Chadius: Linux vs Windows

Crossroads

Well, this is it: Which Operating System (OS) will you put on your next computer? Linux or Windows? Both?

You've been blissfully unaware of any operating system besides Windows. And hey, it works right? Most of the time, anyway. But your friends keep talking about how awesome Linux is. It'll do your dishes, clean up your house, walk your dog and make computing easy. But it never seems that way from your perspective.

That was me waaaay back in 2001 then I went to MIT. Computer Scientists everywhere use Linux. The campus public computers run Unix (close enough to Linux, don't think about it too much.) And well if I'm going to major in Computer Science, I'd better learn.

But I like games, and only Windows gets the big-budget stuff. A conundrum!

I've been installing and reinstalling these OSes since then. So I hope I'm able to tell you as much as I can about these OSes as possible. They both rule and they both suck in their special little ways.

First: Apple?

I know nothing about Apple products. It sounds like they are almost the best of both worlds. Kinda.

You need to pay to play. More than you would for a hardware-exact Windows or Linux copy. But apparently the UI kicks ash and the warranty is SO GOOD. You'll need to keep paying to play, but that's the trick to it.

Why Linux Rules

Anything you want. For Free.

There are a million things in Linux that I can't do in Windows. To be more precise, if it's on Windows, I need to buy it then I need to deal with its implementation/bugs/whatever and if there's a problem with it, the response is "wait 6 months and buy the new version." Linux will have an equivalent tool, for free, that has more features (usually with a worse UI) and is better supported.

There are also deep, specific tools you'll want that only Linux provides. But those tools are very specific and very deep.

Why Linux Sucks

You have to know a LOT of stuff to install and run Linux.

Shocking confession: I can't install Linux on my own. No wait, I did once, but I did it the wrong way and paid for it when I tried to use it as the basis for another install (and is the big reason why I'm writing this article, heh.)

You need to understand what problems your hardware will have. Do you know the difference between i686 and AMD64? (I didn't, whoops!) Can you reliably connect to the internet without requiring a fancy schmany module?

Then we move onto software. Which distribution do you want? Ubuntu, Debian, Gentoo, Red Hat, Fedora? They all have ups and downs. Do you want a graphic interface ala Windows? Or is that overkill and you can survive off of a line prompt? Make sure you have the right use flags on, and choose between 10 products that do the same thing, but slightly different. Do you like Google? It will become your best friend when cryptic error messages emerge on your console.

If you are the type who likes to push the "go" button and expect everything to work without a problem, um...stick with Windows. Of course when Windows fails you're totally screwed, where as on Linux you stand a chance of figuring it out. But only if you're willing to learn.