Actually, he is mostly correct. I added my own comment to the original article pointing out its fallacies pertaining to both Linux and Windows. If someone wants to use Linux, by all means, go for it. However, it is important that they know all the correct information before making a decision.

1) Price. Yes, most Linux distributions are absolutely free. However, the gloss over the fact that Windows 10 is also free. Has been since it came out, still is into 2020. Yes, you get charged to purchase it with a new computer, but do some research. You dont have to pay a single cent to get Windows 10 for free from Microsoft.

2) Security. Im not going to argue about which is more secure, Linux or Windows. However, saying viruses and malware is foreign to Linux is flat out FALSE. There are viruses on Linux. However, traditional viruses are becoming less common overall. Malware exists on Linux and is growing every year. Windows has come with its own antivirus software, which works fine. Plus there are plenty of other free ones as well. I simply use the built in Windows antivirus and it is more than capable. I have never gotten a virus on Windows. Linux has its own security issues, to say the least. All those hacks you hear about in the news are not from Windows servers, they are Linux machines.

3) Compatibility. Your answer is straddling the line between being true and false. I will start off by saying Windows 10 works flawlessly on machines that were designed for Windows XP. 15+ years ago. Have a machine with less than 1GB of RAM? Windows will struggle, or not work at all. However, the exact same thing applies to Linux. Install a modern distro like Ubuntu or Fedora on that machine and it will work just as poorly. Sure you can go with a light distro, but you cant do much more than basic tasks that you could do faster on your modern smartphone. On that light distro, install a modern web browser and go to most modern websites, or install modern RAM hungry software, that Linux machine will come to its knees.

4) Ease of use. Linux has definitely improved over the years, but has a long way to go. Linux still lacks some basic functionality that has existed in Windows for decades. And while there are some good innovations in Linux, if they really are good, they make their way to Windows.

5) Drivers. Driver support in Linux has vastly improved. However, it is not the rosy picture you paint. Nor is Windows this bleak landscape. Drivers in Windows are pretty much perfect. Windows 10 has all the latest drivers for most devices going back decades. Sure, they drop support for old hardware, but its old. No one uses it. Linux has a lot of support for old hardware, but often lacks drivers for new hardware. And even if it is supported, there is no guarantee it will work as well as it would in Windows. And searching for drivers for Windows is not some mysterious, hard to do thing. You go to manufacturers website and download a driver. It literally takes seconds, or at worst a couple of minutes if it the website is poorly designed.

6) Desktop Environments. Linux has a lot of them and you can customize them. However, I wouldnt agree they look better than Windows. Most of them emulate the Windows desktop. Additionally, much of the customizations you can do to DEs can be done in Windows. However, the reality is no one does as no one wants to.

7) Software Repositories. First off Windows has a software repository, just like Linux distros. There is NO GUARANTEE that the software will be safe, only that it is compatible with that version of Linux. Additionally, they are only updated as often as the distro maintainers update it. Many apps in the Linux software repositories are never at the latest version. How do you get the latest version? Google for the website and download it, like you falsely say you have to do in Windows. Some Linux application developers warn people not to get their software from the distro repositories, as they are often very out of date.

8) Better updating process. This answer is flat out false. Linux and Windows will tell you there is an update to the OS the same way. Linux will also tell you if there is an update to an application from the repository. As stated in 7, just because its updated, doesnt mean its up to date. Windows leaves it up to the apps to tell you there is an update. Generally, this means, the apps are ALWAYS up to date, either by self updating or taking you to the website to download the latest version. Additionally, Linux requires reboots as well. People often update their Linux boxes and never reboot. Guess what? The kernel updates never get applied. Also, Windows updates only require a reboot when necessary. Windows machines rarely need a reboot. The last sentence really blows my mind. Rebooting is time consuming? Are you serious? Even on an older machine, with a mechanical hard drive, you are talking a couple minutes once every few months.

9) Gaming. Gaming on Linux has gotten a lot better. However, it has a long way to go. Wine/Play On Linux/Proton has brought the ability to play some Windows games on Linux, with varying degrees of success. Some Windows games work great in these environments, the vast majority do not. A few companies do make native Linux games here and there. Overall, gaming on Linux leaves a lot to be desired. If you really want to play games, you will need Windows.

10) Libre Office does not come with all Linux distros. However, you can install it on any distro. Libre Office is great. However, it is not Microsoft Office. It is not 100% compatible, nor does it have all the functionality. While it will work for many people, your mileage will greatly vary. Also, Microsoft offers Office on the web for free, which is 100% compatible, with some limits of functionality. If you are working in a business environment, more than likely, Libre Office will not suffice.

11) Availability. This is correct. The only one so far.

12) Community. Generally true. However, there is just as much vitriol between certain Linux and open source software camps, as they have “Fanboy” hate for Windows.

Again, Linux is a great OS. So is Windows. All I want is for people to be properly informed. Switching to Linux will not make the world sunshine and rainbows. You will still have problems. bugs, incompatibilities, and the like. You are still subject to malware and updates. You will have to replace most, if not all of your software – assuming you can find suitable replacements. The community is much smaller and more fragmented, so finding answers tends to be harder. I have done more Linux installs than I can count and I have never had one work perfectly from install to usage. There has always been something that needs to be fixed, or tweaked.

You are really just nitpicking man. Like seriously. You had to spend all that time nitpicking an article? Why not spend that time better and do something productive with it.

And oh, it seems you also haven’t used Linux in the last 5 years. Ubuntu isn’t the only one that’s easy to use, there’s Linux Mint, Deepin, even Manjaro is there, Elementary OS if you’re coming from MacOS. Linux isn’t only for beginners. It covers the entire spectrum.

And Android only uses the kernel, not the whole package so that’s basically the same case with Windows when it comes to the issue of malware. If we take what you said into account, it would twist the article into talking about the Linux “kernel” and not Linux based desktop operating systems.

1)
Although Linux is free and windows costs the setup times are are hugely different costing you more in personnel time. for Linux than windows

2)
Bullshit “foreign things in the world of Linux” how are there viruses on Android then…

3)
your requirements lean more on the software your using than the operating system. E.G i develop for linux servers so i need the power to run LAMP the same as my production servers use.

4)
The only one that comes close to the simplicity of is Ubuntu all others fail.

5)
Windows Drivers are installed into the kernel and loads are pre-installed the same as linux the difference is finding drivers not pre-installed is easier on windows that linux

6)
so what windows can be customised will less work configuring a new desktop engine in Linux is notas simple as install and go

7)
So does windows.

8)
Linux does occasionally need restarting for some update to fully work.

9)
Not even close the the level of windows and emulation or streaming of games is not the same as installing them.

10)
Libre Office is open source and on windows as well for free just most distro’s include it.

11)
and windows tends to come pre-installed on most systems making it more available.

12)
the windows community is bigger i’m afraid to tell you