11 Reasons Why Linux Is Better Than Windows

Last updated September 21, 2020 By Ankush Das 584 Comments

Brief: Are you wondering if Linux is better than Windows? Don’t wonder. Linux is better than Windows and in this article, we’ll see the advantages of Linux over Windows.

If you are not a power user, it might seem that “Windows” OS is a better (or easier) choice when compared to Linux. In either case, if you are not enjoying using a Linux distro then Windows would be your obvious choice.

However, in reality, we tend to experience something different, which lets us jump to the conclusion where Linux gets the edge over Windows OS.

Advantages of Linux over Windows

In this article, we will take a look at 11 of the compelling reasons why Linux is better than Windows. Some of the points mentioned here are already discussed in our earlier article on why switch to Linux.

1. Open Source Nature

What is it like when you buy a car, but you cannot see what’s under the hood? Similar is the case with when you use a Windows-powered system.

However, in contrast, Linux is completely an open source project. You can have a look at the source code of a Linux OS, which is a plus.

I know, most people don’t care about this openness of Linux, but to me, this is the most important feature of using GNU/Linux.

2. Secure

Let’s face it; Windows OS is vulnerable to different types of attacks (or hacks). However, Linux is not as vulnerable as Windows. It sure isn’t invulnerable, but it is a lot more secure. Although, there’s no rocket science in it.

It is just the way Linux works that makes it a secure operating system. Overall, the process of package management, the concept of repositories, and a couple more features makes it possible for Linux to be more secure than Windows.

When you have Windows installed, you need to download/purchase an Antivirus program to keep your computer safe from hackers and malware. However, Linux does not require the use of such Anti-Virus programs. Of course, a couple of software tools still exist to help you keep your system free from threats, but it is often unnecessary when you have a Linux system.

Being secure by nature would make things easier for you and save money as well because you will not have to get a premium Antivirus software!

3. Can revive older computers

As the operating systems evolve, so do their hardware requirements increase exponentially. For instance, if you purchase a genuine copy of Windows 10, you will have to meet the minimum hardware requirements to run it successfully, and you cannot run it on just about any low-end system.

Nevertheless, with Linux, you could even utilize one of your oldest computer systems to achieve a task. However, that does not mean that every Linux distribution would work with 256 MB of RAM coupled with an outdated processor. However, there are options which you can install on such low-end systems as well (such as Puppy Linux).

So, being an efficient OS, Linux distributions could be fitted to a range of systems (low-end or high-end). In contrast, Windows operating system has a higher hardware requirement.

Overall, even if you compare a high-end Linux system and a high-end Windows-powered system, the Linux distribution would take the edge. Well, that is the reason most of the servers across the world prefer to run on Linux than on a Windows hosting environment.

4. Perfect For Programmers

Linux supports almost all of the major programming languages (Python, C/C++, Java, Perl, Ruby, etc.). Moreover, it offers a vast range of applications useful for programming purposes.

The Linux terminal is superior to use over Window’s command line for developers. You would find many libraries developed natively for Linux. Also, a lot of programmers point out that the package manager on Linux helps them get things done easily.

Interestingly, the ability of bash scripting is also one of the most compelling reasons why programmers prefer using Linux OS.

Linux also brings in native support for SSH, which would help you manage your servers quickly. You could include things like apt commands which further makes Linux one of the most popular choices of the programmers.

5. Software Updates

Microsoft pushes a software update when it receives a set of problems or if something major needs to be fixed. And, for this reason — your system potentially breaks with an update or you end up waiting for an update to fix your issue for a significant amount of time.

I’m sure if you have a Windows-powered system for a long time, you may have encountered issues with every update.

However, with Linux, you would observe software updates to address every little bug and most of which isn’t system-breaking if you’re using an LTS version of a distribution.

So, with Linux, you will notice more effective and faster updates to fix the problems you might be facing. That’s not the case with Windows.

6. Customization

One major advantage of using Linux instead of Windows is customization. If you like tweaking your system’s looks, Linux is just perfect for you.

Apart from installing themes, you have tons of beautiful icon themes. In addition to that, you can use Conky to display system information on the desktop in the coolest way possible. Needless to say that you can do a lot around Wallpapers in Linux.

7. Variety Of Distributions

There are no flavors of Windows. Yes, you may have different plans & packages which differ in licensing terms, the period of activation, packaged features, and price.

