Windows and Linux are the most popular operating systems on the world market. The debate about which one is better has not subsided since the advent of systems. Adepts, as well as opponents, are many for each of them. Of course, both Linux and Windows have their own merits and demerits that some users are willing to put up with and others not. In this article, we will try to once again knock these two giants head-on and, finally, find out which is better: Windows or Linux. Go!
Any platform has advantages and disadvantages
Let's start with Linux. In general, this OS is less popular than Windows; working with it, as a rule, raises more questions from users. It should be noted that Linux is more focused on professionals than on ordinary users. It is those people who want to get the widest possible possibilities when working with a computer, and become the most ardent fans of this system. Now let's take a look at each of the advantages of Linux in turn.
The main and significant advantage is free distributions, the choice of which is quite extensive. Linux acts as the basis on which developers "hang" a graphical interface for the convenience of users. All distributions are official and completely free, which means that you have the opportunity to get at your disposal a proven and reliable OS, which is a licensed product. In this regard, Windows has nothing to brag about. The most popular distributions are: Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, Mandriva - the list goes on and on. Choose what you like best.
Free software
As you already understood, Linux is a real godsend for those who want to use a high-quality, licensed product for free. The choice of programs is quite extensive, but you still won't be able to use the most popular tools for free.
Variability
Linux is a very flexible system that allows you to literally do whatever you want with yourself. This makes this operating system an excellent choice for programmers. Computer specialists can do whatever they want in Linux, creating a wide variety of software tools to solve a wide variety of problems.
Design
Although the charm of Linux is not in the graphical interface, it should be noted the stylish and modern design of some distributions that many will like.
Performance
Linux OS is absolutely not demanding on hardware and works perfectly even on the weakest machines. Experiment with distributions and find the one that gives you the best experience while maximizing performance.
Now about the disadvantages. For all its functionality, Linux is not an entertainment system. For fans of computer games, this OS is definitely not suitable. In addition, you will have problems using popular software products, and instead you will have to use their counterparts, from which few people are delighted. All of the above can be summed up by the fact that Linux is really good for professionals in the computer field, to whom it gives advanced work opportunities, and for those who need a free licensed operating system and software products. At the same time, Linux can hardly be called a really good choice for home use.
It was the turn to talk about the mastodon and the almost absolute leader in the operating system market - Windows. This product from Microsoft is used on the vast majority of devices around the world. Perhaps, there is no person in the world who would not have encountered this OS. Someone likes her, some don't, but everyone worked with her. And now let's move on to analyzing all the advantages of Windows and try to reveal the reason for this success of this product.
Prevalence
The popularity of Windows has led to the emergence of a huge number of manuals and articles with answers to all questions of interest regarding working in the system or fixing errors in it. Although this OS is paid, there are not so many users of licensed versions. It is pirate Windows versions installed on almost every computer in the CIS countries due to their availability.
Simplicity
A huge plus of this OS is that it is convenient for both simple users and advanced users. Windows provides the ability to work in the mode command line, make changes in the registry, and so on, but for those who do not need all this and who do not understand it, this OS offers a clear and pleasant graphical interface, which is easy to understand.
Games
Where can we go without it. Quite a lot of users regularly or from time to time play computer games... The undoubted advantage of Windows is that almost all existing PC games are compatible with it. This means that if you have a product from Microsoft installed, you get access to a huge selection of computer entertainment.
Software
The vast majority of utilities and applications are created specifically for Windows, which is very good for any user. All the most popular software products are implemented on Windows, and this gives you very wide opportunities when working with a computer.
Compatibility
Unlike Linux, you are unlikely to find any device without drivers on Windows. By making a choice in favor of a product from Microsoft, you can say that you eliminate all problems with device compatibility, since all manufacturers are primarily focused on creating products compatible with Windows.
Design
Recently, the OS from Microsoft can boast of these. Design latest versions very distinctive and original. Many users did not like the huge tiles of version 8, but the decision of the developers to combine the new and old design in version 10 of the system satisfied many users. Windows 10 is very organically intertwined with the classic features embedded in the old versions, with the most modern and newfangled developments.
Microsoft Office
Anyone who has worked in Libre Office on Linux understands that they have not come up with a better text editor than Word. This utility is really irreplaceable in our time, and against its background Libre Office looks like one continuous misunderstanding, working with which brings nothing but torment.
