2005, Matthew Hagaman
Linux v. Windows Persuasive Speech Speaking Outline
My topic is Linux as an alternative to Windows. My specific purpose is to persuade the class to consider adopting Linux as their primary operating system. My thesis statement is “Linux is a viable alternative to Windows due to its superior price, security, and features”.
Introduction: - When I say the phrase “operating system”, the first word that comes to many people's minds is “Windows”, Microsoft's operating system that has been in development for two decades. - An operating system is the software program that is installed on a computer before anything else; without an OS, the computer would be useless. The OS enables all of the parts of a computer to work together and provides a way for a user to interact with it. The three best- known operating systems are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, though others exist for computers and other devices like palm pilots and cell phones. - Linux, the OS I want to discuss today, was born in 1991, based on Unix, a fairly simple text- based operating system. Linux was begun as a hobby by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki (Finland), to create a free operating system that was more user-friendly. Since the beginning, the source code behind the kernel has been freely available to the public (open source), and tens of thousands of people have modified the code to improve it. - Today there are many different distributions of Linux, each using the same kernel, but with different software included and a different user interface. Linux Online, Inc. lists 129 distributions in the mainstream category alone. - Mark Shuttleworth, creator of Ubuntu Linux, stated “We are starting to see Linux on the desktop become a reality not just for high end power users, but for the rest of the family too. The hard work of hundreds of thousands of anonymous contributors has reached critical mass, our momentum is now unstoppable.” - Today I intend to prove that Linux is a viable alternative to Windows due to its superior price and security.
Price: - Take a look at the handouts in front of you and compare the prices of the various operating systems. By using Linux, you can save anywhere from $130 to $300. By using open-source solutions when purchasing software, the average computer user can save $500. - According to David Wheeler, an expert in computer security, over the course of a 3-year study the British Educational Communications and Technology Association found that implementing open-source technology in secondary schools resulted in a 24% decrease in IT expenses. The decrease was nearly 50% in primary schools. - For many people, price is not the most important consideration when choosing an operating system.
Security: - For most businesses, one of the most important considerations is security. There is little doubt that Linux is more secure. 2005, Matthew Hagaman
- According to David Wheeler, There are nearly 60,000 viruses that effect Windows, while there are only 40 for both Macintosh and Linux. - The variety of Linux distributions makes it difficult to target a large number of systems. - Due to its being open source, there are hundreds of eyes that check Linux code for security problems before it is ever added to the kernel. - Linux comes with many free software programs that are easy to install, but programs that haven't been verified by the distributer are more difficult to install. - Secunia, a leading computer security firm, issues warnings whenever a program has security concerns. Following are percentages of vulnerabilities that cannot be patched (or updated) of all known vulnerabilities. It is important to note that the numbers represent the number of known vulnerabilities on a fully-patched and up-to-date computer. - Most security issues come about through the use of Internet browsers, namely Internet Explorer (used by default on Windows) and Firefox (used by default on most Linux distributions). 23.5% of 89 problems are unpatched in Internet Explorer 6 while only 8% of 25 problems are unpatched in Mozilla Firefox 1.x. - 22.2% of 122 problems are unpatched in Windows XP Professional. 22.1% of 108 problems are unpatched in Windows XP Home. The newest versions of the four best- known Linux distributions as listed by Grant Rickford, author of Linux for Non-geeks (Ubuntu, Fedora Core, Red Hat Enterprise, and Madrake) have no unpatched problems. - It is a fact that open-source programs are patched much more quickly than proprietary software such as Microsoft Windows. This is due to the fact that hundreds of people work without pay to make Linux as secure as it can be.
Conclusion: - It's hard to believe that, according to Refsnes Data, 88% of computer users use Windows while only 3.5% use Macintosh. It's even harder to believe that only 3.5% use Linux. It has a price that is hard to beat, is far more secure than Microsoft Windows, and is easy to use following installation. - To install Linux, you should have patience, a good amount of time, and a decent understanding of computer science. As, in order to install some programs, you may have to use the command line. - Even if you do not want to switch to Linux, take a look at the handout and, next time you go to buy software, consider the free alternatives, all of which work as well if not better. - Since I made the permanent switch this summer, I have had far fewer crashes, worry less about the safety of my personal information, and, best of all, haven't payed a penny for software.