| Here we go again: why Linux is better |
Aug. 31, 2005
It's been interesting reading all the comments and emails about my last tongue-in-cheek tale about why you shouldn't use Linux.
A couple of questions and comments kept popping up again and again, so I thought I'd address them.
- Linux is too complicated.
Wait, didn't I just do this?
Seriously, you want an easy-to-use operating system? Go to Mac OS X.
OK, I know some of you hate -- I mean hate -- Apple operating systems, but it really is amazingly good.
More to the point, I think most people think the easiest operating system is the one they already know.
Let's face it; most of us hate learning curves. It's just that, in the case of Windows vs. Linux, the climb is worth it.
- It's not funny; you're not serious enough; give us reasons to go to Linux.
Guys, guys, guys; no one ever agrees on what's funny or not, but a lot of people liked it. More to the point, I've written dozens of serious articles on why Linux is better than Windows.
Heck, I wrote the very first story that showed, by objective tests, that Linux kicked the stuffings out of NT, back before Windows 2000 was on the scene.
So, after hearing for the 1,001st time all the same old reasons on why Windows is better ... well it was time to write something different, so I did.
- Windows isn't that big a part of the price of my computer.
Microsoft’s pricing is a wild and wooly world, depending on exactly what your relationship is with the boys from Redmond and your licensing terms. Generally speaking, though, XP Home SP2 is going to run an OEM $90 to $120.
Of course, I wouldn't use XP Home on a bet, but it is the one you see in every box in the land. Pro, the only reasonable Windows these days since W2K support went the way of all things, will run a hardware builder around $150.
With perfectly usable PCs going for around $500, it strikes me that Windows is a big part of a PC's price.
- Windows is secure! Linux just hasn't been attacked because it’s not popular.
Lord give me strength.
I mean, since I wrote that first story earlier this week -- This Week! -- yet another Internet Explorer hole has been found. This one can be used to compromise fully patched Windows XP SP2 computers, and there is no way to block attacks, according to Tom Ferris, the independent researcher who found the vulnerability.
Oh yeah, Windows is secure, OK.
And, you know what? Linux is popular, very popular. It's just that, today, it's mostly in devices and servers. Funny, though, you don't see those kinds of stories almost every day about Linux.
- There aren't any games.
OK, you've got me.
While there are Linux games, there aren't as many as there are on Windows machines.
Of course, what I want to know is: if you're into games, why aren't you playing them on a dedicated game machine that beats any PC all hollow, like the PS/2. Or, if you really love Microsoft products, an Xbox?
Say what I will about Windows the operating system, when it comes to pure gaming fun, it's hard to beat the Master Chief with a rocket launcher in hand in Halo 2.
But, of course, for that you don't need Windows, Linux or Mac OS, you need an Xbox, not a PC.
I rest my case.
--Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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