Both Windows and Unix users keep debating on the topic Windows vs Unix, without any of them giving up on their favorite operating system. Microsoft Windows and Unix are the most used operating systems in all parts of the world.
The debates are mostly cast upon which of these operating systems is better technically, but with the growing market for user friendly operating system, the debate has turned into one that discusses which of these is more user friendly.
Windows Web Hosting vs Unix Web Hosting
UNIX systems are far more stable than Windows systems. Windows systems have been reported to crash a lot more easily than the UNIX systems. This reason leads to the fact that though the personal computer markets are literally ruled by Microsoft Windows, UNIX web hosting is far more used than Windows web hosting. It is for this reason, users find most of the web hosting companies boasting of their stability on the basis of UNIX servers.
Windows Security vs UNIX Security
Until about the year 2000, i.e., before the launch of Microsoft Windows XP, Windows was considerably weaker in security as compared to Unix systems but today, it is really hard to compare the two on this basis. Windows XP service pack 2 introduced various improvements by Microsoft in areas such as emails, web browsing, memory, networking and even the kernel of the OS.
The drawbacks of these security features were not necessarily reflecting on the statistics that depicted the security that Windows provided its users. These statistics were based on the overall structure of the OS, i.e., the kernel, networking, and all applications. Windows did well to structure the kernel and the core operating system but somehow, the overall system performed badly with respect to security.
Unix was designed to be more secure and has various permission features that prevent system programs from functioning without user permission.
It is easy to say that Windows is more vulnerable to attack. The thing to be noticed is that around 95% of the World PC (Personal Computer) market is covered by Windows. More number of systems means more points of attacks. With sensitive information passing through these personal computers, such as bank details and credit card information, Windows has got to be the platform which most attackers would choose to develop their attacking tools upon. In other words, making a virus for Windows will help launch an attack on 95% computers compared to the 5% running on UNIX.
Also, the newer versions of Microsoft Windows that have recently been launched such as Windows Vista and Windows Seven, lay too much emphasis on security. They are far much secure than their predecessors. They have built in mechanisms for permissions similar to UNIX which prohibits malicious programs from taking over the control of the system resources without user permission.
Windows vs UNIX: Ease of Use
Windows, without any doubt, leads the race here. Microsoft gave the world a computer that was easy to use and required almost no knowledge of the technical parts of it. UNIX , on the other hand expects its user to know quite a bit about the computer technical resources.
UNIX is supposed to be cryptic and hard to use. A typical UNIX user will have knowledge of his computer system, its resources and its built whereas a normal user does not require these things.
Windows brought the computer close to a non technical person who needed his computer to perform simple routine tasks, e.g., desktop publishing.
Windows vs UNIX: Market Coverage
As far as market coverage is concerned, Windows again is the leader. Because of the large number of personal computers already present and the even larger rate at which this number is growing, Windows continues to grow its market.
Windows remains a favorite of the Personal Computer users because of the simple fact that it is easy to use and configure. All this said, UNIX has already started to find a bigger share in the market because of its better stability and security features.
Another important factor that governs the operating system market is the cost that Windows users pay to buy the OS and related application software. These software are expensive and cost regularly as newer versions have to be installed and memberships renewed. UNIX on the other hand, is relatively much cheaper and many free versions of LINUX and UBUNTU are available.
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Ashutosh Tiwari - Ashutosh Tiwari is an engineer by profession, specialized in Computer Science. With SCJD and SCJP certifications, he works in the field of ...
