Can Linux Replace Windows?

by David Risley on Aug 2, 2007 | 112 comments

As a bit of a follow-up to my recent editorial about the different operating systems battling it out, a few readers made comments about Ubuntu and Windows and, essentially, that I was giving Windows a little too much credit. So, I thought I would write another one here specifically to address the issue of Linux actually replacing Windows. Can it?

In short – not yet. And here’s why.

Microsoft Made The Rules

Back in 2001, Microsoft came out with Windows XP. At the time, it was essentially the only desktop operating system worth anybody’s time. At the time, Microsoft Office had won the war of the office suite. Internet Explorer had pushed Netscape out of the market by riding the coattails of Windows’s success and essentially forcing users to Internet Explorer. A legal battle ensued against Microsoft on that one, leading to the eventual loosening of the grip on the internet by Internet Explorer (although some would argue they still have a tight grip). All the time, Linux was quite popular as a server (mainly because Windows is too unstable), but as far as the desktop goes, it was mainly for geeks.

Today, open source has made a bit of a comeback. OpenOffice has become a worthy competitor to Microsoft Office, so much so that it made Microsoft re-think their office suite and now Office 2007 uses more open document standards. Firefox was borne out of Netscape’s grave and is now quite popular. And we have Linux itself having grown into the desktop arena with popular desktop options Gnome and KDE, both of which give Vista a run for it’s money.

So, things have changed. But, enough for Linux to take over? No, and that is because Microsoft’s initial success has basically meant that it made most of the rules. People have gotten used to the way Microsoft’s software works. We’ve gotten used to the way they do things. Microsoft, too, isn’t exactly an open book on how they have done things, so it leaves others to get as close as they can, but not quite there.

The popularity of Windows also means that most vendors dedicate most of their energy to making their wares work in Windows. And therein lies the reference to the capitalist market I made in the prior article. The market has chosen Windows and now we are dealing with that choice. Vendor support for Linux and other platforms ends up being more of an afterthought. Wine is an open source implementation of the Windows API that is available for Linux, allowing you to run Windows software on a Linux system. But, Wine isn’t perfect. It can run some software, but the support is spotty. Another option would include virtual machines inside of Linux to run Windows software, but that doesn’t appear to be very workable at this point either.

The best option for Linux is to use software natively written for Linux, but that supports the Microsoft standards. Now that Microsoft seems to be opening up some of it’s file standards, perhaps this can be done a little better by the Linux world. For example, OpenOffice offers document support for Office files. But, it only goes so far. Some of the fancier features of Office can’t be saved properly in OpenOffice, and that is because the exact format of the DOC files was only known by Microsoft. Now that Office 2007 is using an open XML standard, maybe this can be alleviated.

People Want an Alternative

Microsoft has made the rules here and that is because Linux took too long to go consumer on us. Yes, we are now seeing a comeback for open source, but the progress is slowed in the operating system arena because of the incredible prominence of Microsoft Windows. But, markets tend to give and take, and my sense is that Microsoft is now on an ebb. Windows XP was pretty good, and still is. I am now using Vista, which puts me in a position to recommend to others that they continue to run XP for now. Vista just isn’t ready. Which leads me to my point…

Microsoft’s handling of Vista seems to be a sign to me that the company is indeed losing it’s grip on the OS market. It took them six years to come up with Vista, and I’m left scratching my head on exactly what all the fuss was about. And after Vista’s release, the hardware support in Vista is a bit lackluster. Some hardware vendors are playing hell providing Vista support for their stuff due to the huge changes Microsoft made inside Windows. At the same time, Vista is an absolute beast of an operating system. While it really requires about 2 gigs of memory to run respectably, Ubuntu Linux can do so with only 512 MB.

So, while the success of Firefox shows that people wanted an alternative to Internet Explorer, I really do think Vista is the tipping point for a desire for an alternative in the OS arena. People are tired of Microsoft. They are tired of the barrage of security concerns, of the blue screens, the lock-ups. I, for one, would LOVE to have a viable desktop operating system that is really a drop-in replacement for Windows. But, Linux just isn’t there yet for the reasons above.

What would need to happen for Linux to become more of a replacement?

