Articles such as this mistakenly reiterate 'how easy Windows is' compared to Linux. The reality is, Windows is actually much more complex to continue to operate than Linux. Initially, Windows is easier to manage and operate because it's pre-installed and the management tools are GUI based. But, as time progresses with Windows, as patches don't install correctly, as the registry fills with garbage, as applications are added and removed and as general garbage is just left out there, Windows slowly degrades into a slow lumbering pile of trash. The only fix for this issue is to completely reinstall or recover your system. In many cases, the novice will completely lose all their work and have to start over. Recovery is a very time consuming process. By this time, technologies such as 'Restore Points' are too late to fix this.
Basically, when Windows breaks, fixing it is FAR FAR more complex an issue than when Linux breaks. When Windows breaks, it could be related to the registry, a bad system update, a (set of) dll(s), an application, a virus, spyware or a combination of any of these. Windows is effectively a black box and requires someone with fairly in depth knowledge to attempt a repair. Even the most knowledgeable Windows guru may only be able to repair a Windows system 40-50% of the time. The rest of the time he/she will be running through a recovery process. For the novice user, once you've reached this 'broken' point with Windows, the only fix is to take it in for repair. This costs money and time.
Comparing all of this to Linux is really not that much different except that Linux makes fixing the system far easier. As you pointed out, there are more and more companies pre-installing Linux. But, it's likely that the user will end up installing Linux him/herself. So, that means it takes a bit more time and effort to get up and running on Linux initially than on Windows. However, that's about the extent of the extra time. Once Gnome is up and running, it continues to run. I've also never had any issues where Linux degrades over time. Unfortunately, this degradation is a completely common issue with Windows that Microsoft has never resolved (or even addressed).
For example, I have a system that runs on Fedora Core 3 and has been running on that for several years. While I've run a few of the volumes out of space at times, Linux bounces right back once cleaned up. Windows, on the other hand, if the system runs out of disk space, Windows can easily go into Lala land and not recover without a hard reset. Sometimes, issues such as this can cause Windows to go into lala land and stay there.
I'm just not sure why people continually think that Windows is just some 'easy' thing that works when it's just as complex as Linux once things begin to break. The thing about Linux, though, is that if something breaks, it usually doesn't affect the entire system, unlike Windows. It only affects a small subset of processes and usually just one. Most times, these fixes involve things like making sure the disk isn't full and checking the configuration file to make sure it's correct.
Linux doesn't have a 'registry' that can easily get corrupted... and this is probably the number one reason (besides the kernel) why Linux continues to be a workhorse for years. Linux also has journaled filesystems that help recover more easily when the system goes down hard. Windows' NTFS is easier to corrupt if the system goes down hard (easier than Linux).
I'm not saying that Linux is a perfect or completely easy-to-use operating system. But, at this point, it's about as easy to use as Windows. The main factor, however, isn't Linux ease of use, it's the compatibility factor. OpenOffice just doesn't quite match up to MS Office yet if you want to interchange documents. The compatibility issue can be easily solved with installation of VMWare and Windows. With this setup, you get all the benefits of Linux (speed and stability) with the compatibility of Windows. On most newer dual and quad core systems, VMWare runs Windows quite well.
by
irvken
2008-05-28 11:35
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informationweek
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/05/paying_the_linu.html
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