What’s so special about Linux distributions?
You may have heard about many Linux distributions and also that they’re better than Windows and macOS. But how do they differ exactly? In what ways, Linux is better than Windows or macOS? Despite Linux being better, why do most of the people use Windows and macOS? Let us explore all of these things in this article.
Open Source
Basically, Linux is open-source i.e., you can view the entire source code, how the OS works, what actually it does to your hardware and even modify it as per your needs if you want. Whereas, Windows and macOS are closed source. Obviously, they must be closed source though. Being paid operating systems, Windows and macOS can’t and won’t provide access to their source code publicly. This open-sourced nature of Linux doesn’t matter to regular PC users anyways. But, it gives complete freedom. If we download any of the Linux distro ISOs and install it, it is like using our own operating system.
Security
Linux is more secure than Windows. You might wonder how. Most of the PC users in our world use Windows. So, cyber criminals target operating system with wide coverage i.e., Windows.
Even, the way how Linux distributions work, makes them more secure than Windows. Most of the Linux distributions use centralized package management systems called repositories. For downloading software, you get them directly from the distribution’s official repository itself. So, you need not to worry about third-party malware getting injected into your system.
Reliability
If you’re a Windows user, you’ll obviously know how it generates errors or so called BSODs unnecessarily, sometimes even without doing anything. It is not like Linux distributions do not generate any errors, but once you setup the system successfully with the distro, the amount of errors you see as a daily user will reduce considerably.
Also, with Windows, you have to restart the System for even minor system updates, software installs and even some setting changes. But in Linux, you do not have to worry about frequent system reboots.
It is due to its reliability, that many huge organizations like Google, Facebook and even Windows parent company, Microsoft’s cloud service Azure use Linux for their servers.
Expense
To buy a genuine Windows officially, you have to pay around 150 to 250 USD. But, almost all Linux distributions are free to use and modify. So, if you’re building your own PC, you can use that money for, say, maybe a better hardware or extra components.
If something is better than the other thing and even coming for free, why would you reject it? It’s your wish though.
Software Support
Now comes the important part. The part where Windows leads over Linux and one of the reasons why most of the people use Windows. The Software Support.
Even though Linux has a vast collection of supported software, many programs such as Adobe Creative Cloud work only on Windows. There are alternatives for such programs in Linux but those alternatives may not be as reliable as their Windows counterparts.
One more thing is, many of the popular FPS games like Valorant and other games are not supported with Linux. So, if you’re a gamer, you’ll have to stick with Windows or dual boot Linux.
Summing up,
Ultimately, it depends on you. You, the end user, have to decide which operating system to be used. If you’re a Windows user, give any beginner friendly Linux distributions like Ubuntu a try. It can be run in a USB without affecting your currently installed operating system. There are many tutorials out there helping you with this. If you are comfortable with and like Linux, then swap it with your current OS, else you can stick with your current operating system.