Linux needs to operate more and more like Windows. It is getting there. But, Linux needs to get such that you don’t need a command line hardly at all. Installing programs should be as easy as double-clicking a file (not tracking down package dependencies). Again, Linux is going to have to play by the rules set by Windows in order to take Windows down a notch.
Open standards need to become more the norm than the exceptions. Companies should make a special point to use open standards. For example, using OpenOffice rather than Microsoft Office will make your documents more open and more cross platform.
Vendors need to flow more effort into supporting Linux. It’s a bit of the chicken and the egg problem, though. They will put more effort into it if Linux gets popular enough to warrant their time. On the other side, Linux isn’t really going to get that popular if these vendors don’t do it.

Moving to the Web

The trend of late is that a lot of desktop software is being replaced by web-based counterparts. In fact, just a couple weeks ago I have officially dropped Outlook as my email client in favor of Google’s Gmail service. I spend most of my day inside my web browser, and it wouldn’t matter what computer or what operating system I am using, Gmail would still work the same way. And Firefox is available for both Windows and Linux.

It doesn’t stop with Gmail, though. There are now web-based apps that cover everything from finance, graphic design, time management, office suites – you name it. All of it is dependent only on the web and the server it sits on. As these types of things get more popular, it just won’t matter what operating system one is using.

With the move toward web-based software, and the valiant efforts of projects like OpenOffice and Firefox, I think the scene is shifting toward open source and away from the days of Microsoft as the dominant force. This will open up more opportunities for the likes of Ubuntu and others, but it is up to the developers of those systems to seize the chance. They can’t re-invent the way the world works, and the computer world is still very much revolved around the way Windows does things. So, open source developers need not be snobbish about being anti-Windows. No, on the contrary, get in there and do what Windows does the way Windows does it, then show people that they’re doing it without any Microsoft labels all over it.

Then you’re getting somewhere.