As for the disadvantages, the main disadvantage of Windows is that it costs money. This problem is especially relevant for the CIS countries. All users are constantly downloading pirated versions that are not verified and reliable, and this, in turn, severely damages the reputation of Windows OS and the developer company Microsoft. Another drawback, which to some extent can be associated with the first, is the frequent "crashes" of the system. Perhaps every Windows user is familiar with the "blue screen" or, as it is also called, the "screen of death". Whatever one may say, but the reliability and stability of this system leaves much to be desired. In conclusion, we can say that the strength of Windows is that it is a system for everyone. Everyone will find something of their own in it, regardless of their own skills or assigned tasks. We can say that this is what makes this product so popular all over the world.
As you can see, it is not possible to make an unambiguous choice in favor of any of the systems considered in the article. All I can advise you is to try to work with one and the other, and then decide what is best for you. After all, everyone has their own ideas about good design, functionality, performance and other aspects in which to compare. With all the advantages and disadvantages of each of the operating systems, it is impossible to objectively pass a verdict, since in the end it all comes down to an elementary "taste". This article is intended to give you the necessary food for thought, which is better: Windows or Linux - you decide.
Leave your feedback on the article and write in the comments your opinion about which of the reviewed OS you think is the best and why.
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It is enough to understand once what is the blue screen of death or bsod as you like. Blue screen is the inability to read the file. Moreover, a deaf impossibility due to the absence of this file or due to the absence of a path to it. Now I’ll explain it easier. The file is missing for two reasons. First. Damage to the hard drive, which is only possible on an old computer. Second. Driver mismatch. For example. Winchester with a wide cable or bundle, the so-called IDE interface on which we install a new operating system that does not have such drivers. In this case, you need to take care and download the drivers separately and have them during installation. Another option. On a sata hard drive, or a new hard drive, we install an old operating system, for example, windows xp, Zver, and so on. These operating systems do not include satov drivers. The result is a screen of death. There are no other options and cannot be. In the case of full compliance of the drivers, everything will be fine if you do not deliberately mock the computer and do not pull the plug out of the outlet while pleasing your psycho. In this case, you will ruin your hard drive in a few turns and then you will receive a screen of death due to an unreadable hard drive. It is better not to repair bad clusters or places in the hard drive and not even waste time. Winchester is a very complex device that requires respect and care. Take care of the howling computer. Do not try to experiment, otherwise you will get such crap and financial costs on your ass that it is easier to buy a new computer.
Author)))) What would you know. Just for wild beginners and for home use, Linux is ideal. At least by the fact that it does not allow you to delete your system folders in the usual way for Windows. Secondly, the same mint mate is very similar in the arrangement of buttons and program menus to Windows. Third, what is there in Linux for beginners? Specialized programs - that's how it should be written. Fourth, is there poor technical support in Linux? I beg you)))) On the forums they will chew like they do not teach pensioners in computer courses. And they will not laugh at the same time.
You must first work in LeebreOffiese to evaluate this program correctly.
I graduated from the LeebreOffiese Institute, I built graphics and wrote a diploma in it. 4.5years of practice.
All markers are different in taste and color.
Or someone can say with 100% certainty that the sea is better than the lake, and the ocean is better than the river.
Someone who is trying to prove what? Unless to convince ourselves once again ...
Linux uses a standard disk partitioning scheme and can share a hard disk with other systems, incl. with DOS.
There is a bootloader that allows you to selectively load the required OS from disk.
Support for file systems of other operating systems.
From Linux, you can work with hard disk partitions and floppy disks containing file systems of other operating systems in the usual way, incl. DOS, Windows 95, Minix, Xenix, Coherent, System V file systems. DoubleSpace, HPFS-2 (OS / 2) and Amiga file systems are read-only.
File systems DoubleSpace / Stacked etc. become available for reading and writing in Linux when the DOS emulator is running.
File system Linux OS supports all standard CD ROM formats.
Linux is capable of being both a client and a server for an NFS network file system. Linux supports NCP and SMB protocols and can serve as a file server or access NetWare and Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT file servers.
Installing Linux on a DOS partition.
