Windows and Linux
12 Aug 2013

In this paper I will be comparing my experience between the juggernaut Windows 7 operating system and the most recent version of Linux Mint 15, named “Olivia”. A report from betanews stated that “the desktop Windows is entrenched with 91.77 percent usage share.” (Wilcox, 2012, para.4). Just like most of the world, I too am a long time Windows user. In this class and in previous classes we have discussed other operating systems, and my curiosity has peeked, which is why I have chosen to put an open source OS up against the familiar Windows 7. I first wanted to understand what open source was. According to the open source initiative (OSI) there are 10 criteria that software has to meet to be considered truly open. Things like free redistribution, the program must include the source code, and the integrity of that author’s code. The next thing I did was go to linuxmint.com to find the latest version and choose from one of the US download mirrors. The first thing I noticed when I boot up Linux is that it asks for a username and password. I use a login screen on Windows 7 at my PC with username and password, but this is only an elected option. I really like this security feature and how on Linux, it is mandatory, and uses this in the future to make any system changes or to download software. Another login screen feature Linux 15 has is a whole new level of customization. For example in Windows I can choose different login icons (the one I use right now is a picture of a guitar) but with Linux I can use my knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create a login page that is totally me. The next thing I decided to look into was all the free software available for the open source platform. Click on the software manager icon that looks like a star. After it is done loading you will find 12 categories of programs ranging from internet, accessories, programming, and games and more. Browsing through these categories you find a brief description and a rating from users. I decided to try a highly rated piece of software called the GLX Cairo Dock. This is a very in depth program to add more personalization to the already smooth looking desktop. Options are customizing icons, how the clock appears, I can even make it look like an OS X desktop from Apple or a combination of all the options. The next comparison I did was between the word processors and business suites. With most of the world using