Abstract
This is a non-partial evaluation of Open Source and Proprietary Solutions based on Linux and Windows which can serve as
an introduction to Linux for Windows users. The article studies
some technological competition between open-source and proprietary software. The organizational structure of open-source
software is a key feature which, together with compatibility, can
allow open-source software to overcome existing proprietary
standards.
Linux and Microsoft Windows differ in philosophy, cost, versatility and stability, with each seeking to improve in their perceived weaker areas. Comparisons of the two operating systems
tend to reflect their origins, historic user bases and distribution
models. Typical perceived weaknesses regularly cited have often
included poor consumer familiarity with Linux, and Microsoft
Windows' susceptibility to viruses and malware.
Keywords:
Definitions
A. Open Source Solution
Introduction
In the software world there are basically two sides an IT decision-maker can take. These are Proprietary Solutions and Open
Source Solutions. To understand both sides, first recognize how
the two methodologies differ. What makes one solution superior
to the other? Does one solution offer a more effective way than
the other to conduct business? How can each of these opposing
solutions benefit the consumer? Learning the internal details and
goals of each side is a required step to determine the best solution
for an organization.
Open source software is an emerging type of software that may
fundamentally affect the business and economic features of the
software industry. Linux, an open source operating system, has
been the prominent example of the potential of the open source
movement, competing against Microsoft Windows, the incumbent operating system.
Both Windows and Linux come in many flavors. All the flavors
of Windows come from Microsoft, the various distributions of
Linux come from different companies (i.e. Red Hat, Linspire,
SuSE, Ubuntu, Xandros, Knoppix, Slackware, Lycoris, etc.).
Windows has two main lines. The older flavors are referred to as
"Win9x" and consist of Windows 95, 98, 98SE and Me. The
newer flavors are referred to as "NT class" and consist of Windows NT3, NT4, 2000, XP, Vista and 7.
The flavors of Linux are referred to as distributions (often shortened to "distros"). All the Linux distributions released around the
same time frame will use the same kernel (the guts of the Operating System). They differ in the add-on software provided, GUI,
install process, price, documentation and technical support. Both
Linux and Windows come in desktop and server editions.
There may be too many distributions of Linux, it's possible that
this is hurting Linux in the marketplace. It could be that the lack
of a Linux distro from a major computer company is also hurting
it in the marketplace. IBM is a big Linux backer but does not
have their own branded distribution.
The following sections of this paper will explain the perceived
advantages and disadvantages of both to help IT decision makers
identify the areas that are most important to them in choosing an
operating system.
Open Source is a method and philosophy for software licensing and distribution designed to encourage use and improvement
of software written by a network of volunteers. Through this system, a programs source code is made available to all interested
parties for use, modifications, and improvements. Frequently a
product of a collaborative environment, open source software is
typically created by a number of developers and made freely
available to all who wish to utilize it.
Often referred to as free software, open source software is
free in the sense that it freely allows anyone to change, enhance,
and redistribute the program as they see fit. However, it does not
necessarily mean free of charge. Although many open source
programs are available at no cost, there are countless others that
charge an initial fee for the program but freely provide the source
code. The most popular form of open source software is the Linux operating system. Created utilizing parts of the Unix operating system and the GNU project, Linux has achieved mainstream
adoption with improved distributions from popular vendors like
Red Hat, Novell, IBM.
Driven by the Open Source Initiative (OSI), developers of
software allow the code to be freely shared, enhanced, and redi-
28
1986
MS-DOS 3.2
1087
MS-DOS 3.3
1987
Microsoft
Windows 2.0
(Operating Environment)
Windows 386
(Operating Environment)
B. Proprietary Solution
1987
Proprietary Software refers to software that is owned by an
individual or a company and is protected from unauthorized use
by patents, trademarks and/or copyrights. Such software is often
sold or licensed to other individuals or organizations, usually
with strict restrictions regarding its use, modification and further
distribution.
The most prominent vendor of proprietary software is Microsoft.
Along with the purchase of Microsoft programs, users receive a
license to utilize those programs. Source codes are kept hidden to
prohibit user modification and re-distribution. Proprietary vendors contend that the information contained in the source code is
Intellectual Property and that it is best utilized and protected by
remaining kept from the public. This approach to development
has been the standard for many years, and corporate developers
like Microsoft are actively fighting to maintain its efficacy.
