I Like Linux but Loved Windows
I used to use Microsoft Windows for past 10 years and was quite addicted to it but recently due to job requirement i have switch to Linux operating system and was quite impressed with the Linux on the ease of development and use. But still there are few things which make Microsoft Windows go ahead of Linux.
Speed Of Operation:
I don’t know the exact problem but softwares in Linux takes lot of time to start as compared to windows.
New Hardware Installation:
In windows if we connect any new hardware Microsoft Windows automatically detects it tries to install it automatically but on Linux the user does not know whether the hardware has been installed or not.
Games:
There are very few games on Linux especially on 3D graphics platform and if you are an computer game fan than you will have to miss that on Linux.
Boot Up Time:
Linux takes lot of time to boot as compared to windows.
Recover Data:
It is said that never keep your important data in
Graphic Designing:
Apart from GIMP there are no other graphics tools available on Linux for Graphic Designing. Also the UI for GIMP is not user friendly as compared to Adobe Photoshop, but in Microsoft Windows you have variety of tools available like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver etc.
Mobile Phone Development Tool:
All major mobile platform like Symbian, J2ME provides Emulators and SDK for Microsoft Windows, though J2ME emulator are available for Linux but they are not advanced to support all features. Symbian still does not support Linux.
Operating System Enhancement:
Microsoft provides set of user friendly API that allow us to develop applications that can be embedded inside Operating System and their are tons of examples available on Internet. But in case of Linux there few examples available that allow us to develop software for Linux.
High Level Programming Language:
With majority of programming language gives full support to windows operating system. Microsoft .Net still does not support Linux and if the user wants to develop application in .Net programmer have to use windows.
Driver and Plug in Installation:
All hardware driver and plug in installation in windows are straightforward setup but in case of Linux the user has to do lot of goggling to get the result.
Game Programming:
As said before all major graphic designer uses windows, Windows also leads in game development as it gives full support for 3D Graphics development through DirectX.
Editors:
There are lot of editor available in windows but for Linux there are very few except from BlueFish.
CPU and Memory Usage:
Have seen lot of increase in CPU and memory usage when using Linux as compared to windows.
Email Client:
Outlook Express is far much superior in terms of UI and operation than Mozilla Thunderbird on Linux.
Though there are drawbacks but there are advantages as well when compared with Windows.
- Console window in Linux is much advanced than the command prompt used in Windows. There is no provision for Tab Interface in Command prompt as well. The bad thing of command prompt is the size of the windows which does not fits the whole screen with taskbar showing.
- Linux does not require Antivirus/Spyware and Adware Software installed so you need not to be worried about the spyware or virus attacks.
There are lot more feature that takes Linux ahead of Windows but still from amateur user point of view Linux is not the best Operating System to work on.
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I would have to disagree with you on most of those items.
I’m a windows user and I play around with linux as a hobby.
Most of the programs I use in windows are opensource and actually started out in linux, so your complaint of a lack of good programs is ridiculous.
for graphics, try inkscape, its open source vector graphics program. Its far easier to use than illustrator. And for GIMP, try GIMPshop. GIMP wrapped in a photoshop interface.
And saying that most graphic designers use windows is false. I would say more use mac than windows.
Honestly, Your post is ridiculous. All of your “facts” are wrong.
In my experience, Linux is almost always faster than windows.
Really, I would say you’re an idiot if you think all of these things about Linux. You haven’t tried at all if you’re having the problems you say you are.
Learn to be a big boy and use the google. Seriously. I’d have to say, yes, I do like Windows more than Linux. But, the reasons you gave are nothing short of garbage.
Most of the stuff you’re writing here show just how uninformed you are. It looks like you didn’t even used google to search for alternatives, really.
Hi Will,
First thing i like to make clear that with this article i am not saying that i hate linux but the intension is the bring out the difficulty faced in linux as compared to windows. As you have said that most of the windows product you have used is Open Source but this is not the case will other users who are using Windows with opensource and commercial product. If you say that lack of good programs are ridiculous so i ask you an question that:
Can you give me product similar to Adobe Dreamweaver on Linux?
