Both Linux and Windows come in many versions. All the versions of Windows come from Microsoft(ie windows 95,windows 98,windows 2000,windows me,windows xp,windows 2003 server,windows vista etc..) and the various distributions of Linux come from different companies (i.e. Linspire, Red Hat, SuSE, Ubuntu, Xandros, Knoppix, Slackware, Lycoris, etc. ).
Windows is not customizable in a way that Linux is.For one,the user interface,while similar in concept, varies in detail from distribution to distribution.
Linux and Windows differ in many aspects...
Graphical Mode Interface
The Linux GUI is optional while the Windows GUI is an integral component of the OS; speed, efficiency and reliability are all increased by running a server instance of Linux without a GUI, something that server versions of Windows can not do. The detached nature of the Linux GUI makes remote control and remote administration of a Linux computer simpler and more natural than a Windows computer.
Text Mode Interface
Secondly the command prompts of these operating systems are quite different. In general, the command interpreters in the Windows 9x series are very similar to each other and the NT class versions of Windows (NT, 2000, XP) also have similar command interpreters. There are, however differences between a Windows 9x command interpreter and one in an NT class flavor of Windows.Linux, like all versions of UNIX, supports multiple command interpreters, but it usually uses one called BASH (Bourne Again Shell). Others are the Korn shell, the Bourne shell, ash, and the C shell (pun, no doubt, intended).
Cost
Cost is the main thind that make differ linux from Windows.While you have to pay some hundred dollars for a new version of Windows, you can simply go and download Linux. As it comes from the nature of Linux, there are no manuals or simple installers for the free version, however. You really have to know what you are doing while using this free package. There are also some easy automated packages of Linux for low prices, as well. In contrast, once you have purchased Linux, you can run it on any number of computers for no additional charge.Also u can make copy of linux,but not with windows.
Installing the Operating System
Installing Windows is very easy while linux is not.We hav to take an extra care while installing linux,otherwise whole harddisk will be formatted.One thing that Linux can do that Windows can not, is run from a CD. To run Windows, it has to first be installed to your hard disk. Normally Linux also runs from a hard disk, but there are quite a few versions of Linux that run completely from a CD without having to be installed to a hard disk. The term for this is a "Live" CD.
Application Software
The only area where Windows beats Linux in this "competition" is the software availability. As it was mentioned above, most of the software releases are configured for Windows. If you are using Linux, you have to emulate Windows with a special software called 'WINE' and then you can use your windows based programs. Another option can be to install Windows as a subsystem to Linux which takes all administrative abilities of Windows and gives them to Linux.There is more application software available for Windows.
Viruses and Spyware
There are many types of malicious software programs. The most common types are referred to as Viruses and Spyware.The security issues with Windows, as most of you already know, are the biggest cons of Microsoft. Most of the malicious files, spyware, adware programs deal with Windows. You generally do not deal with these kinds of unwanted circumstances unless you are working with Windows. The user-id and password protection for Windows can also be easily bypassed, whereas Linux offers a strong protection.
Users and Passwords
Both Linux and Windows 2000/XP require a userid and password and boot time. That said, Windows XP supports users without a password (a very bad idea), I'm not sure if Linux does.
Security Report: Windows vs Linux
BugsAll software has and will have bugs(programming mistakes). Linux has a reputation for fewer bugs than Windows, but it certainly has its fair share. This is a difficult thing to judge and finding an impartial source on this subject is also difficult.Bugs can be fixed faster in Linux, but that things have slowed down.
Choosing Linux vs. Windows
Vista,newer version of windows experience stinks. It is expensive, buggy, slow and suffers from both hardware and software incompatibilities. There seems to be a growing backlash against Vista, which is changing this topic of choosing Linux vs. Windows.Some Windows people are opting to stick with XP and avoid Vista.Among linux,fedora core is the best one.Now ubuntu ultimate edition,a version that is edited by someone is available. According to me ubuntu ultimate edition have more better appearence.But when compared to windows almost all versions of linux have better appearence and have customizable effects.
Winows is more user friendly than linux.The using of linux is some what difficult than windows.So choosing the os will depend on all the above things.Remind that linux is free and windows is more expensive.According to me linux is more better to choose.
Windows Vs Linux Satistics
