Windows 7 Operating System Vs. Ubuntu Linux Operating System Essay

Windows 7 Operating System vs. Ubuntu Linux Operating System.

Windows and Linux have sustained a head-to-head competitive race. Whilst Windows 7 is the premier and best selling operating system for personal desktop use, Linux, and Linux Ubuntu included, has achieved a reputation as the most prominent Free Software and Open Source operating system. Individuals -- such as I - prefer Windows due to better consumer familiarity, whilst other individuals, on the other hand, prefer Linux due to its superior resilience to viruses and malware. A comparison involves discussion of the following: user interface, installation, accessibility and usability, stability, performance, and security, and these aspects will be covered in the following essay.

User Interface

On Windows, window manager is the Desktop Window Manager for graphical user interface. Core widgets, subsystems, and graphic drivers are included with installation. As per Command-line interface, the Command prompt facilitates direct communication between user and operating system. Windows 7 contains a Ponix subsystem. And its Console can execute up to four kinds of enrolment. It also features Windows Script Host, which is a system that provides scripting capabilities that are comparable to batch files but possess a far greater range of supported features. Linux, on the other hand, has a variety of desktop environments, its most prominent being GNOME and KDE. Featuring as its graphical user interface the X-Window system (or X11) that provides rich input capability for networked computers, Linux can run multiple X window systems at once. As per its command-line interface, it has one that is equally powerful to that of Windows with its line being able to recover the system if the graphic subsystem fails (Horowitz, 2007 ). Linux also provides the opportunity for many applications to be scripted through its system console.Contributing to its merit as excellent Open Source operating system, its features many small and specialized utilities that can not only work effectively together but also integrate with other programs.

Installation

Windows 7 features great ease of installation; it is single-stage and graphical with enough drivers to make the operating system functional. If wanted, drivers can later be upgraded from the manufacturer. Windows can also be installed via Live Environment (I.e. via the Windows Preinstallation Environment). (Live environment facilitates the installation process). As part of the installation process, Windows offers a great amount of shareware and free software. These programs are usually installed easily with its built-in installer program. Its file systems are natively supported. Its UserSpace file system allows user-space programs to mount drives. The ease of installation in the case of Linux, however, is almost as simple as that of Window operated by a simple graphical installer. Ubuntu works according to a live CD or GUI installer. Drivers are loaded at boot without user interaction; installation is done via live CD that may also be used for testing or recovery. Pre-installed software consists of numerous programs almost all packaged with an Internet browser. It features a wider range of pre-installed software than Windows although it's free and propriety software is more limited. Its file system is also different to that of Windows in that it uses the FUSE system that enables programs to create mounts whilst running in user space.

Accessibility and usability

The Windows system is mostly consistent with its focus being on usability….....