Windows "slower than other operating systems"
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
The comment was originally posted at Hacker News, and was verified to be from an anonymous developer at Microsoft who works on the Windows NT kernel. He later deleted the comment, but allowed Bevand to repost it on his blog - but with the proof, "the SHA1 hash of revision #102", removed. It paints a grim picture of the state of Windows.
He claims Windows is indeed slower in lower-levels than Linux, and the root cause of the problem is "social". While Linux' open nature attracts developers working for glory and recognition, this is not the case within Windows - in fact, we run into something that has long been a problem at Microsoft: fragmentation. Windows development is managed by many different teams, and these teams do not work together at all.