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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Cyber Cynic

Why Linux will crush Windows 7

306 comments

TAGS:desktop linux, Linux, Vista, Windows, Windows 7
IT TOPICS:Desktops & Servers, Hardware, Laptops & Netbooks, Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems, Software, Windows & Microsoft

I've been toying with Windows 7 for a few days now. I'm not ready yet to talk about it in detail yet, but I can say that it's better than Vista SP1. Of course, saying 7 is better than Vista isn't saying much. However, I recently read a Network World column, which claims that Windows 7 will crush Linux. Yeah, and the Detroit Lions are going to win the Super Bowl this year.

Desktop Linux is moving forward. All the major computer vendors are now selling at least one PC, laptop or netbook with Linux. Many, if not most, PCs and netbooks will have SplashTop Linux soldiered right on their motherboard in 2009. Netbooks, the new hot computer model, often have Linux running on them. And, oh yeah, some company named Google seems to be making some interesting moves with Android Linux on netbooks. Oh, and have I mentioned that Windows' market share has actually dropped below 90% of the desktop market.

Windows 7 also isn't going to make friends with today's XP users. True, lots of people seem to really like Windows 7 at this early stage. I think what we're really seeing though is just Windows users who are thrilled that 7 hasn't proved to be a total waste of bytes the way Vista was.

Just because Windows 7 doesn't suck dead groundhogs through rusty Chevy tailpipes doesn't mean it's good however. As InfoWorld reviewer Randall Kennedy so succinctly put it: "Windows 7 looks like Vista, and it runs like Vista. Welcome to Windows Vista R2!."

Desktop Linux, as the powerhouse trio of Fedora, openSUSE and Ubuntu shows, is continuing to increase performance and add new valuable features with every six-month or so step forward. And, of course, Linux remains far more secure and stable than any version of Windows ever has been or will be.

So, how exactly is Windows 7 going to 'crush' Linux? First, the author makes broad claims that, "Windows 7 installs easier, has simpler configuration of user settings, greater availability of software, support (you could argue that all support is awful, which is probably true) Windows support is easier to get when you need help. Gaming, MP3's… I could go on and on."

Ah... what is he talking about? I install operating systems all the time, and Linux and its software has become almost mindlessly simple to install. If you want absolute and complete control of an operating system, it's Linux and the BSD Unixes by a country mile over Windows. As for software choice, come on! Linux has, if anything, too many programs to choose from. Office suites, IM clients, media players, you name it; you have half-a-dozen decent choices in Linux. Windows? You can pick between Microsoft's product and maybe one or two others. That's it.

I'm also unclear on this 'support' stuff. I find it as easy to get support for Linux as I do for Windows. The one difference is that I usually get the right answers for my Linux problems. MP3s? What about them? All my Linux media players can play them. There are some that can't? The sole point where he is right is that Linux doesn't have as many flashy games as Windows. Personally, however, I'll take a PlayStation 3 or other game console over any PC for top-flight gaming.

Moving to the specific, the author seems to think that it's 1999 when he says that since 7 will have a decent command shell, PowerShell, Linux users won't have that to hold against Windows anymore. Pardon? PowerShell has been around for a long time, and it's great that Microsoft finally figured out that a shell is darn handy for system administrators, but that's old news. Besides, the interface debates in Linux circles have long been about GUIs-GNOME vs. KDE 3.5.x vs. KDE 4.x-not BASH vs. C. vs. tsch.

He also thinks that since Windows users have finally figured out that open-source software is useful that will somehow lead to Linux being crushed. I just don't see the connection there at all. If anything, it's another reason for why the Linux desktop will gain in popularity. If all you do at work can be done with Firefox and OpenOffice, why would you want to pay for Windows 7 when any Linux PC can give you the same programs?

Last, and least, he gives a laundry list of features. I didn't see a one that's also not available on Linux. Well, that's not quite true. He actually likes UAC (User Account Control). He's the only person I've ever even heard of who likes UAC. It is, I will say, better in 7 than it is in Vista. To me, that means it's only three, four generations behind Linux's use of file and program permissions and sudo for managing how much control any one user has over a PC.

Windows 7 is just warmed over Vista. It's great that with 7 Vista may actually be usable now, but it's Linux, not Windows, that's leading the way to the future of the desktop. Linux won't crush Windows anytime soon. There are just too many people who are married to Windows. But, the slow crush of Windows by both Mac OS and Linux has begun.

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I agree with you. the slow

Submitted by laurentlinux on January 25, 2010 - 1:15 P.M.

I agree with you.
the slow crush of Windows by both Mac OS and Linux has begun.

The surprise is that a such company didn't realize in mid'90 or early 2000 that open source nor internet market became a so big picture for all companies.

Sorry for my french-english

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Love using Linux, but it's

Submitted by Anonymous on January 22, 2010 - 1:15 P.M.

