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Linux is an example of Open Source software development and Free Operating System (OS).
Windows is the family of operating system (OS) from Microsoft, which is the most famous OS in the world.
Development and Distribution:
Linux is developed by Open Source development i.e. through sharing and collaboration of code and features through forums etc and it is distributed by various vendors such as Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, GentuX etc.
Windows is developed and distributed by Microsoft.
Inception:
It is based on UNIX and eventually after adding many features of GUI, Drivers etc, Linus Torvalds developed the framework of the OS that became LINUX in 1992. The LINUX kernel was released on 17th September, 1991
Windows first released in 1985.
Market share for Desktop PC:
The market share of Linux is about 0.8%
As on 2007, 92.63% of PC users from all over the world run Windows OS
GUI:
Linux typically provides two GUIs, KDE and Gnome. But Linux GUI is optional.
The Windows GUI is an integral component of the OS and it is mainly influenced by Apple Macintosh OS.
Text mode interface:
Linux users refer to it as Shell and it can support multiple command interpreters.
Windows use DOS prompt and each version of Windows has a single command interpreter
Threat detection and solution:
In case of Linux, threat detection and solution is very fast, as Linux is mainly community driven and whenever any Linux user post s any kind of threat, several developers start working on it from different parts of the world
After detecting a major threat in Windows OS, Microsoft generally releases a patch that can fix the problem and it can take more than 2/3 months.
Cost:
Linux can be freely distributed, downloaded freely, distributed through magazines, Books etc. There are priced versions for Linux also, but they are normally cheaper than Windows.
For desktop or home use, Windows is expensive. A single copy can cost around $100 to $ 450 depending on the version of Windows.
Security:
Linux has had about 60-100 viruses listed till date
According to Dr. Nic Peeling and Dr Julian Satchell's “Analysis of the Impact of Open Source Software” there have been more than 60,000 viruses in Windows
User:
Linux, like all Unix variants, is designed to handle multiple concurrent users.
Windows is designed to be used by one person at a time. Databases running under Windows allow concurrent access by multiple users, but the Operating System itself is designed to deal with a single human being at a time.
Compatibility:
Can coexist on local networks with Macs. Can open some Mac files.
Price:
Lower than the price for Macs.
Software:
Windows Operating System. Is illegal to run the Mac operating system on a PC.
Virus attacks:
PC's are more popular so programmers target PC's to infect with viruses. Are easier to create viruses for.
Popular Applications:
Internet Explorer, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Media Player.
Processors:
Have always used Intel microprocessors.
Manufacturer:
Microsoft created the Windows operating system, but allows other computer manufactures to distribute their computers with Windows pre-installed.
Both Windows and Linux are Operating systems with their own advantages and differ in functionalities and user friendliness.
Windows first released as a part of Disk operating System(DOS) in the year of 1985. At that time Apple’sMacintosh was a very popular OS, as it introduced GUI to the world. So to increase the popularity of DOS, Bill Gates’s Microsoft bundled Windows 1 with the DOS at that time. But until Windows 3 which was released in 1990, achieve the success in the GUI based OS market. And with the release of Windows 95, in 1995, Microsoft became a household name in the OS market. From that time on, each Personal Computer comes with Windows OS as the preinstalled OS. The biggest achievement for Windows OS is that it is very user friendly, easy to understand, and it has the versatility to run with almost every different kind of Personal Computers. Linux is based on the Multiuser OS UNIX, and it can be distributed freely. It is the brainchild of Mr, Linus Torvalds. Typically all underlying source code can be freely modified and used. Linux Kernel was first released for public use in 1991. The biggest achievement for Linux is that it is a multiuser OS and the Security and stability is very good than Windows.
According to the market research data of September 2007, on 92.63% of the world’s PCs, Windows is running, while only 0.8% PC users use Linux. The Home users, Multimedia enthusiasts mainly used Windows, where as for serious use, server application, Corporation servers are running on Linux. Irrespective of the GUI, many users find it is very difficult to use Linux as compared to Windows and so the appeal of Linux is very limited to common people. Also for licensing agreement with Microsoft, various PC vendors are entitled to bundle Windows OS with their PC. And for this Windows gain the initial market popularity over Linux. Though these days many PC vendor such as DELL, HP started to give Linux as the preinstalled OS to cut the cost of their PC system. According to latest IDC report, Windows Server market is gaining popularity over Linux based Server. The annual rate at which Linux is growing in the x86 server space has fallen from around 53 percent in 2003 (45 percent globally), when Windows Server growth was in the mid-20 percent range, to a negative 4 percent growth (less than 10 percent globally) in calendar year 2006, IDC Quarterly Server Tracker figures show. Over the same time period, Windows has continued to report positive annual growth, outpacing the total growth rate in the x 86 markets by more than 4 percent in 2006, indicating that Linux has actually lost market share to Windows Server over this time. Linux servers now represent 12.7 percent of the overall server market while Windows server comprised 38.8 percent of all server revenue in Q1 of 2007(http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS5369154346.html). The main reason is that, while Linux Servers are looking for high performance computing and web serving, but Windows is apparently adopted on a much broader basis.
