Dear Linux and Win users I post this part of an article from :
itwire.com just to see what do you think about ...
....Here are 100 reasons why Linux beats Windows. ‘nuff said.
1. You don’t have to “activate” Linux by phone or Internet.
2. If you change your hardware and re-install Linux you don’t have to call someone to justify it.
3. There’s no such thing as Linux Genuine Advantage.
4. Linux vendors, for the most part, don’t charge you a cent.
5. And they didn’t give $10m of your hard-earned cash to Jerry Seinfeld.
6. You can install Linux on as many computers as you want.
7. You can give it away to friends and family.
8. You can download it and you can burn disc after disc.
9. You don’t have to enter obscure product keys stuck onto your computer.
10. You don’t have to store product keys for safety.
11. Nobody ever sells a second-hand computer with Linux on it and then has to deal with buyers complaining they were “ripped off” because Microsoft Word isn’t installed.
12. You don’t have to explain to Linux users that “Windows 97” isn’t a product, nor is “Office 98” and that it’s not “Vista” which has the ridiculous ribbon bar.
13. Do you like the Internet? The TCP/IP protocol was built on UNIX computers. It’s natural to Linux, unlike Windows which only embraced TCP/IP as its native protocol from Windows 2000.
14. Do you like to program? The C programming language was built for UNIX.
15. Similarly, many well-known scripting languages debuted in the UNIX/Linux world.
16. If you learned PHP you’re now able to write web apps for Windows Server 2008 which supports PHP out-of-the-box – not Microsoft’s own ASP.NET. Meanwhile, Windows devs need to pick up PHP now.
17. You don’t need to defragment Linux. At all. Ever.
18. It’s not even the case you really do have to defragment it but the vendor will say it is “maintenance free” because you can schedule a task to do the defragmentation.
19. You don’t have to worry about viruses.
20. You know your computing experience will be safer and more secure because of the Linux ingrained philosophy of running processes at the lowest required level of access
21. Linux is the a major OS in high performance computing. The first computer to break the petaflop barrier – one quadrillion calculations per second – was an IBM supercomputer running Linux.
22. In fact, over 80% of the top 500 supercomputers in the world run Linux. Windows just doesn’t have the capability for high performance computing.
23. Linux will revitalise your old hardware, with snappy performance.
24. It’ll make better use of your modern hardware, too, delivering faster performance and better memory management than Windows.
25. There’s no such thing as having to “routinely reboot” your Linux servers.
26. If you need an office suite you can just download Open Office and get going. There’s no extra purchase involved.
27. If you need a desktop publishing package you can just download Scribus and get going. There’s no extra purchase involved.
28. The Linux check for software updates will update everything – not just the operating system or vendor-supplied apps. It will facilitate updating all your software, in one convenient spot.
29. You don’t have to lust after software you can’t afford. The software is given away.
30. You don’t have to pirate software you can’t afford. The software is given away.
31. Linux is far easier to configure. There’s no complex, obscure, registry nor are settings and configuration items hidden in a multitude of different locations.
32. By the same token, all your own personal program settings are stored in your home directory. It’s a doddle to move them to a new computer and retain your environment how you like it.
33. Linux is open. If there’s a security problem you’ll know all the details. There’s much greater transparency.
34. You don’t suffer vendor lock-in with Linux. You’re not dependent on one single body or entity to keep it going.
35. Linux is versatile. You can run the exact same distribution on a 32-bit system, a 64-bit system, a MIPS server, a Sparc workstation and other architectures. You’ll find things exactly the same, working to the best the hardware offers.
36. Linux user groups are abundant with people wanting to help solve any issues you experience as well as share tips and ideas.
37. Linux encourages you to learn more about your computer and how to make better and better use of it.
38. Linux is usable. The default interface works, but if you like you can customise it to look and act like Windows XP. Or MacOS. Or something else. In fact, it’s easier for a Windows XP user to adapt to Linux than to Windows Vista.
39. Linux is advancing at a rate that a closed development project like Microsoft Windows is unable to sustain. There is a massive quality and quantity of feedback coming in from the field, there is a short development cycle from the coders through to the end user. Independently developed open source subsystems are frequently incorporated. All this combines to give Linux quantum advances in a short time.
