Windows vs Linux
The debate over deciding which is better,
Windows of Linux; is more or less based on their factors in
relation to the web hosting business and what customers want,
but factors such as security and usability do come into consideration.
Linux is rarely used as a desktop operating system, as its
main use is as a Operative System (OS) server. However, Microsoft
has released many different versions of Windows, meaning that
it can be used in almost any scenario.
Linux
Linux is a free, open source operating system
which comes in many different versions,these versions are
commonly known as ‘distributions’, or ‘distros’.
Each distribution has been made for a different use in most
cases, but all can be used for similar things.
Linux also has the advantage over Windows
that it is less resource intensive, Security wise, Linux also
comes out better than Windows; although viruses do exist for
Linux, the number is far less than the number of viruses which
can have an affect on the Windows operating system. In most
cases viruses can sit in a Linux environment and not have
any negative effect.
From a web developer’s point of view,
Linux is much easier to work with than Windows is, this is
because there is a greater range of free resources and scripting
languages that will work within a Linux environment. Also,
Linux web hosting is much cheaper than Windows web hosting
because the cost of the server software is little or nothing
when compared to Windows software.
Windows
Windows is a premium operating system which
comes in many different versions, that you can only buy. It
is the world’s most commonly used computer operating
system and is what has made Bill Gates the richest man in
the world.
Today, the current main versions of Microsoft’s
operating system are:
Vista and Server 2003;
Windows Vista is Microsoft’s latest
desktop operating system and Windows Server is run on servers.
As Windows is widely popular, it is a virus magnet meaning
that there is thousands of viruses at the current time capable
of causing damage to someone’s computer. So, people
have to fork out more money for anti-virus and Internet security
software to ensure that their computer is safe.
Windows was the first main-stream computer
operating system which gave it a head start within the market.
However, Unix based systems like Linux and Mac OSX are starting
to eat their way into Microsoft’s market share. If you
are a web developer, Windows isn’t a very versatile
system to work with as you are limited to the languages which
will run on Windows, the main ones being Microsoft’s
classic ASP and ASP.NET.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a robust system then
you can go with either Windows or Linux, but if you don’t
have any experience with Linux then you shouldn’t go
with it as the only support that you will receive is community
support which may not always give you the answer you need.
With Windows you are paying a price, but
you are guaranteed support from Microsoft. There is also enough
websites on the internet to help you along with both. If you
want better security then go with Linux, but if you have the
ability to fork the extra money out for Windows’ security
software then go with Windows. |
