The best fast food restaurant; sure. As for the most healthy, It'd be near bottom with all the other fast-food companies. Its really not a good comparison anyhow.
A better -but still not good- comparison in that sense, would be the top selling compact car under $25grand in Canada for example, would be the Chev. Cavalier. Of course, it is the best car in its class for what it is meant to be and the numbers reflect this. Thats not even a good comparison anyhow, but you get the point. Windows isn't the #1 selling OS desktop or server for nothing. As you can see, people who have a choice will make a choice. Such as those using Linux over Windows, or such as those using ATI cards vs. Nvidia cards in the consumer market. Nobody forced me to use anything, I just want THE best. The same as everyone else.
You don't make any descisions in life because you see them as failure. Every choice you make is because you see it as the winning path; chosing your OS is no different. So either 1) you're above everyone because you like Linux over Windows, and those who run Windows are somehow blind to the quality of Windows vs Linux or 2) you just want to be different 3) you can't afford Windows 4) like many Linux users have some sort of phobia where they equate MS as the evil of computers ... in line with the Intel haters -who are all idiots as much as the MS haters-. Who knows why you're so blinded, but hey ... I run both OS'es and as much as I would like to say Linux is superior, it just isn't orther wise you -Linux world- or Mr Steve Jobs would be thought of as the evil empire.
As for your whatever works reply, listen to yourself. If I had a choice, and both OS'es were free I would like anybody sane, sit down and chose the OS that was a) the easiest and fastest to get up and running reliably 2)worked with my hardware out of the box without having to search up and down for information on HOW to get it to work 3)had the smallest learning curve
Windows is just that. Windows is so easy, even my mother (who is horrible; I had to teach her how to cut and paste about 20 time for crying out loud) can do what she wants in Windows, or find GOOD and detailed instructions on how to do so if she does not have what she needs installed. I let my little bro' sit down on Linux to see how he could manage (12 years old) vs. how adept he is in Windows and there was no way in heck he could ever get the UT2003 demo he wanted to try in Linux going; he quickly asked how to get out of Linux and into Windows. Within 10 minutes (including download) in Windows he had his UT2003 demo up and running. He would NEVER have gotten it to run under Linux.
Now you mean to tell me Linux is more advanced? They don't even have the basics of useability solved ... how on earth can you say Linux is better?
Here is a scenario :
OSes - Windows XP, Linux SUSE 9
Lets assume you have no experience (absolutely none) in either OS, and you are presented with a single file on the desktop. The file
is a zip file called "some_word_program.zip" on both OS'es desktop. You want to install this word program on both operating systems, and like usual with Linux, most standard programs do not come with GUI installers, and must be compiled.
Both OS'es are logged in as user : newuser , XP newuser has admin privledges
Like usual, in Windows the zip would comprise of a few files, plus a setup.exe file.
Linux, on the other hand has a configure, a bunch of files and folders, a bunch of makefiles etc.
Assuming you know nothing, absolutely nothing, how long do you think it would take for somebody to install the programs on both systems?
1) Windows : once they figured to double click on the program (which most figure out right away) they will eventually see the setup.exe file and like anybody, would put 2 and 2 together and figure they have to double click on the setup.exe. From that point on, as long as you know how to read you can click next until it is installed. Finding the start menu, is extremely easy for everybody but the dumbest, so now startin gthe program is equally as easy as installing it.
2) Linux : su, password ...... change directory to where the file is (which no beginner will understand because they have no idea what the command is to change directories, nor do they have an understanding yet of what or how directories work) run ./configure make; make install .... then go and find it in the program menu. Usually the icon is not placed in the proper folder, and is instead placed in 'Applications' unless specified during ./configure.
Nevermind with the rest of the Linux explanation, you only understand that because you KNOW what that means already .. the beginner would be stuck after double clicking the icon on the desktop ... the beginnner would never make it any further then that, and as my brother as proof ontop of that there you have it. He's not even a beginner, and you know how quickly kids learn.