Linux supports the UMSDOS file system, which makes it possible to install Linux directly into the DOS file system without redoing the hard disk partitions.
On the basis of UMSDOS, a 4-disk Mini-Linux distribution kit is built, which is installed in the DOS file system.
Working with floppy disks in DOS format.
You can read and write DOS floppies from Linux. This is done both with the usual Linux tools (then the floppy is mounted as part of the file system), and with special commands for servicing DOS floppies. Floppy disks are also available in the DOS emulator.
Execution of DOS application programs.
Linux runs dosemu, a DOS emulator. This program allows you to run a DOS system on Linux, in which DOS application programs run normally. Many DOS programs can run, but not all. For example, a DOS emulator allows you to work with
- information databases:
- Consultant +,
- Price pulse,
- Wholesalers of Russia,
- and etc.;
- software systems for accounting tasks.
DOS applications running on Linux can use both the DOS partition file system and the Linux file system, incl. network file system NFS.
A DOS application runs in parallel with other processes. Multiple DOS applications can run at the same time.
Working with MS Windows applications.
The WINE system is under development, which allows you to run MS Windows applications on X Windows. In this case, the MS Windows system is not used and its presence is not required. WINE currently allows a limited number of MS Windows applications to run. Such popular programs as Word, PageMaker, CorelDraw do not work with the WINE system yet. The WINE project is under intensive development, and these and other applications will eventually be available for use on X Windows.
In the DOS emulator, you can run MS Windows 3.0 in real mode and related applications. MS Windows 3.1 and Windows for Workgroups work in the 0.63 emulator, although for this purpose dosemu should be considered an alpha version for now. The DOS emulator is evolving rapidly.
Willows Software, Inc. developed the commercial TWIN XPDK system. This system contains a component that is functionally similar to WINE, with which X Windows runs Microsoft applications Office Applications, Word, Excel and Project. In general, TWIN XPDK is a set of tools for developing MS Windows applications (including for Win95), which allows a developer to easily port applications between a number of platforms, including Unix, OS / 2, Mac.
Caldera, Inc. , the start-up capital of which was the investment of Noorda Family Trust, Inc. (Ray Noorda is the former CEO of Novell) sells Linux-based Caldera Network Desktop. Caldera licensed Wabi from SunSoft, Inc., a commercial system functionally similar to the free WINE system. For under $ 200, Wabi will ship as part of the Caldera Solutions CD.
Execution of programs from different versions of Unix.
With the iBCS2 emulator, Linux can run downloadable programs from SCO Unix, Xenix V / 386, SVR3 generic, Wyse V / 386, SVR4 (Unixware, USL, Dell), BSD / OS, FreeBSD. For example, such SCO Unix applications as CorelDraw, WordPerfect, Oracle work on Linux.
Linux (and vice versa) is easily portable at source level programs from Unix System V and BSD systems.
Linux supports open systems standards, incl. POSIX. The world leader in information technology standardization and UNIX brand holder, X / Open has awarded Linux a POSIX.1 FIPS151-2 certification. This means the official recognition of the fact that almost all Unix applications can be portable to Linux without problems. Certification regarding POSIX.2, POSIX.4 and POSIX.7 is just around the corner. Lasermoon, the company that makes the Linux-FT distribution, has an X / Open membership.
I have already described the situation with. In short, if you really need Word to the bone, then the only adequate way out is virtual machine... But is it necessary? After all, Linux has several native office suites.
Linux? No, have not heard…
In this article, we'll talk about this - are the office suites available in Linux compatible with MS Office, and if so, how much. I'll make a reservation right away - I'm interested in the first and only place work with texts, so all of the following will mainly concern word processors- Word and its Linux counterparts.
I'd love to write something about presentations and spreadsheets, but I'm not good at them. On the other hand, my work is closely related to texts, and almost every day about a dozen text files pass through me, often containing, in addition to text, pictures, both made directly in Word, and inserted from outside, tables, formulas, quite often complex formatting. In general, the conditions for testing are very good.
When I moved to Linux, it became obvious that the most important aspect of local office suites for me is the ability to open any document created in Word and how much appearance will match how this document looks in Word. After talking about this topic on the forums and in social networks, I came to the conclusion that it is this moment that worries many.
This is exactly what I will talk about below, of course, having told a little about each office suite as a whole.
