But in fact, I actually hated using Linux on his computer when I was at his house. It was just different to mine, and it didn't have Microsoft Office on it, instead having Open Office, which is an operating system transferable program but it doesn't have the same functions and took me ages to get used to it. We used to talk about why I still had Windows, when clearly it was a lot slower. But I stayed with Windows, because that's what I grew up with. It was what I was used to. It looked pretty and I could customise it.
But P never tried to make me use Linux. He'd never try and sway my opinion because I can be quite stubborn. But the more I thought about it, the more advantages I could see to it.
I mean, why do people use Windows? Because it's what they're used to. Why did P use Windows? So he could play computer games because the graphics are better. But I do not play them. All my computer usage relies on the Internet or saved stuff.
And you know how Blackberry got really big? Even though it used to be associated purely with business people? Well, there is potential for Linux. But it seems to be only popular with people well versed in computers and computer language. But it is such a small sector of the OS market because people do not realise that option is there.
Windows is good because lots of programs are designed for Windows use. It does seem to be getting better with each new OS. It's easy to use and you can play computer games. Many schools use it, so kids take it to it so easily. It is exceptionally user friendly. But you need antivirus software and you need to buy a lot of the programs as they don't come for free. And you have to go and buy it, or get a disc and install it.
Linux is better because it's free.. you can download it off the website for free, burn it on a CD and that's it. You just install something from a disc maybe once or twice a year. Everything is free to download, and even better, I have something (all Linux users have this) called Package Manager, which is a list of 1000000 (or a big number) of programs that you can install. So all I need to do is look at that list and see what I want. I don't need to get any discs or anything. AND it categorises it on my program list for me automatically.
There are NO viruses because the way Linux is written makes it very very difficult to write a virus. Windows was designed originally with holes, and even though they are being fixed, viruses can still get in. So I don't need to download anything to protect me from viruses. But in the offchance that something awry may happen, I have a security patch but have never needed to quarantine something.
Firefox, which apparently was designed for Linux users at the beginning, is the same. Everything works the same. A version of MSN, Firefox, all the google apps... everything looks the same. The biggest visual difference is that the "start" bar with all the things on it is at the top, like on a Mac.
There is huge scope for customisation. A laptop with Linux on it is substantially cheaper than one with Windows on it, because of the licence you "buy" along with the laptop. And it is hard to revoke that.
It looks a lot cleaner, you can have more than one desktop... i.e. you have your normal desktop but if you have too many things you can move it to another. Think of it like a cube. Your desktop is a cube, but you only use one face. But you can move things as you wish to the side or bottom or top with ease.
The philosophy is different. Microsoft's intent is to make money. Linux just shares free software. Like wikipedia sharing knowledge.
The version of Linux I use irons out bugs every six or seven months and comes out with a new update. How often does a new Windows OS come out and not fail? AND if I decide I do not like the new version, when I boot up my computer, all I do is select the old one from a menu that shows up everytime I switch it on. It's not easy to change back to the older version of Windows once you've installed the new one. And of course, programming and such things are way easier to do on Linux. YOU can make changes to Linux and tell them and they include it in their next update. Windows does not take much feedback from their users.
Linux is compatible with many Windows destined machines, like mine (except now I would like to remove the latter). But for those who are unsure, you can SPLIT your hard drive. Mine is something like 50:50. AND I can access and edit my Windows files on Linux. Simple.
Not being an Apple user (I don't own or use anything by Apple and I don't believe in anything they stand for... in fact you can google it yourself. I'm not linking their page), I am not sure about using Linux on Apple. But because Mac has their own OS and it's not very Windows compatible, I don't imagine it would be easy. They have their own machines with their own OS.
The main reasons why I use Linux is because it is so much quicker....don't need to load stupid programs upon start up... no viruses... everything's free.... But mostly the speed thing. I used to hate it when my Windows was slow. But now I can start up my computer from it being switched off in 30 seconds or less.
It's so sad that Linux is such a small share of the OS market, although figures may be underestimated, as Windows users must register their copy, but you don't need to do that for Linux. I wish more people knew about it, or gave it a chance. I hated it at first because it was different but it is so easy to pick up.
xo
P.S. No one made me write this, I don't know much about computers either. This is just how I feel.
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