In contrast, you will find tons of Linux distributions catered for a different set of needs. So, you can choose to install any of the available Linux distros according to your requirements.

For example, there are Linux distributions for hackers, there are Linux distributions for programmers, there are Linux distributions for extremely old computers, and the list goes on. There is a Linux for everyone.

If you’re curious, you might want to learn what is Linux to know why there are 100s of Linux distributions.

8. Free to Use

Linux is accessible to the public for free! However, that is not the case with Windows!

You will not have to pay 100-250 USD to get your hands on a genuine copy of a Linux distro (such as Ubuntu, Fedora). So, it is entirely free.

If something is free but useful, it is always the best thing one could expect. With the money you just saved, you can consider enhancing your system (just saying, you can go to Starbucks as well!)

9. Better Community Support

You do not need to hire an expert to solve a problem you are facing on your Linux system. You just need to search for a similar thread on the web for a solution or post a thread to let others solve the problem.

Within minutes of posting a thread on any of the Linux forums, you may expect a reply along with a detailed solution which would finally help resolve your problem at no cost! Not to forget, you should find solutions to most of the common problems in the forums properly explained without needing to do a lot of research.

There are a lot of active Linux users who are always ready to respond to a relevant thread one might have created. The number of community users active on such forums is more than the number of active members on any Windows-focused forum.

However, the community response might vary depending on the Linux distribution being used. You can also reach out for help through our community forum.

10. Reliability

Windows, as we know it, becomes sluggish day after day. You will want to re-install Windows after a while when you encounter crashes or slowdowns on your system.

If you are using Linux, you will not have to worry about re-installing it just to experience a faster and a smoother system. Linux helps your system run smooth for a longer period (in fact, much longer!).

Also, with Windows, you will have to adapt to a habit where you keep on rebooting the system for just about everything.

• If you just installed software, reboot!
• If you recently uninstalled software, reboot!
• If you just installed a Windows update, reboot!
• If the system seems to slow down, reboot!

However, in the case of Linux, you will not have to reboot for the situations mentioned above. You can comfortably continue with your work, and Linux will not bother you.

Another fact that proves Linux to be reliable are the web servers. You could observe that most of the Internet giants like Google and Facebook run on Linux. Even almost all of the supercomputers run on Linux.

So, Why isn’t Windows preferred over Linux for mission-critical tasks? It is because Linux is far more reliable than Windows OS. Period.

Of course, it doesn’t mean Linux does not have issues. But, if we look at the bigger picture, Linux is reliable by design. If you consider trying any of the Linux distribution for your computer, you might want to try Pop OS (my personal favorite) or any of the best Linux distributions we have listed.

11. Privacy

Microsoft certainly tries to anonymize the data collected from every user. However, it does not look convincing with Microsoft’s latest Windows 10. It has already received an enormous amount of criticism of how it collects data, what it should collect and what it should not.

If you have ever used Windows 10, you could only head into the privacy settings to know that everything is enabled by default. Even if you opt out to send Microsoft information about your data, it is still being collected. Of course, Microsoft will not bother revealing it officially with a press statement, but it surely does. So, you would need a set of tools to disable the spying modules of Windows.

In contrast, Linux would be the perfect solution for a privacy buff. First of all, Linux distributions do not collect much data (or none). Moreover, you will not be needing additional tools to protect your privacy.

Do you also think Linux is better than Windows?

Now that you know the advantages of using Linux instead of Windows, what do you think?

If you’re still going to keep using Windows as your primary OS, what reason could you think of choosing it over Linux? If you’ve already made the switch, and using Linux, what more benefits do you observe?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Windows is a very popular operating system. Why is it so popular? What other operating systems exist besides W?

Windows is a very popular operating system. Why is it so popular? What other operating systems exist besides Windows?

7 Answers

Windows was made to be able to run on almost all computer hardware available. Great marketing and low prices have made it the number one operating system in the world. Apple’s Macintosh Operating systems such as Snow Leopard are probably the second most common, but not as widely used as they have cost more than windows machines for some time. Open Source and Free operating systems are also available, usually using a linux kernel. Ubuntu is probably the most popular free operating system.

Windows, is the most widely used so software and hardware developers generally focus on driver and software support for windows systems.

The other two most popular operating systems are Mac OS and Linux. Of course there are many others but most people use Windows and Mac. Many IT professionals use Linux because its extremely versatile. The short answer for why people use Windows is that its accessible, well known, intuitive,(for the most part) and most developers produce for Windows and many even make their software exclusive to Windows.

