What OS do you run?
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Atomic Sky
New Member
You could write a book on this topic, but it'd probably be so boring no one would read it. xD
Warning: Bias may follow. I'm a linux junky and have been using it for most of my life.
Note: There is not one Linux, the operating system people call Linux is actually hundreds of different Distrobutions (Distros) that have different qualities, not all distros have the same qualities, so when I say linux I'm generalizing.
There are three basic categories differences can fall into when it comes to operating systems. Philosophical, Technical, and . When it comes to actual hardware, there's not really a difference.
The first major difference is in philosophy. Linux is Open Source, which means that every piece of code in the Linux operating system is viewable by the user, and can be modified by the user. Windows and Mac OS are both proprietary which means the source code is closed and can not be viewed by the user, and that you can actually get in legal trouble if you edit it without permission. Linux is distributed under the GPL whereas Windows is copyrighted. Linux is developed by the open source community (some distros have corporate backing but I wont go into that). Whereas Windows and Mac OS are developed by their respective companies. In general I consider Linux to be more community oriented and Windows and Mac OS to be more corporate/profit oriented.
Support issues are the last way they vary. Most Linux distors maintain a repository of software where you can locate, download, and install software that will be compatible with your machine, where as Windows does not, I'm not s sure about Mac OS, it's been ages since I used a Mac. Additionally support tends to be community based, and free on the individual level, although companies do exist that sell tech support for linux. Whereas windows support generally means going through Microsoft and tends to require payment.
Linux also has a variety of technical features that most users don't really care about, like being able to stop certain layers of programs and instances from running, while most people don't really need something like this, for people like me it's invaluable. Whereas Windows does not have this ability. There are some basic differences in the structure of the operating systems. Originally back when Macs were actually different from other PCs and had a PowerPC archetecture Mac OS only supported PPC, whereas Linux supported other archetectures and so did Windows. Linux is based on Unix, and to a degree so is Mac OS (It's really based on BSD which is a derivation of Unix), whereas Windows is based on DOS. Linux doesn't have viruses, and in comparison to Windows it has hardly any mal-ware (15,000 for windows, less than 1000 for Linux). This stems from their divirgent philosophies, with Linux you have litterally millions of people looking at the code finding bugs and exploits and fixing them quickly, where as with Windows you have to wait for Microsoft to find the bugs and vunerabilites and release a patch for it. The fact that Windows has something like 90% market share compared to other Operating Systems in tends make it more profitable to try and exploit Windows machines. Another Technical difference is that Mac OS and Windows both have hybrid kernels, and Linux has a monolithic kernel, the best way to think about this is that the Linux kernel acts like a referee in a football match whereas the Windows and Mac kernels act more like a referee and a player. The major difference is for users is stability, in 10 years of using Linux I've seen like 5 Kernel Panics in comparison I probably see a Windows Blue Screen of Death like twice a week. Because there are a lot more people working on Linux distros, distrobutions like Ubuntu roll out a new version every 6 months, in contrast, there was 6 years between Windows XP and Windows Vista. Faster update cycles mean more security, and the latest features.
Differences in use and installation also used to exist. Now before someone comes in and says something about "user friendly-ness". Initally Linux was not very User friendly, almost everything had to be done from the Terminal/Command Line, whereas Windows and Mac OS were more focused on using a Graphic User Interface (GUI) to allow the user to install and interact with the operating system. However recently, in the last few years especially, this has been becoming less true, you can now Linux without ever having to see a command line (if that's what you want). Windows takes about 16 GB of Disk space just to install the operating system, whereas I've never seen a linux install go over 2 GB and most are under 1 GB. Additonally Linux tends to require less hardware to run, consequently it tends to run faster on older machines than newer versions of Windows does. Initially hardware support was also a big difference between Linux, Mac OS, and Windows, because Mac has a monopoly on their hardware they can make sure that Mac OS will support all their hardware, Windows also because of Corporate backing, large market share, and a variety of other things had great hardware support. However, Linux tended to lag behind in hardware support because of companies refusing to release open source drivers for their hardware. Recently though there have been great leaps forward and Linux hardware support has advanced to the point where it can run basically any hardware. Another aspect of installation that differs is that Linux can run from a USB flash drive, a CD, or other removable media without overwriting your harddrive, Windows however doesn't have a live version that has this capability. One thing that Windows does have superior abilities in currently is software support, because of Windows large market share and Linux, and Mac OS's small market share most companies dont bother to release software for Linux or Mac OS. Which means that Windows has an advantage here, however this is changing. With the development of new programs like WINE, Emulators, and various other things, Linux has now become able to run a lot of Windows based software.
