“Wizards are real and Linux is staffed by them”
Windows vs Linux you ask, I’m going to be frank Linux triumphs over Windows
by miles.
I am going to take you on a journey, from seeing why you should migrate
from Gates’ brain-child to Linus Torvalds’ ingenious creation; to deciding
on which Linux distribution (Linux File System distro) is best for you. And
no, we won’t stop there, I’ll take you through the installation of Linux on
your machine with all 3 options: On Virtual Machines(box), dual booting
(installing Linux alongside Windows), or a complete overhaul and installing
Linux as your sole Operating System (OS).
This is the first part of the series; I am going to give you 7 main reasons
why you should switch from Windows to Linux and of course a bonus. Note, I
am not saying Windows is a bad OS, actually It is impressive, but if and
when you get hooked to Linux, there’s no looking back – trust me.
1. Linux is free!
Yes, you heard it right, Linux is free. Linux is open Source which means as
a user you can 'look under the hood' and change the features or code to your
liking. On the other hand, a licensed Windows OS averagely goes for about
200$ which is technically about Kshs 20,000 on their
official site. Even with this hefty price tag, you still can’t customize Windows fully
to your liking.
2. Security
Did you know you don’t need to install any antivirus on Linux OS?
Linux in its architecture is very secure from virus attacks it is for this
reason hundreds of millions of severs run on Linux. Bugs are easily detected
and fixed on Linux and security patches are regularly updated largely due to
its open source nature.
3. Linux is Fast
Hardware requirements for a Windows OS are relatively high thus if you
don’t meet these you can’t install the OS or it will regularly crash. Linux
is not this intensive however, take the case of
Tiny Core Linux
which is just 11 MB and needs about 256 MB of RAM to run! Sounds like a deal
too good right? That’s every day for Linux users. Go get that old beat up
desktop in your basement and fire it up with Linux!
4. Versatility.
You might not know it, but you have definitely used Linux. All android
phones are built on a Linux Shell, and if you are on iOS, Unix which builds
up iOS is the mother of Linux!
Whether you are doing Office keeping, design or writing code Linux is the
OS for you. A popular saying goes, Linux is the developer’s haven. There is
nothing that you can’t do on Linux, from editing videos and photos, creating
3D games, writing articles or making presentations, to working with data in
spreadsheets and databases. You can even run your Linux machine as a
Server!
You can also install updates on your Linux distro as you do another task!
Linux doesn’t lock you out.
5.Power
Show me a man who wouldn’t like to feel more powerful, and I’ll show you a liar.
One of the opening lines of most Linux distros is, “With great power comes
great responsibility”. It is no secret the power you wield with Linux- to
the level you need to be cautioned. Linux is by far more powerful than
Windows, this is attributed to the fact that you can do so many changes to
the OS core code. A friend of mine gives the analogy of how when using
Windows, its like you are shackled/caged, limited from your full potential
this however is the exact opposite when on Linux. Much more hardware
and software resources are available to you on Linux giving you more power.
It is for this reason that computer security experts and hackers use Linux
system.
6. Customization
Linux has more customization options than Windows, which these options are
free! In Linux there are desktop environments such as Gnome, XFCE and KDE
just to name a few. Each of these then have hundreds of customization
options from how the Terminal to how your machine boots/ shuts down.
7. Community
The Linux community always has your back when you run into problems with
some functionality. This widespread know how again comes from the fact that
you are able to “look under the hood” while Windows comes as is.
Forums such as linux.org, Stack Overflow
to
stack exchange
offer a lot of quality help 24/7. Hell, you can even email me if you run
into any problem with your system and I wont charge you a penny! It’s a
community, right?
Bonu$:
The power of the Linux Terminal.
If you have used the Windows Command prompt you definitely understand what
boredom feels like. On the other hand, Linux Terminal which is much more
like the CMD is better looking and way easy to use and navigate even if you
are a beginner.
Linux from Scratch.
As a developer you might have at one point wished to develop your own
custom OS, like how Bill Gates did it right? If you do this from scratch,
you are more likely to give up on the way due to the advanced concepts and
no clear road map. On the bright side there is Linux from Scratch (LSF).
With this you get three course books to guide you on creating your own Linux
distribution. If you put some time into it, you can be done in weeks! Check
out
Linux from Scratch
and the infinite possibilities
Which Linux Distro is right for me?
When most of my pals or colleagues ask me this, I always answer it with the
question, “What is it you want to do?”. The reason behind this is different
distros are better suited for different tasks and come with supporting
packages for the same; However, you can use any Linux distro for anything.
You want to be an ethical hacker? Why not try
Kali Linux. You want to
try Linux? Why not try
DeepIn or Ubuntu.
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