Which is better Windows or Linux: strengths and weaknesses of operating systems. Which is better, Windows or Linux for home use and in general? Which operating system is better, Linux or Windows?

Briefly about the main thing: Are you wondering why and how Linux is better than Windows? Do not be surprised. Linux is better than Windows and in this article, I will describe the advantages of Linux over Windows.
If you are not an advanced user, it may seem that "Windows" is a better choice (or easier) compared to Linux. In any case, if you didn't like working in Linux, then Windows is obviously better for you.

However, in reality, having experience working in different operating systems, we can compare them and draw our own conclusions in which Linux is better than Windows.

1. Open Source - Open source code

What it is? Imagine buying a car, but you can't see what's under the hood? The same is true when you are using a Windows system.

However, unlike Windows, Linux is completely open source. You can view the Linux source code, which is a huge plus.

I know most users don't care at all whether a system is open source or proprietary closed source software, for me open source in Linux is the most important feature when using GNU/Linux.

2. Security

Let's face it. The Windows operating system is vulnerable to various types of attacks. Linux is not yet as vulnerable as Windows, since Linux has not yet achieved such a level of popularity that every second person uses Linux as their main platform. Of course, it cannot be said with certainty that Linux is completely the ideal that is not susceptible to viruses, but in comparison with Windows, it is much safer.

This is exactly the case, Linux is designed in such a way that makes it a secure operating system. In general, the package management process, working with repositories, and many other features allow for greater functionality, which makes Linux more secure than Windows.

After installing Windows OS, you need to download/purchase antivirus software to keep your computer safe from hackers and malware. However, Linux does not require the use of antivirus software. Of course, there are software tools, such as firewalls, that will help your system be protected from threats, but to a greater extent this is not necessary if you only use your computer for work, games, watching movies and surfing the Internet.

3. You can work on computers with old hardware

As operating systems evolve, their hardware requirements increase exponentially. For example, if you purchase a licensed copy of Windows 10, you will have to update your equipment to at least the minimum requirements that this OS requires in order to run the system successfully, and so that all applications run as expected and do not slow down, at least 4 GB of RAM, otherwise there will be horror, not work.

However, with Linux, you can use even your oldest computer with old hardware and the system will perform all the necessary tasks. This doesn't mean that every Linux distribution will run with 256MB of RAM combined with an older processor. You have a choice and you can choose from many options, you can install a system with minimal requirements for operation on such hardware, for example Puppy Linux.

As a result, if you compare the efficiency of Windows and Linux, Linux will win in any case, since here you will find a distribution for your equipment, be it an old computer or a new one, you can choose a distribution in which you can work with minimal loads. Unlike the Windows operating system, which has higher hardware requirements without giving you a choice or considering whether your hardware is old or new.

In general, even if you compare Linux and Windows, in Linux you have a choice, unlike Windows where you are only forced to install the system and use it on an ongoing basis. Those who have tried Linux at least once already have experience working both on one side of the barricade and on the other and can compare where it is better and what is better and why you need to buy licensed software there, but not there, and also the choice is huge, take it or take another Install what you like. Why do you think most of the servers around the world prefer to run on Linux, here is the answer to the question of which OS is better.

4. Ideal for programmers

Linux supports almost all major programming languages ​​(Python, C/C++, Java, Perl, Ruby, etc.). In addition, it offers a wide range of applications used for programming.

The Linux terminal is superior to the command line. You can find many libraries developed originally for Linux. In addition, many programmers note that the package manager in Linux helps them install most applications easily and simply.

Interestingly, BASH scripting capabilities are also one of the most compelling reasons why programmers prefer to use Linux OS. Linux has built-in support for SSH, which will help you manage your servers easily.

5. Software update

Microsoft offers software updates only when they have a large number of bugs or other problems and only then release major updates, in other words, Windows is in no hurry to release updates every day if it only needs to fix one security bug or something else unlike Linux. On the other hand, it was sometimes possible to see software updates to solve minor problems.

In Linux, you will notice more updates, which mostly offer to fix discovered bugs or install security updates or simply update your applications to a newer version, all of which you may encounter. Not only will you see a large number of software updates, you will also see much faster updates and without the need to restart your computer, unlike Windiws.

6. Linux fine tuning and styling

One of the main advantages of using Linux compared to Windows is fine-tuning the system to suit your needs. If you don't like the look of your system, in Linux you have the ability to customize everything perfectly to suit your needs.

In addition to installing themes, there are a lot of beautiful icon themes available to you. In addition to this, you can use Conky to display system information on your desktop in a convenient place for you by placing the appropriate widget for this. This is just a small part of what you can do with your desktop.

7. Variety of Linux distributions

On Linux, you will find hundreds of distributions, each with a specific focus on performing specific tasks. So, you can install any of the available Linux distributions as per your requirements.

