by Matthew Garrett

Created on: May 17, 2009

Having used all three major operating systems, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, I know the downfalls and strong points of all three.

Linux, albeit the most powerful of the three, has a lot of problems with it. Don't get me wrong, it's a great operating system. But it's not perfect, like Linux geeks will attempt to get you to believe.

1. Compatibility

In the world we live in, you need everything to work. Windows 7 works out of the box, Mac OS X works out of the box. Everyone loves that. However, what if you have a wireless card and there is no Linux driver that works with it properly? You've wasted your money on that card unless you get a proprietary operating system that has support for it. And that's a stressful situation. You don't want your hardware to not work just because your operating system doesn't support it.

2. It still uses a monolithic kernel.

What the heck is that? A Monolithic kernel means it utilizes hardware very strongly, but not quickly. A hybrid kernel (Windows, Mac OS X) is much faster and you experience less complete system crashes with it.

3. Learning How To Use It

Linux is NOTHING like Windows or Mac OS X. People, when using it, expect it to be easy to use and friendly to their issues, however, it is not. If you are not an experienced computer user, stay away from Linux. It can be difficult to use, and difficult to master. Like a dog, it needs a lot of training, and experience to know what to do if there is a problem, to make it do what you want to.

4. Lack Of Software

Most software is not coded for Linux. You just bought Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. And you want to play it on your superfast Linux machine. Well, good luck with that! Call of Duty uses proprietary video libraries (DirectX) that is only available on Windows. So, you may want to have another computer running Windows for your gaming. It has many alternatives, but you won't be able to run the software you want to on Linux.

5. Lack of Support

Most companies that help you with computer issues have no support for Linux because only 1% of users use it. GeekSquad won't be able to help you with your PC running Linux. It just isn't as popular as Windows or Mac OS X.

Overall, Linux is a great operating system. But it's just not popular enough to be worth using. The lack of support and software is enough to keep me using Windows. I like gaming, which is moot on Linux. And I like using what software I want, which is also moot on Linux.

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