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I must say that I wrote this comparison essay in an English lesson in the University. I thought that it could be interesting in the net because there is a synthesis and a comparison, although the grammar is not corrected yet.

Both GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows are, with Macintosh, the most popular operating systems nowadays.

GNU project begun in 1983 with Linus Tovarlds in an attempt to develop an Unix system only with free software and open code. This means that the source code is publicly available and everyone can use, study or modify it. It is used in desktop computers, pocket computers, mobile phones, game consoles (Xbox, PS3 and PSP) and others, but it is mainly developed for servers and supercomputers. On the other hand, Microsoft begun in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allan, and in 1985 they released the first version for MS-DOS in an IBM computer. Then, Windows was accused for plagiarism of the graphical interface of Apple. Most informatics companies are prone to develop applications based in Windows, and most computers have Windows installed as default system, which creates a monopoly because it forces people to buy a Windows license. Hence, Windows became the most used operating system worldwide.

Ubuntu is an operating system of Linux environment, developed in South Africa, and the most used Linux today. Its philosophy consists in four main principles. Firstly, software must be free. Secondly, people should have the freedom to use software in the language of their choice. Besides, people should be given every opportunity to use software, even if they work under a disability. And, finally, people must be able to change in appearance or modify software. Ubuntu is not only encouraging people to use it free, but also releases a new version each six months to be actualized. Conversely, Windows not only releases a version each two or three years, but also has an opposite philosophy. Microsoft use to buys small programs or services from different companies and integrates them in its products with different names, as MS-DOS, scandisk, defrag, Internet Explorer, Hotmail, etc. Besides, Microsoft integrates programs in the operating system, as Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer, producing incompatibilities with Linux and Macintosh, that can not access to these formats.

Linux joins applications in Linux distributions with different packs of software. So, nowadays, you can install it easily form a live CD, and there are even distributions for obsolete computers, and for supercomputers as well. Windows provides 50% of worldwide applications, even when most companies buy it without considering an alternative. Windows keys of success are: software compatibility with old versions, help for people with a little knowledge about informatics, programs capacity rather than security (they want to change it now) and interoperability between their own products rather than others.

Linux programmers are continuously trying to decode Windows code to make formats compatible and avoid such a monopoly. Microsoft Office, for instance, use a format that is incompatible with Open Office (similar or better program), but currently you can create files in Open Office with Microsoft Office’s format. Moreover, Linux use less resources than Windows to works, so is faster and do not use to crash, unlike Windows. A great advantage of Linux is its security, both in access to the sources (you must enter a password to modify things) and from virus. There are not viruses that infect Linux, so you do not need an antivirus.

It is true that Windows gains most of its money from technical assistance, and that is why Windows has so many errors. But also is true that there are a lot of forums about how to fix Linux problems, so you only have to copy the commands and write them in your console to fix your Linux, for free. Nowadays Linux had increased in support from many companies, as the White House, Google, Yahoo or Sony, thanks to the work of thousands of voluntary programmers all around the world, that continuously improve the system. If you had to pay for this work (more than 8,000 programmers per year), you would need at least $1,000,000,000. Furthermore, there is a project, OLPC (One Laptop Per Children) that is going to give a portable computer to many countries’ children, promoted for AMD, Google and Sun Microsystems.

Contrarily, Windows achievements are not so altruistic. Many people think that
Windows must publish its source code, and they accuse Windows of unfair competition and plagiarism. Windows XP also copied KDE (Linux) and Windows Vista copied Mac Os X Tiger. Moreover, Microsoft considered Internet an useless tool at its beginning, so created MSN, as an alternative for the Internet. When MSN failed, Microsoft transformed it in an Internet portal and, then, created Internet Explorer to compete to Netscape Navigator. In 1999, they paid $500 million to AT&T Corp. for using Windows CE in TV and telephone. In 2004 the European Union reported a claim for monopoly and, in 2007, Microsoft must pay more that $700 million, publish some protocols and also make a version without Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer.

References:

• www.en.wikipedia.org
• www.ubuntu.com

Technorati Tags: Ubuntu, Linux, Windows, Computers, Operating systems, Informatics, Monopoly, Microsoft, Open source, Free software

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