13 reasons to dump MS Windows and use GNU/Linux

[beachbum]

A good opinion piece by technology marketing consultant Kim Brebach.

1. Cost -- Linux is free, and that includes all the apps. Microsoft is greedy. Vista Home Premium and Ultimate cost hundreds of dollars, even when upgrading from Windows XP. Moving up to Office 2007 involves handing over another bundle of dollars.

2. Resources -- Even the most lavishly equipped Linux distros demand no more resources than Windows XP. Vista is greedy: a single-user PC operating system that needs 2GB of RAM to run at acceptable speed, and 15GB of hard disk space, is grossly obese.

3. Performance -- Linux worked faster on my Dell Inspiron Core Duo than XP, at least the way XP worked out of the box. After cleaning out the bloatware and trading McAfee's Abrams Tank for the lightweight NOD32, XP and Linux (with Guarddog and Clam-AV) perform at similar speed.

4. No bloatware -- Linux is free from adware, trialware, shovelware, and bloatware. Running Linux is like watching the public TV network.

5. Security -- Last year, 48,000 new virus signatures were documented for Windows, compared to 40 for Linux. Still, most distros come with firewalls and antivirus (AV) software. Programs like Guarddog and Clam-AV are free, of course.

6. Dual booting -- The best Linux distros make dual booting a simple affair, along with the required disk partitioning (so you don't need to buy partitioning software). Windows on my Dell laptop is still intact after installing and uninstalling a dozen distros.

7. Installation -- Anyone who's done it once knows that installing Windows from scratch takes hours or even days by the time you get all your apps up and running. With Linux, it can take as little as half an hour to install the operating system, utilities, and a full set of applications. No registration or activation is required, no paperwork, and no excruciating pack drill.

8. Reinstalling the OS -- You can't just download an updated version of Windows. You have to use the CD that came with your PC and download all the patches Microsoft has issued since the CD was made. With Linux, you simply download the latest version of your distro (no questions asked) and, assuming your data files live in a separate disk partition, there's no need to reinstall them. You only need to re-install the extra programs you added to the ones that came with the distro.

9. Keeping track of software -- Like most Windows users, I have a shelf full of software CDs and keep a little book with serial numbers under my bed in case I have to reinstall the lot. With Linux, there are no serial numbers or passwords to lose or worry about. Not a single one.

10. Updating software -- Linux updates all the software on your system whenever updates are available online, including all applications programs. Microsoft does that for Windows software but you have to update each program you've added from other sources. That's about 60 on each of my PCs. More icing on the Linux cake is that it doesn't ask you to reboot after updates. XP nags you every ten minutes until you curse and reboot your machine. If you choose "custom install" to select only the updates you want, XP hounds you like a mangy neighborhood dog until you give in.

11. More security -- These days, operating systems are less vulnerable than the applications that run on them. Therefore a vital aspect of PC security is keeping your apps up-to-date with the latest security patches. That's hard manual labor in Windows, but with Linux it's automatic.

12. No need to defrag disks -- Linux uses different file systems that don't need defragging. NTFS was going to be replaced in Vista, but Microsoft's new file system didn't make the final cut. Instead, Vista does scheduled disk defragging by default, but the defrag utility is a sad affair.

13. A wealth of built-in utilities -- The utilities supplied with Windows are pretty ordinary on the whole, that's why so many small software firms have made a nice living writing better ones. Linux programs are comparable with the best Windows freeware, from CD burners to photo managers, memory monitors and disk utilities. PDF conversion is built-in, both into OpenOffice Writer and into the DTP application Scribus. All you do is click a button on the task bar.

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a good read:

"Free Software, Free Society" by Richard M. Stallman

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

This should have posted in the "Lounge" - next to the 9/11 hoax...

[andsome]

JUST ONE good reason NOT to dump Windows in favour of Linux. I AM PERFECTLY HAPPY WITH WINDOWS, & DON'T WANT LINUX. Why do SOME people who no longer use Windows or IE or OE seem to be on a crusade, and think that somehow they are a superior race? The O.S. and browser used is purely a personal choice.

[Alan2273]

I agree with some of the point made, but if Windows does everything you want and you are used to it, why change.

Linux is as good as if not better in some respects than Windows, but it is a matter of personal choice.

And untill Linux OS's make it as easy to install programs as Windows it will never replace it.

[andsome]

I agree with some of the point made, but if Windows does everything you want and you are used to it, why change.

Linux is as good as if not better in some respects than Windows, but it is a matter of personal choice.

And untill Linux OS's make it as easy to install programs as Windows it will never replace it.

Well said from a Linux user. :D

[catgate]

I think Windows is wonderful, and andsome and others are to be thanked most profusely for sticking to it. The day M$ abandon Windows the virus breeders (or bleeders) will have to work harder to try to infect much safer operating systems. As it is at present they are content with Widows as their main easy target.

[beachbum]

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

Fact of the matter is: If you were given a blank slate, there is no way you would ever choose a memory-hungry, malware prone, over-priced operating system (MS Windows) over an efficient, uninfectable, zero-price operating system (GNU/Linux).

