User talk:Ttiotsw/Temp1

Operating system
Both Windows and major Linux distributions are available in many localised languages. The key differences lie in the licensing restrictions with Windows that limit the number of languages used to display system menus, help and dialogs. In Windows this capability is provided by the Multilingual User Interface (MUI).

In most versions of retail Windows only one language is possible, usually selected at installation or system preparation time by the manufacturer. The Microsoft Subsequent changes to the language are not possible unless the language is a minor language that has a Language Interface Pack (LIP) can provide localisation for many minor languages and layers on top of an English Windows version.

It is easy to have multiple languages installed in Linux and to switch between them while the user is logging in. Almost all applications will communicate with the user in the selected language, because they can detect it from the environmental variable LANG. In MS Windows user has to change language in every application separately and the whole operating system's user interface supports only the language selected during installation process (Windows Vista), so the only way to change it is to reinstall whole system.

Linux also supports more languages and writing systems than Windows. It supports all of the languages Windows supports, as well as Ethiopic, Gurmukhi, Oriya, Tibetan, Mongolian, Burmese, and Lao.