Windows vs Mac OS vs Linux as desktop computing platform

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freitasm

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#11538 30-Jan-2007 06:57

I've seen a lot of Geekzoners talking about their computers, but I have seen one question always heating up the debate. So I decided to create this thread, where I will see flamwes up and down, but I had to do it.

The background for the questions is you use Windows (or Mac OS or Linux), and say "I will never use Mac OS (or Windows or Linux). The question is this: since you are such a big defender of the faith, have you actually used the other OS for more than a couple of minutes to be able to do a fair comparison, or just follow the cult?

Now, flame the world...

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#59207 30-Jan-2007 07:21

I have used Linux briefly (albeit some time ago), and I regularly use both Windows and OS X. Since I'm not a die-hard fan boy, I'm probably in the wrong thread here, but I can honestly say that I have a slight preference towards OS X because I feel that the user interface in Windows and Linux doesn't really flow. When I use Windows, I have to think quite hard about what I'm doing, whereas the Mac is more intuitive.

Beyond the user interface, I don't really notice a lot of difference to be honest. Each of the three main operating systems have their strength and weaknesses and will appeal to different types of users.

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#59232 30-Jan-2007 13:28

Although many think it, I am not a Windows zealot. Windows despite being so dominant has been badly flawed and not overly easy to configure. See the lack of decent network settings in XP for example and endless holes and patches. But now... Vista is another story.

Windows Vista is my OS of choice. The new UI is very intuitive, the new search feature is great, the media center is fantastic. Its easy to find the way around. Anyone who has used the new network center will agree that it makes life so much easier when configuring network settings.

I was involved in the Vista beta since the B1 builds so given the amount of work I put in testing I do feel a certain attachment to it. But I honestly do believe having used the other OS's that Vista is the king.

Linux is nowhere near ready for the consumer market. The community is far too fractured and the are many different distros that have their own unique strengths, but until a true well polished consumer distro is released then Linux will faithfully fill the server roll it is good at. Who knows it may even take down Windows Server.

Mac OS X is just a pretty face on a niche product and while some people love it, I don't. I have used it quite a bit recently and I find it's just not for me.

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#59256 30-Jan-2007 17:12

I have tryed Linux a few times, and it was never a good experience...searching for hours on end trying to find certain drivers for my hardware...which never actually worked after installing them.
I have a mac now, and Tiger is a really nice OS. But I still really like windows, which is why I dual boot to it with bootcamp. On all my systems that have run xp, I hardly ever had problems...come to think of it, the only problems I really had were caused by me when I took my memory frequency up a bit too much...

barf

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#59257 30-Jan-2007 17:18

I work with Windows and MacOS systems so I respect those as being the two major and easy-to-use desktop OSes. I prefer MacOS over Windows but thats because of it's BSD-UNIX-style underbelly - something I am familiar with and my intuition pays off more. Windows doesn't usually give me any problems though, except for it's much easier to catch a virus or spyware, and when a virus sinks it's teeth in - it's usually format-time.

My desktop OS of choice is Ubuntu GNU/Linux (Dapper). My decision is based mainly on technical merit, it's not like it's easier to use!

By technical merit I simply mean 'how it works'. Looking at the source code of your OS is a humbling and educational experience, and the feeling of knowing that I can learn how it works is one I will never rebuke. Probably not the usual deciding factor, I'll admit.

The other considerations in my OS choice are speed, control, reliability and security.
Ubuntu isn't as fast as other Linux distros such as Slackware but it still boots faster than XP did, and the hibernate feature (Vista does this too) makes for <30 second boot times. The security update and release mechanism for Ubuntu is very on-the-pulse, and when it appears I just click the orange update icon to install updates.

Control of your OS. I can let Windows speak for itself here, how many .exe or .dll applications on your computer create connections to the Internet?
AFAIK Windows' netstat command won't even display which application opened which socket. Linux gives me the control and transparency I need and Windows simply doesn't - too much stuff under the hood that I can't examine.

Linux is very reliable, not to say Windows or Macs are unreliable, but I've never seen a Linux reliability issue that wasn't PEBUAK. Also I never have to reboot my PC unless a new kernel is released or I want to put in a new hard disk, sound card or etc. Compared to Windows which requires semi-frequent reboots.

Another OS that has my attention at the moment is Vista. Which is definately up with the pace, it's IPv6 support is good and netsh is a step towards what Linux (BSD and Cisco IOS) can do. But the DRM, encrypted phoning-home, closed-nature and price will mean I'm not ever going to buy it.

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#59421 31-Jan-2007 21:36

"Another OS that has my attention at the moment is Vista. Which is definitely up with the pace, it's IPv6 support is good and netsh is a step towards what Linux (BSD and Cisco IOS) can do. But the DRM, encrypted phoning-home, closed-nature and price will mean I'm not ever going to buy it."

Have to agree - IMHO Vista is the biggest argument yet to switch to Linux.
I have already switched all my devices from MS Office to OpenOffice and am running thru the various Linux distros now - despite the politics, Suse still looks great.

MACs are just too trendy - and you can't get the spanners on - not for techies.
MACS remind me of Harleys - fashion over function. (Although you do not have to be old and fat to buy a MAC).
(Apologies - I know they're great for graphics, and all that - am just taking the mickey).

Microsoft have kept us all in work for so long with their shoddy products and crappy support, so I should really applaud the release of Vista, but ..no.
I don't need to or want upgrade my hardware, and I do not need or want to install products like WGA which is IMHO spyware.
I suspect I am becoming an old git and need to get myself a tinfoil hat.

Happy New Year all.

freitasm

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#59422 31-Jan-2007 21:46

mdl: I have already switched all my devices from MS Office to OpenOffice and am running thru the various Linux distros now - despite the politics, Suse still looks great.

And that's the problem. How end users with no technology knowledge at all will go around trying all the various Linux distros to find a suitable one? They won't. There's no way around this, until there's a single distro. And of course someone will find a reason to create a new one, and so on...

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#59429 31-Jan-2007 23:24

Personally, I've used all of the three OS's listed (in the topic title) and have a moderate knowledge of Linux. I've got more experience with Mac OS X and Windows.

I lean towards Mac OS X. It does things the way I want to and I don't have to worry about other things.

Sadly zealots and underhanded tactics (often for media attention - refer to Slashdot, Mac rumors, or the paid 'studies' that get released) on all sides tend to spoil things... so for the most part I try to stay out of these discussions.

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#59431 31-Jan-2007 23:56

barf:

Another OS that has my attention at the moment is Vista. Which is definately up with the pace, it's IPv6 support is good and netsh is a step towards what Linux (BSD and Cisco IOS) can do. But the DRM, encrypted phoning-home, closed-nature and price will mean I'm not ever going to buy it.

Why is IOS bundled in with BSD and Linux?

Re netstat comment -v -b

barf

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#59507 1-Feb-2007 15:33

Fraktul: Why is IOS bundled in with BSD and Linux?

Well IOS isn't but Quagga is available in many distros, Netfilter is built in though. I meant netsh seems like an attempt at bringing IOS-style configuration to Windows.
thanks for the netstat flag I diddn't know

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