I thought I would take a minute to write about the whole Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux debate.
Everyone has their own personal preference, but essentially I see the divide between operating systems like the divide between different flavors of ice cream. At this point, most of the mainstream OSs, (Windows, OS X, Ubuntu, etc.) all have the same basic functionality that most users need. The things that make them different (on the user side) are compatibility with software/hardware and the differences in user interface layout. Having used both Mac OS, Windows 7 and Ubuntu Linux all for quite some time now, I’ve found that most of the time I’m really just using Chrome and maybe iTunes on a day-to-day basis and only having to deal with more complicated software on occasion.
For a good everyday use OS, I recommend Ubuntu Linux to users who are moderately tech-savvy and want more customization than Mac OS or Windows provide. Ubuntu is also completely free and, of course, fully open source. The issues I have run into with Linux are mainly in software compatibility. For example, Microsoft Silverlight (the framework that makes Netflix streaming possible) is not supported on any systems other than Mac OS and Windows (XP, Vista, 7). I also am unable to run the newest version of iTunes on Ubuntu (WINE, the windows emulation software for Linux, only supports up to version 8 of iTunes at this time. If you have an older iPod and want to sync it with a Linux machine, RythmBox is a great alternative program that will let you manage your media library. If you have an iPhone, or even an iPad for that matter, you’re just out of luck.)
Linux is great. It’s extremely customizable (down to every last part of the user interface and installed software). It gives you great core functionality, wonderful performance and ease of use. However, the limitations of software available make Linux difficult to use as a main operating system.
Windows, as we all know, is very clunky. It’s based on a 20-year-old system that has huge security risks and fundamental issues in this day and age. Imagine everyone using touch-screen abacuses in 20 years, and someone using a solar-powered calculator from 1990. It was great for the time, but the software needs to be really stripped down and rewritten from the ground up for Windows to improve at all.
Mac OS X is very tempting for a lot of users. It has the compatibility of Windows (Silverlight, iTunes, Photoshop, etc.) and the security of a Linux OS (mainly stemming from Apple’s constant security updates and the fact that OS X has a smaller market share). Unfortunately Mac OS doesn’t really give you much customization (although it’s pretty much made for everyone), and there are still many pieces of software only available for Windows; however I find that if you are willing to pay a little more and get a Mac, you will appreciate the ease of use and simplicity of the system.