connected to the vast resources of the Internet, the Internet is connected to you. It isn't the hardest thing in the world to ride the flow back to your drive and steal all sorts of information and files from your machine. Linux isn't immune from such attacks when you're online, but it has much stricter security policies – no surprise that the largest growing market for Linux is for webservers. The fact that firewall security is built in to the Linux kernel certainly means it is easier to cut down on opportunistic cracking. Do you ever receive any email? Do you think it's a good idea to let your email software automatically execute any attached programs? Programs that might, for instance, attempt to collect passwords and other important data and send it back to the author – it could also have a little fun with your hard drive. It may sound like scaremongering, but it can, and often does, happen. Nobody is saying that Linux is immune to crackers or viruses, but these sorts of thingshave just never happened on the Linux platform, because Linux as a whole takes a more responsible attitude towards security. A virus email like the “Love Bug” or “Melissa” couldn't happen, because no Linux mail programs would automatically execute scripts attached to mail messages (which is pretty foolish from a security perspective). Windows 2000/XP is more secure, but let's face it, your granny could hack into a Windows 98/ME setup. Remove the threat – remove the offending OS! 2. Linux is free to use There's no better incentive in the capitalist world than saving some cash. Linux is, apart from the cost incurred acquiring it, basically free. You don't have to pay any money to anyone to use it, or even just try it. Have you ever asked Microsoft to provide you with a copy of Windows to try, just in case you migth like it? 3. Webmin How would you like to control the configuration of your machine, or indeed any machine on your network, via friendly and easy to use web interface? How would you like to be able to configure your web server remotely, or even install software on a remote machine without leaving your comfy chair? Dump Windows and switch to Linux then, where you too can experience the joys of Webmin. Webmin is a web driven administration system which allows you to configure all sorts of things on your Linux box. Although is was designed as a systems administration tool, it's so good that it's worth installing even on a single desktop machine. In spite of the fact that there are many “different” versions of Linux, Webmin manages to account for most of them, and plenty of other Unix-type operating systems too. Check it out at www.webmin.com/webmin. Oh, and don't forget, it won't work for Windows. 4. The Internet Think the Internet would have been a success if it was owned and ran by Microsoft? Think that web servers like APACHE and Roxen would be able to keep up to date with the rapidly changing web world if they weren't part of the open source environment? Linux if the fastest growing OS in the world, primarily because of the Internet, and the unique characteristics it offers to people wishing to exploit Internet technology. 5. Linux is free – in the unchained sort of way Linux isn't being developed with the intention of dominating the world, making obscene pots of money, or as part of any corporate strategy. It's being developed by and for the people who can use it in an open manner, without any hidden agendas. 6. Speed Whilst various benchmark tests have failed to prove anything when standard Linux and Windows 2000 setups went head to head (typically, both sides claimed victory) on a variety of server tasks and operations, there is no doubt that for most local work, Linux boxes are much more efficient, and therefore faster. The key to this as another great advantage of Linux – customization. You can easily strip down your Linux system to the bare essentials for a speed boost. You don't have to use X Window for a start, or maybe you could cut out all the stuff you don't use from the kernel. Windows may have more, dubious “features”, but in effect, most of these just slow you down, and you have no option to remove them. Cusatomization of a Windows setup is possible, but only to a rather superficial degree compared to the things you can do with Linux. 7. Linux is open source Open source really means that the code is open, i.e, not only can you have the software, but you can have the source code that the application or program was created from. This is tremendously useful because you can obviously see exactly what the software is doing, and even change it to better suit your needs. Even if you know nothing about programming, you at least have the option of paying someone else to make the changes for you. This may not make much sense for an individual, but it does make perfect sense to groups of people, corporations and governments – you don't have to go back to the original creators and be held to ransom just because you want a certain feature included in the software. 8. Peer review Do you know what goes on behind closed doors at Microsoft? If you remember back a few years, Netscape had a run in with Microsoft, when they claimed that is was unfair that Microsoft were bundling Internet Explorer with Windows. Microsoft countered that Internet Explorer was an integral part of the OS, and the rest of Windows wouldn't function without it. Whatever the merits on eigther side of the argument, it was rather difficult for both sides to convince anyone – because the code was secret. There couldn't have been an argument if the code was open source, and therefore open to peer review. Peer review is a good thing. It means that software gets developed faster, and better, and you know where you are with it. Who knows what undocumented features migth be lurking in future versions of Windows? If you are running software, surely it's best to know what it's doing. You migth not be able to understand the code yourself, but someone will, and you can bet that any unscrupulousness will soon be pointed out. Do you really trust a software corporation to have your best interests at heart? 