For example, there are Linux distributions for hackers that have a huge set of software that is pre-installed and you don’t have to search for everything separately on the network, there are Linux distributions for programmers, there are distributions for very old computers, and there are also Linux distributions for games. There is also Linux for everyone, it all depends on you and what choice you make, which is not the case in Windows.

8. Free to use

Linux is completely free to use! However, this is not the case with Windows!

You don't have to pay $100-250 to get your hands on a genuine copy of a Linux distribution (eg Ubuntu, Fedora). Everything is completely free.

If you use the system completely free, that’s good; in our case, we will save a certain amount of funds that we can use in a more useful direction, for example, we can consider upgrading your computer’s hardware.

9. Support. A better community that will always help out

You don't need to hire an expert to solve your problems if you are facing problems using Linux. You just need to look for a solution on the Internet if there is no solution on the Internet, although this happens extremely rarely since thousands of users have already asked the question to which you are looking for an answer. If you still don’t find the answer, you can ask the community on the forums where users who have already encountered this problem will help you and you will definitely find a solution and you won’t have to pay for it.

If you have questions, you can ask in these communities:

• and many others of which there are many.

10. Reliability / Stability

Windows, as we already know, is becoming more and more unusable day by day, if the system is not taken care of and the garbage is not cleaned regularly, after a few months you will definitely need to reinstall the system.

If you use Linux, you don't have to worry about re-installing to make the system work faster, you just need at least a little care cleaning the cache after installing applications, cleaning up garbage after installing applications, there is ready-made free software for all this, although anything is possible execute using the terminal by executing a certain set of commands, everything is very simple and your system will work stably on an ongoing basis. Yes, even if you work on Linux, you need to monitor the updates that you install, do not rush to constantly update the kernel, if the system is stable, there is no need to update to a newer version of the kernel, it’s another matter if these are security updates, this is of course necessary install. From personal experience, the stage we have passed, very frequent kernel updates will not lead to good things, since somewhere you will definitely encounter a flaw or some other bug.

Let's go back to Windows again, using this operating system, you will have to develop the habit of constantly rebooting the system, both with and without reason.

• If you just installed the software, reboot!
• If you recently uninstalled the software, reboot!
• If you just installed Windows updates, Yes, reboot again!
• If the system is running slow, reboot again!

However, in the case of Linux, you do not have to restart your computer for the situations that are mentioned above. You can continue your work comfortably, and Linux will not bother you as persistently as Windows.

Another fact that proves the reliability of Linux is web servers. You may have noticed that most Internet giants such as Google and Facebook run on Linux. All supercomputers run Linux.

So, why is Linux preferable over Windows? Linux is because it is much more reliable than Windows OS.

11. Privacy

You've probably already heard that Microsoft collects data received from each user, often this happens precisely when updating the system, you don't even suspect it, but Microsoft will already know everything you did on the network and what sites you visited, who you communicated with on social media. -networks or what we talked about with the girl on Skype. Many have heard about Windows 10 and how much dirt has been poured on it, how it collects data, what it collects, etc., etc.

If you've ever used Windows 10, you might have seen that in the privacy settings, everything is turned on by default. Even if you refuse to send information about your data, Microsoft will continue to collect your data and send it to Microsoft servers. Using Windows, you cannot be calm when using this operating system because at every stage it uses spyware modules that cannot be disabled.

In contrast, Linux will be an ideal solution and confidential information will not be leaked anywhere, you don’t need to worry about that. First, distributions do not collect your data. In addition, you will not need additional tools to protect your privacy, or rather, installing an antivirus; as a last resort, you can install the Gufw firewall, which will allow you to protect yourself from possible network threats, although you will have to work hard to suffer from anything in Linux or break something yourself, which is what happens in most cases.

Do you also think Linux is better than Windows?

After reading the material, you learned about all the advantages of using Linux compared to Windows, what do you think about this?

If you're still on the fence about switching to Linux and continue to use Windows as your primary operating system, what's stopping you from switching to Linux? If you have already made your choice and are already using Linux, what is the advantage for you in comparison with other OSs that you have used before?

Windows and Linux are the most popular operating systems on the world market. The debate about which one is better has not subsided since the advent of the systems. There are many adherents, as well as opponents, for each of them. Of course, both Linux and Windows have their advantages and disadvantages, which some users are willing to put up with and others are not. In this article we will try to once again pit these two giants against each other and finally find out which is better: Windows or Linux. Go!

Any platform has its advantages and disadvantages

Let's start with Linux. In general, this OS is less popular than Windows; working with it, as a rule, raises more questions among users. It is worth noting that Linux is more likely aimed at professionals, rather than at ordinary users. It is those people who want to get the widest possible possibilities when working with a computer who become the most ardent fans of this system. Now let's look at each of the advantages of Linux in turn.

