why does microsoft software need updates most linux systems don't.?

Question

Having used both unix and linux systems they load and run with no issues. so why does Microsoft Xp, windows vista, winmdows 7 and windows 8 have to have updates added the last install has had over 200 updates in the last week on windows 7 64 bit version. surely this means it is a poor operating system.

Answer 1

Erm.. No.. It dont mean its a poor OS, It jus means it needs an update lol



Windows 7 is good and so was XP. (I also like linux)



Every OS needs to be updated.



I for one am glad they do update them.. Cause if they didnt they would be problematic.



They update games all the time.. Does that mean the game is rubbish.. NO lol



Hope it helps :)

Answer 2

Because the Windows installation CD/DVDs are only updated prior to manufacturing when a service pack is released which may only be two or three times in the life of the OS. So a 3 year old Windows 7 DVD will be out of date, but once you install it and connect to the net it will download all the updates and service packs that has been released since then.



Linux installation ISO's are updated much more frequently, so there is less updates that need doing after a fresh install.



When both operating systems are up and running, you will find that Linux will have more small updates (some times daily) than windows.



If you are on a Debian based distro, try running " apt-get update && apt-get upgrade " each day, you will then see how often Linux distros update...

Answer 3

I think your just using old software media for your install. Linux distro's you tend to use install media that were imaged quite recently so not a lot of updates have accumulated.



Generally my experience with Linux has been that it updates more often than windows, because all of you packages are manages in a central place. However most of the time it goes smoothly and quickly. I just today installed over 200 updates on a fairly minimal system (no GUI) updating from Debian 6.0 to 7.3.



Even just talking about the kernel, a new kernel is released every 2-3 months. However most distros just choose to stay with one version to EOL and backport important patches.



Where windows is going to have a higher update count is because it preserves it's ABI's over a very long period of time. This is vital for windows because of the extensive reliance on third-party drivers and software. Breaking ABI's would break these drivers, so the end up with multiple versions of interfaces. (Windows USB stack is actually something like 3 different stacks, whereas Linux just preserves on version) In short windows carries a lot more stuff around with it, making a lot bigger target that has to be maintained and fixed.





@Marko



Linux (just the kernel) is the fastest changing codebase the world has ever seen,

Answer 4

I wouldn't really judge an OS based on the number of updates it has. I run Ubuntu and have several updates, not necessarily for the OS but for the packages I have installed. I'm no expert of Windows, although I am a casual user of it, but it is fairly different from Linux. With Windows you have a company making an OS that is widely used, and widely used by non-technical people (buisiness and home use). It makes it the perfect OS to target for people with malicious intents. If you're a hacker what are you going to do, make a virus aimed at Windows users, knowing there are about a billion of them and most don't know anything about security, or aim them at Linux users, who are generally more tech savy and there aren't nearly as many? With a larger number of people making malicious software aimed at you comes more updates to fight them.



I agree that Linux is far superior to Windows (or any other OS), but the number of updates isn't indicative of how good an OS is (in fact, 0 updates implies no one is supporting it any more), and you need real evidence to even make the claim that one has more updates than the other.

Answer 5

You are wrong.

So lets compare 2 operating systems: Microsoft Windows and Linux.

Microsoft is a big company and windows is a more complex OS and linux is a smaller operating system but it does get some updates.

And there are less people working on linux so its much slower than the WHOLE windows team.

Windows gets minor updates and linux gets updates much slower.

Answer 6

Was this question posted so you could pass judgement on whether the answers met your criteria of "good" or "bad"?

~

I see several answers there that have good info. The actual answer is a complex one and one that a linux lover may not sit still long enough to understand or appreciate. So why bother?



But the short answer:

Microsoft has over 80% market share and the OS is constantly being bombarded by people trying to find vulnerabilities. Linux has a tiny share of the market (albeit growing) and nobody cares to look for them. Microsoft finds problems and fixes them, nobody "owns" Linux so there is no focused processed for fixing it.



It's always easy to judge anything you don't like as "bad" and anything you do like as "good".



Meh

Answer 7

that is very easy to answer.

a simplistic to the point answer would be,"Because it IS the absolute Most used system that over 3 billion users online have in their computers they use online every minute of every internet surfing day"

in Hacker Slang this would be stated as, "24/7" to be exact..

to Hackers,Evil Virus Creators and other Leaches, "Microsuck is the #1 Hackers Dream"

To guarantee success is far more than "Killing 2 Birds with 1 Hacker's Stone"

Answer 8

Windows gets a few minor updates every now and again. Most versions of Linux get huge updates and only get them every now and again.

Answer 9

Well... for starters... that's totally incorrect. While I wouldn't argue that Linux is a superior choice to windoze, saying that it never needs patched is simply wrong. If you disagree feel free to have a chat with CERT.

Answer 10

IT'S SO MICROSOFT CAN SPY ON PEOPLE WHO USE WINDOWS

Answer 11

Nah, its great os.

Answer 12

IT'S SO MICROSOFT CAN SPY ON PEOPLE WHO USE WINDOWS