Comparisons between the Microsoft Windows and Linux computer operating systems is a common topic of discussion among their users. Currently Windows is by far the most popular proprietary personal computer operating system, while Linux is the most prominent free software operating system (note that some proprietary components, such as compiled, binary only drivers provided by hardware manufacturers, are included in many Linux distributions). Both operating systems not only compete for user base in the personal computer market but are also rivals in the server and embedded systems markets.
For comparison purposes, it is important to keep in mind there are three "families" of Windows that use different codebases, default file systems and designs.
- Windows 3.x on DOS. The Windows 3.x family includes Win95, Win98 and WinME. Although Win3.11/WFWG3.11 did have 32bit networking and Win32s 32bit disk access etc, the major notable change with Win95 was from Program Manager to Explorer, not 16 vs 32bits. Originally 286, but later versions 386 and higher only. DOS and 16 bit Windows Apps run natively on all versions. Win3.x embedded version is used typically for POS terminals.
- The NT Family started with NT 3.1 in 1993. Based on MS OS/2(1989)and many techniques in VMS. DOS and 16bit Windows apps run a Virtual Machine. With NT4.0 in 1996 the shell changed from Program Manager to Explorer. CPU support includes Win2000 (NT5.0), XP (NT5.1), Server2003 (NT5.2), Server2008 (NT6.1), Vista (NT6.0) and Windows7 (NT6.2). Originally PowerPC, MIPS, DEC Alpha (inc. 64bit in 1997), Itanium, 386, 486, x64. Does not Support ARM CPU. There also exists an embedded product (XPembedded).
- The Windows CE family includes Phone Edition and Mobile Edition. Current Windows CE base is version 6.0 R3 which runs on ARM, X86, SH, and derivatives of those architectures. It is a true Real Time Operating System (RTOS) but a .Net framework, UI framework, various off the shelf drivers and services...etc are also included.
Linux is available for x86 (386 and higher only), x64, MIPS, PowerPC, ARM and other CPUs. It found applications widely in routers, setboxes, PDAs and recently in mobile phones as well as servers and desktops.
In the interest of fairness, it makes most sense to compare only "expertly" installed servers or Corporate Workstation Rollouts of XP /Windows7/Server2003/Server2008 and Current Linux Distros such as Suse, Redhat, Fedora, CentOS, Debian and Ubuntu.
"Out of the Box" comparison is acceptable for Netbooks as this is the only significant retail "pre-installed" sector for Linux. Many Windows "issues" don't exist if the same expertise level of a typical Linux System Admin is used at the install and configuration stages.
Microsoft Windows dominates in the desktop and personal computer markets with about 90% of the desktop market share, and in 2007, accounted for about 66% of all servers sold (while not necessarily used). In server revenue market share (Fourth quarter, 2007) Microsoft Windows had 36.3% and Linux had 12.7%. As of June 2009, Linux powered 88.6% of the world's most powerful supercomputers, compared to Windows' 1.0%. In December 2008, Linux powered five of the ten most reliable internet hosting companies, compared to Windows' one.
Linux and Microsoft Windows differ in philosophy, cost, ease of use, versatility and stability, with each seeking to improve in their perceived weaker areas. Comparisons of the two operating systems tend to reflect their origins, historic user bases and distribution models. Typical perceived weaknesses regularly cited have often included the poor “out-of-box” usability of the Linux desktop for the mass-market, while Microsoft Windows' main drawback is susceptibility to viruses and malware.
Proponents of free software argue that the key strength of Linux is the degree of freedom allowed to the users: the freedom to run it , to study and change it, and to redistribute copies with or without changes.
Total cost of ownership
See also: Studies related to MicrosoftIn 2004, Microsoft launched a marketing campaign, "Get the Facts", to encourage users to switch from Linux to its Windows Server System. Microsoft claims that its products have an overall lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than open source programs because of their ease of use, resulting in less work and lower staff wages.
