Linux And Microsoft Operating Systems

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Abstract

Linux and Microsoft operating systems have been developed and marketed in two very different ways. Microsoft has become synonymous with monopoly and substandard software, while Linux is based on free, open source and the concept of open standards, full disclosure and sharing. Microsoft attempts to discourage consumers from using the Linux solution by suggesting that the operating system is less than perfect, yet it remains blind to its own operating system's problems existent within Windows 95/98 and Windows NT.

It's a well-known fact that Microsoft dominate the software market despite these facts. Are they operating within legal and ethical boundaries? And is it possible that they could fall from grace because of this?

`When you say "I wrote a program that crashed Windows", people just stare at you blankly and say "Hey, I got those with the system, *for free*".'

(Linus Torvalds)

Introduction

Linux and Microsoft operating systems have been marketed very differently. The objectives of the two factions are very different indeed. One seems to be oriented towards market domination, market cornering and making the most amount of money it can, and the other towards creating a free, open source operating system. This may sound too simplistic with the two extremities, and may be a bit more complicated. This report will investigate into the differences in the way that the Linux and Microsoft operating systems have been developed and marketed, and how Microsoft rose to fame, and the possibilities of it's fall from grace.

Open Source

The significant difference between the Linux and Microsoft operating systems is the two basic classifications each of them falls into: open and proprietary. Open systems refer to any stan...

... middle of paper ...

... find out information on their own rather than accepting what Microsoft feeds them, but the educated consumer is a necessity for a successful capitalistic society.

Bibliography

Web Sites:

Microsoft History (http://www.geocities.com/saurabh_jain1000/Microsoft/history1.htm,05/01/02)

History of DOS (http://www.houlden.f9.co.uk/msdos/,05/01/02)

Forbes.com People (http://www.forbes.com/people/,06/01/02)

Netcraft survey (http://www.netcraft.com/survey,07/01/02)

United States v. Microsoft (http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/ms_index.htm,07/01/02)

The Motley Fool – Microsoft vs. Linux (http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/1999/rulemaker991124.htm,07/01/02)

Books:

The Cathedral & the Bazaar (Eric S. Raymond.)

Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution. (Eric S. Raymond, Tim O'Reilly, Linus Torvalds, et al)

Journals:

USA Today (Issue from 06/01/00)

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