When the computer was first invented, it filled a room, and ran on vacuum tubes in order to run the binary logic needed to make computations. Today, technology has advanced to where the vacuum tubes have been depreciated, and now computers run on microchips made of billions of transistors. All that power must be controlled by an operating system: an organization of executed instructions which provide order to the complex computations performed by the computer. There are many different popular operating systems and they all have their own style and strategy to tame the power of the hardware. Two major competitors in this field tackle this task from two different directions. Microsoft Windows provides users with a user friendly interface, and a large market share, while Linux provides users with the choice of open source, and the stability of a community created operating system. These two operating systems have their similarities and their differences, but both are worthy to bring users ease and simplicity.

Both Linux and Windows have their roots in the late 1980’s, when personal computers were in their infancy. Linux, the younger of the two, was created in 1991 by a Finnish student, Linus Torvald. Licensed under the GNU Public License (GPL), it was created to be a free alternative to the Unix operating system. Under the GPL, Torvald maintained his ownership of copyright, but released the source of his product in accordance to the license. The term Linux actually refers to the kernel, the core software that provides direct access to the hardware. GNU/Linux is the proper term to reference the Unix-like operating system, but most refer to it as simply Linux. Linux is usually packaged as a Distribution, which combines the Linux kernel with other needed software to make a usable operating system. This flexibility allows Linux to run on everything from embedded systems (ie. cell phones, personal video recorders) to personal computers and super computers. Once such example is search giant Google uses a custom version of Linux to facilitate the tens of thousands of servers used to power its search engine.

Windows takes another direction to provide users with an operating system. Windows was created by Microsoft in 1985 to compete with the Apple Macintosh. The early versions of Windows ran on the MS-DOS system, a command line interface similar to Unix. The popularity of the MS-DOS helped Windows gain the large market share is has today. “Microsoft’s operating system has also benefited from the fact that they [were] one of the few companies that [were] willing to license their OSes to hardware manufacturers” (Microsoft Windows, 2005). In the early stages of personal computers, when hardware company created a computer, they would have to create their own operating system to control the hardware. Windows filled that void by providing drivers in their operating system for a variety of hardware. Windows continues to hold over 90 percent of the market share, which many argue comes directly from monopolistic habits of Microsoft. Microsoft’s newest released version of Windows is Windows XP. Windows XP stresses the need for an user friendly interface, and multitasking including media handling and Internet browsing. Both operating systems come from two different angles, one propriety, Windows, and one open source, Linux.

Linus Torvald never expected his creation in 1991 to spawn into a operating system, or even into a culture. However, Linux like any piece of software has its own strengths and weaknesses. Linux is open source, and with that comes flexibility, and the freedom to run code that a user chooses to. Under the provisions of the GPL, users are allowed access to the source which assists interpolation. A community of programmers worldwide can collaborate in creating Linux, or programs that reside in Linux. This community effect promotes quick bug fixes, and security hole repairs. Being open source, and free, Linux makes computing affordable. Besides the cost of hardware, which may also be minimal because Linux can operate on older i386 model computers and can use just two megabytes of RAM. This can resurrect older machines, having them operate simple tasks such as network switches or servers. Linux also limits the downtime of a machine. Rebooting of a machine is only required during the rare occasion of a kernel update. Linux, based from Unix from the beginning, has been created with multiuser and multitasking functionality. This allows Linux to easily adapt to many service, be it a large scale web server, a cluster of computers solving complex mathematical problems, or a desktop home user.

The flexibility of Linux does however come with a high learning curve. Linux was created with the only interface between user and computer being a simple command line where users type specific commands for which the computer executed. This concept is very difficult for many people to understand. There are projects to help simplify usability, but Linux was not created with these projects in mind. Being community driven also hinders Linux centrality. The majority of users are indecisive, and only care that their computer works, so the large amount of distributions of Linux may be very confusing to users. One major drawback that prevents Linux from being a major competitor in the OS market, is software developers mainly develop software for the Windows platform. This prevents many people from switching to Linux, due to the incompatibility of platforms. Windows programs cannot natively run on the Linux platform, but through programs like WINE or Cedega, they can be usable. The high learning curve and incompatibility of many programs prevents Linux from an increasing market share.

Where Linux was hindered by usability and poor market penetration, Microsoft thrived. In contrast to Linux’s open source, Windows is fully propitiatory software, meaning Microsoft has full control creative control over Windows. Early on, Windows incorporated a simple graphical user interface, which was far more user friendly than Linux’s command line. Windows major selling point is its easy interface, allowing users with no, or very little computer experience to be productive. It is also bundled onto all major computer manufacturers machines, which adds to the ease of just turning on the computer and having the computer usable. Because of Windows large market share, many companies rely on Windows for their developmental platform. Many large software developers such as Macromedia, and Adobe as well as the majority of gaming developers almost exclusively rely on Windows for their user base.

Microsoft’s development and large market share, makes the large software company vulnerable to constant scrutiny about the security of their products. For years, Microsoft has fended off attacks on their operating systems security. According to Secunia, a security auditing company, “26 out of 118 vulnerabilities remain unpatched in Windows XP since 2003”, and marks Windows XP security status as “Highly critical”. This security issue brought about companies such as McAfee and Norton that design software specifically to the heighten security of the Windows operating system. As well as a long reputation of insecurity, Windows XP is known to have instability issues. Many mock the screen that appears when a system error occurs as “The Blue Screen of Death”, for it’s blue background, and the irretrievable state of the computer. These security and instability issues arise from the developmental process of Windows. Windows was originally designed as a single user machine, with no networking capabilities. This original design has hindered Windows from the beginning, having to later adapt it to multiuser network compatible computing.

Linux and Windows both revolutionized the way computing was done. With the advent of Windows, users could easily operate their computer with no major skill involved. This ease brought about popularity in computers and in turn pushed for global computing. With the growing number of people using computers, a boom of advancement happened in the mid 1990s. The Internet, a global network, became a common occurrence in peoples homes. With the Internet came a need for large servers to facilitate the Internet traffic. Linux brought about a change into how these large servers operated. Large mainframes have been around since the beginning of computers and usually ran commercial operating systems. Linux allowed owners to choose a free alternative, and still maintain the power of the large mainframes. Currently Linux maintains itself as the leader in server software. These advancements are only stepping stones to what further lie for computing.

The future will bring about a change in the way computers operate and the way people use computers. Systems right now are transitioning from 32 bit to the larger 64 bit processing. This allows computations to be more complex and larger in scale. But with this advancement, operating systems must adapt. Both operating systems currently support 64 bit processing, but since it is young technology, it will be some time before Linux or Windows both harness its full potential. Furthermore, with the invention of the quantum computer just decades away, it will transform computers from a one that relies on transistors, to one that can compute every known computation practically simultaneously, using single atom states, called qubits, to provide the binary switch used in computing. Quantum computer research is just in its infancy, but when mature, it will provide a challenge to harness the technology.

Operating systems harness the power of the computer and allow users an interactive way to manage this power. Linux and Windows provide this ease in their own unique way. Windows concentrates on bringing desktop computers into homes, and Linux provides a flexible platform to perform multiple tasks. Both will continue to drive computing further into the twenty first century with their powerful platforms that provide users ease and simplicity.

Work Cited

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Microsoft Windows. (2005, October 26). Retrieved October 26, 2005, from
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Microsoft Windows XP Professional. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2005, from
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Quantum Computing. (2005, October 26). Retrieved October 26, 2005, from
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