This blog post sets out a list of things that Linux does better than Windows — any version of Windows, including Windows 7.
It’s a good list — I haven’t seen a better one, but I think it underplays the real difficulty of updating Windows, of updating applications and of moving computer. The time needed for these on individual computers is excessive (automated updates of machines on corporate networks is another story).
On my Windows 7 laptop I run
- Windows update — for operating system updates
- Lenovo ThinkVantage System Update — for driver updates
- Microsoft Security Essentials — for security updates and to scan for malware
- Secunia Personal Software Inspector — for security related application updates
- VersionTracker Pro — to check for application updates for installed software
This is an essential minimum. Note: Secunia PSI and Security Essentials are both free and highly recommended.
VersionTracker is currently not very reliable in correctly reporting currently installed software or versions, I am not sure why. Anyway, this is about as easy as it gets in Windows.
In addition, many hardware vendors like to install and run their own update checking applications. In my case that’s HP, for printer software; Logitech for webcam and mouse software; and Apple, for Apple applications.
Then there’s the software vendors checking for updates and looking for ways to push new stuff on your computer: Adobe and Sun most prominently — if you use Adobe Reader or have Sun’s java installed.
Is it any wonder that updates often break things?
Currently, I’ve dispensed, on Windows 7, with Webroot, which I ran on Vista. It’s, an anti-virus, anti-malware application.
With Linux a single update takes care of everything. It’s simple and it’s fast. Almost always, updates can be installed without rebooting. Most Windows users don’t appreciate this, because they don’t run Linux, and because they don’t keep their systems up to date anyway, which is why many are infected with malicious software.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