To begin with, initially I planned to create a kind of "synthetic test" - a page in Word, with different formatting elements, pictures, formulas, etc. However, it immediately became clear that the idea was not the best, as it weakly reflects the real situation of things. Therefore, I chose a different tactic - for two weeks I watched how this or that program opens text files created in Word, and above I mentioned that I view an average of ten of them a day. Two weeks have passed, and now I have something to tell you.
Our test subjects are four office suites - two are currently "heard" - Libre Office and WPS Office. And two more are less frequently mentioned Softmaker Office and Calligra Suite.
Libre Office
I must say right away that if you need to open a document created in Word, and there is a need for it to look exactly as the author intended, this is not about Libre Office. The main problems that caught my eye were the fact that it “does not pick up” some of the text formatting, and also has problems with pictures and diagrams made directly in Word. Some of them are distorted beyond recognition. Also, for some reason, Libre Office Writer did not correctly "pick up" the page margin settings in all cases, as a result of which the text looked anything you like, but not like in Word. On the other side, if you basically need to open a document, then Libre Office is "ahead of the rest". While in other products some elements are simply not displayed, "libra" will try to show everything, albeit a little lopsided. In other words, the package has its own interface, and does not copy anything. It remotely resembles the old versions of MS Office, but only remotely. It is convenient and pleasant to work with Libre Office. Basically on Linux I use this office suite and these lines are typed in Libre Office Writer.
I also can not help but note that they are now preparing for the release. a new version Libre Office, in which many changes have been made, including those aimed at increasing compatibility with MS Office formats. So the situation described above may change soon. Also, as far as I know, work is underway on a "ribbon" interface in the style of Microsoft products. I don’t know how anyone, but I’m already used to such an interface, and I think that it is very convenient, especially in the context of a text editor. So we are waiting.
WPS Office
On the forums, WPS Office is often called "fully compatible with MS Office", so I installed it with particular interest. Indeed, there is some measure of compatibility. Let's not forget that we are currently working only with the alpha version, so everything is still ahead, as they say.
Meanwhile, even now we can safely say that most of the documents in WPS Writer look the same as in Word, and this is more of an achievement! For myself, I noted problems with many formulas that WPS, unlike Libre, does not show at all. He also does not want to show some bitmap images inserted into text files. Moreover, I could not identify any regularities. Some show up, some don't. The problem is not often, but "pops up". Among other things, a few more minor problems can be noted, for example, markers that are not always displayed correctly in bulleted lists, etc.
WPS Office has two interface modes, one more like Word 2003 and the other more like modern versions. Unfortunately, the modern "ribbon" interface, in my opinion, is not very well developed. However, in any case, the presence of an office suite that provides such a high degree of compatibility with MS Office even at the alpha testing stage is very encouraging. Although for everyday work, WPS, subjectively, is still "damp".
Softmaker Office
The third product I want to talk about is Softmaker Office (). Version 2016 for Windows is available on the developer's site, while only version 2012 is available for Linux so far. For some reason, I did not take this office seriously. And in vain. Oddly enough, it is the word processor in this package that, in my opinion, provides the best compatibility with Word. Problems arose only with formulas for which a formula editor different from the "native" Word-ovsky was used. Everything else opened up just fine.
Of course, not without a fly in the ointment. Softmaker Office is a paid product. Full version costs $ 80. There is a free version, which includes a number of restrictions - if we talk about text editor, then this is the inability to save files in DOCX and PDF formats - only DOC and "native" format, as well as a number of other restrictions. However, if the office suite is not your main work tool, then free version quite enough. Here, by the way, it is important to note that it is free, including for commercial use.
Otherwise, everything is very good, the program looks serious, the interface, however, is similar to Word 2003, but in the paid version it is quite flexible. Although, for those who are accustomed to the "ribbon" interface, this may be small, but a disadvantage.
Calligra Suite
The last one to discuss is the Calligra Suite. Unfortunately, the discussion will be short. The worst compatibility with Word is a direct disadvantage (do not forget that the article is not about office suites per se, but about compatibility).
I will not even describe all the aspects in which Calligra "messes up" in compatibility, there are too many of them. In addition, for me personally, the original interface of the program is not at all "proper" - all the toolbars in it are located to the right of the text. And although it may be very appropriate on modern widescreen "rectangular" monitors, it turned out to be difficult to get used to, although it is subjective.