In striking that part of the laptop, you may have accidentally destroyed the hard disk. Those things are very delicate. I think that it *is* possible to recover data from hard drives that have suffered physical destruction, but I have only ever heard of it once: the guy in Connecticut who shot up all those kids in that school had apparently taken a hammer to his computer’s hard disk before he set off, and the cops/FBI are supposedly using this technology to piece the data on the drive back together. I really don’t know if that can happen for you though. Since you have an install disc, you can fix the computer if you can buy a new hard drive of the same specification (likely 2.5 inch SATA). But everything will be new and clean, there really is no practical way of getting all that stuff back. Startup repair won’t help you if the disk itself is destroyed, even if you let it run for a decade.

Don’t think it is as «popular» as you think. Most of us are just stuck with it since it has a lion’s share of the apps out there. Gates was very good at cornering the market, a little too good, and that is why the US gov started looking into Windows having a monopoly on the OS market. This is most likely the major reason Gates sunk a ton of his own cash into Apple so that they didn’t go under. If that would have happened the US gov would really go after him.

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The Most Hated Windows Versions (And Why They Were So Bad)

The rule of thumb is that every other version of Windows is awesome. Why were the «bad» versions of Windows so hated?

For some time, it’s been a joke that every other version of Windows is terrible. People liked Windows 98, hated ME, loved XP, despised Vista, clung to 7, ridiculed 8, and now for the most part enjoy Windows 10. This leads to many people staying on popular versions for as long as possible, while those who get stuck with a bad version try to upgrade as soon as they can.

However, have you ever wondered why the worst Windows versions have earned that title? Let’s take a look at the three most-hated Windows versions: Windows ME, Vista, and 8—and see why they’re considered the worst Windows versions ever.

Windows ME

This edition of Windows, officially known as Windows Millennium Edition but often nicknamed the Mistake Edition, launched in late 2000 and was the last entry in the Windows 9x line.

Windows ME’s Background

Windows 2000, launched earlier that year, was mainly intended for business use. Windows 98 was only a few years old, but XP was still in production and not ready for general use. Microsoft wanted to launch a new consumer version of Windows to generate buzz; thus ME was born.

The short-term nature of Windows ME ended up hurting it badly. Because Microsoft rushed it to meet an arbitrary deadline, it ended up feeling incomplete and was an awkward bridge between the Windows 9x years and Windows XP.

ME was only sold for about a year, and Windows XP became a smash hit when it released a year later. While Windows XP still had a good bit of the market share even in 2014-2015 after its support had ended, ME dropped off the map long before this. This speaks to how poorly folks received it.

Why Was Windows ME So Bad?

On the software side, ME was basically Windows 98 with a few new features slapped on. However, some of these features, like System Restore, suffered from bugs. ME also removed the DOS mode present in Windows 98 and earlier that let users install older software. At the time, this was a drawback for many.

Instead of a new and exciting version of Internet Explorer (IE), ME treated its users to the in-between IE 5.5. In those days, this was much more important. Windows and Internet Explorer were tightly integrated, as IE had a big hand in Windows Explorer and other features.

Additionally, other browsers weren’t as readily available as they are today, so including a lousy IE version likely had a hand in ME’s issues.

Prevalent throughout the operating system were crashes, slowness, and strange performance issues. People’s mileage varied, but most users experienced bugs and other annoyances that made the OS hard to use. Many users reported that when returning to their machines after a few minutes, just moving the mouse caused Windows ME to crash.

We can attribute most of these problems to the aging Windows 9x architecture, coupled with a rushed product that simply wasn’t ready for release. Windows ME was quickly replaced with the superior XP, and people never looked back.

Windows Vista

Those who never used Windows ME usually think of Windows Vista, released in early 2007, as the worst Windows version ever.

While Vista was also a much-hated Windows version, its story is different than Windows ME. Vista was actually much different from Windows XP, so it didn’t bring any baggage with it like ME did.

Because Windows XP had so many security problems, Microsoft focused on making Vista a more secure OS. In practice, this led to some of its many annoyances.

Are You Sure You Want to Do That?

Perhaps the most infamous problem introduced with Vista was User Account Control (UAC). This was developed because of a major security issue with Windows XP. Most software in XP required an admin account to work properly, so standard user accounts could do next to nothing.

