I read an interesting article by one of our comrades of JU, Thomas, which spoke of the New Microsoft, soon to be released, Windows Vista. Previously called Longhorn, Windows new OS seems to have a lot of improvements over previous Windows OS’s. While XP is the latest and best out at the moment, it’s not the safest OS out there when it comes to security from hackers, viruses, Trojans, spyware and all other types of malware that can be installed in your PC. Your other alternatives? Linux, UNIX, and Mac OS X (and other kinds of OS’s similar to Linux). These all have some serious advantages in the security arena over any of Microsoft Windows versions. But there are some things that make these OS’s different from each other, differences that can decided who will most likely use them and which one will be used the most. In this case Microsoft Windows, mostly 98 SE, 2000 and XP, sit at the throne today with about 80% to 90% of the home PC’s running one and at times 2 of them. What does this tell you? Well, either everyone is too stupid to know how to use a computer with Linux and probably should drop computers all together or maybe Microsoft offers something (or things) that Linux can’t, yet.
In futuristic movies like Star Wars and TV shows like Star Trek, everyone, including young children, can use computers and manipulate, alter and/or better them as easy as changing the empty toilet paper role in the bathroom. But that is not the case in the real world we live in. Computers have only been out for so many years and were eventually introduced to homes and offices years later. So the truth is computer technology has come a long way in such a short time, but too fast for most people to understand them. The average person barely knows how to clean a mouse or how it’s even connected to the PC. The fact that the connections on both the PC and the device are color coded for ease of plug and play makes it obvious. Heck most people don’t get the concept of “plug and play”; they think it has something to do with games.
To many people, a computer is about as easy to use as setting the clock on a VCR (biggest head-ache ever created). You can go about talking about Windows to anyone and most people have an idea of what you’re talking about, computers. Try doing that with Linux to average people you don’t know. You’ve got better chances of finding out how to put the time on a VCR than having an understandable conversation about Linux. Heck, most people probably wouldn’t notice the difference between Windows and Mac OS X compared to Linux. They do seem to have the same visual platform. To a computer savvy person the difference is obvious.
I believe (this is my opinion based on info I have researched) that 9 out of 10 people would pick Windows over Linux and 6 out of 10 would pick Windows over Mac. Why? Let’s see:
1) Easy installation and upgrade of software.
a) Microsoft – Piece of cake.
b) Mac – Very easy as well.
c) Linux – I have heard of the occasional software that is fairly easy to install but rare, otherwise each file that composes the programs has to be manually installed in its folder and the configured.
2) Customer support.
a) Microsoft – Just call the 1-800 number.
b) Mac – Same as Microsoft
c) Linux – You will have to do a lot of goggling to find help with Linux, bits and pieces from different sites, if you can understand the info on the site. No 1-800 number. Good luck.
3) Software availability.
a) Microsoft – Has the most software available.
b) Mac – Not as many as MS but some of the best.
c) Linux – Most software for Linux is usually basic, free, alternatives to the expensive ones for MS and/or Mac. I many cases these also run on Windows. Not as many though.
4) Games.
a) Microsoft – That’s what Windows excels on.
b) Mac – Not that many but still have some.
c) Linux – Nope, no games. Sorry gamer, Linux creators do not have people like you in mind.
5) Security.
a) Microsoft – Not the best.
b) Mac – Almost as good as Linux.
c) Linux – The best there is so far, it’s highly know for it’s security features.
6) Stability and Reliability.
a) Microsoft – Windows can be very unstable at times so this makes it a not so reliable system compared to Linux. Still not that bad.
b) Mac – it is much more stable than Windows, but it does have its glitches every now and then. Nothing is perfect, not even Linux.
c) Linux – It’s a very stable system with hardly any glitches, if installed properly.
So, out of those 6 qualities in an OS, what would the average person, most likely, go for when buying the OS or a computer with one? I would, personally, have to say the first 4 with the 5th one in mind. Problems with computers are so common that most people will simply learn to deal with them as they go or will have someone help them with it. Even though both Windows and Mac are very well know PC’s (by this I mean the OS), Windows has a small advantage over Mac when it comes to being more out there, specially due to most software being promoted to work on Windows than anything else and games are the one thing people use Windows for. Linux is just not game friendly and software, well people tend to trust name-brand items for fear of not being able to use the product without customer service and these two go hand in hand. I, myself, am very edgy of unknown brand-names and the prices on them, free only makes it even scarier. Examples;
Newspapers: while there are free papers almost anywhere you go in the US, people are more likely to pay for one because free ones will not give away info that another newspaper is charging for because it cost money just to get the story.
Water: while there are water fountains in many places like parks, hospitals, schools and Gov’t building that are free, chances are the water is not clean or filtered; the machines themselves probably don’t even work right. Bottled water is filtered and if not it would be false advertisement and a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Get my point? Free isn’t always better, especially in today’s world where everyone is out to make a buck. Not that Linux and most of the software for it is exactly free. While you may not pay to acquire them, you will pay the price when you try to install them, even with experience in some cases. I would rather pay for ease, which is almost the same as paying someone else to install it for you on Linux, but you might need to keep that person around for every installation, glitch and question.
So you see, comparing Linux to Windows to the average person is apple and oranges. Even though they are both OS’s and both serve the basic same functions, they just aren’t the same in terms of how PC’s are used today in most homes. Those in the IT business are smart enough to know which OS serves their purpose best and know when an upgrade is necessary, so in reality the real focus should be on the average user which, on average, does not have an IT bone in their body. With that said, people like new stuff, otherwise technology would never get better, and because of that and the main qualities that average people look for in computers, I believe that Vista will be a successful sales venture for Microsoft. Maybe not within the first few days, weeks and maybe even months, but it will catch on faster than most people think.
Most people don’t think that eye candy is that important. I think these people live in an alternate reality, because people are obsessed with looks. From hair styles, to make-up, their bodies, clothing, shoes, cars, phones (home and mobile), houses, and yes, even their PC’s. When was the last time you saw someone not having a screen background of something they like? Looks and money is all that matters now a days. Just look at all the mods for PC’s. Microsoft is appealing to what people like, giving them a chance to have a PC style of their own, just like what the creators of Stardock had in mind when creating all of their great programs. I, myself, am sold to all the eye candy, it makes it easier on the eyes, easier to find and it just looks plain cool. So eye candy is more important than most think and will be a big factor in the sales of Vista. So long as Microsoft gives them a good OS to go with all the fancy looks, they should do just fine. And judging by the article linked on Thomas’s article on JU, it seems they doing just that. Let’s just wait and see, give them the benefit of the doubt, before we condemn Microsoft as more of a habit than truly finding out whether Vista is good or not.
In my next article I will talk about how a guy on _______ gave a very bias review of the article from _______ and Vista itself based on his fanboy love for Linux. He claims to have 20 years of experience with OS’s so he’s ideal for reviewing Vista. To bad that his 20 years are only about technology and none about writing reviews. Till next article.
DJBandit
