What’s the Difference for Everyday Users?

If you’re thinking about switching to Linux—or even just thinking about getting away from Windows—you may have wondered what actually are the main differences between the two operating systems (OSes). To make it simple, here are the differences I think are most important.

Linux Distros Typically Aren’t for Profit

Probably the biggest difference between the two OSes is the underlying philosophy: Windows is a product made by the Microsoft corporation, and it’s sold for money. When you buy a new laptop, part of the purchase price is a fee being paid to Microsoft that allows you to use Windows. As such, the decisions that shape Windows often will have a profit motive in mind, which may clash with your needs as a user.

Linux, in contrast, is in almost all cases a free product. Though there are some exceptions, especially when it comes to enterprise applications, as a regular consumer you’ll likely never have to pay to use Linux. This is true even if your distribution of choice was made by a large company. For example, the extremely popular Ubuntu distro is put together by Canonical, a profit-based corporation, yet is offered for free.

Without the profit motive, Linux designers can make choices that are in the interest of users, without having to worry about sales funnels or advertising space. Microsoft needs to sell subscriptions and ads to operate, and it designs Windows as a means to do that.

There’s No One “Linux”

You may have noticed another key point to realize about Linux, namely that there isn’t one monolithic OS. Unlike Windows, which has iterations that are, on paper at least, direct upgrades to the ones preceding it, the Linux ecosystem is a great deal more anarchic. This is due to Linux being by and large open source: anybody can view the code, copy it, and add or remove things as they see fit.

As a result, Linux has a lot of different flavors, called distribution or distro, with each bringing its own take to the concept of an OS. So you can have a distribution like Ubuntu, which has a bit of a Mac-like feel and uses Canonical’s software center to keep up and running. If you want a more Windows-like feel, you can check out Linux Mint, which takes what’s good about Windows and gets rid of the rest.

Of course, there’s more to Linux distros than just having a Mac or Windows feel. You have distros like Arch Linux, which don’t have any graphical interface, unless you specifically want one. You also have super-specific ones like Tails, which is built for anonymity and wipes itself after each use. No matter how niche an application, chances are there’s a Linux distro catering to it.

Linux Has No Dedicated Customer Support

So far, you may think that we’re nothing but Linux fanboys here at How-to Geek, and while that’s certainly true, that doesn’t mean we’re blind to its faults. One massive issue when comparing Windows to Linux is that when you have an issue with a Microsoft product, you can refer to the documentation or even reach out to a support agent to fix it. It’s great, especially if you’re not too savvy with computers.

Linux forces you to know how computers work, because there’s no dedicated customer support, and you’ll be relying a spread of online documentation and websites instead of just one. This means that if you’re having issues, you are going to have to figure stuff out on your own using what documentation you can find plus the people you can meet through the Linux community.

While the Linux community as a whole is very friendly and helpful, there’s no guarantee you’ll find someone able to help with your specific problem. Many of the issues I’ve faced using Linux I’ve ended up fixing by taking some well-meant advice, some of my own know-how, and just trying stuff till it worked. Not very elegant nor efficient, and there were times where I wished I could have plugged and played, Windows style.

Not Everything Will Work On Linux

Another issue to keep in mind is that a lot of software is tailored toward Windows, and may not work on Linux. While a lot of software will have Linux versions (and more is being added daily), some things just will not work. The Adobe suite of products is a good example, as are many games.

Generally you can get around these issues by using emulator software, but you will still have issues from time to time. A good example is Steam’s Proton compatibility layer, which lets you play Windows games on Linux. In my experience, it works pretty well most of the time, but there have still been some games that were unplayable for one reason or another.

For me, this hasn’t been a dealbreaker, but if you’re dependent on specific software or a heavy gamer, it’s something to keep in mind when considering switching to Linux.

Linux Gives You Freedom to Do What You Want With Your PC

For me, the upshot is that Linux gives you a lot of freedom to do what you want with your PC, your only limits are your patience and the distros you use. Want to give an old laptop a new lease of life? Use a resource-light distro to keep it running. Want to use it for video editing? There’s a distro for that, too.

The downside to Linux is that this freedom comes at the price of convenience. Not everything will work, and you will lose time figuring out how certain things work. For me it’s worth it as I’m not giving my money to a large corporation, and tinkering with stuff until I know how it works is something I enjoy. If you think that sounds pretty good, I recommend you try switching to Linux and seeing how you like it.