Antidote to All Things Microsoft: Linux - Essay Example

Introduction “What Linux is, why some call it the antidote to all things Microsoft, and how to assess whether it’s the right computer operating system for your business.” (Fontana, 2000) Linux is an operating system – a program that allows users to interact with all the software and hardware resources of the computer, either through command-line interface, where the users type text commands and the computer responds according to those commands, or through graphical user interface (GUI) in which the users can interact with the computer through a graphical interface with pictures and buttons by using the mouse and keyboard. Besides Linux, there are many other operating systems available in the market; few examples are Windows, IBM OS/2, MS-DOS, UNIX, Mac OS X and OpenSolaris. Almost every operating system can be classified as either Desktop or Server edition. Desktop version consists of those operating systems, such as Windows 2000 or Windows 98, which are only capable of running on normal desktop computers, while latter are designed specifically for servers – large computers with highly sophisticated hardware, such as Novell’s NetWare, Window NT and UNIX. So why Linux? Linux is “open source” – means that all the underlying code of operating system can be modified, used and distributed by anyone under a legally binding GPL (General Public License), which allows the software to be freely distributed and governs the availability of the source code. As a result of this legal bind, Linux has gained popularity as a “free” operating system that can be freely copied at little or no cost. Linux’s reputation for reliability has forced many corporate customers to see Linux as a secure fit for applications, such as websites, databases and email systems, which run on their servers. This has made Linux an emerging alternative to Windows and many other operating systems in larger companies and data centers. Even on personal computers, Linux has started becoming an ideal alternative to Windows due to its ability to support a wide range of hardware platforms and a variety of applications, such as word processing and spreadsheets. Linux, with its myriad options, represents the pinnacle of the customizable operating system and anything in this operating system can be customized that can be possibly think of. It adds many of the user-friendly features, such as tidy graphical interfaces, printed manuals and automated installers, and provides the users with a wide range of customization options. In the coming pages of this paper, we will carry out an analysis of the above discussed points of Linux with the help of substantiate expert’s comments from different sources to assess that if Linux is a better alternative to existing operating systems, especially Windows? Moreover, the conclusion of this research will prove valuable to justify the thesis statement as mentioned below: “Linux is gaining in popularity, becoming an alternate to Windows due to its robust security, customized features, software availability, purchase cost versus windows and it is made with open source code.” A. Benefits of being “Open Source” A1. Bugs are spotted and fixed more quickly in Linux as compared to Windows. a. Developers can read the code, vet it and correct problems (Messmer, 2005). b. Linux encourages early adopters to actively debug it, hence, increasing its robustness (Peeling & Satchell, 2001). A2. Linux provides more flexibility and freedom to its users as compared to Windows. a. Linux does not bind its users to one particular company or vendor (Fontana, 2000). b. Linux users are free of dependency on related products of the same manufacturer (Peeling & Satchell, 2001). B. Purchase Cost B1. Unlike Windows, Linux is either free or very cheap. a. On Wal-Mart, Linux based computer costs $200 whereas the cheapest Windows XP computer is $300 (Horowitz, 2008). b. Unlink Windows, Linux handles an unlimited number of users for no cost (Dvorak, 2000). B2. Linux also saves cost of applications and software. a. Majority of applications in Linux are free; those that aren’t free cost far less than those of Windows (Dietderich, 2003). b. Linux offers OpenOffice.org, substitute to MS Office, which is very low costly (Spanbauer, 2008). C. Robust Security C1. Windows is lot easier to be infiltrated as compared to Linux. a. Due to abundance of applications, Windows is more vulnerable to security risks (Lyman, 2001). b. Security issues are addressed very promptly in Linux as compared to Windows (Spanbauer, 2002). C2. Architectural design plays a vital role for security of any operating system. a. Linux is not subject to malware due to its design as well as minority status (Spanbauer, 2008). c. Windows is primarily based on RPCs (Remote Procedure Calls) which are potential security risks (Petreley, 2004). D. Software Availability D1. Linux offers free equivalents to almost every application of Windows. a. Linux has a reasonably good equivalent to every major Windows package (Spanbauer, 2002). b. Open-Office has become the main competitor for Microsoft Office (Doyle, 2006). D2. Linux even allows its users to run Windows applications natively. a. Wine, a tool in Linux, runs many Windows applications natively (Spanbauer, 2002). b. For applications not running in Linux, uses can either install Windows using virtualization utilities or as dualboot with Linux (Spanbauer, 2008). E. Customizable features E1. Linux users are allowed to customize almost everything. a. Linux changes very rapidly, incorporating more advanced options and user-friendly features (Doyle, 2006). b. Linux is more a set of infinitely rearrangeable operating system building blocks than a unified OS (Spanbauer, 2002). E2. Unlike Windows, Linux supports a wide range of hardware platforms. a. Linux can ever run on those machines where Windows fails (Spanbauer, 2002). b. Linux is an ideal choice for businesses due to its ability to support range of computing platforms (Kaven, 2005). Conclusion: Windows dominates desktop while Linux rules on servers. Many believe that Linux will soon overcome the dominance of Windows even in desktop. In 2004, Linux based servers increased up-to 57.3% (Legard, 2004). Businesses are moving to Linux due to its strong stability. Statistics of year 2007 has shown rise in popularity of Linux but for Windows, the graph is falling down. (Windows vs Linux [Image], 2008). Read More