Thus, people ended up using admin accounts all the time, which isn’t safe.

To keep programs from running with administrative privileges freely, UAC prompts the user to confirm that they want to run a program that could make changes to their computer. It’s still present (and greatly toned down) in every version of Windows since Vista, but it was overwhelming in its initial state. It seemed that every time you clicked an icon, you had to confirm something.

Apple mocked this and other Vista problems in its famous «Get a Mac» ads, which certainly had a hand in the public view of Vista.

Compatibility and Hardware Problems

Vista also required much more powerful hardware to run than Windows XP. This makes sense, since it launched six years later and had more features. However, Microsoft ran into issues with PC manufacturers over these requirements.

Despite Vista running terribly on low-end machines, companies still placed «Compatible with Windows Vista» stickers on computers that barely met the minimum requirements. This led to people becoming frustrated with their new machine’s sluggish performance.

Finally, Vista suffered from lots of compatibility issues. To work on the security problems of XP, Microsoft changed the driver model, which made the system much more stable. This greatly cut down on the number of blue screens, and Vista was able to recover from graphics driver crashes that would have taken down XP.

Since these changes were significant, they also resulted in a learning period for developers. Older drivers also didn’t work under the new model, so many people trying to use old software or devices found that they were incompatible or crashed.

It’s clear that many of the problems in Vista arose from changes that were necessary to make from XP. Sort of like Windows ME, Vista was an initial testing ground for changes that were later perfected. Just two years later in 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7. It was what Vista should have been, and fixed the majority of the problems that Windows Vista had.

Windows 8

Windows 8, which released in 2012, is the worst Windows OS that’s still fresh in some people’s minds. Let’s review why Windows 8 got so much hate.

For most people, the biggest problem with Windows 8 was that it changed so much for no reason. Windows 7 was only three years old at the time of release, and people still loved it. After the rocky Vista, it was refreshing to have an OS that not only looked great, but was rock-solid and fast as well.

Ignoring all this, Microsoft followed its vision for a multi-device OS and Windows 8 got rid of the Start Menu, a Windows staple since the 1990s.

That was only the beginning of the issues, however. Windows 8 introduced the Windows Store, an attempt to have a central location for downloading Windows software.

However, it quickly became filled with garbage, and most people knew where to download the best Windows software already. Windows 8 also included some Modern apps that confusingly duplicated normal software’s functionality.

Windows 8 suffered from a split personality. The traditional desktop, almost copied and pasted from Windows 7 (minus the Start Menu), was still present. However, it was clear that Microsoft wanted you to get invested in the new Modern apps.

Built for Touchscreens

These Modern (or Metro) apps were aggravating. Apps on smartphones make sense because they’re more efficient than mobile websites. Websites are already built to cater to desktop and laptop browsers, though, so apps really weren’t necessary.

Changing basic options required figuring out whether your desired setting was in the new Settings app or in the old Control Panel. Opening a picture on your desktop could send you into the Photos app, totally breaking what you intended to do.

Though nobody wanted it, Windows 8 also prioritized touchscreens over sensible user interface design built for mouse users. Features like the Charms Bar activated by swiping in from the side of a touchscreen, but with a mouse, this required awkward gestures. When the OS launched, people panicked because they couldn’t even figure out how to shut down their computer. This is a clear failure on Microsoft’s part.

In the end, Windows 8 shows that mobile and desktop user needs are quite different. We can’t ever be sure how Microsoft thought that Windows 8 was a good idea. The company did release Windows 8.1 to correct some of the issues with Windows 8, and while it’s not perfect, Windows 8.1 is a more usable OS.

What Is the Worst Windows Version for You?

We’ve looked back at the three worst Windows operating systems that most people hated. Thankfully, we’re in a pretty good time for Windows versions now. While Windows 7 is no longer in support, Windows 10 is better than ever and receives free updates so you don’t have to pay to stay current.

If you use Windows 10, make sure you know what version of Windows 10 you have so you can enjoy the latest features.

Image Credits: costix/Shutterstock

What version of Windows do you have? Here’s how to check your Windows 10 version, find the most recent Windows 10 release, and more.

Ben is a Deputy Editor and the Onboarding Manager at MakeUseOf. He left his IT job to write full-time in 2016 and has never looked back. He’s been covering tech tutorials, video game recommendations, and more as a professional writer for over six years.

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