Rinat Abdullin

Why do people switch from Microsoft Windows to Linux?

That’s the first of the two posts dedicated to the current changes in the software world – Microsoft Windows loosing the battlefield to Linux. In this one I’ll make an attempt to prove that this is actually happening. In the second post I’ll talk about the opportunities that open up to the software developers in this time of changes (we all want to be efficient in this situation, do not we?)

Ok, here’s the argument: “Microsoft Windows is rapidly loosing its positions to the Linux-based operating systems”. Here are the reasons why this happens in the first place:

1. Linux is cheaper. Initially it is free, (but there is still is some TCO associated with it), while Windows costs some decent money for its licenses.
2. Linux has accumulated a huge number of free software solutions. Software of the similar functionality is rarely free in the Windows world. So in addition to the free OS you also get a bundle of:
   • Free professional office applications (StarOffice or OpenOffice are quite recognized these days)
   • Free Graphical Editing Applications
   • Free Project Management Software
   • Free Software Development tools
3. Users could also save some money on the firewalls and anti-virus software as well. Those are simply not needed, since Linux is inherently more secure than Windows. So you also get the invaluable sense of feeling safe.
4. Linux is open, while Windows does not easily reveal the sources (and thus the organizations with extremely high security standards are worried about the privacy and security).
5. Linux has less requirements to the hardware, while new versions of MS Windows are extremely hungry for those. So in order to keep up with the Windows not only you need new licenses, but also new hardware/upgrades. NB: I was able to get really neat desktop 3D effects in SLED on my old notebook way before the arrival of Vista Aero interface (and everyone remembers that Vista Aero has some decent requirements, do not they?).
6. Microsoft forces users to go to Vista by stopping support for Windows 2000 and XP (widely used).
7. Microsoft is tightening the screws on the anti-piracy around the world. As the result the small organizations have to use the legal software or get sued by Microsoft. So what would you do if you didn’t not have the money for MS Windows, MS Office, etc? It does not look like there’s the other cheap way except Linux.
8. For a long time the main obstacle on the users’ way from Windows towards Linux desktops has been the absence of well-known operating systems that are free to use. Well, Novel’s changing that right now by pushing the popularity of the SUSE Linux. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) is considered to be the most friendly operating system for the Windows refugees.

Those are nice arguments, are not they?

Well, these are more than just words. And organizations with the financial interest in this problem know about that:

1. Governments know about those arguments and ditch Windows for Linux or promote this transition: Russia, China, France, Japan, Korea, India, Venezuela.
2. PC makers know this as well and offer machines with the pre-installed Linux systems (so more and more users will not have that psychological barrier of installing Linux on their own):
   1. Dell has started selling machines with pre-installed Ubuntu and SUSE Linux. It also refunds those users who prefer using Linux instead of the pre-installed XP.
   2. HP has picked Red Hat.
   3. Lenovo goes for the SUSE.
   4. IBM for some reason prefers Linux to Vista. 
3. Microsoft knows it
   1. Microsoft has made numerous agreements with Novell on pushing together SUSE Linux
   2. Microsoft is already selling SUSE Linux licenses and support!

All this movement has just started recently (last couple of years) and it is not going to get somewhere really quickly or simply stop. Instead, it will keep on rolling with increasing speed, while altering the IT world in unpredictable ways. That’s the snowball effect in action.

Additionally this change is not simply about the “Windows vs. Linux”. The whole fun just starts here. When switching the OS here people also change one set of the software for the another (since it is not common for the program to run natively under Windows and Linux at the same time). And since “Windows software development” and “Linux software development” ecosystems are quite different by nature (and in the spirit), the transition is not going to be a smooth one.

Are you ready for those changes?

In my next post I’ll talk a little bit on the subject of the new threats and opportunities for the software developers.

Tags: Linux, SUSE

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