What's the difference between Windows & Linux?

Unlike Microsoft Windows, most Linux operating systems are available to download entirely free of charge. If you are buying a new computer, then you should be aware that most of them come with Windows pre-installed and this is included in the cost. One way to save on the cost of a new computer and get the operating system you really want is to build your own machine and install a Linux OS instead of Windows. Check out this learn how to build your own computer online course to find out how to do it yourself.

Linux is generally considered to be more secure than Microsoft Windows. The majority of viruses are designed to run on Windows rather than other operating systems. The open-source nature of Linux, where a vast network of developers work on developing the OS, means that bugs and security issues are usually spotted and ironed out quickly.

Not every piece of software will run on all operating systems. Microsoft Office does not run on Linux, but there are near-identical open-source Office packages that allow you to write documents, create spreadsheets, and work on your presentations. Ubuntu12.04 comes with one such package, LibreOffice, pre-installed, whereas Windows requires you to install office software after OS installation. You can save each document you create in LibreOffice as a file that can be opened by Microsoft Office programs, so you do not need to worry about compatibility issues affecting your work.

If there is a particular piece of software that you need to use, then it is worth checking whether it is available for Linux before you go ahead with changing your operating system. Adobe Photoshop, for example, is not available for Linux, so if you need to use this software then you will need to either stick with Windows or install a Windows emulator such as Wine on top of your Linux OS.

Although not all of your favorite programs will run in Linux, the good news is that many of the open-source alternatives that have been developed are completely free of charge.

Whereas most regular users are probably happy to stick with the Windows OS that their computer came with, many programmers and scientists feel more at home in Linux. The Linux bash shell allows you to write and run simple scripts that can be used to automate processes. To find out more, try this online introduction to bash scripting and Python101. If you are new to writing scripts, you can learn about the principles of coding in this free introduction to computer science and programming from MIT.

Windows is an OS that is owned by Microsoft. You have to pay for it. The latest version of windows operating system is win8.1 but it is not yet advisable to go for it and wait for sometime before all the drivers and updates are available. There are people still using windows7. Elderly people who have used windows7 for a long time generally do not want to go for win8. There are some  customers who even want to downgrade from win8 to win7 which is not advisable as all the drivers may not be available in the recovery cd. And there are a few who love their Xp. XP is like a rough road vehicle. You can run it on minimum hardware configuration.

Windows8 is for the upwardly mobile young person who also has an apps enabled mobile. For him or her using the mobile , and using the tablet, laptop touch screen would be a similar experience. But if you are a gamer or blogger and use the computer for a long period of time and need to type the touch screen is not enough. Hence a wireless mouse and keyboard are also provided for convenience.

Also MS office is a different package apart from the windows OS and you have to purchase it separately.  If you do not want to buy there is open office which can be downloaded from the internet. But it would not have the latest features.                

In India at least widows is used by the corporate world. But Linux is used by the educational fraternity as it is free of cost.  Also95% of the super computers worldwide run on Linux. The android OS used in mobiles, tablets and videogames.  also use the Linux kernel.

Windows is owned by MicroSoft  with Bill Gates as the figurehead. Linux was started by Linus Trovalds in1991. Both use Graphic user interface. With windows having DOS running in the background and Linux has Unix.

Some popular versions of Linux are Ubuntu, and commercial version Red hat enterprise Linux.

The choice of the OS would depend on your own choice, and the choice of the computer brand you buy.

If the computer comes with windows OS it is not advisable to download Linux without expert advice. Also it is not advisable to have both windows and Linux on the same computer as the computer would run slow and could malfunction.

The main benefit of Linux is that the source code may be used ,modified and distributed commercially and non commercially by anyone which is not possible for Windows. But Mr Bill Gates is a great philanthropist. He  has done a great deal for the eradication of POLIO amongst children of the third World including India. His charity in the horn of Africa region is also showing results.

I hope this answers your question. Alvida  Ilalakah

Sorry I did not speak Arabic for a long time now

Thanks & regards

Subhranshu Ganguly

there main difference is that windows need to charge for usinf but Linux is free of charge.also into their kernel system to design into OS.

