You might want to get a snack first...
I must say after reading all this controversy I can't help but join in. I have used windows ever since 3x came out and replaced dos and have surfed the internet (3.11 for workgroups) on it and must say that there is a big difference. Same goes for Linux. Id have to say that for a personal computer for the average joe, windows is a better choice, and for the average joe ISP or network server, nix based systems are better. Most of the people that flame either side here are missing the big picture.
Windows had siezed the opportunity long ago to dominate the market by clever use of resources (xerox) and marketing strategy toward the average person. This is where linux has failed in the past, as you can see it is mainly used by gurus and the development of it has branched off into dozens of different distros made by individuals and companies in hopes of gearing it toward certain tasks and specific people in mind, none of which has interested joe blo. Plus, funding for development usually relies on donations. Linux seems to be doing significantly better in the last couple of years.
To virus and crapware writers, having two choices: write a virus that will spread to 20% of the globe, or write one that will spread to 80%, the choice is clear. Everyone using the same system makes it easier to spread, so windows becomes a target. Linux has had thier share of exploits and bugs which have had patches. Writing an exploit for linux would be fundamentally easier because it is open source and the secret entrances are exposed, but again, the hunger for world domination of the virus writer would not be fulfilled, and would probably not even make the media turn its head.
I bet this is a surprise to M$ haters that the first working virus was developed and tested on unix. Here is a snippett:
On November 3, 1983, the first virus was conceived of as an experiment to be presented at a weekly seminar on computer security. The concept was first introduced in this seminar by the author, and the name 'virus' was thought of by Len Adleman. After 8 hours of expert work on a heavily loaded VAX 11/750 system running Unix, the first virus was completed and ready for demonstration. Within a week, permission was obtained to perform experiments, and 5 experiments were performed. On November 10, the virus was demonstrated to the security seminar.
Viruses dont give a crap who has what, and have even been getting into cellphones now that they are getting software with more features and becoming more like a personal computer. Viruses will ALWAYS be around getting into whatever is new, just like biological viruses will always affect humans until we convert ourselves to metal someday, and then we will be constantly backing up our brain for fear of electronic viruses. Its the yin for the yang, the mayo on your(at least mine) hot dog.
As for people who complain about windows being bloated and running slow on thier computer causing instability, this is true for YOUR computer. Anyone who has used assembly and know what compiling is, knows that it takes a lot of code to do even the simplest thing like adding two numbers. 3x used to fit on 7 floppies with all the trimmings and now windows requires a whole CD while compressed. Linux used to fit on a floppy but you wouldnt be doing much. Doing more shit takes more code, and automating things so that you dont have to compile everything and know where every path is, the exact driver you need, recompile your kernel, ect. also takes code. This is fine because it is geared toward people that dont know how to do any of that and never will no matter how much you try to beat linux into thier heads. If your machine cant handle it, maybe its time to stop upgrading windows and upgrade your machine, because software utilizes the current hardware available as of its release.
I wont say linux will never be as easy but it hasnt yet, so my grandma will not be using it. She would also rather pay for and drive a car than use the free bus in town because there are less stops along the way. You get what you pay for, and paying next to nothing means more work for you and less for the programmer.
Browser wars: This crap gets annoying. People are so bent up over mozilla, opera, firefox, and IE and which is better. When the internet first blossomed, the two leaders, IE and Netscape tried to make thier own versions of HTML to section off the web basically, so you could make your website viewable to one or the other, or both if you had the time. The w3 stepped in and made a standard for everyone to use and stop the fighting. IE has gone along with this and has even added extra things like being able to color the user's scrollbars on a web page, while others seem to lack support for some of the w3 standards and a lot of javascript. Point being the best browser for windows is the one that came with windows because it was designed to work that way, but people claim it is open to exploits and that is thier reason for switching. News flash: Exploits are written for whatever is popular so if everyone in the world were to switch to say, opera, sploits would come out of the woodwork asap. If you like other browsers and thats what it takes to get you on the internet go ahead, there are dozens of choices out there for out fat nacho-computer-screen-staring-at asses to enjoy, and keep in mind that computers have never been used before they were invented so we have no history in some past life to tell programmers what problems are going to arise, and the more diverse plugins and programs become will lead to even more diverse problems on an individual basis AND WILL PROBABLY NOT BE FORSEEN by these code spewing humans.
the lesson learned here is:
you cant please everyone
ok im getting carpal tunnel now