9. Development tools The last time you got a computer with it's own development tools was probably an 8-bit micro with a bizarre version of BASIC hardwired into the ROM. But let's focus on that. What did that mean for the people that owned such machines? For a start it gave them the ability (and necessity) to create their own software, that would do what they wanted. Software, moreover, that was homogenous and could easily be used and run by someone else with the same type of computer (assuming they could get the damn tape drive to work!) Not only that, but software you may have acquired from listings in magazines, or from other users who had created their own software was in a form you could readily change (if you had the ability and inclination) using the same tools. Apart from the kernel, one of the things that makes Linux what it is has to be gcc, the Gnu compiler which is at the heart of development for the platform. It may be more complex to develop under Linux, but the principle is the same as with your 8-bit, and gcc – and a load of other tools like automake and autoconf, not to mention the libraries – provide the framework which makes it possible. Hurrah for gcc! 10. Updates The interesting thing about software companies who have a huge global market is that their products have to have a shell of life. Rather like the instructional story of the everlasting ligthbulb, once you have sold one to everybody, you'll go out of business. Commersial software companies are in pretty much the same boat. There is no point in selling something that will work adequately forever (though this is admittedly tricky with software). So they make sure that you need to buy a new version every couple of years. This isn't just true of operating systems, it's the way pretty much all software works, and soon you discover that because everyone else is working version 103 of product X, you have to have it too if you want to be able to share documents. It's very costly – often beyond the limits of small businesses – to keep up. The Linux kernel, and most of it's supporting bits are also updated regularly, but the updates are free – you can download them from web sites all around the world. There is no commersial imperative for releases to be ready for certain dates, or to make previous releases totally redundant. The updates are done to take advantage of new code and technology, and to fix problems with previous versions, but that's all. 11. Community led Want to have a say in the software that you use? Want to actually be able to contribute and make a difference? Want to make suggestions or comments and actually be listened to? Linux is a very community oriented operating system. It exists because people want to use it, and the people who want to use it also decide what it should be. The only consideration made regarding features to be included in most Linux software and the kernel itself is “do people want this?” The debate about features and possible improvements to software is a public one in the Linux world, it doesn't depend on marketing strategies or profit. 12. Low overheads Ever tried running Windows 98 (Or newer) on a 486 with 8MB of memory? Well, don't bother. However, you can run Linux on such a system (though X Window migth be unbearable). What difference does this make? Well, for a start it makes things like SmoothWall viable – would you really want to spend money on some decent hardware for a Windows-based firewall system (which by the way, would cost you a fair bit of cash for the latest software too), or would you rather recycle an old box? This has greater ramifications further afield. As you may have noticed, this low overhead makes computers more accessible to the less well-off. 13. Customizable Not only do you have the freedom to choose which software you want to run, but you can customize software to better suit your needs. By this we mean bouth at the level where you take a peek through the source code and make your own tweaks, and also at the user level, where you just configure the software to do what you want it to. But surely, you cry, any software on any platform allows you to do that. Yes, that's true, but we think you'll find that Linux software is generally more flexible, just because it has been developed in an open source environment. Freedom of choice is a central tenet of the open source philosophy. 14. Level playing field Because Linux is open source, and most of the tools for developing software under Linux are as well, anyone who has the ability and puts in the effort can develop software for Linux. There are no proprietary secrets hidden away in the kernel, there to be exploited only by few – as the Linux kernel itself is open source. 15. New technology Except in fields where free development is intentionally stifled by the actions of business (no names), Linux is actually well up there at the forefront of technology. Set-top boxes anyone? Security? Encryption? This is made possible only by the free exchange of ideas and technology within the open source environment. A lot of stuff might be “bleeding edge”, but it's being done. 16. Linux format Heheheeheh. Well, of course, if you ditch Windows in favour of Linux, you'll be able to delight in the magazine that is Linux format. And look on their website for news and advice, beside other alternatives like linux.org and the norwegian Linuxguiden.no. Hurrah! :-) 17. Accessible for all As briefly touched on before, Windows is a closed system. It's a club where only paying members are allowed. If you don't have the entrance fee (in terms of money and hardware) you aren't allowed. Linux on the other hand is much more accessible. It was conceived, after all, to give people the power of a UNIX-like operating system but without the steep requirements. Cunningly, it's open source nature makes it more accessible. Take a country like India for example, where there are no shortage of languages (18 official ones and many local ones). Windows doesn't serve the market for minority languages – there is no financial reason to. The development costs of locallizing Windows for these languages would never be recovered in sales, particularly in less well-off areas of the world. Worse, these people have no way of creating localized versions with closed tools. With Linux, they can do the work themselves if nobody else is going to do it for them (and in fact they do). 