9 Reasons to Switch from Windows to Linux, Revisited

After stumbling upon this article listing 9 Reasons to Switch from Windows to Linux, I felt more than a little compelled to respond critically to some of it's claims.  That response became a bit long-winded to post as a comment, and so I decided to post a full rebuttle here on my blog. 

Comparing Modern Linux to Old Windows

Although I agree with some of the claims in the original article, it seems as though it was written from the perspective of someone who switched to Linux in 1998 and never looked back.

 The article was comparing fresh apples to rotten oranges. If one's goal is to compare Windows and Linux and list the ways in which one outperforms the other, it's only fair that we compare the versions with the closest release dates.  In other words, it's unfair to compare the feature set of Windows 98 (released in June of 1998) to that of Ubuntu 9.04, code named Jaunty Jackalope (released in April of 2009).

1. Your Computer is Getting Slower!

First off: my computer isn't getting slower.  I've run Windows XP on dozens of systems for years without a reinstall or even a reboot for months at a time, and unless I installed new software the performance never really changed.

I've worked on the sort of computer the author is referring to (I affectionately call them "thrashers"), and it seem to me that the tendancy for a computer to get slower over time has more to do with junk hardware and irresponsible usage patterns than about the operating system.

Think about this logically for just a second: people who use Linux tend to be highly technical individuals who might understand that there could be repercussions to downloading dozens of pieces of software from unknown sources on the Internet. If they use their heads, the sort of behavior that leads to a slow PC never happens.  In addition Linux comes with a large collection of programs and utilities which negates some of that need to constantly download and install programs from the Internet.  Why not list that as one of your reasons to switch?

Admittedly file system fragmentation  is still a problem on Windows that can degrade your performance over time, regardless of how responsibly you use your computer. You should defregment on Windows occassionally to keep things zippy, but Linux's Ext2, Ext3, and all-new Ext4 filesystems aren't completely immune to fragmentation, and fragmentation on a modern Windows system using NTFS  isn't the crippling disease it was on FAT and FAT32-based Windows 98 systems, either.

2. You are fed up with viruses and spyware and you heard Linux does not have any!

Windows is a victim of it's own popularity. If you were a hacker looking to cause damage to the greatest number of computers or a spyware developer looking to profit off the largest number of possible infections, would you target Windows or Linux? After taking into account the fact that Windows has an 87.9% share of the desktop operating system market, versus a 1.02% share for Linux. It's a fact that there are fewer viruses written for Linux than Windows, but to say there are no Linux viruses is a fallacy.

This begs the questions: is Linux more secure than Windows? Or is the disparity between the amount of malware on Windows versus Linux simply a function of security through obscurity? This debate has raged for years and lack the energy to rehash it, so read this comprehensive discussion on Windows and Linux Securiyty at The Register instead (spoiler: Windows loses).

In Microsoft's defense, some of the most sever virus outbreaks have been 100% preventable. The Conficker virus spread through unpatched systems (computers that aren't installing their OS updates).  Microsoft released a patch to the bad code months before a virus was found lose in the wild that exploited it. In my opinion this is even more anecdotal evidence of the disparity in usage patterns between Windows users versus Linux users. Would users automatically become more responsible and install patches if they switched to Linux? Probably not.

3. Your old printer or scanner don't work with the latest version of Windows!

A few weeks ago I attended a CPLUG  meeting where for the first time I was able to participate in face-to-face discussions with real Linux power users.  In one of my conversations, I told a CPLUG member that I simply didn't have much use for Linux because I can do everything I need to do very effectively in Windows. His response that was that I could install Linux on an old 486 and turn it into a router and firewall for my home network. My response was that that would be a waste of my time, since I can already by a powerful home router for $50.00 that consume a heck of a lot less electricity than a full desktop system.

Linux has fantastic support for old hardware, and if supporting your printer from the 1980's is a priority but supporting your modern Windows software is not, then by all means, look up your device on the official Linux Hardware Compatibility site and go to town, my friend.

In my experience the Linux community has been so focused on support of legacy device compatibility that they neglect the fact that some of the most common off-the-shelf components don't function on Linux out of the box.

