Linux and Windows as Operating Systems

       Today, it is evident that the world of computing has become an essential part of life. Daily activities related to the job, studies, and simple hobbies require the use of technology every day. However, there are a lot of users and developers that require to use a computer to perform their main roles in the job, and sometimes they don’t have any idea about the importance of the operating system they are currently using. An operating system allows a computer not only to show its potential, but also contains the required software that allows any user to make use of the computer for carrying out a wide variety of tasks, including entertainment. Therefore, Windows and Linux are operating systems that are widely used among developers due to their performance, security, and game deployment capacity.

       Both operating systems are popular among users, and a considerable number of users and developers prefer Linux because of its performance. Linux is an operating system that is easy to use and its User Interface (UI) has become friendly over time and allows users to use it as a tool for developing applications. However, using Linux in big companies as a general-purpose operating system would be complicated because replacing the computers of hundreds of employees that are not familiar with Linux, could lead the organization into chaos (Lynch, 2015). This is important because not every user is used to working in a Linux environment, and this could be a problem in the short-term future. With this fact in mind, users who want to switch to Linux should consider the difficulties this carries.

       On the other hand, Windows is preferred by many users as a general-purpose operating system. Windows is an operating system that is widely used around the world for its performance as well as its wide variety of features that allows users to develop many tasks. Also, Windows is supported by the majority of hardware that exists today. Recent versions of Windows, for instance, are used by 95 % of people around the world, therefore, most hardware vendors prefer making drivers for Windows (Rehman, 2021). So, this is one of the main reasons why Windows is considered a global multi-purpose operating system and why it is widely used around the world. As a result of this, Windows will continue to be the first option for users and developers who prefer standardized products in order to get their main tasks done.

       Security is one of the most critical issues for any operating system. Because of this, Windows is an operating system whose source code tends to be vulnerable to viruses and malware. It’s well known that Windows has considerable issues related to security. According to the portal CVE database, “Microsoft had more than 660 dangerous security gaps, and 357 of them were attributed to Windows 10” (Cohen, 2020, para. 3). It is evident that Windows presents serious security problems related to its source code. Thus, this could be considered a real problem in the short-term future. Therefore, the use of Antivirus and Antimalware in Windows operating systems is highly recommended to be protected from any kind of threat.

       On the other hand, Linux operating systems cannot be affected by viruses or malware. This operating system has been recognized for being very secure compared to its counterpart. Linux is an open-source operating system with transparent source code. Therefore, the global open source community carries out tasks through its members in order to detect and eliminate vulnerabilities (Day, 2021). This approach turns out to be effective because the open-source code is reviewed constantly. So, there are no opportunities for viruses or any other type of malware to cause any damage to the Linux source code. With this in mind, Linux users should not be worried about any kind of threat.

       Activities like gaming have gained a lot of importance in recent years, and operating systems like Windows or Linux are considered important for this activity. Windows is considered a reliable operating system for gaming. As a consequence, Windows has been considered a popular operating system for more than two decades, and it is still the most used OS around the world (Gapo, 2022). Besides, considering that most hardware supports Windows, it is not surprising that video game developers whose products require specific hardware to run, try to make sure that their products are ready to run in Windows first before any other operating system (Gapo, 2022). As a result of this, Windows is compatible with a wide variety of video games. And if this trend continues for the next few years, without any doubt Windows will continue to be a favorite operating system for gamers.

       On the contrary, Linux requires some changes in its main settings to play video games. Linux provides positive things, such as the reliability of the operating system and the advantages brought by the Linux open-source code. However, the process of running games in Linux could lead users to make some changes to run some games. Contrary to what happens in Windows systems, the procedure of installing controllers and drivers may vary in Linux, and some games might not be able to run as expected (Gordon, 2021). This is not a problem for Microsoft Windows because most video games are firstly standardized to run on the Windows platform. However, Linux is becoming an option for gamers over time due to the improvements that the open-source community makes every day.

       Despite their differences, both operating systems have been widely used around the world, and enjoy great levels of acceptance among users. As mentioned before, Linux and Windows represent two viable options not only for individual users but also for big companies. The choice of either one operating system or another depends on the users and the activities or tasks that need to be carried out by the users. But it is good to have in mind that Linux and Windows have been development platforms used by many independent developers and companies due to their performance, reliability, and the wide variety of software that can be run by these systems. Besides, both operating systems have shown great performance for more than 20 years. This is enough reason why they are probably still going to be considered the first option for developers in the future.

Exercises

Sources

Cohen, J. (2020, August 28). Windows computers were targets of 83% of all malware attacks in Q1 2020. PCMAG. Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.pcmag.com/news/windows-computers-account-for-83-of-all-malware-attacks-in-q1-2020

Day, B. (2021, October 25). How secure is Linux? Linux Security. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://linuxsecurity.com/features/how-secure-is-linux

Gapo, B. (2022, January 15). Best operating system for gaming [2022 list]. GPU Mag. Retrieved June 30, 2022, from https://www.gpumag.com/best-operating-system-for-gaming/

Gordon, W. (2021, September 17). How to Play PC Games on Linux.

Rehman, J. (2021, November 4). Advantages and disadvantages of windows operating system. IT Release. Retrieved June 17, 2022, from https://www.itrelease.com/2019/07/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-windows-operating-system/