Xtra Computers

Are you a new Linux user,  who wants to know what the advantages of  Linux operating systems vs Windows operating systems are? There are several advantages and disadvantages of the Linux operating systems. This article covers both the advantages and disadvantages.

The Advantages of Linux:

* Cost – Linux is 100% free to obtain, Microsoft OSes have a hefty and sometimes recurring fee . Microsoft operating systems only allow for installation on one computer, a Linux distribution can be installed on multiple computers, for free.
* Choice – With Linux you have many more options. With Linux, you can control nearly every aspect of your OS. You have major control over your desktop and numerous windows managers, and the kernel. In Windows you are either stuck with the default design, or in risk of your system being corrupted.

* Security – The security in Linux is much stronger than in Windows. In Linux you don’t have to pay for extra virus protection. The Linux operating system has been around since the 90s and has stayed secure from widespread spyware, viruses, and adware for many many years. Maybe it is that Linux is not was widely used so there are not as many viruses created for it. Since Linux is open source there would probably be a patch as soon as there is a widespread virus either by regular people that use the operating system or by the people that made the distribution. With Windows, because it is a single company, you would have to wait a much longer time for a patch or security fix.
* Software – There are many software choices for each task. You could look for a text editor on Freshmeat and view hundreds, or even thousands of results. There are a lot of options simply for editing text on the command-line due to how Linux is open source. Users and programmers contribute with applications all the time. It may be just a simple modification,  fix,  or feature enhancements of an already existing piece of software, or it may be a brand new application. Software on Linux is packed with more features and greater usability than software on Windows. The majority of Linux software is free and open source. You are getting the software for free, and you have the option to modify the source code and add extra features if you understand the programming language of it.
* Hardware – Linux is awesome for and old computers with hardly any processing power or memory that you have sitting in your garage or basement. You can install Linux and use it as a file server  or a backup server. There are numerous possibilities. Old computers with hardly any RAM can often run Linux without any problems. It may be vary hard to run Windows on older machines, which could make them useless.

The Disadvantages of Linux:

* Understanding – Understanding Linux can often require patience or being able to learn easily. You often have to read and figure out things on your own, and often you can’t have everything done for you.
* Compatibility – Because it is free, Linux is sometimes behind its game when it comes to brand new hardware compatibility. The kernel contributors and Linux maintainers do work hard at keeping the Linux kernel up to date, Linux doesn’t have a huge corporate company backing it up. Sometimes you will find third-party applications and sometimes you won’t
* Alternative Programs – Some Windows applications to not have a Linux alternative or some Windows programs may not be compatible with emulators which can make it hard to use software or games designed for Windows.

Now that you have an understanding of some of the advantages and disadvantages of Linux, its time for you to get out there and experiment. Windows may be great for the lazy and incompetent, but it takes a true scholar and person and one who wants to learn how to run a cool operating system like Linux.

I am sure many of you know about the browser Firefox and I’m sure many of you use it.  Another browser that is fairly new and has only been around for a couple years now is Google Chrome.  I’m going to tell you just a few of the things that makes each one better and some of the things they don’t do so well.  Then you can decide which browser it is you wish to use.

-In a side by side test of which browser ran JavaScript faster it was clear the Chrome outperformed not only Firefox but ever other browser that is currently out there.  It was able to run is so much faster and more smoothly.

-Another aspect about Chrome that I personally have found very appealing and I know other people also do is its increased screen space.  It does not have all those other toolbars and whatnots up at the top of the browser taking up your screen space.

-A couple of last good things about Chrome is that it will automatically spell check everything that you type for you kind of like word does when you are typing papers.  Another cool feature is that you can type whatever it is you want to search directly into the address bar and it will search Google right from there.

-The last really kind of cool thing about Chrome is that when ever you start it up it comes up with a page that shows all the most recent and frequently used pages which can in the long run save you a lot of time.

-Whereas Chrome is better in some ways there are a few things it does still have issues with.  One of the biggest things is since it is such a newer browser it has a tendency to crash from time to time.  I personally have not noticed this as much as they have pretty much fixed the problem but it can still occur from time to time.

-Google Chrome also has issues with running more than one flash player program at a time.  I have found that if I have two different things open that both are using flash player it will crash after a minute or two.

-The last really annoying thing about Google Chrome is that if you want to delete you history it is either very complicated or just takes a long time.  I found that you can go directly into the Chrome folder and delete the memory but you have to go through about ten different folders just to get to it and who really wants to do that.  The other way is to go to the options menu, history, edit items, then click “clear all browsing data”.  The only problem I found with this is even when I only had about a weeks worth of history on there it took about three minutes to delete it all.

-Now that I have told you both the good and the bad about Chrome I will tell you what I know about Mozilla Firefox.  The first real turn on for some people is that you can really personalize your Firefox browser with different themes, unlike Chrome where you really can’t change anything about it.

-Another thing that Firefox has over Google Chrome is the fact that is has many more plugins and add-ons which allows you to a lot more that you can’t don’t on Chrome.

-Overall Firefox has a better user interface and it just allows you to do so much more with your browser.  Yes this is partially because Firefox has been around quite longer than Chrome but that does mean that Firefox does have better support behind it.

-Unlike the either complicated or just long process that you have to go through with Chrome to clear your history, Firefox made it much easier.  If you want to clear your history with Firefox all you have to do is go to tools and click clear recent history, and it also doesn’t take forever to clear it.

-Overall Firefox has a lot more things going for it but at the same time it could be that all those things are causing the browser to run slower.  In many tests it has been shown that Chrome runs faster and just takes up less ram than Firefox.

As of right now if you are just looking for an easy to run browser that is also fast then Google Chrome is the browser for you.  Otherwise you are probably going to want to use Mozilla Firefox because it just has much more stuff for it right now and is more developed.  With Chrome being as new as it is, it still has quite a ways to go but I believe that it is a browser you should keep your eyes on for the future.