The main and significant advantage is free distributions, the choice of which is quite extensive. Linux serves as the basis on which developers “hang” a graphical interface for the convenience of users. All distributions are official and completely free, which means that you have the opportunity to get at your disposal a proven and reliable OS, which is a licensed product. In this regard, Windows has nothing to brag about. The most popular distributions can be called: Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Mandriva - this list goes on and on. Choose what you like best.

Free software

As you already understand, Linux is a real find for those who want to use a high-quality, licensed product for free. The choice of programs is quite extensive, but you still won’t be able to use the most popular tools for free.

Variability

Linux is a very flexible system that allows you to do literally anything with it. This makes this operating system an excellent choice for programmers. Computer professionals can do whatever they want in Linux, creating a wide variety of software to solve a wide variety of problems.

Design

Although the beauty of Linux does not lie in the graphical interface, one cannot help but note the stylish and modern design of some distributions, which many will like.

Performance

Linux OS is absolutely not demanding on hardware and works excellently even on the weakest machines. Experiment with distributions and find the one that gives you the best features with maximum performance.

Now about the disadvantages. Linux, for all its functionality, cannot be called an entertainment system. This OS is definitely not suitable for fans of computer games. In addition, you will have problems using popular software products, and instead you will have to use their analogues, which few people are delighted with. To summarize all of the above, we can say that the Linux OS is really good for computer professionals, for whom it gives advanced work capabilities, and for those who need a free, licensed operating system and software products. At the same time, Linux can hardly be called a really good choice for home use.

It's time to talk about the mastodon and almost absolute leader of the operating systems market - Windows. This product from Microsoft is used on the vast majority of devices around the world. There is probably not a person in the world who has not encountered this OS. Some people like it, some don’t, but everyone has worked with it. Now let’s move on to analyzing all the advantages of Windows and try to reveal the reason for such success of this product.

Prevalence

The popularity of Windows has led to the appearance of a huge number of manuals and articles with answers to all questions related to working in the system or correcting errors in it. Although this OS is paid, there are not so many users of licensed versions. It is pirated versions of Windows that are installed on almost every computer in the CIS countries due to their availability.

Simplicity

A huge advantage of this OS is that it is convenient for both simple users and advanced users. Windows provides the ability to work in command line mode, make changes in the registry, and so on, but for those who do not need all this and who do not understand it, this OS offers a clear and pleasant graphical interface, which is not difficult to understand.

Games

Where would we be without this? Quite a lot of users regularly or occasionally play computer games. The undoubted advantage of Windows is that almost all existing PC games are compatible with it. This means that if you have a Microsoft product installed, you have access to a huge selection of computer entertainment.

Software

The vast majority of utilities and applications are created specifically for the Windows OS, which is very good for any user. All the most popular software products are implemented on Windows, and this gives you very wide possibilities when working with your computer.

Compatibility

Unlike Linux, you are unlikely to find any device that does not have Windows drivers. By choosing a product from Microsoft, you can say that you eliminate all problems with device compatibility, since all manufacturers primarily focus on creating products that are compatible with Windows.

Design

Recently, the OS from Microsoft can boast of these. The design of the latest versions is very distinctive and original. The huge tiles of version 8 were not to the taste of many, but the developers’ decision to combine new and old designs in version 10 of the system satisfied many users. Windows 10 very organically intertwines the classic features embedded in old versions with the most modern and newfangled developments.

Microsoft Office

Anyone who has worked in Libre Office on Linux understands that they have not come up with a better text editor than Word. This utility is truly indispensable in our time, and compared to it, Libre Office looks like one complete misunderstanding, working with which brings nothing but torment.

As for the disadvantages, the main disadvantage of Windows is that this OS costs money. This problem is especially relevant for the CIS countries. All users constantly download pirated versions that are not verified and reliable, and this, in turn, greatly damages the reputation of the Windows OS and the Microsoft developer company. Another drawback, which to some extent can be associated with the first, is frequent system crashes. Perhaps every Windows user is familiar with the “blue screen” or, as it is also called, the “screen of death”. Whatever one may say, the reliability and stability of this system leaves much to be desired. In conclusion, we can say that the strength of Windows is that it is a system for everyone. Everyone will find something of their own in it, regardless of their own skills or assigned tasks. We can say that this is what makes this product so popular all over the world.

As you can see, it is not possible to make a clear choice in favor of any of the systems discussed in the article. All that can be advised to you is to try to work with both one and the other, and then decide what is best for you. After all, everyone has their own ideas about good design, functionality, performance and other aspects in which comparisons can be made. With all the advantages and disadvantages of each operating system, it is impossible to give an objective verdict, since in the end it all comes down to elementary “taste”. This article is designed to give you the necessary food for thought, and it’s up to you to decide which is better: Windows or Linux.

Leave your review of the article and write in the comments your opinion about which of the reviewed operating systems you consider the best and why.