1988
Windows 286
(Operating Environment)
1988
MS-DOS 4.0
and 4.1
1990
Microsoft
Windows 3.0
(Operating Environment)
1991
MS-DOS 5.0
1991
Microsoft
Windows NT
1991
Microsoft
Windows 3.0
(Operating Environment)
Microsoft
Windows 3.1
(Operating Environment)
Year
1981
Operating System
MS-DOS 1.0
1982
MS-DOS 1.25
1983
MS-DOS 2.0
1984
MS-DOS 3.0
and 3.1
1985
Microsoft
Windows 1.0
(Operating Environment)
Description
MS-DOS 1.0 was released August, 1981.
MS-DOS 1.25 was released
August, 1982.
MS-DOS 2.0 was released
March, 1983.
Microsoft Windows was announced November 10, 1983.
Microsoft introduces MS-DOS
3.0 for the IBM PC AT and
MS-DOS 3.1 for networks.
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is introduced in November 20, 1985
and is initially sold for $100.00.
It was not an operating system
1992
1992
Microsoft
Windows for
Workgroups
3.1
(Operating Environment)
29
1993
1993
1994
1994
1994
1995
1995
1996
1996
1997
1998
1998
1999
1999
2000
2000
Microsoft
Windows NT
3.1
MS-DOS 6.0
and 6.2
Microsoft
Windows for
Workgroups
3.11
(Operating Environment)
MS-DOS 6.21
and 6.22
Microsoft
Windows NT
3.5
Microsoft
Windows NT
3.51
Microsoft
Windows 95
Microsoft
Windows NT
4.0
Microsoft
Windows CE
1.0
Microsoft
Windows CE
2.0
Microsoft
Windows 98
Microsoft
Windows CE
2.1
Microsoft
Windows 98
SE
Microsoft
Windows CE
3.0
Pocket PC
Microsoft
Windows 2000
2000
Microsoft
Windows ME
2001
Microsoft
Windows XP
2001
Microsoft
Windows XP
64-bit Edition
(Version 2002)
Microsoft
Windows Server 2003
Microsoft
Windows XP
64-bit Edition
(Version 2003)
Microsoft
Windows XP
Media Center
Edition 2003
Microsoft
Windows Media Center Edition 2005
Microsoft
Windows XP
Professional
x64 Edition
Microsoft
Windows Vista
2003
2003
2003
2004
2005
2006
2009
Year
On January 4th at CES Bill
Gates announces the new version of Windows CE will be
called Pocket PC.
Microsoft Windows 2000
(Odyssey) was released February 17, 2000.
Microsoft
Windows 7
1965
Operating System
Multics
Description
AT&T Bell Labs along with
General Electric and MIT decided to create Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service) for third generation computers.
30
1969
1971
UNICS
1972
1973
Unix (3rd
Edition)
Unix (4th Edition)
Unix (5th Edition)
1973
1974
1975
1977
1978
1979
1979
1980
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1986
1988
1988
1989
Ultrix 1.0
Unix (8th Edition)
HP-UX 1.0
Unix (9th Edition)
HP-UX 2.0
HP-UX 3.0
SCO Unix System V/386
1989
1989
1990
HP-UX 7.0
Unix (10th
Edition)
AIX
1991
Solaris 2
1991
Linux
trademark.
HP-UX 7.0 released.
Tenth edition of Unix released
October 1989
AIX (Advanced Interactive
eXecutive) was launched by
IBM February 1990.
Sun introduced Solaris 2 operating environment which was
specially tuned for symetric
multiprocessing.
Linux is introduced by Linus
Torvalds, a student in Finland.
Who post to the comp.os.minix
newsgroup with the words:
Hello everybody out there using
minix -
1991
1992
1993
HP-UX 8.0
HP-UX 9.0
NetBSD 0.8
1993
FreeBSD 1.0
1994
1994
1994
NetBSD 1.0
1995
FreeBSD 2.0
1995
1995
1995
1996
1997
1997
HP-UX 11.0
OpenLinux
Standard 1.1
31
1997
1998
1998
UnixWare 7
1998
Sun Solaris 7
1998
FreeBSD 3.0
1999
2000
2000
2001
2002
2002
2003
2003
2003
Fedora Core 1
2003
2004
Fedora Core 2
and 3
2005
2005
Fedora Core 4
2006
Fedora Core 5
and 6
2007
2007
Fedora 7 and 8
2008
2009
2010
Fedora 9 and
10
Fedora 11 and
12
2010
Fedora 13
A. Customizability
Linux is customizable in a way that Windows is not. For one, the
user interface, while similar in concept, varies in detail from distribution to distribution. For example, the task bar may default to
being on the top or the bottom. Also, there are many special purpose versions of Linux above and beyond the full blown distributions described above. For example, NASLite is a version of Linux that runs off a single floppy disk (since revised to also boot
from a CD) and converts an old computer into a file server. This
ultra small edition of Linux is capable of networking, file sharing
and being a web server.