Love using Linux, but it's been around since 1992 and still hasn't caught up with Windows marketshare. I agree it has its uses and is finally getting more attention, but to say it will "crush Windows" is a little far-fetched. People who have been using Windows for many years would rather pay to upgrade to something they know how to use than to spend their time using a command line (not everything in Linux is an easy install). Just trying to install wireless drivers is a pain in the ass for someone who is used to popping in a CD and clicking 'install'. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Linux user. I've trying to convert family, but they just stare at the screen with a blank look. Put them in front of a fresh install of Windows 7 and there's no learning curve. Until Linux makes thing 'just work', most people are willing to put up with a few Windows issues.

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As for Joe and "Mr. I think

Submitted by Anonymous on December 27, 2009 - 11:08 P.M.

As for Joe and "Mr. I think linux has bugs", you guys are both forgetting about the biggest linux distributor of all..MAC OS. Yes I will agree that most unix based OS's that are open-source, which are free, have beta's and bugs. On the other hand you have Apple who has mastered the unix realm of making an operating system. I have owned a mac for over 4 years with no problems or bugs. The fact of the matter is that Windows is like swiss cheese everything finds a way through, even with emulating unix shell, give it time and some idiot will figure a way to make spyware and viruses for Windows 7. The really hilarious fact is that in the 1980's Bill Gates and Apple were competing for the Graphical User Interface market, with Bill gates stealing XDOS. He then marketed XDOS as his own and called it MSDOS. It's just funny now how he finally fell to the UNIX realm.

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Steven, I'm sorry, but you

Submitted by Joe Milo on November 30, 2009 - 11:34 A.M.

Steven, I'm sorry, but you are wrong. I love Linux in principal and how it works, but it does not come close to the level of usability of Windows 7. People have said it here before - but Windows, and it's components, just work, and to say that any Linux distribution is on that level, is nothing more than ignorance and hatred for Microsoft. I tried my best with Fedora 8-11 and recent Ubuntu releases, but it reaches a point where you just need to get your work done. Not everyone is prepared to be a systems administrator. With Windows, you can be equally as productive without being an admin or a programmer. Comments like yours, and other Linux lovers, proove that you cannot put yourself in the shoes of the average computer user.

I'm happy to pay the people at Microsoft to make an OS that will work for me and allow me to do what I need to do. Other than that, I'm happy to use open source programs as much as possible. My feeling is that Linux lovers who just can't manage a Linux distro are better off choosing well researched open source software running on Windows. Don't like the PowerShell? Then get UnxUtils or Cygwin. Many Open Source Linux applications are complied for Windows. Problems solved and you can get on with your life.

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SJVN is deluded.

Submitted by Anonymous on November 22, 2009 - 1:55 A.M.

Referring to the sloppy mess that is Linux as "the future" is ludicrous. By "sloppy" I mean:

updates that lead to instability and loss of functionality

updates that change settings

updates that break applications

haphazard and poorly integrated features

hacks needed to work around bugs

"Constant beta" is a fair description. Linux needs upgraded support and product management, not the arrogance typified by SJVN.

Mindlessly bashing Windows based on old memes doesn't cut it. This decade has seen Windows go from the ugly cousin of OS X to the highest functioning, most robust, most stable, and most intrinsically secure desktop. Linux can make no such claim.

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Linux is just one big beta

Submitted by Truth on November 17, 2009 - 4:09 P.M.

Linux is just one big beta headache.
80% of Linux programs look like windows 3.1
If you say otherwise, you are in denile and probably just want to be excepted for being different or some other gay emotion. I have 13 boxes running in my building all with different OS's. XP is by far 100% the most stable, user friendly, fastest crunch box I've ever ran. To list a few:
Ubuntu and Kubuntu will completly lockup.
Redhat is alright.
Vista is pothetic.
OSX is great but limited.
Windows 7 is getting there but has issues.

Again. XP cannot be beat.
and all you Linux fanboys know it.
So stop pretending. hands down there is no competition.
I'm not a hardcore windows fan. I'm just laying it all out on the table the way it is.
I love programing.
I love the idea of open source. It's a great hobby. but that's all it is.
Later haters.

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one great thing

Submitted by Anonymous on November 17, 2009 - 4:27 P.M.

One thing I love about Linux is I get a 30 000 euros more in salary per year by using it.
all the rest is not so important.

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I would say good for

Submitted by Omar on November 7, 2009 - 7:38 A.M.

I would say good for Microsoft. But what microsoft is getting at "now" in 2009 .... linux has already been there well a decade ago.

Look at windows 7. Doesn't the taskbar looks like KDE before KDE4 came out?

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Linux Rocks!

Submitted by Anonymous on November 3, 2009 - 5:54 A.M.

No doubt,Windows is coming up with new things, but I completely agree that Linux is far more Secure and Stable which is a necessary requirement of an operating system.

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Not exactly. I love linux

Submitted by Anonymous on November 2, 2009 - 6:25 P.M.

Not exactly. I love linux and all, but in both of the computers on which I installed linux I was faced with numerous difficulties- some solvable (with some difficulty) and other that could not be resolved, e.g. wireless reliability, hibernation/suspend support, buggy programs, etc. And yes I tried almost everything. Until such major compatability issues can be sorted out, Windows 7 does indeed crush Linux as far as many of us are concerned.

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