It is enough to understand once what a blue screen of death or bsod is, as you like. A blue screen is the inability to read a file. Moreover, it is completely impossible due to the absence of this file or due to the lack of a path to it. Now I’ll explain it easier. A file may be missing for two reasons. First. Damage to the hard drive, which is only possible on an old computer. Second. Driver mismatch. For example. A hard drive with a wide cable or harness, the so-called IDE interface, on which we install a new operating system that does not have such drivers. In this case, you need to take care and download the drivers separately and have them during installation. Another option. On a sata hard drive, or a new hard drive, we install an old operating system, for example windows xp, Zver, and so on. These operating systems do not contain sat drivers. The result is a screen of death. There are no other options and cannot be. If the drivers fully match, everything will be fine if you don’t deliberately mock the computer and don’t pull the plug from the socket to please your crazy. In this case, you will ruin your hard drive within a few starts and then you will receive a death screen due to an unreadable hard drive. It is better not to repair faulty clusters or places in the hard drive and not even waste time. The Winchester is a very complex device that requires respect and care. Take care of your computer. Don’t try to experiment, otherwise you’ll end up with so much pain and financial costs that it’s easier to buy a new computer.

Author)))) What would you know. Linux is ideal for wild beginners and home use. At least because it does not allow you to delete your system folders in the usual way for Windows. Secondly, the same Mint Mate is very similar in the arrangement of buttons and program menus to Windows. Thirdly, what is missing from Linux for beginners? Specialized programs - that’s how they should be written. Fourthly, does Linux have poor technical support? I beg you)))) On the forums they will chew it out in a way that is not taught to pensioners in computer courses. And they won’t laugh.

You must first work in LeebreOffiese to properly evaluate this program.
I graduated from LeebreOffiese Institute, made charts and wrote my diploma there. 4.5 years of practice.

All markers have different tastes and colors.
Or someone can say with 100% confidence that the sea is still better than a lake, and the ocean is better than a river.
Who is trying to prove what to whom? Unless you convince yourself once again...

In the modern variety of technology, it is very easy for a user to get lost. There are often cases when it is very difficult to choose one from two approximately identical devices or systems, and even more difficult to justify your choice. To help the user understand, we decided to highlight the question of which is better: Windows or Linux.

Which is better Windows or Linux

It is quite difficult to answer this question unambiguously. The Windows operating system is familiar to most users. It is the rejection of the familiar system that can prevent you from evaluating and understanding an alternative operating system - Linux.

Linux is a worthy alternative to Windows, but there are also some negative aspects

To answer this question as objectively as possible, we will apply a number of relevant criteria to the comparison. The overall analysis of both operating systems should be presented in the table below.

Table: comparison of Windows and Linux OS

Criterion	Windows	Linux
Price	Significant cost of purchasing a licensed version of the software.	Free installation, service fee.
Interface and design	Familiar design and interface, modified over many years.	The open developer community drives many innovations in design and interface.
Settings	The latest versions of Windows are characterized by users as “heavily customizable”.	The settings are concentrated in one place - “System Settings”.
Updates	Irregular, varying duration of system updates.	Fast daily automatic updates.
Installing programs	You need to search for the installation file yourself.	There is an application directory.
Safety	Vulnerable to viruses, can collect user data.	Provides privacy.
Performance and Stability	Not always stable, provides limited performance.	Stable fast operating speed.
Compatibility	Provides compatibility with 97% of all released games.	Doesn't work well with games.
Which users are suitable?	Created primarily for ordinary users, including those who are fond of games.	For ordinary users and programmers.

See also the advantages and disadvantages of Google Chrome and Yandex Browser:.

Thus, the presented analysis demonstrates the superiority of Linux in most respects. At the same time, Windows has an advantage in some very user-sensitive applications. It should also be noted that it will be more convenient for programmers to work on Linux.

Readers of Home PC have repeatedly contacted the editors with a request to write more about alternative operating systems. Many people were interested in the question: “Is there life without Windows?” In order to test how suitable Linux is for home use, I tried working at home on a computer with this OS for a month.

For field testing, we took a Samsung R40 laptop and the Ubuntu distribution version 6.10 (later updated to 7.04). The R40 was chosen for its consumer qualities - it is an affordable and popular model in Ukraine. I also wanted to test the common myth that Linux runs worse on laptops than on desktop systems. And Ubuntu 6.10 was taken because the creators of this version of Linux declared accessibility for untrained users. It’s just works - says the advertising slogan. Well, let's see.

Installation

Installing Ubuntu is easy for any user. It's even easier than installing Windows! All you need to do is specify a partition for the new OS (on top of Windows or create another one) and select language settings. The process is quick and painless - on the R40 it took about 15 minutes.

Another important advantage of Ubuntu is a complete set of the most necessary software, available immediately after installing the system. This includes a browser, an office suite, an email client, an Internet communicator, a media player, etc. Also, I did not need any drivers, since Ubuntu immediately recognized all the devices on the Samsung R40 and independently enabled their support. The only thing that had to be changed manually was the laptop's native resolution of 1280x800, which was not supported by the driver by default. 1:0 in favor of Ubuntu.

