Over the previous decade, Linux has produced some severe progress, rising from “that open source operating scheme” to “wow, this is usable!””There’s been a mild but definite trickle of users toward Linux’s free choice away from Windows, and maybe you’re thinking about making that leap. Here are 3 fundamental differences between Windows and Linux. Read through them and be absolutely sure you’re willing to put up with the learning curve because there’s nothing worse than jumping to something unexpected at first.
3 Fundamental differences are:
#1: Full Access vs. No Access
Access to the source code is likely the single most important distinction between Linux and Windows. The fact that Linux belongs to the GNU Public License guarantees that consumers (of all kinds) can access (and change) the code to the very kernel that serves as the basis of the Linux operating system. Want to look at the Windows software? Good luck. Unless you’re a member of a very select (and elite, to many) groups, you’ll never look at the code that makes up the Windows operating system.
You can look at it from both sides of the fence. Some claim that giving the public access to the code opens the operating system (and the software that operates on top of it) to malicious developers who will take advantage of any weakness they discover. Others claim that having complete access to the software helps bring about quicker improvements and bug fixes to prevent those malicious developers from being able to take down the system. I occasionally plunged into the code of one Linux application or another, and when all was said and done, I was pleased with the outcomes. Could I have performed this with a closed-source Windows implementation? No.
#2: Licensing liberty vs. licensing constraints
The distinction between permits goes along with access. I’m sure every IT professional can go on and on licensing PC software. But let’s just look at the main element of the permits (without getting into legal). With an operating system licensed under the Linux GPL, you are free to modify and use the software and even republish or sell it (as long as you make the code available).:
- download a single copy of a Linux distribution (or application) with the GPL and install it on as many computers as you like.
- Do none of the above with the Microsoft permit
- You are bound to the number of licenses you buy, so if you buy 10 permits, you can legally install that operating system (or application) on just 10 computers.
#3: Flexibility vs. rigidity
I always compare Linux (particularly the desktop) and Windows to space where the ground and ceiling are either mobile or not. With Linux, you have space where you can raise or lower the floor and ceiling, at will, as elevated or as low as you want to create them. With Windows, the floor and ceiling are immovable. You can’t go any further than Microsoft considered it necessary to go.
Take the desktop, for example. Unless you’re prepared to pay for and install a third-party application that can change your desktop appearance, you’re stuck with what Microsoft has declared to be the perfect desktop for you. With Linux, you can create your desktop look fairly much and feel precisely how you want/need. You can have as much or as little as you want on your desktop. From a straightforward flat Fluxbox to a full-blown 3D Compiz experience, the Linux desktop is as versatile as it is on a computer.
These are 3 fundamental differences between Linux and Windows. You can decide for yourself whether you believe these distinctions give the benefit to one or the other operating system.
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