But we aren't given a blank slate. MS Windows comes pre-installed on 95 percent of computers and 95 percent of the people who receive such computers never even think about how to use it. Their willful ignorance leads them to send emails with attachments in Word Document format (a secret file format), which puts pressure on every member of society to buy Microsoft's line of proprietary software products and it discourages society from adopting Free and Open Standards.

Yes, OpenOffice can read MS Office files these days, but that's because Free and Open Source software developers spent years cracking Microsoft's secret file formats. Microsoft didn't help them. Instead Microsoft made matters worse. It recently developed a new set of file formats that no one else can implement (even though it is supposedly an "open standard").

So why do GNU/Linux users seem to be on a crusade to convert MS Windows users? To get you to stop beating us over the head with the proprietary Windows way of doing things!

[andsome]

If you dislike Windows so much, then either build your own computer, or buy from a small local builder who will install only the software that you personally want, or will supply a bare bones machine with nothing on it, and stop treating those of us who are happy with Windows as though we are morons. We can make up our own minds thank you without being insulted. I am computer savvy enough to install an alternative O.S. if I want, and so are many others on this WINDOWS FORUM. I AM DEFINITELY NOT WILFULLY IGNORANT, and neither are the other Windows users on here. Horses drinking don't even come into the equation.

[rong]

Handbag coming out

[beachbum]

I AM DEFINITELY NOT WILFULLY IGNORANT, and neither are the other Windows users on here.

Are you one of the 5 percent of Windows users who are not willfully ignorant?

Or do you attach Word Documents to your emails too?

Tell the truth.

[andsome]

Now you are getting even more insulting. I suggest that you find a Linux forum, or stop insulting the majority of people on this WINDOWS FORUM. There are several Linux users on this forum, but they don't insult those who prefer an different O.S., any more that I would visit a Linux forum and insult the people on there.

Here you are.

[Alan2273]

beachbum, as I said Linux in many respects is better than Windows but insulting Window users is not the way to convert them.

The majority on this forum have only used Windows operating systems and are quite happy with that fact.

There are still programs in Linux that have to be installed with the command line, although that is improving all the time.

I dual boot Linux & XP, but I only use XP for gaming, yes I know Linux has games but trying to get some of the latest Windows games to run in Wine is a nightmare.

Yes Windows is expensive and Linux is free, if you want it that way, but I prefer to give some money to help in the development of open software.

I am not having a go at you beachbum, I am just giving my opinion.

[beachbum]

Now you are getting even more insulting. I suggest that you find a Linux forum, or stop insulting the majority of people on this WINDOWS FORUM. There are several Linux users on this forum, but they don't insult those who prefer an different O.S., any more that I would visit a Linux forum and insult the people on there.

Here you are.

So you do send Word Documents. I thought so.

[beachbum]

Yes Windows is expensive and Linux is free, if you want it that way, but I prefer to give some money to help in the development of open software.

No. Windows is proprietary and GNU/Linux is free. Think of "free" as in "free speech," not "free beer."

That having been said. I probably have angered a few people a bit more than I should have. I'll leave you in peace.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Sorry for coming late to the 2nd part of this discussion...

Yes, I do attach Word documents to my emails.

And Excel sheets!

And PowerPoint presentations.

After all, I am not using computers to play games; we do business here. We use business software, and this is what Microsoft delivers. Should I use free software just because it's free, but cannot fulfill my business needs?

Who cares about bloatware when Hitachi has just announced its 1st terabyte disk? Memory? It's so cheap that it's almost free, and there are no limits with x64 systems.

I have used many operating systems in my career - VSE, MVS (z/OS), VAX/VMS, Unix, OS/2 - but Windows is the most user-friendly and easy-to-use system of them all. Buggy? Of course - every software developed by humans has bugs.

[andsome]

Yes Windows is expensive and Linux is free, if you want it that way, but I prefer to give some money to help in the development of open software.

No. Windows is proprietary and GNU/Linux is free. Think of "free" as in "free speech," not "free beer."

That having been said. I probably have angered a few people a bit more than I should have. I'll leave you in peace.

My VERY last word on this thread. GOODBYE.

[Mike567]

How ever much I preech Linux I do still like XP a lot, yeah its buggy but its good if you don't know anything about computers.

Even Linus' family runs windows XP and that is living proof that Linux is not ready for general use yet.

I use XP due to its program support, I can run Photoshop CS3 and my Office applications, I could use openoffice but its just not good enough for what I use it for.

Linux is good to run servers at the moment and if your experienced its brilliant for a laptop, but general desktop use XP is here and will be here untill Linux has better application support, and is easier to use for inexperienced people.

[Scarthy © ® ™]

I myself will be giving Linux a try at the next reformat ! Just as soon as "I get my head around it" and decide on a Linux format? The thought inspires me slightly and excites me in the same way that XP did when I got my new PC 5 years ago. M$'s days are numbered in our house ! FREE is the way for me...It makes perfect sense ! :rolleyes:

[TinyTim]

Sorry for coming late to the 2nd part of this discussion...