Change version

At the time of writing this article, a new version of Ubuntu was released - 7.04 (I started the test with 6.10 six months ago). The system offered an upgrade after launch, and it was relatively slow - the installation took half an hour, however, all applications continued to function, so there was no need to interrupt the work.

However, problems could not be avoided - the sound card stopped functioning, which would have been a serious drawback if not for one nice feature of Ubuntu - when the system boots, it allows you to choose to start with previous versions of the kernel. I used this function, and with the previous kernel everything fell into place. At the same time, the remaining packages remained from version 7.04, so the transition to it was not made in vain.

Installing programs

Installing programs

Many of the programs you need when working with Linux are installed in Kubuntu (the version of Ubuntu with KDE integrated) or Ubuntu. If something is missing, you can use the application Installation and removal of programms. This utility allows you not only to remove existing software, but also to install new one. We tick the required programs in the tree directory structure, and Ubuntu downloads the content from a DVD or from the Internet (you can view the estimated volume).

However, the set of additional programs in this utility is quite small, so it is better to use another one - synaptic. Almost all the free software available for such an OS is presented here, including drivers, codecs, etc. It’s nice that the latest and most stable versions are downloaded right away.

Ubuntu also has a mechanism that tracks updates to both the operating system itself and installed programs, so you won’t have any problems with patches. Moreover, restarting the computer is required only occasionally.

Appearance

Appearance

Ubuntu doesn't look very attractive, in my opinion. The fact is that it comes with the GNOME shell, which, although famous for its functionality and speed, is, alas, not pretty. So the first thing I did was replace GNOME with KDE (although I could have just installed Kubuntu initially). I chose a beautiful theme, and Linux began to look no worse than Windows Vista. For fans of all kinds of decorations, there is a Beryl shell, which is much superior to Aero from Vista, but I did not experiment with it - after all, the laptop is not entirely suitable for such resource-intensive applications.

In general, working in Kubuntu/Ubuntu is reminiscent of working in XP - the same start menu, the ubiquitous right mouse button, Desktop with icons, support for drag’n’drop and copy/paste. I didn't need any additional time to relearn.

Safety

As in Windows, the entire service file structure in Ubuntu is hidden from the user by default. If you do not select the option Show hidden files, then only the home folder is visible (analogue My documents) and external drives - CD-ROM, DVD-ROM - and Windows partitions (if any). So an inexperienced user cannot accidentally damage the operation of the OS.

To perform important actions (installing new programs or uninstalling them, changing some global settings, accessing system files), the OS requests an administrator password. If there is only one user on the system (you), this is not a problem, but in the case of several owners, you should either assign them administrator rights, or simply not allow them to delve into Ubuntu settings. The second option is probably more correct, especially when children use PCs. And even a computer turned on with your account will be safe - no one will be able to spoil anything, because if there is a potential threat of unauthorized actions, the OS will still ask for an administrator password.

Internet

Internet

The main advantage of Linux over Windows is working with the Internet. By default, Ubuntu comes with a built-in Firefox browser (which I also use on Windows), and Thunderbird as an email client. This, firstly, gives us a normal display of all sites, and secondly, it guarantees that none of the viruses from the Internet will get onto the computer.

In general, viruses under Linux are a topic for jokes. As one joke says, “there are only five of them, two of them don’t work, and with three you need to fuss for half a day to somehow get them working.” So neither spyware, nor annoying dialers, nor Trojans, nor other Internet horror stories familiar to Windows users threaten you.

In Kubuntu, the standard browser is not Firefox, but Kon-queror - an analogue of Explorer from Windows, a universal browser that allows you not only to visit Internet sites, but also to view files on disks, navigate the local network and search for documents. It's quite convenient, but habit is second nature, so I still use Firefox for the Internet.

The system also comes with several types of Internet messengers and a Bittorent client. The check showed that everything was functioning without any problems.

Connecting to the Internet was painless both at work (where a local network was configured) and at home (Volya-cable) - I just plugged the network cable into the laptop and everything worked. Moreover, in the office, Ubuntu was able to normally connect to Windows network resources (folders and printers), as well as organize access for other users to their files. This is a particularly funny fact considering that our system administrators are still struggling with integrating Windows Vista into the work network.

For the sake of experimentation (it’s a laptop after all), I connected the R40 to my home Wi-Fi router. Although Ubuntu immediately detected the home network, it refused to connect to it - probably because this network was not yet available when the laptop was started. After the reboot, everything worked automatically without my participation (the network parameters were entered during the first attempt). I checked the connection on several more devices (Pocket PC with Windows Mobile, the same laptop, but under Windows XP, Wii console and PlayStation 3) - they all required a reboot. So the problem is most likely with the newly installed router.

