Windows VS. Linux

[JungleMan]

So which one is better? I don't think anyone has ever flat out asked this question.

[chrisjk]

Windows, but only in 2000 guise

[scoutt]

hey JP, how come you have 2 cd burners in your list?

[JungleMan]

Well, shortly before deciding to build a desktop, I got a Yamaha 8x firewire burner because my laptop, obviously, had no drive bays. so then i decided to build and i really wanted a plextor 16x.

i'm not sure what i'm going to do with the yamaha at the moment, maybe my parents can use it or something

[scoutt]

oh I was just curious, thought maybe someone would tell you that they have a fast burner and you would reply, "oh ya, I have 2 burners"

[aknisely]

He has two because he likes to steal lots of music.

[Beacon]

This has been asked b4!!

Unix v Windows!!

Linix is a version of unix.

It depends on what perspective you come from!

The average joe blow which is a majority of computer users would way prefer Windows because it is User Friendly!
The same for most businesses!

Now your computer type people and technology based companies etc. May prefer Unix based OS 1) coz it free 2) coz it's more powerful etc etc.

Myself i prefer windows but will use unix os for some things etc.
I dont like how unix is just type commands etc. and no visuals like Windows Explorer is a much better way to navigate through a file system!
I like both really.

[aknisely]

Now your computer type people and technology based companies etc. May prefer Unix based OS 1) coz it free 2) coz it's more powerful etc etc.

UNIX isn't free -- in some cases, UNIX is more expensive than Windows. The reason UNIX (note the distinction from Linux) is still widely used in universities (specifically engineering), hospitals, manufacturing, and industrial companies is because these places are very slow to adaptation and upgrades. They use very large and very integrated proprietary software that takes years to port, test, debug, and deploy. Not only time, but there's a substantial money factor involved. Also, applications that run for these types of systems usually can't be improved much by newer systems (Windows, Linux, etc.). That's partially why Apple based MacOS 10 on UNIX -- to stir up the market in hospitals and medical equipment makers who were already familiar with UNIX.

[Beacon]

Please explain i may be misintepreting but are you saying that Linux is not a Unix based OS??

Unix is generic you have many unix based/like os's Irix, SunOS, FreeBSD, Linux etc etc.

Tis why i said "Unix Based OS's"(note "based")
As for not for free FreeBSD is free so is Linux!

So a few hospitals etc. Most in my country use Windows!
I was speak bieng very "general"

[scoutt]

the college I just graduated is using win2000, but I agree that most old business's use unix and win3.1. (that's right I said win3.1) that is becasue like you said why change something that has worked for so many years. but times are a changing and the majority are switching over for the better security.

[JungleMan]

Originally posted by scoutt
oh I was just curious, thought maybe someone would tell you that they have a fast burner and you would reply, "oh ya, I have 2 burners"

never thought of it that way...

[HarryW]

My uni has mainly dual-boot Solaris/NT4 machines in the computing department, just NT4 in the general computer labs with about 2 macs, and just recently installed a lab full of Linux machines.

The reason UNIX ... is still widely used in universities ... is because these places are very slow to adaptation and upgrades.

I don't consider Windows an upgrade from Solaris, in any sense of the word. Windows has an easier to learn user interface, but that isn't useful when you already know the Solaris user interface and are quite happy with it. Windows doesn't really offer much over Unix other than ease of learning so I don't see a need to adapt to it.

I think the extra effort required to learn to use a Unix-style system is worth it, unless you only ever want to use a word processor and a spreadsheet (you get the idea).

[aknisely]

Originally posted by HarryW
Windows doesn't really offer much over Unix other than ease of learning so I don't see a need to adapt to it.

You'd need to adapt your proprietary software, and repurchase your off-the-shelf stuff.

[DerFarm]

is because these places are very slow to adaptation and upgrades

I think it was Nicholas Wirth that said (roughly quoted)

I don't know what the favoured language of 2001 will be.
I don't know it's strengths.
I don't know it's weaknesses.
I don't know it's primary use.
But it's name will be FORTRAN


Well, maybe not, but you get the idea....

[HarryW]

You'd need to adapt your proprietary software, and repurchase your off-the-shelf stuff.

Sorry? What was the reason for changing in the first place? I was saying I didn't see a need to adapt. Not 'I don't see what I'd need to adapt'.

[JungleMan]

Originally posted by aknisely
He has two because he likes to steal lots of music.

[Mark Sreeves]

Originally posted by scoutt
most old businesses use unix and win3.1

Rover still use Windows for Workgroups a lot...

[Mark Sreeves]

By Windows I presume you mean Microsoft Windows and not X Windows....


I object to the way M$ put ® after Windows why should they be allowed claim the name?

[CiberTHuG]

I feel the need to educate the masses. Which is dangerous since I am not the most knowledgeable, but here goes...

Unix was designed and owned by AT&T's Bell Labs (later known as BellCore). It was a very expensive OS. It was, however, Open Source. You could download the source code and read every line for yourself.

As a result you could very easily pirate the OS. This didn't bother AT&T too much, since single home users pirating the software helped. The more people who could use it, the easier businesses could use it.

It had a down side. People learned to crack the OS rather easily since it was open. This shouldn't be a problem, but AT&T is not very good about bug fixes. There is a nice Robin Hood story in the jargon file about this.

Now, this is happening while Billy Gates is still playing cards in his dorm room. Unix is a multi-user, multi-tasking, stable OS. NT is the first Windows distribution to even attempt to provide these features, and it is still very poor at it. NT used a cooperative multi-taskig, which is not as good as the Unix preimptive approach.

Anyway, that is a tangent.

Several companies began making there own proprietary versions of Unix: DEC Ultrix, HP-UX, Sun Solaris/SunOS, IBM AIX, et al. But there were two grassroots versions that were free to the public: BSD (Berkley Source Distribution) and GNU (GNU is Not Unix).

As a note, Universities don't usually have to pay for Unix.

BSD has a couple of distributions but they are all controlled by the Berkley Project. They are OpenBSD, NetBSD, and FreeBSD. They are all free.

In '91 Linus Torvaldis (who now works at Transmeta) developed Linux. It was a Unix clone for the Intel platform. There are those who will remind you that it is technically GNU/Linux, since it uses the GNU libraries. Linux's Kernel is controled mostly by Linus, but there are several distributions from different companies.

Linux is free, and open source. BSD is free and open source. Unix is not free, but open source. MS Windows is not free and not open source.

Free and open are two seperate things.

As to which is better... From a very technical point of view, Linux/Unix/BSD and the rest all have superior multi-tasking, process management, FS, can be installed in more machines from 486s to Macs to IBM Mainframes to Cray Supercomputers. It offers the user base with much more flexiblity, lending itself to quick driver development. These OS were also designed with a multi-user mindset, and handle that much more effectively then MS Windows. When using a network FS (such as AFS) the entire network is transparent to the end user. There are no drive mappings, there are no remember which server has what.

From an end user point of view, MS Windows is much more user friendly. There are GUIs for everything, and since most of the options are removed from the user, choices are made simplier. MS Windows is a very focused OS, with years spent just on adapting the front end. Games also run better on Windows since real time programs have problems making the adaption to a multitasking environment.

Unix has since be sold to Novell, who also bought WordPerfect. If I remember correct, Novell sold WordPerfect to Corel. I don't remember if they kept Unix.