Linux

20 Reasons Why Linux Is Superior to Windows

As requested by turkeyman.

  1. It's more secure.
  2. There are two different desktops (KDE and GNOME) to choose from.
  3. All the software most people would need is free.
  4. Icons on the two desktops are in PNG or SVG format, which are not proprietary.
  5. You can get a distro customised to certain fields of interest, e.g. music mixing.
  6. Konqueror beats the pants off Windows Explorer.
  7. You can change your titlebars and theme in both KDE and GNOME, and even come up with your own if your inclined.
  8. The unified file system makes installation more predictable.
  9. Security fixes arrive with more regularity.
  10. Programming with it is easier; because of the unified file system, libraries always go into the /lib directory.
    Trying to learn to hack on a Microsoft Windows machine or any other closed-source system is like trying to learn to dance while wearing a body cast. -Eric S. Raymond
  11. No Registry. All the settings are stored as hidden text files in your home directory. That means they won't all get corrupted at once, like can happen with the Registry.
  12. That also means that when you back up your files, your settings are all stored in the same place and are all backed up as well.
  13. The command line/shell (BASH) is more powerful than the DOS environment.
  14. With yum and apt-get, users can download and install software with one command.
  15. Because it is required to be the administrator (root user) when installing software, which requires a password, software cannot be installed without the user's knowledge.
  16. Linux rarely needs a reboot - at the time of writing my machine has not been rebooted for 26 days, 7 hours, 18 minutes.
  17. The majority of the applications are open-source, and thus have faster release cycles (see #9) and can be customised (hacked) to the user's liking.
  18. In part because of the ability to hack the source, partly because of the text-based config files, and partly because they're designed that way, Linux programs are generally more customisable than Windows programs.
  19. Virtual desktops.
  20. Virtual consoles (not the same thing).

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