Linux Operating System (página 2)

Partes: 1, 2

4. COMPARISON OF WINDOWS AND
LINUX

The purpose of this work is to talk about Linux and the
main focus is not Microsoft
Windows, but since Microsoft Windows is the most popular
operative system in the world nowadays, and due to Windows and
Linux are two major competing computer operating systems, a good
way to understand and figure out what Linux is like is by making
comparisons between Windows and Linux.

The two operating systems compete for user base in the
personal
computer market as well as the server market. Both operating
systems are used in government offices, schools, business
offices, homes, supercomputers, intranet and
internet servers,
and more.

Historically, Windows has tended to dominate in the
desktop and personal computer markets (about 89.2% of the desktop
market share), and Linux has achieved between 50 – 80%
market share of the web server, and
supercomputer markets. They differ in philosophy, cost, ease of
use, versatility, and stability, with each seeking to improve in
their respective perceived weak areas.

a) Total cost of ownership

It’s necessary to mention that some editions of
Linux are not for free, but there are a lot of free versions. The
chart showed next gives an idea about the total cost of ownership
both for Windows and Linux:

	Windows	Linux
Initial purchase	From $45 to $450 per license depending on edition.	From $0 to $350 per license depending on distribution and edition.
Support	From $600 to $1,000 per year.	From $300 to $3500.
Anti-virus software	From $39/year to $100/year per computer. According to an FBI survey, major businesses lose $12 million annually dealing with virus incidents.	None required.

In 2004 Microsoft launched a marketing
campaign named "Get the Facts" to encourage users to switch from Linux
to Windows Server System. Microsoft claims that its products have
an overall lower total cost of ownership than the open source
programs because of its ease of use, resulting in less work and
lower staff wages. But in general most people agree that Linux is
cheaper than Windows.

b) Desktop users

	Windows	Linux
Desktop Market Share	Estimated 89.2%.	Estimated 3.3%, often used in dual-boot computers.
Pre-installation	Pre-installed by default in most new desktop PCs.	Pre-installed by default in some new desktop PCs.
Window Managers/Desktop Environments	Only one available WM per release, parts of which may be modified. Third party software such as WindowBlinds is required for some modification.	GNOME, KDE, Enlightenment, Xfce, Openbox, Fluxbox, etc.

It is very difficult to estimate the number of Linux
users as they are not required to register their copies. The
above chart cites a study by the W3C of how which operating
system was used while hitting certain sites. This does not
reflect the total market share for either Microsoft or Linux, it
simply estimates the desktop market share (NOTE, does not include
servers). The above chart also points to desktop environments:
some Linux distributions may not come with all the desktop
environments described above, some may come with more.

Both Windows and Linux include system consoles. A
console, or terminal, allows users to tell the computer to
perform tasks ranging from the simple (for example, copying a
file) to the complex (compiling and installing new software).
Consoles are powerful but can be too difficult and confusing to
new users.

Linux has a much lower requirement for modern hardware than Windows. Most
modern versions of Linux will still run on a Pentium 1 with
128 MB ram. Some
distributions will run on a ¡486 with 12 MB ram.

c) Installation

	Windows	Linux	Notes
Install	Generally easy to install, often drivers must be installed separately	Generally easy to install.	No major differences in ease of installation.
Install via Live CD	May be installed through Windows Preinstallation Environment using a Live CD version of the operating system.	Almost all Linux distributions have a live CD that may be used for install.
Pre-packaged	Some multimedia and home use software such as (IE, Media Player, Notepad, WorkPad, Paint…) bundled software.	Several Multimedia, Office suites, Window managers, internet browsers are often included in each distribution such as OpenOffice, Firefox, Opera Web browser, etc.	Microsoft’s methods of bundling software were deemed illegal in the case United States v. Microsoft
Not pre-packaged	Lacks Office software, and professional-grade graphical tools	Often lacks licensing to pre-package multimedia tools.
Partioning	Format the drive before partitioning. Cannot create multiple partitions.	Allows east resizing of partitions without losing data, may install multiple operating systems.	Some third party tools for Windows may allow better partitioning than the built in partitioning tools.
Boot Loader	May only boot to Windows Operating Systems.	May boot to multiple operating systems through GRUB or LILO.
Install time	Estimated to be an hour, longer than some Linux distributions and often requires CDs with drivers from the computer manufacturer.	Can range from 30 minutes to several highly involved hours.

Linux distributions used to be criticized as being very
involved and difficult for the average user to install. Today,
most distributions have simplified the installation and offer a
"LiveDistro" (generic term for an operating system distribution
that is executed upon boot, without installation on a hard drive.
Typically, it is stored on bootable media such as a CD-ROM (Live
CD), DVD (Live
DVD), USB flash drive (Live
USB), among others); allowing users to boot Linux directly from a
downloaded ISO image
(disk image) burned to a CD or DVD. Many distributions also
support installation this way.

The Windows install process uses a wizard to guide users
through the install process. Drivers are often installed
separately.

d) Accessibility and Usability

It has been widely believed that usability is
proportional to market share, although there are no citable
statistics to support this belief. The usability of Apple’s
OS, Microsoft’s Windows, and Linux, are comparable, though
their market shares are disparate. Both Windows and Linux offer
accessibility options, such as high contrast displays and larger
text/icon size, text to speech and magnifiers.

e) Stability

When using Windows, reboots are usually required for
driver/software updates. Linux itself only needs to restart for
kernel updates. On Windows, son programs that crash may be closed
through the task manager by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL or through the
command line in professional versions of Windows. Reboots are
sometimes required. On Linux, all processes may be terminated
from the command line. SysRQ allows low-level system manipulation
and crash recovery if configured. Reboots are seldom
required.