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Sam
It was the constant maintenance that drove me away from Windows. Besides all the patching for Windows, Office, Java, Adobe, etc. each requiring their own special update software, there was the virus checkers and adware scans which also need to be updated, registry cleaner, and the hard drive defrag program that needs run occasionally. After six months or so, Windows seems to slow down and thrash the hard drive a lot especially on boot up. There’s also the licensing and activation annoyance. It was getting to where I would sit down to use the computer and end up doing maintenance tasks instead.
I migrated to Firefox first to avoid IE’s security holes, then to OpenOffice.org because I wasn’t willing to spend hundreds of dollars for Office, and finally I made the move to Ubuntu “Dapper” about a year ago. All the updates are done in one place daily and unobtrusively. There is no need for virus or adware scanners, registry cleaners or hard drive defragging. It’s all very easy to use, and I’m perfectly happy with the application software available for Linux, and it all gets better and better with each six month release. If I screw up my system, I just take an hour or two and reinstall, because I don’t have to worry about licensing and activation. Also, it’s all so exciting to see the Linux world develop, and that’s hard to quantify.
So, I hear what you’re saying about how people aren’t going to give up Windows, and one very valid reason you didn’t mention is the lack of games available for Linux. Also, I disagree with several of your reasons, and others were true at one time but not anymore. I found the transition to Linux was quite easy, and I can’t imagine why someone would want to persist in using inferior Microsoft products when there is another option, other than for games compatibility which I can understand.
I used Windows for many years, and even wrote software professionally for it, but I just find it so annoying, restrictive and expensive that I will never be back.
http://araneda.net/ rrutia
Great article. You were able explained something that a lot o people have a hard time to understand. I like to have the option of a different OS too. But Linux is not quite there yet.
mb
Why does everyone fear the command line? We all use 1 to 2 different friendly command lines _every_single_day_ and it turns out that it’s the most efficient way to do the things that we want to do…
What are these command line tools?
1) Your Address box in your favorite browser.
2) Google.
And Honestly, to Aunt Tilly, the command line is not all that intimidating compared with all of those funky buttons and boxes sometimes spreading themselves bewilderingly all over the screen and sometimes confusingly buried beneath several layers of tabs and interface. To the experienced; however, the command line is the most wonderful environment there is to get real work done.
The Command Line is dead! Long live the Command Line!
Dan Bergen
For some applications it would be fine. I work in public accounting, however, and I just don’t see any applications for either our clients or ourselves.
Nothing comes close to quickbooks or even simply accounting. I’ve looked at SQL ledger and Nola, and was not impressed. You would think in this age of AJAX people could at least put together a decent user interface. No lookup fields or drill down, or filling of fields based on previous values.
I don’t think there is any tax preparation or research software, or any working paper software in Linux.
I suspect the problem is that much serious business software gets written in Visual Studio / .NET or in the case of our tax software, Delphi. I’m not much of a programmer, so I am not sure why. All I can tell you is that I like the way my windows accounting programs perform.
I would think it would take a development environment that would equal Visual Studio or Delphi that could produce programs in both environments in order for Linux to succeed in the accounting world. Perhaps products like that exist already, it would just take developers to be sold on them.
Hope I didn’t offend anyone, but I do like the user interface that quickbooks and my tax programs gives me. Any comments, especially about development environments, as I am somewhat ignorant about what exists in Linux?
Jeffrey Kaldera
To get ordinary people to use Linux system is difficult because there are many equipments that they cannot just plug in and use them. If you buy a printer or a Scanner there are no drivers from the manufacturers. They have drivers only for Windows and this makes them to select Windows over Linux. Why those manufactures do not to provide Linux drivers? What is the seceret? Also sometimes the external Hard disks cannot be use with Plug and Play. For Linux you have to learn many commands and they are very difficult to use and usderstand.
The Linux OS must be able to use just like Windows. People who use to Windows will never use Linux unless the Linux system can offer everything just like Windows.
Ben
Look at all these linux fans trying to point out that linux is better. I agree in a lot of area’s it is better, I perfer it but I end up using windows because of the “chicken and egg problem” Microsoft holds so many industry standards, look at todays websites for instance, IE-hacks is the standard, xhtml is “nice to have”. I can’t run decent directX games on linux, and it’s to hard to bother with WINE or CEDEGA and even if they do work the performance will suffer.
Can linux replace windows? The operating system, hell yes, just not all the add-ons for windows – hardware and software.
GNOME and KDE are great, nobody ever has trouble using these in the computer lab at my uni, it’s just an awareness problem. It’s good to see companies like adobe and dell supporting linux, it’s a good sign.
It’s getting better slowly, maybe in 5 years most(50%+) people might actually know what linux is.
matthews
The windows command line is very alive! try editing the programs that start with xp or vista(search for run in vista) without going in the start menu and using (run) “msconfig” try finding all your directx settings or video card info without “dxdiag”. I needed to use the windows command line to get my network stuff to work right.
You know what this is why everyones xp is broke few understand how it works fully or how complex and diverse the options hidden in its command lines truly are!
Nathan