Linux is not attacked by Virus but windows can be attacked by Virus.

Windows softeare is available but Linux software is not availbale for all .

Linux is the more secure than Windows OS

the most and main diffrent point in this discuss is :

1-windows is close source software this make it a limit development cycle.

2-windows have a big shortage in security according to some auto executed policies

3-windows is high resources consume O.S 

I think this is enough and it is from my point of view

Due to open source Linux is freeware & Microsoft is paid.

Secondary Linux’s  software runs through .rmp extension & M/s’s software runs through .exe extension.

Mostly virus works or runs on .exe due to this linux/Unix is much better safer compare than M/s. That’s why mostly server configured on UNIX.

like a diffrents between the earth and the Sky, actually all operating systems shared one rule is to make user easly understand the hardware and easly to use it, So the OS is the highway that make us drive to the other side. we have many and many of the OS 

the first type is Windows : Windows started with DOS OS in the70s it was command line OS then it was developed to Windows the most famous OS ever because its easy to use ,the main thing in Windows that it has closed Program code. it also support NTFS, FAT32 ,exFAT File System, the most viruses infect this OS.

Linux OS started from the GNU's NOT UNIX OS developed by programmers around the world, it has open sourse program code, its  free and more secure than windows but its less famous than windows, its support ext2, ext3, ext4, jfs, reiserfs, xfs, fat, fat32, ntfs so it also supprot windows file system. thats some diffrents between those OS's remeber you decide which OS is good for you.

Very basic thing is windows are very user freindly and linux is litelbit difficult. however linux os best use for perticuler service (proxy,mail) in compairing to windows. linux os are more secure then windows.

Apart from this windows are serving more flexibility of services then linux..

Here's a Comparisons to make the life easier :- Difference Linux vs Windows- Linux vs windows with screenshots

Best of luck,

Mahmoud, Cheers

as the difference between child and expert. mainly, security is sufficient for unix

It is a long story about Closed Source vs Open Source ....

Linux is an open-source Operating System. People can change codes and add programs to Linux OS which will help use your computer better. Linux evolved as a reaction to the monopoly position of windows. you can't change any code for windows OS. You can't even see which processes do what and build your onw extension. Linux wants the programmers to extend and redesign it's OS. Linux user's can edit its OS and design new OS.All flavors of Windows come from Microsoft. Linux come from different companies like LIndows , Lycoris, Red Hat, SuSe, Mandrake, Knopping, Slackware.Linux is customizable but Windows is not. For example,NASlite is a version of Linux that runs off a single floppy disk and converts an old computer into a file server. This ultra small edition of Linux is capable of networking, file sharing and being a web server.Linux is freely available for desktop or home use but Windows is expensive. For server use, Linux is cheap compared to Windows. Microsoft allows a single copy of Windows to be used on one computer. You can run Linux on any number of computers.Linux has hign security. You have to log on to Linux with a userid and password. You can login as root or as normal user. The root has full previlage.Linux has a reputation for fewer bugs than Windows.Windows must boot from a primary partition. Linux can boot from either a primary partition or a logical partition inside an extended partition. Windows must boot from the first hard disk. Linux can boot from any hard disk in the computer.Windows uses a hidden file for its swap file. Typically this file resides in the same partition as the OS (advanced users can opt to put the file in another partition). Linux uses a dedicated partition for its swap file.Windows separates directories with a back slash while Linux uses a normal forward slash.Windows file names are not case sensitive. Linux file names are. For example "abc" and "aBC" are different files in Linux, whereas in Windows it would refer to the same file.Windows and Linux have different concepts for their file hierarchy. Windows uses a volume-based file hierarchy while Linux uses a unified scheme. Windows uses letters of the alphabet to represent different devices and different hard disk partitions. eg: c: , d: , e: etc.. while in linux " / " is the main directory.Linux and windows support the concept of hidden files. In linux hidden files begin with " . ", eg: .filenameIn Linux each user will have a home directory and all his files will be save under it while in windows the user saves his files anywhere in the drive. This makes difficult to have backup for his contents. In Linux its easy to have backup's.