The Difference and the Disadvantage of the Windows Platform and Linux - Assignment Example

It is hard to select one computer operating system (OS) over another. The best would always depend upon the requirements of a user. For the purpose of this paper – in comparing Windows 2000 and Linux – I would take the perspective of the general user, assessing three important factors: security, cost and application support.Windows 2000, OSX and Linux are all related to the popular UNIX operating system: the former and the OSX trace their roots on the OS while the latter is one of its clones.

And so, they share many features such as true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, intelligent memory management, and TCP/IP networking (Cowart and Knittel 71). The Novelle Netware OS, however, is older than any of these platforms and has been mainly used as a networking OS. The difference and to the disadvantage of the Windows platform is in regard to the security issues. Viruses and worms are far rarer in Linux and OSX than in Windows. Linux is universally held as a very solid OS and much preferred as server and firewall system.

OSX, on the other hand, is a highly customized UNIX system, which also makes it a more security-aware infrastructure. According to Thomas, Chanelle, and Sicam, the total number of viruses and worms found in the wild infecting Linux systems are less likely than 1,000 while Windows must tackle, approximately 1,000 new viruses every month (185). Meanwhile, Novelle used to be the king in terms of security and reliability but that it has undergone very little upgrades since the 1990s. Another important difference between the operating systems being discussed is the cost.

Linux is an open platform, hence, it is free. Windows 2000, Novelle Netware, and the OSX, on the other hand, come with expensive price tags. For example, when a consumer upgraded from NT4 to Windows 2000, he had to buy Client Access License besides the software upgrade of $400 or $500.