Ten key differences between Linux and Windows

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Jack Wallen

Published: 03 Sep 2008 16:04 BST

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…is the ideal desktop for you. With Linux, you can pretty much make your desktop look and feel exactly how you want/need. You can have as much or as little on your desktop as you want. From simple flat Fluxbox to a full-blown 3D Compiz experience, the Linux desktop is as flexible an environment as there is on a computer.

8. Fanboys vs corporate types
I wanted to add this because even though Linux has reached well beyond its school-project roots, Linux users can be soapbox-dwelling fanatics who are quick to spout off about why you should be choosing Linux over Windows. I am guilty of this on a daily basis (I try hard to recruit new fanboys/girls), and it's a badge I wear proudly.

Of course, this is seen as less than professional by some. After all, why would something worthy of a corporate environment have or need cheerleaders? Shouldn't the software sell itself?

Because of the open-source nature of Linux, it has to make do without the help of the marketing budgets and deep pockets of Microsoft. With that comes the need for fans to help spread the word. And word of mouth is the best friend of Linux.

Some see the fanaticism as the same college-level hoorah that keeps Linux in the basements for LUG meetings and science projects, but I beg to differ. Another company, thanks to the phenomenon of a simple music player and phone, has fallen into the same fanboy fanaticism, and yet that company's image has not been besmirched because of that fanaticism.

Windows does not have these same fans. Instead, Windows has a league of paper-certified administrators who believe the hype when they hear the misrepresented market-share numbers reassuring them they will be employable until the end of time.

9. Automated vs nonautomated removable media
I remember the days of old when you had to mount your floppy to use it and unmount it to remove it. Well, those times are drawing to a close — though not completely.

One issue that plagues new Linux users is how removable media is used. The idea of having to manually 'mount' a CD drive to access the contents of a CD is completely foreign to new users.

There is a reason this is the way it is. Because Linux has always been a multi-user platform, it was thought that forcing a user to mount a media to use it would keep the user's files from being overwritten by another user. Think about it: on a multi-user system, if everyone had instant access to a disk that had been inserted, what would stop them from deleting or overwriting a file you had just added to the media?

Things have now evolved to the point where Linux subsystems are set up so that you can use a removable device in the same way you use them in Windows, but it's not the norm. And besides, who doesn't want to manually edit the /etc/fstab fle?

10. Multilayered run levels vs single-layered run level
I couldn't figure out how best to title this point, so I went with a description. What I'm talking about is Linux's inherent ability to stop at different run levels.

With this, you can work from either the command line (run level 3) or the GUI (run level 5). This can really save your bacon when X Windows is playing up and you need to figure out the problem. You can do this by booting into run level 3, logging in as root, and finding/fixing the problem.

With Windows, you're lucky to get to a command line via safe mode — and then you may or may not have the tools you need to fix the problem. In Linux, even in run level 3, you can still get and install a tool to help you out (hello apt-get install APPLICATION via the command line).

Having different run levels is helpful in another way. Say the machine in question is a web or mail server. You want to give it all the memory you have, so you don't want the machine to boot into run level 5. However, there are times when you do want the GUI for administrative purposes (even though you can fully administer a Linux server from the command line). Because you can run the startx command from the command line at run level 3, you can still start up X Windows and have your GUI as well. With Windows, you are stuck at the Graphical run level unless you hit a serious problem.

Credit: 10 fundamental differences between Linux and Windows from TechRepublic.com

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