So, as a beginners OS we can see how much more advanced and useable Windows is.
Moving on ... beginner - intermediate user, not worried about cost.
Eitherway, the cost of Linux ownership is the same however you look at it, if you pay for Linux support, and have to include paying the Unix specialist his salary. Windows NT admins are a dime a dozen, and need much less support with a much smaller learning curve. As for workstations, give a copy of Linux to everyone in your office and watch the productivity decrease, and the time and money become wasted.
Also notice, I'm comparing the only server/workstation market now ... the Desktop market, well we already have had RedHat claim Linux is nowhere near ready for the desktop market .. so that is a moot point.
Sceneario (beginner wants to ) :
Wants to install his SB Audigy using digital out. (myself included in this one) What does one have to do just to get it to WORK in Linux vs. Windows? Pretty easy there ....
Now that was quick, moving on again ....
You want to install a reliable, easy to update, remotely managable web server. Being an advanced user, you will no doubtedly have heard of apache. Installing apache in Windows ... download the .exe, doubleclick and go through the setup process. Installed. Copy your files to your public_html directory in c:\program files\apache\ or whever you specified other than default if you did.
Linux, you may be able to find an RPM or have it preinstalled for your distribution, or in some cases you will need to compile it yourself. Depending on which distribution, and wether you bothered to scroll through the million randomly selected programs distrubuted with your release and check off what you wanted. So with that out of the way, you now have to configure it from the command line, insert your startup script into your rc5 or whatever runlevel you're using if its not automatically inserted for you, as well as a host of other settings such as your default dir etc. creating your default dir, and everything else that goes along with setting it up under Linux.
Lets say you want to setup users now for each install to have their own password protected folders, with an FTP server login to boot. Or even, lets say you wanted to install PHP on both the Windows and Linux server.
Eitherway, I can tell you which one is MUCH faster to get up and running reliably, and which one is easier to properly secure. Its Windows.
The only thing left to argue, is cost and feature set. Considering companies usually need both servers and workstations, you will find Windows does the job better. Linux boxes are great little mail and DNS servers, or personal firewalls .... but as a workgroup file server, accounting workstation, support workstation or anything else its plain useless compared to Windows.
I just don't get how you are so blind.
Give your office Linux and see what happens .... a big disorganized mess. Just like the OS! All Linux really is, is just a kernel anyhow!
The learning curve for Linux is way too steep to be used by anybody but experienced users. Talk about wasted man-hours .... just try and deploy Linux workstations. Even with semi-experienced users, there is a tonne of wasted man-hours when Linux comes into the picture and its not because everyone is used to Windows. Its because Windows is so easy to use and get the work you need DONE vs. Linux.
We had a guy when I was at
www.colosseum.com who is the 'webadmin' who got all caught up with wanting to use Linux because the resident Unix nerd converted him away from the -evil side- and it ended up taking him 2 weeks worth of lost productivity to eventually reinstall Windows so he could actually do some work instead of worrying about learning how to do something in Linux.
Anyhow, I know you like to sit there blinded but thats alright.
Long live the best OS! Let the best prosper -wether it be Windows or Linux-. For now, Linux has ALOT of catching up to do for anything other than your ISP's uses. Even RedHat admits this ... why can't you? Oh wait, you're a fanboy
I guess you knew how to edit and write a text file via. the console in Linux right off as well right? VI ? PICO ? How would you know? In Windows, its called notepad ... pretty self explanatory. How do you delete a line in VI ? d ? who would know or figure out how to even insert, edit and save files in vi without either a) being a little more intelligent than the average person b) sitting down and reading through instructions to edit a damn text file for a good 10 minutes? Me, I only knew of VI because I asked a Unix guru. Otherwise I would have been stumped. Luckily, I half made it around vi by chance just goofing around and trying things out on my own. I still don't know all the commands, its not worth reading directions or a command list to learn how to use a friggen text editor! Come on.
Linux is just better though ... not!