Why Do I Have To Use Windows?

I’ve been happily using Linux for several years.  Now, I could go on describing the numerous benefits of Linux over Windows, but that would miss the point.  Linux simply suits me better than Windows.  So, when I discovered a problem that might force me to use Windows as my primary operating system, I wanted to know why.

Recently, I purchased a laptop computer with high-performance and excellent cooling in mind (Alienware M15x).  It came with Windows 7 and everything works wonderfully, but when I run Linux on the same computer (dual-boot configuration), it works even better.  Applications load more quickly and run more smoothly, and I can run more of them at the same time.  But the laptop’s cooling system isn’t supported under Linux.  When the computer gets hot, the software can’t read the temperature sensors or increase the fan speed.  Then it locks-up or restarts unexpectedly.

It would be easy to blame the operating system.  After all, it works fine in Windows, but I don’t think that’s the right answer. My guess is that the manufacturer of the cooling system had supporting software developed for Windows, but not for Linux.  They didn’t consider Linux-users important enough to support.

Whether it’s Linux or Windows, the operating system doesn’t really have anything to do with it.  Since Windows users represent the largest market, companies will target them first. I don’t expect Linux developers to support every possible hardware configuration, especially if that means reverse-engineering undocumented hardware.  And, I can’t possibly research every component of everything I buy. The ideal solution would be a standard that allows abstraction of the supporting software from the hardware, but that might be too much to hope for.  So, I might have to use Windows for now, but I’ll let my money speak for me as much as possible while I dream of that “perfect possible future” for computer hardware and operating systems.