40. Linux doesn’t crash without any apparent reasons. A crashing web browser can’t render your system unusable.
41. Linux doesn’t reboot by itself! Automated software updates won’t force your computer to reboot if you leave it alone for a while. Don't you hate it when you're downloading a huge file and go to bed thinking it will be done when you get up just to find Windows sitting at the login prompt again with the cheery "Your computer was rebooted to apply important updates" message?
42. Linux can read well over a hundred different types of file system. You can use the FAT and NTFS standards that Windows uses but you can also choose a totally different file system which is far more efficient for your purposes. This shouldn’t be mocked as irrelevant; don’t forget Microsoft wanted to implement a new database-oriented file system in Windows Vista but it wasn’t ready for launch.
43. You have all the source code at your fingertips and you have the right to modify anything if you have the ability. Sure, this advantage probably isn’t used by the vast majority of users but there’s certainly no such thing as an abandoned Linux application. You won’t be stuck with legacy apps where the developer has closed down and nobody can update them.
44. Linux will happily install itself on any logical disk partition. You’re not restricted to primary partitions.
45. Linux can run from a CD without even having to affect what’s already on the hard disk of the computer.
46. You can use a live Linux CD for safe online banking without fear of virus or Trojan or spyware or malware problems.
47. You can use a live Linux CD to give Linux a complete test out on your hardware without having to worry at all about what to do if things don’t work. By contrast, if you’ve started upgrading to Windows Vista the process isn’t easily reversed in case of problem. There is absolutely no Windows equivalent to the Live CD concept.
48. Linux, and its UNIX heritage, is the most document operating system. These documents are well-written and explain computing concepts also.
49. Linux has excellent package management tools that make it dead simple to install and upgrade (and even remove) applications.
50. Linux has some truly excellent Linux-only games. Now, this may not be a huge selling point but the argument of Windows-only games arises often. Let’s note that it cuts both ways. There are games for Linux which you can’t get on Windows.
51. This includes educational games too. If you have pre-schoolers or primary school children you’ll really find GCompris to be a truly wonderful package. Under Linux you get a terrific suite with loads and loads of educational games. The Windows version isn’t as developed, and requires a license.
52. If you want, you can play Windows games under Linux too.
53. Linux has a highly usable 3D desktop environment. It’s easy to switch on and it lets you view multiple simultaneous desktops. It gives lots of eye candy too. Yet, it runs better and on less powerful hardware than the Vista Aero environment necessitates.
54. Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a major buzzword with corporate. Yet Linux beats Windows hands down despite the FUD rhetoric to the contrary. Maybe a decade ago Linux was more arcane. Today you could roll it out to users and many would be hard-pressed to know the difference. Plus all your licensing costs have plummeted – desktop operating system, office suite, anti-virus product, server-side client-access licenses are all diminished.
55. Linux interoperates with everyone. It’ll talk to Windows, MacOS, other Linux distros, UNIX systems, OS/2 ... even Playstations! Without the help of third-party software Windows often just talks to, well ... Windows!
56. Also contrary to rumour, Linux supports a whole mess of hardware out-of-the-box. There are more drivers bundled with Linux than Windows. You don’t have to resort to finding the vendor’s site or using Windows Update to make things work.
57. Linux is simply easier to install. Here’s a nice blog entry where the number of steps required to install Windows XP, Windows Vista and Ubuntu Linux have been documented in the form of side-by-side screenshots using all the default settings. Windows XP took 20 steps, Windows Vista 14 and Ubuntu 10. Of course, both Windows variants also needed an office suite installed afterwards – another seven steps for Microsoft Office. And then you have to add an anti-virus product too.
58. Speaking of anti-virus, Linux does come with a couple of free anti-virus products. There’s no subscription fee. However, the only reason you’d install anti-virus on Linux anyway is to help out your Windows friends.
59. You can make your own Linux distro if you want. Imagine “MyLinux” to give to all your friends and family for uber-geek street-cred? You can’t legally distribute your own customised version of Windows.
60. Linux provides unparalleled security tools. You can diagnose and manage your network for free, but tools to perform the same amount of functionality under Windows cost huge amounts of money.
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