Be warned: when your hardware doesn't work out of the box with Linux, making the "tweaks" neccessary to get it fixed aren't as trivial as they often are on Windows. Malfunctioning video drivers sometimes require you to drop to the shell and manually edit configuration files like x11.conf, whereas in Windows you could use Safe Mode to install the right driver or change your display settings in a low resolution mode which should work on any video hardware. Oh, and take a look at the steps neccessary to make one of the popular WPC54G wireless adapters work on Ubuntu Linux.  Real user friendly, huh?

It's true that Windows Vista doesn't have very good legacy hardware support, but it's out-of-box support for modern hardware is impeccable.  There are two simple solutions to the legacy hardware dillema. The first is to upgrade to modern hardware, and at the cost of most home printing and scanning (and other) devices you'd be doing yourself a disservice to disregard this as an option. The second option is to simply skip Vista. Unless you have a specific reason to upgrade from Windows XP, don't. Microsoft has pledge support for Windows XP through April of 2014. No one is forcing your hand to switch operating systems any time soon, despite what the original article might lead you to believe.

If you do decide to upgrade to Vista (or Windows 7 for that matter), download Microsoft's Vista Upgrade Advisor. This free utility will check your system, analyze your hardware and software, and tell you what needs upgraded before your computer can run Windows Vista.

4. You have a computer without Windows and don't want to buy Windows

Despite the annoying grammar and the fact that the author actually had the audacity to link the words "buy Windows" to an Amazon Affiliate link, this is a good point.  If you built a computer yourself or inherited a computer and not an operating system, you may find yourself in this position.  I can't argue against Linux as a valid option in this scenario.  However if you are buying a new PC and are considering buying it without Windows in order to save money, think twice. Many manufacturers won't sell you a computer without Windows, or at the very least won't sell it to you any cheaper.

5. You want to run a Linux application

As the author mentioned himself, some of the best software available on Linux is already available for Windows, so switching operating systems probably isn't neccesary.  Much of the software I use on a daily basis is open source, and a lot of it was originally built for Linux.  Some examples are PHP, Apache, NetBeans IDE, MySQL, Firefox, Gimp, FileZilla, Subversion, and VirtualBox.

Speaking of VirtualBox, even if a Linux application you want to use doesn't have a Windows-compatible version, you don't have to give up Windows in order to install Linux and run your program.  Provided your computer has the neccessary power, you can install Linux in a virtual environment and run your program from there.

6. You want to (re)use an old computer.

In my opinion this is where Linux truly shines.  You can install a bare-bones Linux distribution like Damn Small Linux or powerful but non-graphical distribution such as Ubuntu Server on old hardware and use it for a variety of purposes.  I have personally used an old Pentium 3 workstation to host Counter-Strike: Source network game server, and used similar hardware equipped with the SAMBA package to emulate a Microsoft Active Directory domain. Other ideas are lightweight print servers, files servers, and LAMP-based web servers.

7. You had problems with Windows activation.

Admittedly Windows Genuine Advantage got off to a bad start, and like most copy protection schemes, only affected the people who legitimately paid for their software.  However we're now three years out from WGA's release, and most of the compatibility issues and reports of "false positives" of pirated software have been resolved. Unless you are philosophically opposed to paying for software, Windows Genuine Advantage doesn't seem like a logical reason to completely switch your operating system.

8. You do not like the new Vista interface of Windows.

Once again, no one is forcing anyone to switch right now. Unless you buy a new computer preloaded with Windows Vista this isn't even an issue.  What I've found after switching many users from Windows XP to Vista is that users convert over kicking and screaming, but within a few weeks come to appreciate many of the interface changes in Vista. 

If fear of change is the issue with switching to Windows Vista, how is switching to a completely different operating system going to help anyone? Most of my customers would freak if they didn't see the "Blue E" on their desktops that has become synonymous with the Internet.

9. You are curious about Linux.

Once again, there is no reason for a full conversion from Windows to Linux.  Thanks to virtualization technology, operating systems can coexist on the same system. By installing and exploring Linux within a virtual environment, you can decide for yourself wether or not it is worth a permanant switch without making any life or work-altering decisions on your physical system.

It should be noted that I'm no Linux expert, but I do have years of experience with Linux as both a casual user and as an LAMP-platform web developer.  I've been using Microsoft Windows since Windows for Workgroups, I co-administer a 350-workstation Windows network,  and I am a Microsoft Certified Windows Vista Technology Specialist (I'm not quite finished with the full MCITP curriculum).