The War of Operation

Operating System Wars

I'm sure everyone in the field has heard and has their own arguments for why the operating system they prefer is obviously the best one out there and why one of the others or both of the others are the worse. These arguments are pointless.

Sure, different operating systems have different uses and some are definitely better than others when used for certain things, like for servers or networking. All operating systems have their ups and downs, but arguing that one is better, overall, than others is pointless and, to put it bluntly, stupid.

So today, I'm going to discuss my opinion on the 3 major operating systems being used: Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. For Linux, I'll be discuss the Ubuntu distribution. I'm going to try not to be version specific, but for the most part when it comes to it I'll be talking about the latest version.

So, let's start with windows.

Windows has a pretty good user interface. It can handle everyday use fine. There isn't much speed difference between the other two systems when it comes to playing video games, surfing the web, editing important documents, etc. Windows is definitely annoying as hell when it comes to troubleshooting a problem, and most of the problems can be persistent and hard to find help for. So as long as you don't run into any horrible issues, Windows is perfectly fine.

Troubleshooting errors on Windows can be a pain in the ass. The GUI system is great and all when you don't have to do anything administrative to the computer, like fix problems, then it's really difficult to find anything. Half of the times I've attempted to Google a problem, I found only half of the results were my problem and most of the solutions were different than the others and didn't work for me. Blue Screens of Death are particularly annoying to troubleshoot since any one blue screen can have a lot of different causes. Some don't even say why they occurred without you having to download a developer tool from Windows website (which takes forever). I know when my parents attempt to fix a computer problem, if there isn't an immediate solution or at least one on the first page of Google search results, they just reformat the computer.

Now I'm not saying the other two OSes don't have this problem. I know Linux does, and probably Macs too. But not as bad as Windows.

For gaming, Windows is almost unavoidable. Most games for the PC are for Windows. Steam has added Mac support to a lot of their games, but that doesn't go for PC games in stores. I will say, the market for Mac games is increasing, steadily, but it's still not where the Windows market is. If you're trying to hardcore game on Linux... Ha. There really isn't much of a way save for Wine (Emulates Windows for Windows-only applications) unless we're talking about game servers, then Linux is all over that.

Seems like a good time to start talking about the next OS: Linux.

Linux is great when it comes to speed and control. Everything that can happen on Linux can be done by typing a few commands into the shell. It can be easily automated with the use of Shell, Bash, and Python scripts. Remoting into a Linux computer is a lot easier and faster than remoting into a Windows computer. If you're looking to make a server of any kind, Linux is the OS for you. The control it gives and the compatibility it has with the other OSes when it comes to server operations is the best out there. It does have its faults though.

For the most part, doing something on Linux isn't plain and simple without some kind of help. If you know how to properly use "man -k" or Google, you can easily become a Linux master in weeks, however without these tools Linux becomes very hard and seems like only a computer expert could properly use it. So for most people who are beginners at all things computer related, Windows or Mac is probably a better choice, although Linux can be easy to use, especially a distribution like Ubuntu or Mint, where there is a GUI available.

Linux is open source, and free. Which is a plus. A Windows Key and CD can cost a lot of money. It isn't covered by any warranties though. Windows users may argue that there isn't any help number you can call when you have an issue, but there is still the Internet, and the ubuntu forums can be incredibly helpful when you run into problems.

Another con is that not everything is made with Linux in mind. So be careful.

I'm going to end this topic here. I'd discuss Macs, but I've never used one so I don't feel right talking about it.

I will say one more thing about this: Don't argue the OS you use is the best when you haven't had as much experience with the others as you've had with the one you use. I'm serious. If you're arguing Windows is better than Linux, you better have used Linux as long as you've used Windows. Otherwise your argument can boil down to preference, which isn't an argument for which is better.

That's all for now.

Rob