Home Office

Home Office

Ubuntu has OpenOffice as the main office suite, which also turned out to be familiar to me since I use it at home. It has everything you need for editing texts, tables, databases and presentations; it both reads and writes MS Office files, so Linux is in no way inferior to Windows. However, I am typing this article in Google Docs & Spreadsheets - a very convenient service.

Standard organizers Kontact or Thunderbird quite successfully replace Microsoft Outlook, but are noticeably inferior to it in terms of synchronization capabilities with mobile devices. Theoretically, there are programs for communicating with PDAs and cell phones, but in practice I was never able to synchronize either my Dell Axim x51v or Nokia N73 directly. But everything worked out via the Internet - I used the service SheduleWorld.com. Of course, the implementation of such a function in Windows is far from ideal (this is a topic for a separate article), but it is still better than in Linux.

Multimedia

A special feature of Ubuntu is the use of only open source software. That is, not just free, but not protected by patents. Unfortunately, this means that the media players built into the OS do not play DivX, QuickTime, or MP3. However, this does not pose any problem, since when a file of this format is detected, the player asks the user if he wants to download a module to support it. They are small in size, so installation takes less than a minute. If automatic detection for some reason did not work (this happened to me with a file in the Apple QuickTime format, which the player perceived not as a video, but as an audio recording), the codec can be downloaded using the synaptic utility mentioned above.

Naturally, Ubuntu supports playing music and videos from CDs and DVDs. There is a conversion option if you don't want to bother with disks. CD/DVD recording is also available. To watch TV programs using a TV tuner, a number of utilities are offered, the most popular of which, Myth TV, is very convenient and free.

In general, support for multimedia functions in Linux turned out to be approximately at the same level as in Windows - some codecs are built-in (ogg vorbis, for example), some are downloaded additionally.

Graphic arts

Graphic arts

The GIMP editor built into Ubuntu is an order of magnitude superior to the scanty Paint from Windows. This is an almost complete budget graphics package with the necessary set of tools for all occasions. It will satisfy the needs of the home user 100%. Kubuntu has Krita, which is more similar to Adobe Photoshop and supports almost all of its popular functions: layers with various types of overlays (including adjustments), masks, filters, control of levels, curves, etc. However, vector text, unfortunately, is not works - everything written is immediately converted to a raster. However, this is not the most important function for a free photo editor.

In this regard, Windows is strong primarily due to the ability to install additional (albeit terribly expensive) software like Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately, there is no version of Photoshop for Linux. But on the other hand, there are no home PC owners who use even half the capabilities of Photoshop.

Games

Games

The weakest point of Linux. The selection of free games created or adapted for this OS is incredibly small. There are enough office “time killers” included with Ubuntu, but there are practically no full-fledged large projects here.

But this does not mean that you cannot play on Linux. I quite successfully launched both the old WarCraft III and the fresh Guild Wars: Nightfall using emulation. True, the latter worked very slowly on the laptop’s integrated video both under Windows and Linux.

There are two main Windows game emulators for Linux: the free Wine and the paid Cedega. The second, in fact, is an add-on to Wine, so there is no point in spending money on it. Wine creates a Windows-like environment in which all games run. It is easy to set up and supports quite a lot of both old and new products.

Cedega has more customization options, contains ready-made profiles for the most popular games (including Battlefield 2142, Oblivion and NFS: Carbon) and creates its own virtual Windows for each of them. This means that the libraries of one game will not affect the libraries of another (unless, of course, you yourself want to install them on the same virtual OS).

Games run under this emulation as quickly as under Windows XP on the same computer. They say on the Internet that some projects operate even faster under Linux due to the fact that there is more free memory and processing power, but I have not conducted serious research to confirm this fact. Moreover, in practice things are not as good as in theory.

Firstly, in order to play, I had to replace the Ubuntu video drivers with similar ones from the developer (in this case ATI). This is easy to do (via synaptic), but not very convenient. Secondly, if old games function perfectly, then support for new ones does not appear immediately after their release. Third, copy protection systems “hate” Linux. Modern protection mechanisms (like Starforce) install their own low-level drivers, and while there is no emulation of them in Wine/Cedega, you have to use NO-CD. But old legal games with their protection work just fine. And one more little thing - support for the Russian language (and Russian fonts) in Windows windows appeared after I specified Russian as the main language in Cedega. It sounds trivial, but until I did this, I had to install Warcraft III (and other localized games) blindly, because in the installer windows there were unreadable characters instead of Cyrillic. This, however, did not affect the game itself; everything was in perfect order.

As for consoles, most emulators available for Windows also have versions for Linux. There will be no problems launching any projects for old consoles. I tried running games on SNES (with the MESS emulator, it supports a number of other consoles) and on PSOne (PCSX) - it works. Both emulators were installed via synaptic.

Windows programs

If you really need some programs that only run on Windows, there is a way to run them on Linux. Alas, unlike games, it is not free. Codeweavers produces a series of CrossOver packages for various operating systems, including Linux. With CrossOver you can work with Photoshop, MS Office, and iTunes - about 500 items in total. But it costs money (like the Windows programs themselves): $40-70 depending on the version.