18. Freedom of choice It's nice to be able to choose isn't it? Free from commercial imperatives, people are free to develop and use whatever software they like. Does this mean that development is stifled, or that there is no competition? Take a look at software roundups – there's normally so many bits of software to cover that they include only the most recent or widely used offerings. Take FTP clients for example. There are somewhere in the region of 60 active ftp clients for Linux. Sure, there are plenty on the Windows platform too (around 90 including all the shareware applications), but with Linux you can try all the open source software, use it properly and decide what you want to use. This extends to virtually every area of the operating system. Do you prefer Vi or emacs? It even extends to the desktop itself – GNOME or KDE? Not to mention the host of Window managers. Despite attempts (LiteStep etc), the Windows environment is just not as, well, open? 19. Interoperability That's a good word, we like it. Linux plays nicely with other people, and it plays nicely with other systems too. Take the simplest things. Floppy disks for example. Have you ever tried reading a Mac floppy disk in a PC, or, let's say, an Amiga formatted Zip disk. For the first place, you can buy software to do the job for you, in the second case you are likely to be a bit stuffed. Neigther of these is a problem on Linux, nor is it a problem to use media from dozens of other platforms, like QNX. This extends far wider. We have Linux boxes set up in a company which has historically used Mac and Novell networks. Our Linux boxes have no trouble at all connecting ut to this environment, thanks to the support Linux has for working with other operating systems. In fact it's support is so good that our servers throughout the company are slowly being converted to Linux. (Says Future Publishing) Linux will always play nicely, because it is in the interests of the people who use it, and they are the people who decide what happens with the OS. 20. Stability How many times have you known Windows to crash on you, just as you are doing something important? Then you have to reboot, and it has the cheek to tell you off, and go through the rigmarole of checking your disks. How much work have you lost to such unpleasantness? How many times have things got screwed up so badly that you just have to bite the bullet, wipe your drive and re-install Windows? Why do you put up with this? One of the reasons Linus is so popular on webservers and other systems which require minimum downtime, is that it is very stable indeed. Even if individual applications crash (because dodgy software can run on any platform), they very rarely freeze the whole system. If one application does go dolally (Netscape usually), it just disappears without a fuss, dumping some debugging information. Then you can make a save of all your work, and carry on. Linux machines just stay up forever. Well, almost. We continually run machines here for weeks and weeks without ever shutting them down. Some servers have been up for years. 21. User Friendly Not that we are into self-promotion, but Linux users are helpful and friendly, especially when it comes to helping people out of nasty problems. If you don't believe us, take a look at the Linux Format web forum, where ordinary Linux users help out other ordinary Linux users every day. www.linuxformat.co.uk 22. Uptime Related to the stability issue is the notion of wanting to be running all the time. There are obviously some areas of computing where this is pretty much essential, but it's always nice to not have to keep restarting your machine. About the only occasion we can think of for vecessarily shutting down your Linux system is if you need to reboot into a new kernel. Why on earth would you want to shut down your computer, restart it and waste five minutes of your life just because you have installed a new piece of software? Get real! 23. Support your local Penguin So, you might think, why just run a dual boot system and use Windows for some things, and Linux for others. Well, it's a free world, that's the whole point. But by severing your ties with the closed source world – though it may be harder at first – you will actually be providing more impetus to the open source movement and the future of Linux and other alternatives. Save the money you would splash out on the next version of Windows, or some other piece of bloatware and invest in some books so you can learn more about Linux. Spend less time waiting shile you reboot into different operating systems, and more time making suggestions to open source developers, or helping out with documentation, or even writing your own code. 24. Linux Documentation project Have you ever heard of the Windows Documentation project – a non-commersial organization whose sole purpose is to provide help and information to people trying to solve problems, or learn how to use Windows? No, I didn't think so. There is however, just such an organization dedicated to the betterment of the average Linux user's lot. The Linux Documentation Project (www.linuxdoc.org) is the repository for the famous HowTo guides, as well as many other useful sources of documentation. And if you have managed to solve a particular difficulty, or can update one of the current FAQs of HowTos. Your contribution will always be welcome. The final word There are certainly a good number of reasons for some people to continue using windows, we're not going to argue with that. Some people seem to think that because it costs money, and they have bought it, that it is somewhat better. Some people think they will get better support, or that Windows is easier to use. Well, freedom of choice is what it's all about. The “ease of use” card is certainly a major factor, but mostly people only think Windows is easy to use because that's what they have been using. There are plenty of things about Windows that don't make sense, as any Mac user who has been forced to migrate to Windows will tell you. Linux is far from perfect, but it is a revolutionary step in the right direction (in our opinion anyway). |
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© Copyright 2003 by Master -PC |