Can you give me product similar to Adobe Flash on Linux?
I agree with you that graphic designers uses mac more than windows but this article for specific to Linux and Windows and does not cover mac.
I think you are going in wrong direction you can use linux as a hobby does not mean all the users will be using this as hobby you don’t see from first time user migrating to linux or users not comfortable with linux.
As far as operation are concerned you tell me why the time taken to open an Notepad/EditPlus on Windows ia hardly millisecond where as opening GEdit on Linux take few seconds, on linux in taskbar comes Starting Text Editor.
Other thing that i would like to know that why booting and shutting down in linux takes lot of time in Linux and not in Windows?
I think you go and search google for all the question. Just search for Alternative to Dreamweaver or Flash and are they easy to install.
I am using Fedora and it has already crashed twice in 3 – 4 months this means that still linux has to go long way in terms of stability.
Also don’t try to compare UNIX and LINUX, UNIX is more stable and secure than LINUX also.
Hitesh Agarwal
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
Quote “but still from amateur user point of view Linux is not the best Operating System to work on”
Yes i agree, amateurs are very lazy and cant be bothered using google to enhance their knowledge.
I love windows, cannot wait for Windows 7, they’ve definately started listening to the people. But I also use linux and would like to make a few points.
GEdit takes longer to load than notepad because GEdit is a more powerful tool. It supports highlighting for code in a massive variety of languages and more such features to help programmers whereas notepad has…copy paste and cut.
shutting down takes longer than windows because windows cuts corners to unmount the hard-drives. windows does not clear the temp directories, it corrupts it so its garbaged next time windows loads (which is why XP lags so much on boot) linux spends that extra few seconds to make sure as soon as the desktop appears on boot that the OS is ready to go.
this is the cost windows pays for shutting down quickly…. honestly i’d rather have a quick startup.
As far as CPU usage goes, as it is fedora you are using I assume you went for the “Full” installation which includes webservers, printservers, database environments etc which all run in the background. This will put some strain on an older PC. Find out what you will use the computer for, install the basic installation then add what you need.
As for Adobe Dreamweaver and Adobe Flash, these run perfectly under wine 1.1.21, cs4 compatability is nearly complete in 1.1.24 but Linux users at the moment are stuck with 8 or cs3. I consider you never considered this?
.NET compatability for linux exists….. I write in C# on Fedora. Please google.
As far as 3d games are concerned, any game that does not require directX10 can be ran on linux. I play EVE, Counterstrike source, World of Warcraft, Quake, Command and Conquer Red Alert 3, Devil May Cry 4 and even Crysis. Directx is I admit a hassle to setup in linux but you can force opengl and that sorts out any problems. These games run fine on Fedora 10, wine 1.1.21, ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics card.
You say you are using Fedora? That is my favourite distribution but please tell me you did not start with it. Redhat in my experience has a steeper learning curve than debian distributions and inital setup can be daunting.
Also are you using KDE? If you are and have a “ships with windows 2000″ spec computer then you will notice some slow-down. Gnome is much smoother I have found, I’d prefer KDE but they haven’t got it quite right yet….
If all else fails use XFCE, if that lags I will eat my motherboard with gravy.
You are so new to Linux. Everything you mention is not exact. You can look for real benchmark the two OS and Linux is ahead. Think of this, Supercomputers are 99% Linux based(for example weather modeling in the National Weather Center) . Animation 3D Pixar studios and other are using Linux. The point is that the learning curve is not easy. You can be very productive in Windows very soon (1-2 months). It will take a little longer in Linux. ( May be because you are not to use Linux in you College, But I know 21 yrs old working for Big companies. He used Linux since he was a kid).
Please be patient you will never look back.
I totally agree with you. You have highlighted some really good points.