Miscellaneous iron

While working, I connected several devices to the laptop - a Bluetooth adapter, a USB mouse and keyboard, and a gamepad. All were recognized automatically, no driver installation was required.

Bottom line

The conclusion after a month with Linux is quite obvious - you can use this OS at home. Moreover, it turned out to be simpler and more convenient than I initially expected. If you are not an active gamer, but use your computer mainly for surfing the Internet, listening to music, watching movies and editing texts, then Linux (in this case we are talking about Kubuntu/Ubuntu) will suit you even better than Windows and will save a lot of money on buying expensive software. If you actively play or use some specific commercial software, then there is no point in changing Windows to Linux.

Switching to Linux

Migrating from Windows to Linux is not as difficult as it seems. Firstly, Ubuntu 7.04 has a wizard that will help you transfer documents, music, pictures, bookmarks and desktop settings to the new OS. Secondly, Ubuntu can both read and write to Windows disks (FAT, NTFS), so the necessary files can be copied later.

The situation is a little more complicated with other settings: Internet settings, network drives, printers, etc. By default, this information is not transferred, so you will either have to enter it manually or use one of the paid migration utilities (for example, Move Over, which costs $10). However, in my case, the system automatically recognized the network, so I didn’t have to configure anything additional.

Myths about Linux

There are few programs for Linux

In fact, Linux is not inferior to Windows in terms of free software. There are indeed fewer paid programs.

Linux is ugly and inconvenient

Kubuntu includes the KDE shell - it is more beautiful than Windows XP and no worse in terms of ease of use. And Beryl, which can be activated through the synaptic mentioned above, looks better than Aero from Vista.

To work on Linux, you need to know the console of this OS

Not true. I did not master a single console command while working with this operating system - there was no need.

To install new software on Linux, you need to compile it yourself

No need. Software for popular flavors of Linux comes in special packages a la Windows installation files (in Ubuntu they have the extension .deb), so you just need to click to install them. This, of course, is only necessary if you have not found the program you need through the synaptic manager built into the OS. But intermediate versions (beta) are often released in source code. Compiling them is not difficult - the process is usually described in the readme and, as a rule, consists of executing two console commands. Is this necessary? In my opinion, it is better to work with proven versions of the software.

Linux is much faster than Windows

The console version of Linux may be much faster than Windows, but using KDE, this OS takes about 30% less CPU time than Windows. At the same time, however, it uses the same 30% more physical memory, and does not take up virtual memory at all (Windows XP constantly keeps something in the swap file). So I agree that Linux is indeed faster, but not much.

Linux is not buggy

In my practice, there was a case when, after intensive play under Cedega, the operating system reported that a serious error had occurred. To her credit, she saved all my documents and open windows, and after a reboot, she returned them to their previous state (even the program windows were in their places). This was the only case of a computer emergency shutdown in a month.

Can't play on Linux

With Wine and Cedega it is possible, although not as convenient as in Windows.

The cost of operating Linux is higher than the cost of operating Windows

At an enterprise - maybe. At home - definitely not. Free Linux at home is one hundred percent cheaper than paid Windows.

25. 09.2018

Blog of Dmitry Vassiyarov.

Which is better, Windows or Linux for home use and in general?

Good day, my dear readers. Today we will talk about the main question that occupies the minds of users: which is better, Windows or Linux? In the process of understanding this dilemma, you will understand how strong your faith is in the chosen operating system, and whether it is worth your attention, money and nerves.

Yes, friends, just like that, an ordinary technical question regarding the comparison of two software products moves into the plane of worldview. Therefore, there is a conditional division into “Linux users” (or Linux users, I don’t know which is correct :)) and Windows adherents. And each category has its own user philosophy and its own arguments in defense of the choice made.

Let us take a closer look at the features of each OS and perhaps you will discover something new.

But first, let's look at the history of the confrontation.

How it all began

• The concept of a window system was proposed by Microsoft back in 1985 and has constantly evolved, going from Win 1.0 to the modern “Ten”.

This was achieved through the periodic sequential release of new systems. But each of them required large resources. At the same time, the system always remained paid, and the developer did not allow anyone to work on this project. However, he strongly supported the integration of Windows with other software and hardware.

• Linux was created in 1991, and its idea was to provide an open source system. Anyone could improve and modify this product, subject to its further free distribution.

As a result of this approach, many different distributions were suppressed. From which, in turn, new systems began to “split off,” tailored to perform standard or specialized tasks.

Based on this, we will determine which is better, Windows or Linux, considering individual criteria. Later, having assessed the importance of each of them for yourself personally, you will be able to summarize the results and get an objective assessment.

Price issue

Windows, as you know, is a licensed product and costs money (about $200!). Add to this the cost of the office suite and other useful, but paid programs. It turns out to be a pretty decent amount.