Summarize
In recent years, the situation with office suites on Linux has improved dramatically. At least, there is already Libre Office here, which really easily covers the lion's share of the needs of an ordinary user.
If you need compatibility with Word, you should pay attention to Softmaker Office, the developing WPS Office is at least worth a look - that's for sure.
The Calligra Suite, unfortunately, comes across as a kinky product. From what I read on the net, we can conclude that it is.
Well, if compatibility with Word is needed "final and irrevocable" - a virtual machine with Windows and MS Office is your choice.
( 2007-08-15 )
To make a decision as to whether a certain computer can work great under Linux or not, you need to check all its components - a video card, sound card, printer, scanner, digital camera and other devices for compatibility with Linux.
Of course, over the past decade, support for various hardware in Linux has improved markedly, and now you have a fairly large chance of buying a computer to run almost any distribution kit on it without any problems. However, there is still some hardware that is not currently supported.
Today, almost all equipment works well, but you should be wary of equipment that is controlled by programs, not buttons. Because the programs are most likely written for Windows and sometimes Mac OS X.
Even when the manufacturer declares support for Linux, be very careful. Most likely, you will have to go to the manufacturer's website, where, very likely, you will find not entirely fresh information. A search on the Internet will also not be very useful, because as a result, you will find many pages with outdated or not entirely correct information in your case.
Below is a list of some Internet resources, the information on which is regularly updated and is quite complete and detailed.
Video cards
If you want to check if your video card is supported, start with the X.Org website, there is a list of supported video cards. You can also check the manufacturer's website. This is true, for example, for video cards from NVIDIA and ATI. In addition, there is the Nouveau project, which develops open drivers for NVIDIA cards, and its counterpart, the Avivo project, which develops open drivers for ATI cards... However, none of these projects have released an official release yet.
If you are unsure of which one is better to choose - open source or proprietary - there are several ways to make this choice. Firstly, you can make a choice based on your philosophy, but most likely the choice will be made based on their functionality. The main problem with open-source drivers is limited or completely absent support for 3D capabilities, while proprietary drivers are slow and (especially ATI) unstable.
Another option is the policy of the distribution you are using. Commercial distributions like Xandros and Linspire usually have proprietary drivers already included, while Ubuntu uses open source ones. However, Ubuntu also has Restricted Device Manager, which makes it easy to install proprietary drivers on the system. Fedora 7 is one of the first distributions to use Nouveau drivers whenever possible instead of proprietary NVIDIA drivers.
Sound cards
Unfortunately, there is no single site with detailed information, but you can check the list of Linux-compatible cards on the Linux-Sound site. You can also get information from the Linux Audio Developers mailing lists.
Another good source is the Soundcard Matrix on the ALSA project website. If your card is in this matrix and the Notes column is empty, your card is guaranteed to be supported.
Printers
You are guaranteed to work with any printer that supports the Universal PostScript language. However, if you want more information, start with the Printer Compatibility Database, which is part of the OpenPrinting project (Formerly LinuxPrinting.org).
The Printer Compatibility Database is an almost ideal source of information on printers. It contains almost all known printers. It sets its own support level for each printer: Good, Mainly, Partially and Paperweight :). The base also describes with which driver what printer how it works, and a detailed description of the settings for full use of the printer. Alternatively, you can choose a printer for your tasks, using part of the same database. All information is based on user reports.
Scanners
If you are using a multifunction printer as your scanner, the printer database (see the previous chapter) can help you. However, the main source of scanner compatibility information is the SANE Project Information Finder, which can help you find information about the suitability of a particular model for use on Linux. If you have any problems, it is best to ask questions on the SANE project forum.
Digital cameras
Modern digital cameras have abandoned the closed protocols of the past in favor of the open one - USB, for which Linux support is very high. However, if you still need to make sure that your camera will be supported, refer to the gPhoto project, which has a database of more than nine hundred items. Another source is the Hubert Figuiere database, which contains detailed information not only on camera support, but also on configuring the system to use them.
Wireless adapters
A few years ago, the main gap in device support was modems. These days these are wireless adapters. In addition, the constant release of new models further complicates support. So, for example, two related models may have fundamentally different firmware and, accordingly, require different drivers.
