Difference between windows and Linux

[tuxi]

Hi..
I had been asked by various peoples that what is the defference betwen Linux and windows..

I really appreciate if any one from here can give me some detail difference and mojor one so that I can answer people..

[sudipta_cht]

Besides the funda of free and licensing, etc., if you are looking for some technical differences, here they go:
1. Linux uses a monolithic kernel that treats all peripheral components as modules, as compared to the microkernel-based architecture of the Windows systems.
2. Second, there is something called a hardware abstraction layer in Windows, which is the central point of communcation between the microkernels and the hardware itself, so that the higher level programs are provided a uniform interface to the hardware, irrespective of what actual h/w may exist down the line. Linux does not have anything of that sort.
3. I am tempted to write down the other less important points, as well as the GNU philosophy, etc. But I will do it later at some time...
Howzzat?

[Ricky]

4. Linux is OpenSource Clone of UNIX .. there is a great confusion .. as some says linux is not unix.. but some says it is unix.. but what i found that it is inspired by UNix .. it has infact few thing from UNIX also.. The SCO were also trying to prove that but as it is  open source so there is a lot contributed by the various people so it is not UNIX anymore..
I am not sure abt my point's accuracy

[ranjan]

hai friend im a student and i think i can help u find out differents betwen linux and windows what i see mainely is security purpose than windows
 and it s diffocult to use linux if u dont know correctely and main thing is
 the speed and its open for any one so there is maney diferencs bet wen linux and windows the better thing is why dont u find about it bye u r self
 

    And if u did it itll be a good analayising for u too and u ll get more satisfactory than others thank u friend but dont confuse u r self around
 two os s ok

[kmashraf]

I think this has been repeated ad nauseum the most important difference between the OS's GNU/Linux and MS Windows. One is free both in as in free beer as well as in freedom. The other is treated like any other tangible (though it actually isn't) product. Comes in a box and you have to pay to use it every time without actually owning it. GNU/Linux on the other hand can be downloaded free of cost (other than the connect charges you pay for doing so) and used any number of times without payment to anybody.
In some ways I would say there is no comparison. Windows support has to be paid for in addition to the purchase price. GNU/Linux support is available for free and 24 hours on the internet. Example linuxsolved.com, linuxquestion.org to just name two out of the hundreds if not thousands of support facilities. The other important difference is the reliablilty factor.
MS Windows has the reputation of being unreliable due to its supposed poor design and shows in its sudden crashes. It also is unreliable because it is targeted by crackers who write viruses, worms and trojans for it. MS Windows has grown out of the need for a Personal Computer that originally did not need to be networked and was mainly to be used by individiuals. But with the arrival of the internet this changed. MS added all the functionality on top of existing code. This resulted I think in a OS that actually is a hodge podge od code. With the advent of Windows 2000 the reliablilty improved but meanwhile GNU/Linux with its UNIX antecedants proved to a extremely reliable platform for low cost server (read web sever) use. It has for me run almost without stop for the last 4 years serving me the internet via cable modem connected to a IDT Winchip C3 200 MHz Pentium clone CPU, 32 MB RAM, 2GB HDD box. Currently it runs Vector Linux 3.2. I have a firewall from www.projectfiles.com doing NAT and also am running squid running on it. This did not cost me an arm and a leg. I downloaded VL 3.2/4.0 from www.vectorlinux.com. It is a distro ment for boxes like the one described above. It uses only 25% of my 2GB HDD without squid running on it. With squid running it may increase gradually. Earlier I was running Mandrake on it and before that RedHat. Wht this also means is that I have use for those old boxes that will not run current versions of MS Windows.
So in my opinion GNU/Linux wins hands down
I could go on but let me give it a rest here
Ashraf

[vishrav_r]

linux is not a product but it is a process

[firewall]

well... LINUX is the Kernel , developed by Mr. Torvalds.  it is not the operating system. kernel is the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs. It is an essential part of an operating system. you people here are so geek that i dont think that i need to tell you that what is kernel and what OS is.

The Distros we see now a days are nothing but the GNU system running on LNUX kernel. So we prefer to call the Operating System as GNU/LINUX.

So in the context of this Thread, i can say that  the main difference between LINUX and Windows is ..

LINUX is a Kernel and Windows is an OS.

 

[tuxfan]

well... LINUX is the Kernel , developed by Mr. Torvalds. it is not the operating system. kernel is the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs.

........

LINUX is a Kernel and Windows is an OS

Don't get too technical mate!!

We all know what we are referring to when we say "Linux". We mean an operating system and not kernel. It may be technically wrong, but thats the word masses use. So leave at that as of now.

The main difference between the two as I see is open source architecture. That takes care of a lot of things including security and some clandestine and hidden (so called) features. More and more government related departments (and also commercial entities) are now relying on Linux for this reasons as well. Here's a small list of known and influential Indian entities that have switched over to Linux for various reasons. Of course the list is not exhaustive.

1. Mantralaya (Maharashtra Govt's administrative office and where CM works)
2. LIC
3. Andhra Pradesh Government
4. Hundreds of Govt schools in Kerala
5. Breach Candy Hospital (where AB Vajpayee, Dhirubhai Ambani, Amitabh, etc were operated)
6. My PC

For a desktop user who just starts learning, there is hardly any difference. Instead of Windows, if you learn Linux you will be able to work equally efficiently, if not more. Almost all the softwares that are required for day to day home and office use now exists under Linux. Our friend firewall will be able to give you a link where he has kept a list of Windows software and corresponding Linux softwares (or the other way round ). From there you will see that almost everything is now available under Linux and if you are just starting to learn, might as well start with Linux.

[GNUrag]

but what i found that it is inspired by UNix

It is incfact inspired by Minix and was originally written for 386 AT clones.

I am not sure abt my point's accuracy

Its Free Software not OpenSource.

[santoshkashid]

Hi..
I had been asked by various peoples that what is the defference betwen Linux and windows..

I really appreciate if any one from here can give me some detail difference and mojor one so that I can answer people..