In this regard, Linux is just a dream for any user. And the OS itself is free, and the entire set of programs installed on it is also offered free of charge (that is, for free).

The right to choose

Windows supporters can choose an OS only based on the configuration and resources of their PC. On older computers, some still run the equally ancient XP. Most have “Seven” and “Eight”. And also, the owners of these systems once had a chance to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 for free. Roughly speaking, the choice comes down to the new or previous versions.

Linux distributions also have early and current versions. But the sheer number of distributions is simply amazing:

• user favorite Mint (in Mate or Cinnamon variations);
• Ubuntu or Kubuntu (depending on the graphical shell);
• Debian;
• lightweight Lubuntu, Puppy or Elementary OS
• Steam OS for games
• Kodi for media entertainment;
• and many, many others...

It should be understood that the Windows graphical interface is directly tied to the OS, has no alternative, is extremely conservative, and does not allow major changes.

With Linux it's the other way around. Several graphical shells (Gnome, Xfce, KDE, Unity, LXDE), each of which is original and offers many flexible settings. Well, just a dream for some users.

Software and hardware support

Windows wins this round outright. Almost all software originally created for other systems (MacOS, Linux or mobile shells) is adapted for Windows. Backward compatibility occurs in exceptional cases.

That is, you can find almost any program to install on a “window” system. We are especially pleased with the availability of professional proposals for design And video editing.

Things are not so rosy in Linux. But, nevertheless, there is a small range of programs that allow you to successfully solve all the main tasks facing the user:

• file manager;
• playback of media files;
• office software package;
• working with Internet resources;
• simple processing of images, videos and music;

It is worth noting that all of them are not only free, but in most cases they are immediately installed with the Linux distribution. Particularly pleasing are the capabilities of this system provided for programmers and web developers. This is not surprising, they did it “as if for themselves.”

But what’s really bad about Linux (from the word “completely”) is games. As of 2015, the Steam service had about 10,000 games for Windows and only 1,500 for Linux. There are of course some ways to solve this problem. The same emulation, but it still doesn’t always work and crashes are not uncommon. In general, all this is not complete.

Although... I'm lying to you.

Are there any compromises?

There is also such a thing as Steam OS. This system, as you probably understood, is designed for games from Steam, developed by Valve. But again, it will need to be installed next to the main system. If this is not critical for you, then go try it!

Regarding hardware support, the situation is not clear. On the one hand, you can find drivers for Windows for any equipment. But on the other hand, on Linux there is no need to look for them at all (at least for hardware) - they are already included in the installation package.

By the way, this property of Linux is used for, since the system is able to recognize and work with several different video cards at once, while demonstrating excellent process stability.

But for connected external equipment on Linux there may be problems: for example, an MFP works great as a scanner, but is not recognized as a printer. This, of course, can all be resolved, but with some effort.

Operation stability and system requests

It's no secret that the phrase “you need to reinstall Windows” is heard quite often by ordinary users. And the main reason for this is “clogging” of the system after long-term use.

We won't dig deep. But I will say that the reason for this may be the accumulation of garbage, residual and temporary files, the complication of register addressing and the presence of viruses.

For some reason this doesn't happen on Linux. Experts believe that this is all thanks to a completely different approach to organizing the work of the main software and file system.

This can also be seen by what hardware resources are required for normal operation of the program.

You cannot install new Windows on a weak and old computer. But Linux is not so capricious (so the question of what works faster immediately disappears). Moreover, there are stable, fully functional versions of the OS (which come along with a package of necessary programs) that do not work with the HDD, but are loaded directly into the RAM.

Why the brilliant minds at Microsoft are not able to optimize their system in this way remains a mystery. (Solution: mutually beneficial financial interests with manufacturers of computer components).

User cyber security

The first program that is usually downloaded after installing Windows is Antivirus (and it is usually paid). Otherwise, the system will quickly fail or upset you in other ways. Unfortunately, Microsoft's own security system is just as ineffective.

In Linux, as in Baghdad, everything is calm. It is not profitable to do it for a less common system and viruses. And besides, the proprietary system of software access rights, although it complicates the work, but reduces these efforts to nothing. For this reason, Linux is the most secure OS. Which makes it ideal for both home and server use.

In general, I voiced the main criteria by which you can compare - which is better, Windows or Linux. As for me, if you do not take pirated versions of software into account, then the second system definitely wins.

But in favor of Windows, I think it is necessary to add the following: this OS has a huge community that can provide support in difficult times. And there is also the force of habit. If you are not the only PC user in the house, then forget about switching to Linux until you agree on this issue with the others (but you can try the system on a virtual machine).

Actually, any opinion about which is better than Windows or Linux will be subjective. And in order not to rely only on the information provided in this article, I propose to try two systems in practice and draw a conclusion for yourself.

Well, now it’s time to say goodbye to you, my dear readers, and wish everyone good luck.