What can Windows do that Linux can't?

[mbott]

I keep a copy of Windows around just to do my taxes in the spring.

--
Mike

[craig10x]

@mbott: If you use one of the tax services like turbo tax, tax act, etc...the web based versions work great...really no need to use the downloaded program...i use Tax Act myself and it is excellent...

[tfrue]

BLOATWARE FREE! You are not going to have to remove Norton, CyberLink, McAfee, Snapfish, or other bloatware from Linux. Vendor lock-in free! You don't need proprietary drivers to make your audio, video, ethernet, and other drivers work properly. Also, the native applications that come with Linux are fantastic! ( Like Thunderbird, Rythmbox, Nautilus, a FREE Office suite) You're also not limited with what you can do with your system by the version of Linux you have as far as Bit-Locker abilities (Encrypting the HDD), system administration task like GPO, and many other features are concerned.

Windows is far more user friendly than Linux, period; you're the only tech support for your computer and operating system in Linux. (Yes there are tons of support on-line for Linux, but things just usually work in Windows) With that being said, Windows is know by far more people than Linux; so if you were to deploy 400 computers in an environment, Windows would most likely be the better option because of how well known it is and Linux can be a steep learning curve for non tech savvy people. Doing things like network printer sharing, general network drive sharing, and general networking in Windows is far more user friendly than Linux since you'll have to download, configure, and manage the service in Linux rather than point, click, apply and done. In Windows, there is usually a GUI application for anything that you want to do so there is really no shell interaction unless you decide to start automating task, but in Linux, the shell is an essential part of setting up any server.

[Dragonbite]

Windows makes you part of the (90%) herd.
Linux makes you stand out.

[krust13579]

[hbutt875]

Gaming,applications and drivers support makes Windows better than ubuntu.

[kurt18947]

Gaming

Probably. I'm no gamer so wouldn't really know.

applications

I can find applications to do what I need to do and don't have to pay $50/yr. ... forever (Office 365) plus have someone else in possession of my data. I can also see in the future where a new PC comes with a 3 year subscription to Windows. If I keep that PC for longer than 3 years (or whatever number MS chooses) I'd have to pay so much per year to use Windows. Or I could buy a new PC and get a new subscription plus have the 'latest and greatest' hardware. Think manufacturers would be onboard with such a scheme?

and drivers support makes Windows better than ubuntu.

Paying attention when shopping for hardware makes driver support no more difficult than Windows


I did find one issue that seems to have been resolved with Windows. I've had a Logitech keyboard that uses a unifying USB dongle. I recently purchased a logitech trackball also using a unifying dongle. I was able to get both devices to use one dongle but periodically I'd get a pause of about 8 seconds where the keyboard was not responsive and keystrokes were being buffered. I let Windows out of its cave, loaded Logitech's unifying software and re-paired both devices. Back in its cave for Windows. Fired up Ubuntu and it seems much better.

[hbutt875]

But here in Pakistan the biggest drawback of linux is Gaming.

[noel6]

be on my pc any longer

[LastDino]

Had to install Win8.1 again since Auto-CAD has no good alternative on Linux, but that is about it. There is absolutely nothing Windows does any better for me than Linux does. Actually, it fails quite often. Still the random update shutdown/startup delays and after using Ubuntu for last year or so, Windows fonts looks shockingly ugly in comparison. I say shockingly because this stuff is costly when Ubuntu costs nothing, and more than 90% of people use Windows, I wonder how something like that doesn't get addressed.