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  1. Stackups
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  4. Operating Systems
  5. Raspbian vs Windows

Raspbian vs Windows

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Windows
Windows
Stacks1.1K
Followers803
Votes3
Raspbian
Raspbian
Stacks141
Followers178
Votes10

Raspbian vs Windows: What are the differences?

Key Differences between Raspbian and Windows

Raspbian and Windows are two different operating systems with their own unique features and functionalities. Here are the key differences between them:

  1. User Interface and Design: Raspbian, being a Linux-based OS, has a lightweight and minimalistic user interface, primarily designed for the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. In contrast, Windows offers a more feature-rich and visually appealing user interface with icons, windows, and a taskbar.

  2. Software Compatibility: While Windows has a vast range of software applications developed specifically for the Windows platform, Raspbian's software compatibility is more limited. Raspbian is mainly optimized for running applications that are designed for Linux systems, although it also supports some Windows-compatible software through emulation.

  3. System Requirements: Raspbian is designed to run on low-power hardware like the Raspberry Pi, which has a less powerful processor and limited RAM compared to most Windows-based machines. Windows, on the other hand, requires higher system requirements, including a more powerful processor, more RAM, and more storage space.

  4. Hardware Support: Raspbian is optimized for Raspberry Pi's hardware and provides excellent support for their GPIO pins, cameras, and other peripherals. Windows, being a widely used OS, offers broader hardware support for a wide range of devices manufactured by different companies.

  5. Commercial vs. Open Source: Windows is a commercial operating system developed by Microsoft and requires a license for usage. Raspbian, being an open-source OS, is free to use and modify, making it a popular choice among hobbyists, developers, and educational institutions.

  6. Community and Support: Microsoft provides extensive technical support and documentation for Windows, making it easier for users to resolve issues and find solutions online. Raspbian, being supported and developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and a large community of enthusiasts, has an active online community where users can find help, tutorials, and resources.

In summary, Raspbian and Windows differ in terms of their user interface, software compatibility, system requirements, hardware support, licensing, and community support.

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Detailed Comparison

Windows
Windows
Raspbian
Raspbian

A series of personal computer operating systems produced by Microsoft as part of its Windows NT family of operating systems.

It is optimized for the Raspberry Pi hardware. It provides more than a pure OS: it comes with over 35,000 packages, pre-compiled software bundled in a nice format for easy installation on your Raspberry Pi.

-
pre-compiled software; comes with over 35,000 packages
Statistics
Stacks
1.1K
Stacks
141
Followers
803
Followers
178
Votes
3
Votes
10
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 3
    Lovely
Cons
  • 2
    Proprietary
  • 1
    Not free to use
Pros
  • 7
    Runs well on rpi
  • 2
    Easy to use with little experience
  • 1
    Very Lightweight
Cons
  • 4
    Desktop enviroment is unstable
  • 1
    Uses ARMHF architecture, not commonly supported
Integrations
Firefox
Firefox
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
Slack
Slack
Windows Terminal
Windows Terminal
Hyper Terminal
Hyper Terminal
Google Chrome
Google Chrome
Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi
OpenCV
OpenCV

What are some alternatives to Windows, Raspbian?

Ubuntu

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is an ancient African word meaning ‘humanity to others’. It also means ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’. The Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers.

Debian

Debian

Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel or the FreeBSD kernel. Linux is a piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. FreeBSD is an operating system including a kernel and other software.

Arch Linux

Arch Linux

A lightweight and flexible Linux distribution that tries to Keep It Simple.

Fedora

Fedora

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that provides users with access to the latest free and open source software, in a stable, secure and easy to manage form. Fedora is the largest of many free software creations of the Fedora Project. Because of its predominance, the word "Fedora" is often used interchangeably to mean both the Fedora Project and the Fedora operating system.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint

The purpose of Linux Mint is to produce a modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use.

CentOS

CentOS

The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code.

Linux

Linux

A clone of the operating system Unix, written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX and Single UNIX Specification compliance.

CoreOS

CoreOS

It is designed for security, consistency, and reliability. Instead of installing packages via yum or apt, it uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. A single service's code and all dependencies are packaged within a container that can be run on one or many machines.

Gentoo Linux

Gentoo Linux

It is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD that can be automatically optimized and customized for just about any application or need.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox.

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