What is Linux? Better than macOS and Windows? Here are 5 reasons.

When you want to buy a computer you always care about two things. 'Should I go for Apple product or regular-Windows one?' If you have enough money and love fancy things you will go for Macbook and start to use macOS. Some people will call you Apple fan or just "stupid" because you spent a considerable amount of money for a laptop and this laptop can't have any advantages except running on macOS which is good at privacy and security and you will act like this is the only thing you care. Are you sure? Let me introduce you Linux OS. There is another operating system that is known by all programmers, tech people, computer engineers, and nerds. We call it Linux. Maybe you heard about it? But if you have limited knowledge about it, let me give you a brief explanation. First of all, it is not this "Hollywood" thing

It has some stuff we call it 'terminal' look like this, but guess what? Windows and Mac OS also has a terminal that looks like this.

macOS:

Windows:

Linux:

So, we understand that all operating system has their own terminal or command prompt. I will give you great reasons why Linux is just better for the majority of people. Before that let me tell you Linux has 300+ versions (distros) available. If you think Linux is probably an "ugly operating system" then check this out.

Linux Mint Cinnamon edition:

CuteFish:

Ubuntu:

Manjaro:

Here are just 4 of them and I think you understand Linux does not consist of black "matrix" screen, it also has a nice desktop environment.

Another cool feature in Linux, you can download apps very easily from Software Manager(you can call it Play Store or App Store). You just don't waste time on websites in order to download the .exe file of any program. Let me tell you another cool thing, in Linux there are alternatives to every office program which are completely free. Even if you want to use photoshop or video editing programs, still they have free alternatives in Linux.

Now we can talk about the advantages of linux over macOS and windows. I am sure you are thinking right now "It can be good, but privacy in macOS must be better".

1.Security.

A lot of people are all praises for iOS and Mac for being a secure platform. Well, yes, it is secure in a way (maybe more secure than Windows OS), but probably not as secure as Linux. I am not bluffing. There are malware and adware targeting macOS and the number is growing every day. There are no 100% secure operating systems and Linux is not an exception. There are vulnerabilities in the Linux world as well but they are duly patched by the timely updates provided by Linux distributions.

But what about viruses and malware? Well, Linux doesn’t enable root privileges for all its users – unless manually granted by you (the admin). It becomes virtually impossible for any threat like viruses or malware to attack the core of the system. Thankfully, we don’t have auto-running viruses or browser hijacking malwares in Linux world so far. And that’s one more reason why you should use Linux instead of a Mac.

2.Stability and Reliability.

There is a reason why Microsoft uses Linux to power their Azure cloud computing service and not Windows Server. Apart from the Redmond Giant, Linux is also used by Google, Facebook, and almost all major cloud servers.

And all this is because the OS puts an extraordinary amount of attention on process management and uptime.

With Linux, you’ll rarely run into issues like system crashes or BSOD-like freeze-ups. In fact, most of the Linux servers boast year-long uptimes without needing a single restart. There’s also no need to restart the OS after installing updates or patches.

Besides this, you’re also unlikely to notice your Linux PC slowly downs with age. Unlike Windows, where you have to format the OS every 6 months or so, Linux will keep offering the same performance level as you got when you installed it for the first time.

These are some of the major reasons why Linux is so popular in professional work environments, especially by server administrators and software developers.

3.Free and Open Source.

Especially for personal use, Linux is absolutely free with no strings attached. You can’t get a better deal than that! As a result, you have zero entry barriers to trying out the operating system. But the thing that will make your stay with it is its open-source nature.

Unlike Windows and Mac (which are closed-source), the Linux operating system’s source code is available to the general public under the GPL license.

This allows you to view and modify the code to your likings and create a personalized operating system catered to your needs and requirements. Now I understand that this might not appeal to non-coders. But think about how many doors it opens up for third-party contributions?

Because of this open-source nature of Linux, you have got solo developers and even mega-scale corporations working on the Linux Core (a.k.a., Linux Kernel), coming out with their own spin on Linux – optimized for different uses cases.

These are called Linux Distributions or “distros,” and it’s by far one of the most appealing reasons for switching over to Linux.

The open-source nature of Linux brings peace to an end-user because the code is highly scrutinized by everyone out there. Any wrongdoing by developers is immediately highlighted. Hence Linux doesn’t track your usage and pays respect to your privacy which we will discuss in detail in the next sections.

4.Hardware.

Linux systems are known for consuming fewer system resources (RAM, disk space, etc.) when compared to Windows. Hardware vendors already realized the popularity of Linux and started making Linux compliant hardware/drivers. When running the OS on older hardware, Windows is slower.

Linux distros like Lubuntu, Knoppix, LXLE, antiX, Puppy Linux are best suitable for aging machines. Old horses like 386 or 486 machines with decent RAM (>= 124/256) can run Linux.

5.Freedom

Linux can be installed and used as a desktop, firewall, file server, or web server. Linux allows a user to control every aspect of the operating system. As Linux is an open-source operating system, it allows a user to modify its source (even source code of applications) itself as per the user requirements.

Linux allows the user to install only the desired software nothing else (no bloatware). Linux allows full freedom to install open source applications in its vast repository. Windows will bore you with its default desktop theme whereas with Linux you can choose from many desktop themes available.​You can breathe fresh air after choosing a Linux distro from an available list of Linux distros.

With the USB live-mode option, you can give a try to test a Linux distro before you finalize one for you. Booting via live mode does not install the OS on a hard disk. Just go and give it a try, you will fall in love.

Now what do you think?