Is Linux a threat to Microsoft?

Question

I finally got fed up with Windows, the viruses, the fragmenting, the slow start-ups and shutdowns, so I used Windows one last time, which is to download and burn Xubuntu and installed it, and I loved it, fast start-ups and shutdowns, no viruses, little to no fragmenting, no bloatware, the only criticisms is using the Terminal, because it scares me, and playing flash games, playing flash games is slower then on Windows, besides that, after using it for almost eight months, I can say Linux is better than Windows, but I'm still scared of the Terminal.

After I read the story on EU Linux users suing Microsoft for the UEFI Secure Boot, which makes it hard for novice users like myself, from installing Linux on a computer designed for Windows 8, it begs the question, does Microsoft consider Linux a threat? I hope Microsoft will fix this, because it is not fair, it violates the freedom of choose.

Answer 1

Never mind whether Linux actually Is a threat to Microsoft, the real point is that Microsoft is reacting as if it is a threat.



Mind you, Microsoft is making a big mistake by appearing to act as a monopoly to suppress competition. They might find themselves in court trying to prove their innocence, which will create a lot of negative publicity and cost a lot of money for lawyers, and even more money if they get fined.

Answer 2

How do you define threat? And who determines if linux is a "threat" to Microsoft?



The cold hard facts is that many people switch from Windows to linux, from Office to OpenOffice, etc., and when they do, Microsoft looses money. I did exactly that, and Microsoft will never again get a penny of my money. Microsoft doesn't care - they are doing absolutely nothing to win back people like me, but keep going down the path of creating overpriced bloated software.



Flash games should perform the same on Linux, mine do. If they don't, there is a problem with your browser, flash install, etc. Try a different browser. Try updating (or downgrading) flash.



The terminal scares you? Learn to use it. It is your friend. It will help you a lot if you learn a few terminal commands. You will soon learn to do things that you can't do in Windows.



My wife uses linux, and she doesn't know a toaster from a mouse. It's not hard to use, and is perfect for those who just want email, internet, and letter writing, etc.

Answer 3

Linux is not a threat. I only know one person who currently uses Linux. Only 1.4% of the world's computers use the Linux system. I used it a few years ago and I was surprised at how good it was. Microsoft Windows is still the most popular system. 52% of the world's computers have some version of Microsoft Windows. Windows 7 is currently the number one system, but Windows XP is still very popular. More people use Windows XP than Vista and Windows 8 combined. I've been using XP since 2006 and I've never had any unsolvable problems with it. Before that I was using Apple OS 9.1 and I had a lot of problems with it, but most of those problems were issues of compatibility. BTW, these figures are from Wikipedia under "Usage Share Of Operating Systems"

Answer 4

Android's core is based on Linux source code.

A surprising amount of servers run Linux. (Usually Terminal only by default.)

Chromebooks run on Linux (although they aren't all that popular right now)



The Ubuntu variants are gaining in popularity for home use (though still have next to no market share there).



They have a chance, and if Microsoft keeps on its path of creating walled gardens, Linux will have even better chances.



Microsoft do consider Linux a threat, particularly in the tablet and server markets.

Answer 5

For now I would have to say no. I don't think microsoft sees linux as a threat. I switched to linux for the same reasons you did, mainly the viruses. Currently I'm using OpenSuse and was a little confused with how to use zypper in the terminal but the documentation provided by linux distros is fantastic that learning the terminal is not a big deal anymore. I love linux but for now I don't think its a threat.

Answer 6

Linux could never be a threat to Windows unless software vendors create drivers that support your hardware and/or you could get the same amount of software choice with the same quality as you can with Windows. It would also need to be as easy as Windows is to use on a day to day basis... that's improved with Ubuntu and such distributions but it's still not there yet.



I've tried Linux a few times but always seem to go back to Windows based on the things I've said above. It just isn't practical to use (for me) on a daily basis, things are to hard to install, the software I need just isn't there and neither is the driver support for my hardware. This isn't Linux fault, it's just not as successful as Windows so software vendors don't pay it as much attention.



The things you have said about why you're fed up of Windows can all be sorted out:



Viruses - Get a quality anti-virus program, keep it up to date and do regular scans.

Bloatware - Un-install any bloatware or make a fresh Windows installation.

Slow Startups - Use msconfig or another application to turn off unnecessary start-up items.

Fragmenting - Use de-fragmenting software.



Windows is like a car, keep it well oiled and looked after, cleaned every so often and it will serve you well.



-cheers

Answer 7

Linux on the desktop is hardly a threat to anyone. On servers and embedded systems, that's another story.



Last I read, UEFI had been "solved". I forget exact details, but RedHat was going to buy keys for enterprise systems and someone else was going to buy one key and clone it for all the homebrew systems.



Don't be scared of command prompt. That's part of what makes Linux better than Windows - I can SSH in from a cellphone or 20-year-old serial terminal and do stuff. Learn grep and sed and command pipelining, and use "-i" or noclobber (ask first before overwriting things)

Answer 8

UEFI is a security feature that Microsoft requires in certain OEM applications. It's reasons have nothing to do with Linux. It does not force you to use Microsoft products. Microsoft does not force you to buy particular hardware to use their product, unlike Apple. Linux is not a threat to Microsoft, people have been saying that for 20 years now, and Microsoft has only grown it's user base by leaps and bounds. Linux is not a competitor, it's an alternative. Use it or don't.





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Answer 9

They are in different markets.



Microsoft had its own version back in the 80's called Xenix. It was sold by Tandy and some others. Also Microsoft plans to offer Microsoft Unix to compete in the Market with Linux, BSD, and all the other Unix types.

Answer 10

Linux doesn't pose any threat to Windows or OSx. UEFI is a BIOS Chip Technology.

Answer 11

No, it's not a threat

Most people are dumb, and really love shiny things

Microsoft produces a shiny sexy operating system, people are going with what is easier

They cannot suffer a sudo command.