If you have any specific questions I'd be glad to answer them, if I don't know the answer I'm sure I know someone that will.
Edit: Whoops, Wall of text.
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Nielisfranco
Active Member
May I state it in a different manner.
Windows is the most used OS now, because they went for the Ford like, mass production, easy to install approach. The majority of the world uses Windows OS. Most everything is made to run on Windows. The difficulty here is that because there are so many manufactureres now competing to run Windows, the windows program tries to suit all and ends up having tons of bugs and is generally not that reliable. But its cheap and you can always try a different manufacturer.
Mac OS is the stable, but more expensive model of computer. It can run anything Windows can and sometimes better, and an Apple computer can run Windows OS better than a PC can. The trouble here is that everything about Mac has to come from Mac or Mac developers. This raises the price since they aren't making money by selling tons of stuff, they are making money by selling quality, like buying a BMW. There are still some similar issues that Windows has but not as many.
then you have Linux. This is the build it yourself car kit. Its very cool and works great, when you have the technical skills to maintain it. The trouble here is that not much is made for Linux because there is no money for it. Everything is reliant on the users, who are all very skilled technically, to create the software to make it work like Windows. And its free, mostly.
I use Windows because its cheaper than a Mac and easier to set up and use than Linux. Until either of those change thats what I use.
Windows is the most used OS now, because they went for the Ford like, mass production, easy to install approach. The majority of the world uses Windows OS. Most everything is made to run on Windows. The difficulty here is that because there are so many manufactureres now competing to run Windows, the windows program tries to suit all and ends up having tons of bugs and is generally not that reliable. But its cheap and you can always try a different manufacturer.
Mac OS is the stable, but more expensive model of computer. It can run anything Windows can and sometimes better, and an Apple computer can run Windows OS better than a PC can. The trouble here is that everything about Mac has to come from Mac or Mac developers. This raises the price since they aren't making money by selling tons of stuff, they are making money by selling quality, like buying a BMW. There are still some similar issues that Windows has but not as many.
then you have Linux. This is the build it yourself car kit. Its very cool and works great, when you have the technical skills to maintain it. The trouble here is that not much is made for Linux because there is no money for it. Everything is reliant on the users, who are all very skilled technically, to create the software to make it work like Windows. And its free, mostly.
I use Windows because its cheaper than a Mac and easier to set up and use than Linux. Until either of those change thats what I use.
Windows, since I'm a gamer. Mac and Linux are not for gamers.
Macs don't have the best hardware for games, doesn't have enough support from game developers, and the OS doesn't like some games that are mac compatible, anyway.
Linux has even less support from game developers. Not for casual users, either.
Macs don't have the best hardware for games, doesn't have enough support from game developers, and the OS doesn't like some games that are mac compatible, anyway.
Linux has even less support from game developers. Not for casual users, either.
Mac sucks monkey balls.
Windows can get dusty but if you maintain it and keep it clean it can look nice.
Linux is awesome and it's a chick magnet.
misskitty1976
New Member
Y'all will laugh and probably not believe me but Windows 98....until we can save up for a better computer.
Y'all have no idea how many times I have just wanted to stab the computer repeatedly....I'm surprised this site will even load. It SUCKS ASS.
Y'all have no idea how many times I have just wanted to stab the computer repeatedly....I'm surprised this site will even load. It SUCKS ASS.
You use Vista willingly? :eek
If she doesn't comply with dad's forced Vista use she'll get grounded. and he won't pay for her wedding when that day comes.
what's wrong with 98? it was awesome. that truly was the start of a reliable clean gui os for windows.
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