matthews: I’m sorry, that’s just plain wrong. Start->Run is not a command line, it’s a program runner. Try putting “C:\WINDOWS\system32″ in Run. Now put it in cmd. Run gave you an explorer window (yuck) in C:\WINDOWS\system32, while cmd said “Whaaa??” Just because you’re executing a program in your PATH variable doesn’t mean you’re using CLI. The windows command line is mostly dead, and it does take someone with extreme patience and knowledge to use it.
The Linux command line is something else entirely. You see, people fear the command line because of the lie windows told them: that it is difficult and complex and you have to be an expert to use it. That’s insane!!! The Linux command line is very simple. I picked it up quite naturally, and now I love it, and I’m certainly no expert. Besides, using a command line requires much, much, much, much less knowledge than using a GUI. Not to bash a GUI, I like GUIs, but sometimes CLI gets it done now, while GUI is still stuck navigating buttons, icons and links.
matthews
okay it’s not technically a command line but it is hidden and cryptic like one with hundreds of poorly documented dialog boxes that change thousands of options and yes the Linux command line is very useful for a power user much more than a windows anything.
http://www.nabble.com/replacement-for-QuickBooks--t3479397.html mb
For Dan…
The only native Quickbooks replacement I see on Linux is GNUCash. GNUCash is a serious double-entry accounting package thats, yes, uglier than Quickbooks (it doesn’t hide things nearly as much), but it does have some features that QuickBooks lacks (e.g. foreign currency transactions).
GNUCash is likely already installed with your Linux distribution, but the new 2.2.0 version also has a Windows port that you can play with & attempt to import your Quickbooks files into. See the URI for more info.
http://www.nabble.com/replacement-for-QuickBooks--t3479397.html mb
To Jeffrey:
Honestly, for most devices, linux device support is better than Windows, and most definitely better than Vista. In Linux, the driver is likely:
1) Included with the Kernel/Distribution.
2) Much more secure than Windows.
Ever try to install Windows from scratch? It’s a nightmare of repetitive, frustrating, and oftentimes confusing “insert Vendor CD, Install, Reboot, wait” — and what happens to you if you are missing one of the vendor CD’s?
The only things I see really lacking now on Linux driver side:
1) 3D Graphics drivers.
2) Webcam drivers.
http://ajaxwidgets.com Thomas Hansen
I think that Ubuntu is a FAR better alternative for MOST people than at least Windows Vista and possibly too Windows XP. I myself am a developer and I face to some extend some problems I must admit. I develop for ASP.NET and Mono and I must say that the things that holds me back now is only the IDE for Mono (MonoDevelop has a really long way to go)
Apart from that I use Ubuntu for everything!!
Email I use evolution, web I use FireFox and Opera, office I use Open Office and it all just makes sense until I’m about to fire up my IDE which is the only thing I miss from Windows (Visual Studio is just better than MonoDevelop) but I think that too will change now that Mono Project is mature and Miguel De Icaza and his team probably will focus more on MonoDevelop and less on Mono core…
(as long as they don’t get confused by trying to do that Moonlight stuff that is…;)
Even when my apps are finished built I use Linux for my server too due to the extremely elegant ASP.NET support in Mono…
Anyway my conclusion is that for a normal user not to consider Ubuntu as a far better alternative than at least Vista and probably XP too is just insane…!!
If all you need is Office and Email not to use Ubuntu is utterly complete madness since it’s a 100 times more stable!
You don’t get virus and you can say NO to spyware…!
Maybe some hardcore gamers disagree and I understand their claims. Maybe too some people are dependent upon SW written for Windows, those too have valid claims. But they should also claim from their SW vendors to deliver PORTABLE solutions. Either in the forms of std compliant web apps (SaaS) or through using portable executables.
I think if you as an application vendor today don’t have a conscious Linux initiative then you’re in for a rough ride. And I changed my mind about 1 year ago after being a developer for more than 20 years…!
.t
Bob
I help out with various volunteer organizations in a tech support capacity. We are given various computers, some of them a bit ancient. I have been installing Ubuntu on all of them. It works fine, is free and even non-techies like it after just a short time. The open office suite is easy to use and even those volunteers used to M$ office adapt to it quickly. I think Linux, Ubuntu especially, may make real inroads into Windows. Especially for us poor folks who can’t afford 2 gig of RAM and a fancy computer! Bob B.
Gary
I tried the ubuntu live cd–The problem for me was that my scanner was not recognized. Otherwise, Ubuntu is really slick.
jrorb
You said one thing that wasn’t out-dated and actually made sense; that was that “open source developers need not be snobbish about being anti-Windows.” And I would add, in contradiction to something you said, that not only do they need not to be snobbish, but they also need to stop emulating windows so much. It’s not about re-inventing the wheel, but rather about doing the best you can do and emulating windows isn’t the best that linux developers can do. Users can and will learn if it’s better (i.e. more productive.)
The rest of this article could’ve been published 10 years ago and would’ve made more sense.
John Bales
Linux proponents should never downplay the command line. The power of the Linux command line is one of the primary advantages of Linux over Windows.
Popular Linux distros should include tutorials on the use of the command line. Once users see the utility of the command line, they won’t go back to Windows.
Sidney
I do not agree with this article.
I have been using Windows from Windows 3.0 thru to Win95 and now WinXP. I also gave vista a spin. I have come to be regarded as a Windows guru by most of my friends and family. And yet after all these years, with one short trial with Linux, I have to say that Linux is the superior OS. None of the windows versions come close in terms of flexibility, security, stability and ease of use. I have now gone through several distros, Ubuntu, Mandriva, OpenSuse, Sabayon, PCLinuxOS, all are equaly good and user friendly.All are easy to install and work well out of the box. Windows was a drag with all the different driver issues and incompatibilities. Currently, out of the 7 computers I have, 6 run Linux, with only one computer running Windows (for Photoshop which I need for work). The linux machines show exceptional stability and have not had ANY virus issues unlike the windows machine.