Security and stability issues are the problems that every Windows user has faced. As Windows is the most widely used OS, so hackers, spammers target Windows frequently. Consumer versions of Windows were originally designed for ease-of-use on a single-user PC without a network connection and did not have security features built in from the outset. Microsoft releases security patches through its Windows Update service approximately once a month although critical updates are made available at shorter intervals when necessary. Many a times also users of Windows OS faced the “BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH”, in which the program stop responding, and eventually the user has to restart the PC manually. This is very frustrating to the user as by this they may be loss valuable data. On the other hand Linux is very stable and more secured than Windows. As Linux is community driven, developed through people collaboration and monitored constantly by the developers from every corner of the earth, any new problem raised can be solved within few hours and the necessary patch can be ready at the same time. Also Linux is based on the UNIX architecture which is a multi user OS, so it is much more stable than Single user OS Windows.
[edit] Multimedia, Gaming and Productivity applications
Both Linux and Windows OS are very rich in multimedia applications, though setting up sound and video options in older versions of Linux can be difficult for some users. The main advantage of Linux is that most of the multimedia applications are freely available, while in the case of Windows, users have to pay a hefty amount to get the software. Moreover, if anyone buys a copy of Windows on a CD-ROM, he/she gets no application software with it. But if the same person buys a copy of Linux on a CD-ROM, it typically comes with lots of free application software, such as: Open Office, a complete free Office suite including Spreadsheets, Presentation etc. A new computer with Windows pre-installed may have additional application software but that is totally up to the PC vendor. But, each Linux distribution comes in multiple flavors; the more expensive versions come with more application software.
A major attraction of Windows is the library of games available for purchase. A majority of games support Windows and are released first for the Windows platform. Some of these games can be run on Linux with a compatibility layer like Wine. Others, and especially more modern games that rely on proprietary delivery systems, copy protection, Windows dependencies, or advanced acceleration features, may fail in Linux environment. Though there are exceptions, such as id Software's Doom and Quake series and Blizzard's World of Warcraft. When a developer chooses to write graphics code in OpenGL instead of DirectX, Linux ports become much easier.
Linux runs on many different hardware platforms, not so with Windows. For example, Windows NT used to run on MIPS CPUs until Microsoft changed their mind. It also used to run on Alpha CPUs, again, until Microsoft changed their mind. But Linux runs on a very wide range of computers, from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high. The supported range of computers is all but stunning. Because of its ability to run without a GUI, and thus needing less hardware horsepower than Windows, Linux can run on very old personal computers such as 486 based machines also. Windows must be installed to and boot from a primary partition of the hard disk. Linux is better in this regard as it can be installed to and boot from either a primary partition or a logical partition. Logical partitions reside inside a special type of primary partition called an extended partition. Also the device drivers are easily available with Linux environment, as it is an open source OS. But for Windows, many devices require different versions of drivers to run properly. Linux can support different hardware architectures (such as i386, x86-64, PowerPC 32/64, SPARC, DEC Alpha, and many PDAs and embedded systems). But, Windows target platform is smaller in number. The backward compatibility for Windows is exceptionally well, but for Linux, it varies significantly.
Windows is much more costly in organizational implementation purpose. As Windows is a single user OS, so for each PC, the organization needs to purchase a license copy of Windows. For example, if an organization has 50 employees, then to implement Windows based solution it has to purchase the solution as a business version of Windows, for a few thousand US dollars, where as for the implementation of Linux based solutions the organization only needs to buy one licence copy, which they can get for $ 80 to $ 100. And as it can be freely distributed, the same copy can be used in all the 50 employees’ workstation.
linux is so much cooler than windows (so what happens when you drop a window?? come on guess :: give up here's the answer ; it shatters) i run my computer with linux vixta9.03 it's like windows vista but alot better and faster( so what's the glass made of thats in a window? this is very simple but ill give you the answer it's sand) so if you want a dirty o/s windows is for you