Yes, I do attach Word documents to my emails.

And Excel sheets!

And PowerPoint presentations.

After all, I am not using computers to play games; we do business here. We use business software, and this is what Microsoft delivers. Should I use free software just because it's free, but cannot fulfill my business needs?

Who cares about bloatware when Hitachi has just announced its 1st terabyte disk? Memory? It's so cheap that it's almost free, and there are no limits with x64 systems.

I have used many operating systems in my career - VSE, MVS (z/OS), VAX/VMS, Unix, OS/2 - but Windows is the most user-friendly and easy-to-use system of them all. Buggy? Of course - every software developed by humans has bugs.

With no disrespect, but to even compare or use Unix, OS/2 or Novell in the same sentence as Windows cannot be tollerated ;-)

I develop Primergy Server Systems for Fujitsu Siemens and we use 90% Microsoft Operating Systems, and they are without a doubt neither the most user friendly, nor the most secure, stable or even fastest Server Operating Systems. Server 2003 and even worse 2008 is slow, inefficent, based on a registry with so many dependencies that it disqualifies itself as a good OS. Our development servers run on Unix and we have a uptime of 8 years! Our "data" server where we host the documents uses Server 2003 and we have to fix the permissions and reboot it almost every week. And YES, we do buisiness ;-) Lots of it, but if we did not have to use Windows, Exel or Word we would get a lot more done.

For me, the only reason why Windows is so popular is because we HAVE to sell it, we have to ship our systems with it in order to keep floating. It comes preinstalled in a massive amount of systems and there is already a massive amount of people using it. It does have the upsite of beeing the most suported OS in the world.

The only credit i can give Windows is that its instability and lack of security is not solely the fault of MS. Microsoft has to support the ENTIRE PC platform, from the worst to the best hardware. It is expected to be compatible with everything and that is not easy. It takes us 6 month to go through the Software, driver certification and its a pain in the butt because of all the dependencies it has. And thats for a sigle system!

If you want a extremely stable, fast OS for Prof. use then buy OS X. If you like playing Games and enjoy defragmenting and fixing your computer then by all means use Windows. Linux is still far away from beeing an alternative for the masses. The command shell is difficult, GNOME or KDE are still having problems getting the fonts right and its mostly based on scripts. Driver support is also rare. But if you have enough knowledge, and i mean real knowledge, and you understand the processes, the Kernel and its memory and mounting system then its incredibly powerfull and reliable.

As for myself, my occupation is as a Systemtest Eng. I basically have to qualify and make sure, with my buddies at work, that the OS, drivers, raid cards, fiberchannel adapters etc.. work under windows and linux and our new Servers. And beeing exposed to all new MS software all day long, i cant get home soon enough to work on OS X.

Please dont take this as a bashing, i know this is a windows forum. But the post had an interesting topic. :-)

[Tankus]

Handbag coming out

......" spurts beer """"

and this horse doesnt need to led to drink

[Dencandy]

Well this stirred up the dust, didn't it? I'm a Windows XP user and don't even know what Linux is! Windows XP does the job adequately now, though it didn't for the first few years. Which brings me to my main grouse: I get the impression that when Microsoft release a new system, initially they only release the bare bones. Then over the following months/years they slowly release the flesh and muscles, bit by bit. This ensures we have to keep going back to them for updates & they can update all their usage statistic. Also, I'm sure that they do release some genuine new patches as well.

Now that Vista is out, XP is more or less complete, and it does run much smoother now than it used to.

If this conspiracy theory is true, the lesson is - always use the last but one version of Microsoft's OS! (As far as I can tell from what others have said, Vista is all window-dressing & eye-candy anyway.) What do others think?

Dencandy (Mr Virtuality)

[andsome]

Well this stirred up the dust, didn't it? I'm a Windows XP user and don't even know what Linux is! Windows XP does the job adequately now, though it didn't for the first few years. Which brings me to my main grouse: I get the impression that when Microsoft release a new system, initially they only release the bare bones. Then over the following months/years they slowly release the flesh and muscles, bit by bit. This ensures we have to keep going back to them for updates & they can update all their usage statistic. Also, I'm sure that they do release some genuine new patches as well.

Now that Vista is out, XP is more or less complete, and it does run much smoother now than it used to.

If this conspiracy theory is true, the lesson is - always use the last but one version of Microsoft's OS! (As far as I can tell from what others have said, Vista is all window-dressing & eye-candy anyway.) What do others think?

Dencandy (Mr Virtuality)

I don't think that most on here have tried it, or have any intention of trying it until they get a new computer. :D

It looks very much as the person who insulted the intelligence of the Windows users on here has gone for good.

[Mike567]

I dont like Vista it is a load of crap.

I want to see a good service pack come out for it.

Microsoft want you to keep coming back so they can stop the pirate copys of XP which is like 33% or something stupid like that,

I really hate that now they autoup date your system, they should not have any right to do that I don't trust them at all I don't allow any Microsoft app to go out or come in.

[Seshomaru Samma]

....

troll