Transcript A Comparison of Linux vs. Windows

A Comparison of
Linux vs. Windows
James Celona
Matt Lavoie
CSC156 - 50
Introduction
The goal of this presentation is to explore
the differences between the Linux operating
system and the Windows operating system.
The topics that will be explored will include
hardware/software differences, cost,
security, feature set, and the difference in
how the systems work.
Common Uses of Linux
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Linux has many uses in the world of
computers today.
It is used in many applications from tiny
embedded systems to supercomputers.
Popular for netbooks and servers due to
it’s small footprint and being highly
configurable.
Also used as a low-cost alternative in
many desktop machines.
Hardware
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Hardware requirements are a big area where
Linux and Windows are different.
Linux can run on practically any hardware setup,
including different processor architectures.. The
kernel can be recompiled as necessary by the
user to fit the specific hardware setup.
Windows, on the other hand, is not nearly as
flexible, and typically requires a beefier hardware
setup in both processing power and memory. The
kernel cannot be recompiled by the end user,
although some features can be added or removed
to suit the hardware.
Software
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A large majority of Linux software is free
and open-source, which means that the
source code is readily available for
download. This enables users to update or
rewrite software as necessary to suit
specific needs, and often times speeds up
the discovery and fixing of software bugs.
Most Windows software, on the other
hand, is mostly closed source and/or
commercial software. In this case, users
are at the mercy of software vendors for
the fixing of bugs or updating programs.
Security
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It is important to realize that any operating system is vulnerable
unless properly configured. Therefore, the abilities to find and
close vulnerabilities will be discussed.
Linux is considered to be considered more secure for a variety of
reasons. Perhaps the biggest is the ability of the kernel to be
configured as necessary, removing all unneeded features and
functions from a system. Additionally, since it is open-source,
security bugs can be discovered much quicker and fixed much
quicker, since anyone can do it. There are also not nearly as many
viruses for Linux, since it’s market share is not considered big
enough to be worth the time of developing one for many.
Windows, on the other hand, is not as flexible in this aspect, and
often users have to wait for Microsoft to fix major flaws in the
operating system. It is also hard to fully disable features that are
not needed, since they often times cannot be fully removed. Since
it’s market share is also so large, the majority of viruses are
written to exploit flaws in Windows.
Operating Differences
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Windows:
Windows is
considered a
Single-User, MultiTasking OS.
It enables one user
to perform multiple
tasks at once, but
does not allow
multiple different
users.
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Linux:
Linux is considered
a Multi-User, MultiTasking OS.
It allows multiple
different users to
perform tasks
simultaneously,
and ensures they
do not interfere
with each other.
File System Support
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Windows supports
the FAT and NTFS
file systems.
Some ability to
expand support via
new drivers.
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Linux supports a
wide variety of file
systems, including
FAT, NTFS, ext/3/4,
ReiserFS, XFS, JFS,
and many others.
Adding support for
new ones is as
easy as a kernel
recompile
Cost
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Windows:
MSRP for Windows
Vista Home Basic is
$199.95
MSRP for Windows
Server 08 Std is $999
for five access
licenses. Additional
access licenses are
$199 for 5.
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Linux:
MSRP for most Linux
distributions is $free.
For server editions, no
access licenses are
required.
However, most of the
time support is not
free and must be paid
for.
Features
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Most of the distinguishing features between the
two systems have already been covered, but a
quick recap:
Linux is generally a more powerful system, with
fewer requirements. It is highly configurable,
flexible, and extremely low cost. However, it is
typically more time-consuming and difficult to set
up and maintain a Linux system.
Windows is less powerful in some aspects and
has higher hardware requirements. It is also
configurable and flexible, but not nearly as much,
and costs quite a bit more. However, Windows
systems are generally quite easy to set up and
maintain.
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