The only site with information on wireless adapters that is up to date, maintained by Jean Tourrilhes and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. The information on the site is posted quite chaotically, but if you want to understand it, you can.
If your adapter is not supported, you may be able to start it with, or, for Broadcom adapters,. Both of these projects are actually a wrapper for drivers from Windows or Mac OS X.
The disadvantage of both programs is that you need to use lspci to get the Bus ID of your adapter. Therefore, before you buy something, see how many adapters similar to yours are supported by ndiswrapper.
Laptops and other mobile devices
New hardware is bought from time to time, and of course you want it to work on Linux. It's not that the free community doesn't know how or doesn't want to support devices - experience shows that it can and can. The point is greedy and stupid manufacturers who do not want not only to write drivers for their hardware, but even to open specifications for their devices. Usually, if the hardware does not work in Linux, then such a manufacturer, as a rule, does not deserve attention at all.
This post talks about Linux and Linux hardware installation. Installing hardware on Linux is easy, and below are some resources to help you with this.
Where can I find information on Linux device and peripheral compatibility?
http://linux-wless.passys.nl/ - extended base of WiFi cards for Linux.This is the most complete resource for supporting wireless network cards in Linux, you can look at the manufacturers - and if supported, then the name of the driver is immediately given.
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-mfgs.html - a list of Linux scanners that are supported by the SANE subsystem.A list of scanner models that work in Linux, depending on the manufacturer. Compatibility gradations: full support, partial, basic, no support. It also indicates which backend is required for the device to work.
http://openprinting.org/printer_list.cgi - a database of running Linux printers supported by the CUPS printing subsystem, which provides Linux printer drivers inLinux distributions.Convenient search by printer model and manufacturer. Compatibility gradations: works, works almost, works limited, ballast.
Databases by device category
http://www.linuxcompatible.org/compatibility.html - a database of all Linux-compatible devices, from sound cards to printers and scanners. There are gradations of compatibility: it works perfectly, works for the most part, some functions work, ballast. The base is very extensive, from time to time it is updated by the site creators. An excellent resource, anyway.
http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/ - base of devices supported by kernels 2.6.15 and higher... Just copy the output of lspci -n from the console and get information about the support for the hardware located on the motherboard.
http://www.linux-laptop.net/ - the most complete resource on running Linux on laptops. The page contains a classification by manufacturer, further - links by model to specific pages of users, telling what and how they did to get the functionality of their laptops. Most of the information is in English, but other languages are also present.
http://start.at/modem - a great resource for supporting such flawed devices as winmodems... It turns out that you can also extract something from this ballast: an impressive list of supported devices is given.
http://www.phoronix.com/lch/ - custom database of supported devices. It starts to fill up, you can take part in it too. There are RSS feeds for a specific type of piece of iron, and for all at once.
- great resource on Linux devices with links to HOWTOs and "how to set up". On the page - classification by device type, then - links to how to configure and what problems may arise. There are also links to general information on these devices. Very informative. There is a news feed on the site (new documentation).
http://cdb.suse.de/?LANG=en_UK - list of devices compatible with SuSE Linux. Updated database of compatible devices with SuSe Linux. As a rule, these devices work in other distributions too.
http://www.linuxtested.com/ - compatibility and operation of devices by distribution. The site has information on testing devices on the following distributions: SuSE, Redhat / Fedora, TurboLinux, Debian, Mandrake.
http://www.linux.org/hardware/ - hardware running Linux. The list is not complete, but it can be useful - there is information about exotic hardware for which there is support in Linux.
http://www.linux-drivers.org/ - Links to many Linux compatibility resources. A large number of links to resources and hardware support in Linux.
http://hardware4linux.info/ - linux-compatible hardware directory, division into categories: "works right out of the box", "works with modification", "unknown", "works partially" and "does not work". A fairly large and constantly updated database of devices.
http://www.linmodems.org/ - a database of support for perverse devices such as wine modems. In them, all the main activity is shifted to a driver written for you-you-know-which-system. As a result, there are almost no "brains" on the device, just as the manufacturers of such devices do not have them. Through the efforts of free programmers, many of these devices can be made to work on Linux.
