I’ve been interested in Linux for many years, but like so many others, I’ve been forced into using Microsoft Windows, simply because the software I want to use can not run on Linux systems. This problem is known to many and many go as far as to blame the various Linux distributions or even the Linux kernel it self. This of course makes little sense, which is where I’m going to start off.

What is Linux?

To many Linux is just about everything that isn’t Mac OS or Windows. This of course is ludicrous as there are many other operations systems out there that are not in fact based on the Linux kernel. Furthermore people who don’t know any better, continously blame the flaws of various Linux distributions on the Linux kernel it self, though many may in fact not be aware of that.

In the end, Linux is nothing more or less than a operating system kernel. It is the main component, that takes care of all the stuff that normal people usually don’t know or care about. The kernel will for example take care of the initial boot process, which is far more complicated than one should think, making sure you can access your hardware and such. This doesn’t mean that it will work out of the box as different hardware need different drivers to ensure correct and optimal use. This is why various tools, like the Windows device manager or the lspci command in Linux will often be able to tell you about the hardware, not least that it’s actually there, even though it may not actually work.

At this point I hope that it has become clear that anyone who know how, can take the Linux kernel and create a really bad user interface upon it. This of course does not mean that Linux sucks ass, as I tried to explain certain people in the comments section of a YouTube video with that excact title, but rather that the rest of the distribution, be it Linux or not, is in fact very low quality.

So what are the actual differences between operating systems?

That is a very good question, which unfortunately also is somewhat hard to answer, and it is at this point that I can no longer be unbiased.

Microsoft Windows

Being the most popular desktop distribution of all time, it is actually not easy to keep critisising Windows, because if it really were as bad as I’d like to think, then the success of it would obviously not have continued right?

Wrong! Microsoft has been clewer or just plain lucky enough to ensure that people rely upon them. There are much essential software that simply can not run on other operation systems than Windows and they have not made it easier. Where in the old days it was relatively simple to create a compatability layer or emulator to solve the problem, today it really is a challenge, not least due to concepts like the .NET platform, DirectX and so on and so forth.

This in it self of course does not make Microsoft Windows a bad operating system, especially not after Windows 7, that kind of made up for the fiasko called Windows Vista. Still, there is also a sacrifice that you make running Windows, which is that if there’s something you wan’t to change, like changing the position of your start menu or something similar insignificant, you just can’t do it and if you can, in some cases it may actually not be entirely legal as the Windows distribution on your computer is not in fact your property. I shall however not comment more on that part, as I simply don’t know a lot about it, which I may already have proven.

Lastly Windows isn’t free, not by a long shot, and there may be limitations as to which hardware platforms are supported. You may which to install Windows on your phone, though I can’t imagine why… Well you can’t, but with Linux you can.

Mac OS

In recent years Apple and Mac OS has gained more and more popularity and the reason is simple. I works and it works very well, but of course there’s a very good reason for this. As Apple has complete control over the hardware platform Mac OS run on, it is really a simple matter to ensure that it runs perfectly, but not only that, they also have complete control of the software in many cases, again to ensure that there are no bugs and such, but even more important, to ensure that it works the way that Apple want it to work. If you disagree with Apple, of course you’ll have a problem, but if everything works exactly as you like it, you won’t find a better solution.

Of course there’s still the problem that some native windows applications can not run on Mac OS. You may have a favorite game that you want to play, but that may not be possible. In fact the problem is even bigger than when trying to run Windows native application on Linux, because Microsoft and Apple are pretty much in agreement that they won’t have Windows applications in the world of Mac OS.

Again Mac OS isn’t free either and you can’t even choose your own hardware.

Linux distributions

There are many Linux distribution and quite a few popular ones, most famous of which may be Ubuntu. This is very sad I think, as Ubuntu really sucks in my oppinion. It is not that their intentions are not honerably, but that the end goal is simply unachieveable.

Though you won’t find this written anywhere, I firmly believe that what Ubuntu really is, is Linux stribing to be Mac. The first consequence of this is of course a whole lot of work, as the same kind of stability as Mac OS offer will need to be provided. This of course is not an achievable goal, not least as Ubuntu, like almost everything in the Linux world, is a community effort and those who do the work mainly do it for free. Ubuntu also want to impose the level of control that Mac OS does, while at the same time ensuring that your freedom is intact. This of course is also an unachieveable goal. Basically what they do is ensuring your right to blame them for your own screwups, and quite a few people do exactly that.

There are also many other Linux distributions of course. Linux Mint has become very popular for example, Fedora is quite successful and so on and so forth. There is however also a lot of other Linux distribution, like Debian, upon which Ubuntu is based, as is Linux Mint in essence, as it is based upon Ubuntu. So when people find that Ubuntu doesn’t serve their need, they sometimes go for debian instead. That is the source afterall, but it is also quite different and not really for the new Linux user. The user experience is quite different, as it has been given little attention, while the essential part of the opearting systen works better than anything else on the market, unless you want to compile everything from scratch (LFS), which I won’t get into here, although it is very possible to do.

Of course I also have to mention my new favorite Arch Linux, which is first of all a rolling release distribution. What this means is that it is always up to date if you want it to be. You don’t have to wait for the next release, but get the various updates as they come along. Of course that can course trouble from time to time, but my experience is that it works very well. However, Arch Linux is also a very minimalistic distribution, when the base install is complete, you’re left with a terminal or command promt. Nothing more nothing less. If you want a graphical user interface, you have to install it and set it up your self from scratch. Of course only the most essential software is included, so no interface to set up your wireless network, no wordprocessor, no nothing. This mean a lot of extra work for the end user, but more importantly it means that you can set it all up to your likings. There are basically no limitations and furthermore it’s free. This is not the case for every Linux distribution, but almost.

End of story

I hope that I have now explained that Linux distributions can be as different as cars and airplanes. They both basically do the same, which is to transport something from A to B, but the do it in a very differnt way and the quality may not always be the best.

Personally I prefer Arch linux and the only reason I still have Windows installed, is because of one crappy game I just can’t live without. I’m working hard however, to overcome that problem and when I finally succeed, I shall be free at last!