Linux is ready for the desktop, the only problem is people like you and M$ who go around spreading FUD just to convince people to not even give linux a chance.
This is totally unacceptable and irresponsible journalism for a publication like PCMechanic.
Jon G
Good article and straight to the point.
I guess those who don’t use the command line don’t really use Linux very much in real life.
Every install I’ve done with Linux I’ve had to use the command line sooner than later.
Just installed Linux this afternoon and to get to do what I want it’s been a command line commands for about an hour.
Up running nicely now but Joe Bloggs would have had no chance.
Linux needs unified installer and all packages should be made with this in mind. This should include all needed libraries.
There should be only one way to install a package not several different ways to do the same thing thing within the OS.
Standard uninstaller across platforms.
Programs, Libraries and startup scripts need to be located in the same place not varying from one distro to another.
As soon as that is sorted Linux will start gaining more usage. Vendors then might start providing more drivers as they would find it easier to right them as well without having to right for one specific distro.
http://blog.codeofdefiance.com Sameera
But, isn’t Microsoft starting to break their own rules? They’ve gone completely berzerk with the new ribbon interface in Office 2007 making experianced Office users feeling helplessly lost. And you’ve already discussed Vista. I agree taht Linux is not ready to take over, and that Vista and Office 2007 will not necessarily shift the balance towards Linux. But I bet, the next version of Windows and the Office suites will definitely do it.
I hope that wouldn’t happen, I’d hate to shift to a non Windows platform
Nathan
All you anti-Linux people always say “If only it did this…” and “Once they do this , then Linux will take over.” You totally mis the point! Linux is ready NOW. The only problem is no publication. I know that big computer manufacturers are picking it up, and that’s good, but I still haven’t seen a Linux computer in any of their brochures. The still advertise vi$ta like it’s the greatest thing, when they themselves are looking at it and saying it sucks!
I run two Linux desktops here at home. They are both far more stable and much faster than the windoze system I keep around for tax work. The windoze system won’t even go online! It can’t connect to my network for some inexplicable reason. Both Linux systems go online and stay online quite well.
As for command line, people shouldn’t be afraid of it. Still, many are. For this reason, GUI frontends are written. You no longer need to use the command line to use Linux. Everyone who says you do is either outdated, or they use it without looking for a frontend because they know CLI is faster and easier. I use CLI frequently not because I have to, but because I want to. I get more information faster and with less effort than I need to use a GUI.
My very first Linux install (which means NO knowledge of the command line, Linux or windows) was Debian. It was a text-based installer, and I didn’t install a graphical environment (I had someone helping me, I had no clue what I was doing) and was left with the CLI as my only option. I quickly discovered that the Linux command line is simple, intuitive, and just makes sense. In Linux, I was comfortable in a command line long before I even touched a GUI. It took less than a week to learn 90% of what I know about the command line. It’s easy, folks!
If you haven’t really, honest to goodness attempted at installing and using Linux, you have no excuse. Moreover, IMHO you have no right to be posting about it because you don’t know what you’re talking about. I myself and countless others will testify: Linux is ready for the desktop. The last step is to try it and see!
—-
ArchLinux Duke
Firefox 2.0.0.6
KDE 3.5.7
Qt 3.3.8
Linux DPArch 2.6.22-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Mon Jul 23 21:13:22 CEST 2007 i686 Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.66GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
Kernel 2.6.22.1
Usability: 500%
Shwartz
@Nathan:
Typical reply from a Linux user: bitter, angry, self-important, pompus etc. etc.
If this is what using Linux does to humans, I’d rather stay with Windows
Nathan
@Shwartz:
If you don’t like me, take it out on me. Linux has nothing to do with it.
I’m neither bitter nor angry, I just really don’t like micro$oft. I want to help people see there’s something better out there. Any human being would.
Typical response from a m$ fanboy: attack the messenger, ignore the message.
Derek
Have you considered the tought that people saying that Linux is not ready does not mean they are anti-Linux or Linux haters?
I’ve been using Linux at home since 1998, and while the progress on the desktop is undeniable (KDE4 is going to be really sweet), Linux is still not ready. It’s OK for my desktop, and for many others, but it’s not going to replace Windows, at least in its current form. It was never meant to be a consumer OS, and it might never happen, since the goal was to build a reliable, useful, and low cost open source OS, but it never was intented as a system to conquer the consumer desktop.
Nathan
To be totally straight with you, I really couldn’t care less what it was designed for. I care what it does, and it does a whole lot more than windows will ever do, and it does a lot of it a whole lot better.
I’m not on a one-man mission to save the world from microsoft. I just want to tell as many people as possible the fact that in most cases, Linux is better. If you’re a gamer, I understand; still, Linux is catching up there as well (slowly, most definitely). If you have some windows-only app, then the company that makes it needs to support Linux. Until then, put windows in a VM where it belongs. Windows doesn’t compare, and that’s the truth of it.
vi$ta is another matter, I do hate vi$ta with a passion. I’ll admit to it freely.