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Source: REICHEL.NET
1. Security - Linux is Open Source Software, while Windows is not.
The simplest benefits of Open Source Code to demonstrate are increased security,
reliability and functionality; because users of Open Source are readily able to identify
and correct problems with the programs and to submit their own enhancements for incorporation
into the program. Closed Source systems enjoy none of those benefits.
2. Scalability - Systems implemented under Linux can be cloned limitless times
without paying additional software licensing fees - With Windows, you pay for each
installation/workstation/server/cpu.
3. Power - Linux is made with the Unix design philosophy, which dictates that
system tools are small and highly specialized. The result is an incredibly powerful and reliable
system, limited in capability only by the user's imagination and ability to integrate the Unix
utilities. The Windows philosophy is to create unwieldy swiss army knives, limited in capability
by how many features the user purchased on their particular knife. Diminished reliability is arguably
a side effect of increased complexity. Thus with Windows, the case is often that you have tools that
ALMOST do what you want them to, if they didn't crash.
4. Reliability - The architecture of Linux is superior to Windows because critical
operation system functions are implemented in such a way that buggy programs can't cause the computer
to become unstable and crash. In fairness, though not quite as robust as Linux, Windows 2000 and Windows
XP are much improved over Windows 9x and Windows Millenium Edition.
5. Advanced Capabilities - In addition to the system utility tools from the Unix
world, Linux usually comes with the Apache Webserver, an email server, router/firewall capabilities
and SQL databases. These are extras costing up to thousands of dollars on Windows. There IS free
software to do these jobs on Windows, but it has mostly been adapted from Linux and loses some
functionality when ported to Windows.
6. Compatibility - Linux is POSIX Compliant which means that applications developed
for Linux can be operated on other POSIX compliant Unix derivatives with a minimum of reworking.
7. Support - For persons not familiar with the Open Source Community, the quality
of free technical support on the internet may come as a shock. Sometimes knowing enough to ask the
right questions can be a problem, but overall the best and the brightest are there to assist you
at no charge when you run into problems that can't be solved by reading the documentation included
with Linux. With Windows or other commercial software, your manufacturer support is only free for a
limited time and is often of little value anyways.
8. Not Single Source Software - Linux is distributed by several companies,
giving consumers to pick and choose the flavor that best suits their needs. Windows is the
product of a single company, Microsoft Corporation. Windows users have no choice but to accept
what Microsoft offers.
9. Rate of Advancement - Linux has and will continue to advance at a rate impossible
for a close development project such as Microsoft Windows to sustain. A few factors driving this
rate of progress are (in no particular order): the number of active developers; quantity and
quality of feedback from the field; short development cycle from development team to the end user;
absence of corporate "meddling" in the design process; independently developed open source subsystems
frequently incorporated into Linux, giving it quantum advances in a short time.
10. Cost - That Linux is FREE deserves honorable mention and a bit of explanation.
You can package and sell Linux for money. The competing Linux distributions all provide slightly
different feature sets beyond the core system, including canned e-commerce solutions, printed manuals
and phone support options. There is no rule that says you can't make money distributing Linux. For
those who choose to download and install free distributions from the Internet, Linux is truely free.
Some cynics have proclaimed, "Sure Linux is free now, but the Linux People will start charging for it
once it catches on!". That statment is completely false. No single person or organization controls
Linux, so that will never happen. In the unlikely case that Linus Torvalds (the author of Linux)
adds some proprietary code and proclaims that all future releases will be $99.99USD, someone will
simply take the latest "free" version and possibly rename it to Spin-UX. Then all the volunteer
developers and contributors will jump on that bandwagon. Spin-UX will diverge from its Linux roots,
over time becoming better supported and more advanced, rendering its ancestor obsolete, except possibly
for purposes specifically addressed by that hypothetical proprietary added code. Furthermore
Linux is covered by the Gnu Public License, stating that it and all derivative works must be distributed
with the source code. This makes it extremely unlikely that anyone will wield monopolistic power in the
Linux Sector.
To conclude this hopefully persuasive bit of Linux Advocacy, it must be stated that an Operating
System without suitable Applications is of little use. There are free web browsers and email
clients for Linux, as well as the free Star Office product from Sun Microsystems. Star Office
includes the traditional productivity applications: Word Processing, Spreadsheet and Database.
Corel Office is also available for Linux at little or no charge.
As more small businesses adopt Linux, the number of Indepdendent Software Vendors offering industry
specific (Vertical Market) applications will increase. As I learn of business applications designed
for Linux, I will document them on this site.
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