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Why 95% of us use Windows as a primary OS when we have so many other options to switch? Why not Linux? Why not Mac?

Let me start with Mac. Why people don’t use Mac? There are many reasons for this. First one is “they are too expensive and unaffordable”.  They are more closed than Windows. They are not easily upgradeable and if something goes wrong, there is no way that you can do it by yourself. You must call Apple Tech Support guys.

Before I come to the point of why not Linux… first I would like to put a light on why people use Windows? It is because; Windows is the only OS that common man is most familiar with. He will learn how to use Windows with a least learning curve. He has become so comfortable with Windows that he don’t want to switch to any other OS even if that OS provides more than what Windows provides.

So, why people don’t use Linux?  We used to consider Linux is for programmers and not for common man. Earlier, Linux is used to be tough to install, operate and most of applications are meant to be for geeks.

Now also, we still believe that Linux is not for us. This is wrong.  Linux has changed considerably. It is no more a geek’s OS. It has become easier to install and use than Windows.

Why we should use Linux instead of Windows?

First point: Linux is free where Windows’ not. Windows comes in a single flavor whereas in Linux you can try numerous distros with lots of variations. Linux comes with lots of free software that you use according to your needs. Linux provides more than what Windows gives.

Linux gives you an opportunity to use / experience it before you actually install it on your machine. Now most of Linux distros come with Live CD. You can run Linux OS right from CD. If you like it, install it else simply try other distro… as simple as that.

One more advantage of Linux is, it allows you to have dual booting; that means you can have both Linux and Windows on the same machine and use whichever you want. In addition, Linux allows you to access Windows partitions from Linux and vice versa is not allowed.

For those who are switching from Windows to Linux for the first time, I would suggest to use one of the following three distros.

Ubuntu: Ubuntu is one most recently popular Linux distro; that is designed especially for common man. It comes in a single CD that can easily installed just like windows. It is packed with most free software that you need for your day to day processes. Perhaps, there are more reasons why Ubuntu is so popular.

Fedora Core: Fedora is another popular Linux distro which is sponsored by RedHat. Fedora is a community project and it ensures you that you will always get leading edge technologies shipped with latest distro.

Open SUSE: Open SUSE is another community project and is sponsored by Novell. Off late, Open SUSE is becoming more popular. Latest stable release of Open SUSE is 10.3. Currently, I have installed Open SUSE 10.3 in my pc.

You must have a question in your mind that if I switch from Windows to Linux, what about the applications I am using like MS Office, Winamp, Windows Media Player… etc.

Don’t worry, you will find alternatives for Windows softwares.. here, here and here.

Try Linux ! It’s easier than you thought.

This entry was posted by harsha on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 2:58 pm. It is filed under Technology and has these tags: Linux, Open source, Technology, Ubuntu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.