For an operating system to be subjectively
‘stable’, numerous components must operate
synchronously. Not all of these components are under the control of
operating system vendor; while Linux and Windows kernels may be
stable, poorly written applications and drivers can hamstring
both. Much of stability, then, is the extent to which the
operating system is structured to thwart the consequences of bad
behavior by third party installations.

Much of the reputation Windows has for instability can
be traced to Windows 95, 98, and ME, which were notorious for
displaying the blue screen of death (BSOF) upon
crashing.

f) Support

Windows offers community support by MSDN and extensive
help files and online documentation. Linux offers online forums
and discussion boards, extensive help files and online
documentation.

g) Servers and workstations

In contrast to the desktop market to date, for servers
Linux has experienced rapid growth in the past few years. In the
web server market, Linux owns a high percentage of usage (around
50%), taking into account statistics about web servers, in which
Apache (used in Linux) is the leading web server software.
Netcraft reported in September 2006 that eight of the ten most
reliable internet hosting companies run Linux on their web
servers.

Linux is the predominant operating system for use in
supercomputing, with over 75% of the top 500 published
supercomputers using Linux, against no entries listed that
specifically use Windows.

h) Programs

Linux distributions come with a great deal of software
which can be installed for free, with an especially large
collection of computer programming software. Debian comes with
more than 15,000 software packages. Microsoft has had a
longstanding emphasis on backwards compatibility.

i) Security

Chart bellow shows a comparison between Windows and
Linux on security matters:

	Windows	Linux	Notes
Viruses	Viruses have been written for Windows, many thousand have been propagated. Users are advised to install and run anti-virus programs.	Viruses have been written for Linux, non have yet propagated successfully	A list of viruses written for Linux does not exist.
Spyware and malware	Over 11,000 malware programs surfaced in 2005 alone.	Only 800 were ever witnessed.
Open vs. Closed	Claims its platform is more secure because its code is hidden, thus providing security by obscurity. Only company programmers can fix bugs.	Claims open source offers a faster and more effective response to security issues oftentimes patching bugs in a matter of hours.
Size of target	Windows runs on an enormous number of Desktop computers and Laptops.	Linux runs on many large servers and countless small electronic devices.	It is believed that the size of the target is a motivating factor for attackers.
User Accounts	Except for Windows Vista, users typically run as administrator, allowing malicious programs full control over the system.	Users typically run as limited accounts, preventing malicious programs from control of the system.	A malicious program run under a limited account in both Linux and Windows may erase all of the user’s data.

j) Permissions

Both Windows and Linux support permissions on their
respective systems.

5. LINUX ADVANTEGES

a) Low cost

It’s not needed to spend time and money to obtain
licenses since Linux and much of its software come with the GNU
("GNUs Not UNIX") General
Public License. People can start to work immediately without
worrying their software may stop working anytime because the free
trial version expires.

b) Stability

Linux doesn’t need to be rebooted periodically to
maintain performance levels. It doesn’t freeze up or slow
down over time due to memory leaks and such. Continuous up-times
of hundreds of days (up to a year or more) are not
uncommon.

c) Performance

Linux provides persistent high performance on
workstations and on networks. It can handle unusually large
numbers of users simultaneously.

d) Network friendliness

Linux was developed by a group of programmers over the
Internet and has therefore strong support for network
functionality; client and server systems can be easily set up on
any computer running Linux. It can perform tasks such as network
backups faster and more reliably than alternative
systems.

e) Flexibility

Linux can be used for high performance server
applications, desktop applications, and embedded systems.
It’s possible to save disk space by only installing the
components needed for a particular use. People can restrict the
use of specific computers by installing for example only selected
office applications instead of the whole suite.

f) Compatibility

It runs all common UNIX software packages and can
process all common file formats

g) Choice

The large number of Linux distributions gives a choice.
Each distribution is developed and supported by a different
organization. Users can pick the one they like best; the core
functionalities are the same; most software runs on most
distributions.

h) Fast and easy installation

Most Linux distributions come with user-friendly
installation and setup programs.

i) Full use of hard disk

Linux continues work well even when the hard disk is
almost full.

j) Multitasking

Linux is designed to do many things at the same time;
e.g., a large printing job in the background won’t slow
down other works.

k) Security

Linux is one of the most secure operating systems.
"Walls" and flexible file access
permission systems prevent access by
unwanted visitors or viruses.

l) Open source

If someone develops software that requires knowledge or
modification of the operating system code, Linux’s source
code is at his fingertips.

Today, the combination of inexpensive computers and free
high-quality Linux operating system and software provide
incredibly low-cost solutions for both basic home office use and
high-performance business and science applications. The available
choices of Linux distributions and Linux software may be
overwhelming at first, but if a person knows where to look, it
shouldn’t take long for him to find good online guidance.
Linux is an excellent, powerful and productive option and tool
for people to use.

CONCLUSION

After studying what Linux operating system is and its
relevant characteristics, everyone would agree that this software
has made and will continue making history for being so popular
and useful.

One of the major challenges that Linux has is to get
more people to use it. It does not mean that only a few people is
using this operating system right now, but that since Linux is so
powerful, more and more people should get to use it and to enjoy
all of the benefits that are found in this wonderful free
software.

With this research it is pretended to give a global idea
and some specific point to ponder about Linux, so that it can be
possible to know better the benefits and limitations that this
operating system has.

It’s important that people can consider Linux as a
good option for many tasks, and that users of computers are not
limited by stereotypes, but that they can be open-minded to find
the advantages and disadvantages that each operating system is
offering, and doing the best selection from there. By the way, a
person is not limited to use exclusively one operating system.
That means that for some tasks, one software is appropriate, and
for other tasks, a different software could be best. That’s
why it’s better to know about the different options and
then to be capable to select the best program or software to
use.