33
are however differences between a Windows 9x command interpreter and one in an NT class flavor of Windows. Linux, like all
versions of Unix, supports multiple command interpreters, but it
usually uses one called BASH (Bourne Again Shell). Others are
the Korn shell, the Bourne shell, ash and the C shell (pun, no
doubt, intended).
D. Cost
For desktop or home use, Linux is very cheap or free, Windows
is expensive. For server use, Linux is very cheap compared to
Windows. Microsoft allows a single copy of Windows to be used
on only one computer. Starting with Windows XP, they use
software to enforce this rule (Windows Product Activation at
first, later Genuine Windows). In contrast, once you have purchased Linux, you can run it on any number of computers for no
additional charge.
As of January 2005, the upgrade edition of Windows XP Home
Edition sells for about $100, XP Professional is about $200. The
"full" version of XP Home is about $200, the full version of XP
Professional is $300. Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
with 10 Client licenses is about $1,100. The irony here is that
Windows rose to dominance, way back when, in large part by
undercutting the competition (Macs) on cost. Now Linux may do
the same thing to Windows.
You can buy a Linux book and get the operating system included
with the book for free. You can also download Linux for free
from each of the Linux vendors (assuming your Internet connection is fast enough for a 600 MB file and you have a CD burner)
or from www.linuxiso.org. Both these options however, come
without technical support. All versions of the Ubuntu distribution
are free.
You can purchase assorted distributions of Linux in a box with a
CD and manuals and technical support for around $40 to $80
(some distributions may be less, others may be more). Regular
updates and ongoing support range from $35 a year for a desktop
version of Linux to $1,500 for a high-end server version. August
2004 Red Hat started selling a desktop oriented version of Linux
for under $6 per user per year.
After the initial cost (or lack thereof) of obtaining software, there
is the ongoing cost of its care and feeding. In October 2002,
ComputerWorld magazine quoted the chief technology architect
at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York as saying that "the cost of
running Linux is typically a tenth of the cost of Unix and Microsoft alternatives." The head technician at oil company Amerada
Hess manages 400 Linux servers by himself. He was quoted as
saying "It takes fewer people to manage the Linux machines than
Windows machines."
F. Application Software
There is more application software available for Windows. Then
again, there may be sufficient Linux software for the needs.
If we buy a copy of Windows on a CD-ROM, we get no application software with it. If we buy a copy of Linux on a CD-ROM
(or two or three) it typically comes with gobs of free application
software. Likewise, Linux ISO downloads usually include lots of
application software. The exception are Linux distributions that
are small on purpose such as Damn Small Linux or Pen Drive
Linux.
A new computer with Windows pre-installed normally comes
additional application software, exactly what to include is up to
34
the PC vendor. However, there are two problems with the preinstalled application software on Windows computers.
First, much of it is junk. So much, that a new term "crapware" is
being used to describe it. The PC vendors make money by installing this software that many people consider worse than useless.
In fact, the first thing many techies do is un-install this software,
someone even came out with a PC de-crapifier program to automate the un-installs. Windows computers sold to businesses tend
to have less undesirable application software pre-installed compared to computers sold to consumers. I have never heard of anyone complaining about the software that comes pre-installed in
the normal, popular versions of Linux.
Second, important software is often missing or old. For example,
the Adobe Acrobat reader, may not pre-installed by the PC vendor or installed with old version.
H. Security
The vast majority of malicious software (of all types) runs on
Windows. Windows users are burdened with the need for antivirus and anti-spyware software. Linux users are not. Why is
this? Windows software is either executable or not, depending on
the file extension. So if a file ends with ".exe" or ".scr", it can be
run as a program (yes, of course, if you change a text file's extension from ".txt" to ".exe", nothing will happen, because it's not
really an executable). It is easy to run executables in the Windows world, and users who get an email with a subject line like
"Check out this wicked screensaver!" and an attachment, too
ISSN No: 2250-3536
I. Hardware Support
35
K. Downtime
36
the great Linux vs. Microsoft debate a bit less challenging for the
end consumer.
When making this decision it is also important to remember that
in a relatively short amount of time, Linux vendors have made
incredible strides in developing an operating system that would
encompass the values Windows users cherish while at the same
time continue to improve upon the ideals open source was invented on. The perceived downfalls of Linux are becoming more
obsolete while its benefits continuing to rise. There is no end to
the possibilities with Linux and open source software which is
predominantly why so many worldwide organizations are making the switch. With Linux establishing itself as a qualified and
robust alternative, the years of Microsoft and vendor lock-in domination are quickly coming to a close.
[17]
References
[23]
[24]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
37