Microsoft's figures are disputed by a variety of organizations, notably Novell and The Register . Novell does produce a Linux distribution (SUSE Enterprise Linux), so one can argue that there may be as much bias on its part as with Microsoft's claim. It can be argued that although a Linux administrator usually has a somewhat higher salary than a Microsoft Windows's one, a competent Linux administrator can take care of more computers than the latter. A study conducted by Chad Robinson, senior research analyst at tech/business researcher Robert Frances Group (RFG), supports this view.
In 2004, The UK's Advertising Standards Authority warned Microsoft that an advertisement using research that claimed “Linux was 10 times more expensive than Windows Server 2003”, was “misleading”, as the hardware chosen for the Linux server was needlessly expensive.
Real world experience
The German foreign ministry said that the cost of open source desktop maintenance is by far the lowest it experienced. The French Gendarmerie reported saving millions on license fees by switching to Linux desktops from Windows XP, following the success of OpenOffice.org roll-outs.
Market share
The market share of Linux or Microsoft Windows is difficult to determine as users of the former is usually not required to register their copies; additionally, a large number of unlicensed copies of Windows exist. The above desktop usage share data is estimated from web browser user agent strings, rather than actual sales information or detailed surveys. This is highly unreliable for many reasons including, but not limited to, web browsers that do not always provide accurate information to web servers, and selection bias: Different websites attract different audiences that may be more prone to using one OS or another. Also, desktop computers used for other tasks will be given a lower weight than computers mostly used for web-surfing. Microsoft's own numbers for Linux share are higher. More estimates of the market shares are available at Usage share of desktop operating systems. According to a survey by the Eclipse Foundation (an open-source foundation) in 2009, Linux was the most popular deployment choice for developers. There is a shift from Microsoft Windows to Linux and Apple's Mac OS X for their desktop development operating system. 26.9% of the respondents cited Linux as their primary desktop operating system, representing a 7% increase from 2007. Though Windows was still the dominant development OS at 64%, it had decreased 10% from 2007. The most popular Linux variant of choice for development use was Ubuntu, which accounted for over half of Linux respondents. Mac OS X had increased to 6.9% from 3.5% in 2007.
User interface
Installation
Linux distributions were said to be difficult for the average user to install. However, easy-to-use installers were becoming common on the major distributions already by the beginning of the twenty-first century. The main Linux distributions include graphical package managers which assist the user in searching for packages and installing them graphically (e.g., Adept Package Manager, Synaptic Package Manager). When package managers are used the user saves time as there is no need of surfing to web pages, downloading the appropriate packages, and installing them as the downloading, installing, resolving of dependencies, and conflict resolution are handled by the package manager.
Today, most distributions have simplified the installation and offer a “Live CD” system allowing users to boot fully functional Linux systems directly from a CD or DVD with the option of installing them on the hard drive. This enables a user to evaluate a distribution for either software or hardware compatibility with no permanent modification to their computer.
The Windows install process and most general-use Linux distributions use a wizard to guide users through the install process. Windows often comes pre-installed while a Linux distribution has to be chosen and installed, but one can argue that the installation of Linux nowadays is no more difficult than configuration of a pre-installed Windows.
Accessibility and usability
A study released in 2003 by Relevantive AG indicates that “The usability of Linux as a desktop system was judged to be nearly equal to that of Windows XP”.
Stability
For an operating system to be subjectively “stable”, numerous components must operate synchronously. Not all of these components are under the control of OS vendor; while Linux and Windows kernels may be stable, poorly written applications and drivers can hamstring both. Much of stability, then, is the extent to which the operating system is structured to thwart the consequences of bad behavior of third party installations.
Much of the reputation Windows has for instability can be traced to Windows 95, 98, and ME, which were notorious for displaying the blue screen of death (BSOD) upon crashing. Three weaknesses with these particular Windows versions increased the likelihood such a crash would occur:
- Full 16-bit compatibility. When memory management of the DOS subsys
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