Why you should try Linux? Benefits and Advantages of Linux over Windows

Linux has been on the OS scene for a very long time now. Even then it does not enjoy the same amount of popularity with users as Windows or Mac OS X . The greatest difficulty it faces is its image as an operating system for geeks.

What the common user does not understand, is that Linux has come a very long way from those days in which it was completely reliant on the dreaded command prompt. These days some distros of Linux exist, which are simpler than Windows.

We have actually compiled a list why you should try out linux.

It is absolutely free : The greatest advantage is that its free. Linux is open source i.e. it is developed, maintained and upgraded by the community. Compare it with the price of Windows 7 Ultimate ($320) and Mac OS X Snow Leopard ($29).
Software is also free (most of them) : What would the most commonly used software on a computer be? An office application (Microsoft Office Professional $500), photo editing (Adobe Photoshop CS5 690$) and so on and so forth. So, basically you get the idea. Linux has free and highly capable alternatives for each of them – Open Office and Gimp are nearly as good as their paid counterparts any day.
Linux rarely (if ever) crashes : If you have been using Windows all these years, then you will be very familiar with the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) and hanging. Earlier Windows versions 98 upto XP had the unfortunate problem of crashing when least expected, thereby leading to loss of data. This problem has been minimized in Windows 7 but it still does crash sometimes. Linux on the other hand, if you have not been tampering with the core kernel files will not crash period.
Anti virus software not necessary : Linux viruses are extremely rare and an anti virus can be done away with, while a Windows system connected to the internet without an antivirus gets infected within half an hour.
Varieties to choose from : Linux comes in various flavours or distributions (distros in short), each appealing to a different user group. Windows also has various flavours – home, professional, ultimate etc. but these are the same with each being a subset of another in terms of features included. Linux distros on the other hand are completely different from one another.
Open source customization : Linux is open source i.e. its code is freely available. Thus, if you know some coding, you can modify the operating system to your exact requirements. You can even build and distribute your own Linux distro. Take that Windows ! Check out Linux Wallpaper Mega Pack.

Truthfully, this list is endless. I cannot even begin to enumerate all the reasons why you should give linux a try. Though I hope I have been successful in convincing some of you.

In future articles, we will cover Linux right from the basics, starting from the various Linux distros and which is right for you, how to try it before installing, installing linux, what to do after installing etc.

If you have any queries, or would like an article covering a specific topic, please contact us.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 14 comments

Mahendra - March 5, 2011

Thanks buddy heard lot about linux and I had used linux on my friend laptop and love it. Where to download. Can I install both windows XP and Linux on same PC.

Ujjwal Kanth - March 5, 2011

I doubt you have considered the fact that you are talking about Linux here and not Ubuntu or its variants or for that matter Fedora or its variant, here. Even now a newbie won’t go for something like Gentoo or Slackware. I have seen many who have read about Linux in various forums where the hardcore geeks vouch for Gentoo/Slackware/Arch/Debian but when a newbie, after reading these posts, tries these they get disheartened and return back to their good old Windows 7 or OSX. What my point is that all those points mentioned above becomes void if you do not choose a proper distro to try on.
Moreover, Windows7 and OSX are much better in many aspects including GUI and usability. SO i think if you are comparing two products it would be better to outline the difference, and not just prices.

Siddharth - March 5, 2011

Really do you want me to cover everything in a single post? My intention was to follow this up with one regarding various linux flavors. Those which are good for newbies (like mint), balanced for both newbies and geeks alike (Ubuntu) and for geeks alone (slackware anyone?).
Come back within a day or two, I will be trying to cover the most prominent linux distros.
Moreover, this article is meant to convince someone who has not tried linux yet (newbies) to try it. I highly doubt that getting into exact technical differences between Windows and Linux will help in that respect.

Ujjwal Kanth - March 5, 2011

Well the sole objective of the comment was that one should clearly specify on the forefront that it’s for newbie and newbie shouldn’t go for the dreaded distro’s like Slackware or Gentoo. As you said that this one was for newbie to try Linux, but what if one tries one of the difficult ones to handle.

Siddharth - March 5, 2011

The point of this article was to generate interest in newbies about linux. Quoting from the article “In future articles, we will cover Linux right from the basics, starting from the various Linux distros and which is right for you.”
So I fully intend to “disclose” which distros are best to start off with and which to avoid (at least in the beginning).

JK - March 5, 2011

Everything right, but if a user wants to try a new application in Linux is a complicated process, especially for new users, even through the Ubuntu Software Center!

Rohit Langde - March 5, 2011

Regarding Distros, if you are coming from Windows background, I would recommend going for Pinguy which is though based on Ubuntu but UI and functions are made to suit newbie especially from Windows environment.

shyam jos - March 6, 2011

Pinguy ..cool,
don’t no about this distro before thanks for the share Rohit

Anish K.S - March 5, 2011

we can install linux inside windows, i tried ubuntu this way.

Usman - March 5, 2011

Linux is more secured as compared to windows

Paarkhi - March 8, 2011

Even windows doesn’t crash anymore, BSOD is gone and no more, I think its been years when I have seen BSOD.
Linux is only good for surfing and customizations and not for professional purposes like vector graphics and Indesign and sharing files with others. you cant type indic unicode in linux as easily as you can type in windows.

mr fed up - March 16, 2013

well that’s a hoot! .. no BSOD on windows?!! .. mine (win7, Dell Inspiron 560) crashes every day, usually several times, and has since i got it over 2 years ago .. ‘The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly’ .. an endless number of Critical, Kernel-Power, Event ID 41 fails .. and by no means am i the only one with this problem .. it seems a problem with the graphics card, per MIcrosoft

Alex - March 17, 2011

I constantly see these same reasons for switching from windows to linux; cost, stability, security and customizable-ness.

Cost; for the majority of users the price of Windows is included in the price of their machine, they don’t see it as a cost because it’s there when they buy their computer.

Stability; Windows has been stable for a while, as Paarkhi mentioned the bsod has been pretty non-existent for most for years. Besides that most users won’t come across it anyway.

Security; with the increase of the linux user base will be an increase of viruses, while it is still inherently more secure this will still be as big an issue as windows for most users.

Customizable-ness; Windows is pretty customizable these days, there are programs which allow almost as much as gnome does for the average user. But again most users don’t care about this.

My point is that most of the people who use windows use it because it comes with their machine, they’re used to it and it does exactly what they need it to do. The people that Linux would actually be useful for will already know about it and have their own reasons for not using it (lack of software they need etc). Until linux comes as standard on most machines and people need to buy windows it’s just never going to happen.

Why you should try Linux? Benefits and Advantages of Linux over Windows

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