My take on Linux vs Windows

People, who know me, know that I'm a big supporter of Linux. And the only reason I'm writing this blog is to take all of it out of my system. So, let's start.

What is an Operating System? In a layman's language, it is a software that that acts as the middle layer between the users and the hardware. What it means is that all the processing is done in 0s and 1s inside the hardware but the user doesn't know that. An OS makes it easier for the user by providing him with commands, in the case of CUI, and graphical interface, in case of GUI. The OS takes it upon itself to instruct the hardware in accordance to the input given by the user.

The following is a quote by Linus Torvalds himself : "The thing about an operating system is that you're never ever supposed to see it. Because nobody really uses an operating system; people use programs on their computer. And the only mission in life of an operating system is to help those programs run."

Whenever I suggest someone, who's into computers, to start using a Linux distribution, they tell me,"I don't know how to use one" or "It's very complex" or "It's only for programmers, na." I've said that myself 5 years ago. I had seen my cousin using Redhat Linux and I was blown away by the overall look of the OS. I thought that I was seeing some outer space alien technology. So, I wanted to learn how to use a Linux distribution. I called him up from college and asked him, "How do I start learning Linux?" He told me to install one of the distributions  on my Laptop and start using it and that I'll know what to do. He was right! It wasn't hard at all. But I did format my D: and E: drives trying to install Linux Mint for the first time. God bless RECUVA!!!!

My cousin had suggested me to install Linux Mint because it's cinnamon desktop environment, which is the default environment of Mint, is very similar to windows. I used it for quite some time but got bored due to it's window-ish looks. By then I had realized that different Linux distributions had different graphical interfaces. I don't know how, but I came across Gnome 3 and I was awe struck. I wanted Gnome on my laptop more than anything. Back then I didn't know I could install multiple environments on the same OS. So I set out to find a distribution that offered Gnome as their default DE( I'm tired of writing desktop environment again and again. I'm gonna use "DE" from now on ). There was always Redhat but it used Gnome 2, which I dislike, but it does give your OS a classic look. During my search for the most flashy Linux distribution, I stumbled on Fedora. OMG!!!

These are just some of the the DEs available out there :

MATE

KDE

Cinnamon

Unity

My favorite  - Gnome 3

Fedora was the best looking OS I had ever seen. I didn't have  the concept of DE back then, so according to me Fedora looked soooo sexy and Mint looked like windows. So I installed Fedora 17 on my laptop( without formatting any of my other drives ). It's the best OS there is. My laptop always booted into Fedora because I wanted do to everything on Linux. I was learning something new about Gnome and Linux everyday. One of the first thing that I learned about Gnome was how to change the splash screen. It was a pretty big deal for me. But I hadn't realized the true power of a Linux distribution yet.

Over the course of 4 years, I have seen PCs and laptops going down due to viruses. Wait! Maybe I should rephrase that. I've seen Microsoft Windows ( XP and 7 ) going down with viruses. This would never happen to any Linux distribution. Think about it, what are viruses? They are programs( generally a Batch file, i.e., .bat files ) that are copied to your computer with or without your consent. When they are triggered, they perform some actions that cause you trouble. They may even delete your system files and your PC( windows ) may never boot again. This isn't possible with Linux for 4 main reasons :

1. Nothing gets copied to to your file system without your consent.
2. Even if you copy a malicious shell script, no shell script that alters programs system wide can run without you providing the superuser / root password.
3. A virus written for a Debian based system cannot affect a RPM based system and vice versa.
4. Linux is still used by lesser people. A virus is targeted for mass destruction and since Linux isn't used by a bigger audience, no programmer would spend time developing a virus for a particular Linux distribution.

Basically, Linux is virus free. 

Let me share another story. A friend of mine had bought a scanner / printer. One day I needed to scan some document, so I asked him for his scanner. He gave me the scanner with a DVD and told me that it's the driver. I was supposed to install it on windows and then use the manufacturer's software to scan my documents. You know what I did? I returned him his driver DVD, booted into Fedora, plugged in the scanner, waited for Fedora to install the device driver itself( which hardly took 3 minutes ), launched "Simple Scan", scanned my document and returned him his scanner. NO DRIVERS WERE NEEDED!!!

The reason I didn't need the driver was that the OS already had the the driver with it, obviously. But how did it get there? It was one of the advantage I received for using an Open Source OS. The community that uses these Open Source software is the same community that contributes to the development of the software. Let's say, some guy once needed a driver for a HP printer. He found out that there was no driver for Linux. So he programmed one for himself and started using his device. What he also did was that he uploaded the driver code online. Therefore, contributing the the Open Source community. This is how Open Source software prosper and flourish. Some of the most frequently used Open Source software are Mozilla Firefox, Libre Office, VLC, etc.

Another thing that amazes me is the freedom you get with the OS. You can literally alter the OS, inside out, from looks to functionality. You can personalize your OS, make it your own. This is another advantage of Open Source. This is so not true with windows. Windows forces their interface and functionality on it's user. But Linux gives you freedom.

Choosing between different different Linux distributions is a whole different topic. I wouldn't be getting into it today. But this this statistic is one of the other reasons I chose to stick with Fedora even after Gnome took a wrong turn at Fedora 19 :

There is only one reason I keep windows on dual boot today. And that is gaming. I do admit that there are some windows applications that don't have an Linux equivalent. But all of those can be launched in Linux using a windows emulator such as Wine. But this does not apply to games. No longer do we live in a world where Wolf 3D is awesome. It's a classic but, today, games with more realistic graphics  have come up. Games like Batman Arkham Series and Assassin's Creed Series require full hardware and software support. A windows emulator will never do.

As far as security is concerned, there was a time you could log into a windows PC just by clicking the "Cancel" button on the login window. It's true. I have windows 8.1 on dual boot with Fedora 20 and I haven't bought  windows. How do I have it, you ask? Well, the same way you have it installed as well. It's a pirated copy. One of the biggest company in the world can't protect it's most priced possession from being pirated!! Linux is free. As simple as that. Download it. Use it. No cost whatsoever( apart from a few distributions ). None of the other Open Source software cost a dime.

When i update my Linux, all my software get updated too. Fedora 17 had Firefox 17/18 installed. Now I'm using Firefox 30 to write this blog. I'm using all the latest software there is. One of the good things about Fedora is that it uses cutting edge technology and is not scared to use newly launched software. That's why every new version of Fedora has the latest Gnome installed with it. From Fedora 17 - 20, I've seen 4 Gnome versions.

Yes, I wrote so much about Linux and didn't mention Ubuntu once. I promised myself I wouldn't do it. Why I don't like Ubuntu is another matter for discussion for some other day.

Since, we've all been using windows ever since we were kids, we find windows as the "NORMAL" and "MOST USER FRIENDLY" OS. But it's only the wiring in our heads that tell us that anything other than windows is tough to use. Think again!!

Saw these. Had to share them :