When you think about it , in Linux the default repositories are a form of walled garden . You can of course add repositories and even compile software if you want to . However , installing third party applications is very clunky . You get to choose from couple of distros and their specific versions , and you often still have to do bunch of tinkering . You cannot just doubleclick SetupThisApplication . exe and expect it to work . In this sense , Windows gives thirdparty apps a much better platform to thrive on . Of course , as a side effect , this gives malware a better platform as well . At the same time , as we live in funny times of crosspollination , WINE can often provide better backwards compatibility to Windows apps than Windows itself does . So Linux is a great platform for running old Windows apps . We have two operating systems with their strengths and weaknesses . I have been pondering that Windows with could be the ideal compromise to get most out of your computer .