Windows and Ubuntu are made for separate purposes, but is there really any competition between the two? They are both operating systems, but they are both meant for different purposes. It is also important to keep in mind that Linux is not Windows (mentioned in a previous post on here somewhere). Due to problems like the one mentioned above; it may not be suitable for the individual or business to transition to Ubuntu, or it may not be suitable for the business or individual to use Windows. In these cases; it is often quite suitable to use both. That way; the person or organization will have access to the benefits of both products. For example; some people have a Nintendo Wii, a Playstation, an XBOX, and a Sega. These are all made by competing companies, but are marketed to different audiences. Therefore; Windows DOES have a majority market share in the consumer market, BUT Ubuntu has the majority market share in the Developer community.
I've even seen a few Microsoft forums which have had Ubuntu support on them, and Microsoft didn't take them down. So the question is; does Microsoft really see Ubuntu as competition, or do they view it as a platform for different purposes? Windows: Commercial operating system (closed-source) Targeted at consumer (and partnered with many major hardware manufacturers) Developers do not have access to kernel, and cannot make modifications to the operating system. It lacks a packaging system; which makes it difficult (both legally difficult and programmatically) to develop software which depends on other operating system components (such as .NET framework) Pre-installed on many consumer PCs Very insecure (prone to viruses, drive-by downloads, and also extremely slow!) Customers are forced by social pressure to upgrade to the latest version; costing them lots of time and money Ubuntu: Non-commercial operating system (open-source :) Targeted at developer Developers have full access to kernel, and can easily build kernel modules, applications, and rely on dependencies without worrying about binary compatibility or legal issues when using the packaging system to specify dependencies. The packaging system is very useful to prevent conflicting programs from being installed at the same time, provides an easy update mechanism (unlike Windows; which requires every program to have its own updating mechanism), and it is easy for developers to test and deploy their software to the community Not usually pre-installed on consumer PCs, but easily available from many sources; such as BitTorrents, HTTP downloads, many universities, etc. Very secure; drive-by-downloads are not possible under the default configuration, and all software installations must be approved by entering a sudo password. Security mechanisms are easy to understand and reconfigure. Customers may choose to upgrade when they are ready, and there are long-term support releases available, and community support is very easy to find. Upgrades do not cost any money, and systems can usually be upgraded to the newest version in less than an hour. -- Microsoft has a majority market share https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is a direct subscriber. -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
