Contrary to what Microsoft may have lead you believe, there are out there viable and reliable alternatives to Microsoft Windows. Microsoft may have a stronghold on the market, plowing all competition into the dust- but there are groups of people, dedicated people, who are willing to go up against the corporate giant and release new operating systems that provide the user with software that is just as good, if not better than the software Microsoft push on us every five years.
You know the drill. You buy a machine and it comes with Windows, whichever Windows happens to be most current at the time of purchase. Basically its a game of 'get what you're given and be glad you got it', but think about it for a second. Microsoft, controls your machine, they control the way you access the internet, their machines are susceptible to far more viruses than any of the alternate operating systems. So why, oh why, are we stuck with them? The answer is, we should not. There is actually a whole book dedicated to this subject, called "After The Software Wars", by Keith Curtis, which I will be reviewing shortly.
Groups such as Mandriva, Fedora, SUSE, Ubuntu and Knoppix, all produce operating systems under the banner of Linux that will operate your PC in exactly the same way as a Windows machine. You will be able to email, to surf the internet via your broadband connection, and do anything you want to do with your machine. The operating systems come with full office suites straight out of the box, which is something neither Microsoft or Apple do. There are photo manipulation programs on par with industry standards, hundreds of games (for those of you who like to waste valuable working time flinging a penguin down a hill on a bobsled), music software, programming software to allow you to create your own software from scratch, educational software for highschool math, english, history, an encyclopedia, and even a program listing a full periodic table are all included within the software absolutely free. Yes, thats right, free. So the next question you have to ask yourself is why do we pay nearly obscene amounts for Windows when all additional software must be purchased separately. Indeed, even Microsoft's own much vaunted 3D operating software created for Vista has been matched by Mandriva in their latest release. The answer to this question is that I honestly don't know!
Linux costs a mere $0 to download. You can also pay a small fee ($4.99 to $14.99) for a magizine which comes with an install cd. In other words, all you pay for is the magazine itself. Just pop the disk in and give it a go. The software can be installed along with your current Windows system, (dual booting) giving you the option to run both operating systems at once. You can choose before your machine starts up. Linux is also more secure. Last year there were millions of viruses released onto Windows machines, 76,000 for Apple Macs and virtually none for Linux.
As an interesting point, the Linux operating system on your machine will be able to access all the files you have saved under Windows, it just wont work the other way around. I say no more on that.
Comments
I am seriously considering using Linux on my old machine, because I hear it runs better. I'm sick of Windows, sick of fighting the spyware and viruses, and just sick of Bill Gates arrogant attitude.
" Last year there were millions of viruses released onto Windows machines, 76,000 for Apple Macs and virtually none for Linux."
Know why?
Who would write a virus for an OS with 0% market share?
Linux is bigger than what you think you know Wayne from Al, microsoft themselves have stated that Linux is there biggest foe. At the end of the day it is good that we have a choice, your choice is windows which is great for you but for me it has to be Linux because it fulfils my needs. I am not a technical person but I find everything easy to use in Linux, fast on my pc and secure. Ohh and my five kids use it on there computers.
Exactly, who would write virus for an OS with almost zero market shares? Apple used to make the same illogical argument, although glad to say, it has pretty much been discredited. It is elementary logic that since Microsoft has 90 percent of the operating system market, 90 percent of the virus are target it its OS. Also, there is literally millions of software that run on Windows, any of those applications can have a vulnerability that allow virus to be introduced. There is also millions of coders all over the world that know how to write software for Microsoft OS; of course that is what they would write virus for.
These kind of articles perpetuate folk tales, misinformation and outright lazy thinking.
@ Ian Holton:
I agree, it is good to have choice, and that should be the message. One can make a legitimate argument for alternative operating system or software; be it Linux or some other brand without making claims that are based on myth, lazy thinking, prejudices or personal opinion than on solid reason based on facts. I agree Linux can be a more appropriate alternative, depending on a lot of reasons.
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