Operating Systems - Thoughts and Observations

Hello All,

I am often asked about computer operating systems. There have been many flamewars over the subject, and I am not trying to start another one. I am just going to try to keep this simple and applicable from an end user perspective.

First off, for full disclosure, I am a Mac user at both work and home. I work in IT, and Mac is my operating system of choice, and the one I recommend for everyone who can afford it, and values their time and productivity. You can stop reading here if you only wanted the short answer, continue on if you want the good the bad and the why.

Windows
Windows has a lot going for it. It is almost everywhere, over 90% of the desktop market, with its prevalence comes familiarity to almost everyone, and it is cheap. You can get a new laptop that runs Vista for $500 at Wal-Mart, anywhere in America. You can get a desktop that does the same thing for probably $350 at Wal-Mart. There is a ton of software available for Windows, and it is far and away the only one to use if you want to play video games on your computer. We truely live in a Windows world.

The negatives that come with that are many. Here are a couple biggies:

• Virus writers target this operating system
• Spyware and Malware target this operating system
• Windows is not as secure as either Linux or Mac
• You must run a firewall, anti-virus, and spyware remover at all times
• You have to pay for almost everything you want for Windows

You can get around some of these issues, but not easily and not if you are not an IT guru. Even if you are an IT guru, the prevention and upkeep take time, and time is money. I can think of a million things I would rather do than remove viruses and spyware from a machine for two hours.

So to recap, you have market dominance, abundance of software, familiarity and low cost offset by viruses and other bad stuff.

Linux
Linux is the up and comer. Since Vista's release and subsequent flop both Linux and Mac usage have increased. I like Linux. I want to see it win, but unless you buy it pre-installed on a machine, or install it on a wired Ethernet connected desktop, it is not for everyone. I recommend it for people who want many of the Mac features without the cost, however the cost savings comes back to haunt you as a time investment, and time is money. For everyday people Linux is just not there. I hate to say it, but it is not. If you can have someone set it up for you, then it is a viable alternative, but most people want Windows, and do not want Linux, which makes it an even harder sell. Since I have been pointing out the bad parts to Linux above, here are the good parts:

• It is free
• There is free software to do anything you can image
• You do not need to worry about viruses
• Spyware is not an issue
• It works great on old computers
• It is very Mac like, without the Mac cost
• It is improving very quickly; many versions are updated significantly every 6 months

For the majority of the world, Linux does everything you need it to, every day, and does not break. You can do anything on the Internet, play mp3s, work on Word and Excel documents, import and edit pictures, you can even play games. I like Linux. The biggest strike against it for me is that all of the Linux Admins I know use Windows or Mac at home. No Linux Admin that I know uses Linux on their home PC. That is a big blow in my mind. All of the Mac guys use Macs at home, and Windows guys use both Mac and Windows.

If you have a desktop that is not connected to the Internet via wireless, and can get over the fact that Linux is not Windows, you can be very happy with Linux. I do not think that is most people.

Mac
As I said off the top, Mac is my operating system of choice, and the one I recommend. It does cost more. It is different than Windows. It does stink for playing video games. That is about it for negatives though. Here are some of the many advantages of Mac:

• Very few viruses, you do not currently need to worry about them or run anti-virus software
• No spyware
• Minimal driver issues, video, printers, cameras, mp3 players, you plug something in and it works
• Lots of free software
• Very intuitive, and Apple provides free support of topics online
• Tons of cool features, specifically time machine, quick view, spot light and front row
• You can run Windows, if you need to, on all of the new Intel hardware
• One year of free face-to-face support and training at any Apple Store
• One year of free phone support

Learning the new operating system will take a little time, but with the great Apple stores, you can go take a class on it for free if you do not want to teach yourself. The Microsoft Office suite, Word etc, is not the best on a Mac, but it works, and you can easily open and share files with Windows users.

I like Mac OS. I recommend it to anyone. If you have more time than money, Linux is a good option and can handle almost anything you throw at it. If you have some time, some money, and like the status quo, Windows is a vaiable option, just remember you need to pay for anti-virus, spyware removal software, and probably Geek Squad to fix your machine when you come up with the total cost of the machine.

Later,

John