The general feeling of the Northern Arizona Linux Project is that computer hardware will out last by many years its Windows operating system and that Windows will become noticeably slower year after year. There are many reasons for the Windows loss of performance, but mostly it is due to operating system sub-programs continually growing in size, complexity and redundancy as service patches, bug fixes and security improvements are implemented. Much of the operating system code is patched leading to increased size and less efficiency. Increasingly more sub programs are loaded into RAM at startup and remain resident in memory requiring the need for constant memory paging. Paging is already a common occurrence for a Windows-based machine even when it is new but it only gets worse as operating system updates are applied. Paging eats up performance.

The increase in the number of start-up programs is not limited to just the Windows OS, the PC owner who installs other applications is also a contributor. During the normal installation of an application, the PC owner usually accepts all defaults which many times will include the installation of a RAM resistant sub-program. The Windows install program will not resist or alert the user to the fact a new sub-program will be loaded into RAM at startup. Many of these newly installed applications add the sub-program to the startup sequence as a way to improve perceived performance but they are only used when the user might actually start the application. This is a major problem because the more programs that load at startup, the longer it takes the PC to boot up and the slower it runs due to reduced RAM resources. Start up programs also cause the Windows-based machine to be slow at shut down and can even prevent the PC from shutting off altogether.

Another performance degrading process is that of adding and removing applications to the Windows PC. The more this activity is performed, the more it seems to fracture the poorly conceived Windows Registry. When performed, especially by badly designed applications, the results tend to leave the Registry with dead end pointers and no longer needed application initialization constants. The Registry’s poor design not only has some small impact on PC performance because of the increased size of the Registry and the time required to process its size during the opening of an application, it has also spawned a whole new industry in the pushing of Registry cleaning software. Many times these Registry cleaning programs cause more damage than they cure. These programs remove pointers or initialization items that are misdiagnosed as not used but in fact are and thus greatly impact the application they are intended to serve. Applications impacted by a missing Registry entry may fail to startup or may start only to lockup or the application may run but with constant error reports. This Registry problem may not be the direct result of the Windows Operating System but most assuredly is indirectly due to the poor design of the whole Registry concept.

Windows is without a doubt the holder of the largest market share in Operating Systems, making it a prime target for malicious hackers. It would seem this undesirable group would rather spend their time hacking an OS that will provide the largest return for spent effort than wasting their time on a lesser used system. Windows is always under attack and can become slow, unstable and non-operational if it is infected with a virus, trojan horse, malware, and/or spyware. To reduce the possibility of infection, many Windows PC owners add anti-virus, malware and spyware software which runs constantly as it examines the start up of applications, the receipt of email and the content of web sites to the detriment of performance.

The Northern Arizona Linux Project believes that Windows-based machines will always be in the marketplace and still meet a large need. Windows-based machines still best serve the gamers, special application users and those that are insecure with a different technology. However, we strongly believe that instead of trashing, recycling or totally ignoring the four or more year-old poorly running Windows-based PC, these machines should be made productive once again. We also believe there is a large sector in the personal computing community that will benefit from a revitalized Linux-based machine.

Many would be PC users are reluctant to spend a large amount of money for a new Windows-based machine and its requisite applications when they are not sure they will be comfortable with the perceived complexity of a computer. Many users have basic PC needs like word processing, some spreadsheet usage, Email, Web surfing, photo management, greeting card creation, and some flyer production. All of these users are the targeted benefactors of the Northern Arizona Linux Project. We believe that all the aforementioned problems relative to Windows-based machines can be greatly reduced or eliminated with the introduction of Linux as the Operating System. The once defunct Windows-based machine can now be easily programmed for the purpose of serving a group of future users that otherwise may not have access to the power of the computer.