Thread: Linux vs Mac vs Win7 - Which OS is the best?

I've always used windows OS, but I bought a mac book pro laptop for school last october, and I totally love how the MAC work. they are quit easy to understand (way simpler than windows, trust me) when it comes to taking care of the computer (cleaning, deleting stuff, etc).
Of course, I think the biggest problem with MAC is that they don't offer many computer games (I personnally don't care), but for gamers, it might be a problem. but you can run windows on a bootcamp partition, which is also quite easy to create. the computer never bugs, shuts down and open quite fast and it runs the tasks really well. MAC are more for graphic, design and photography work, as well as video editing.

I need far too many complex and expensive programs to be limited to Linux but I do use Linux servers. Btw. MAC OSX is crap. Its not easier, its not faster its just crap. Its like having to walk on one bleeding and broken leg while dodging bullets in a flame pit. I've had to use a 2000e mac for video editing with Final Cut pro, felt like giving myself the final cut. Editing is slow, encoding is slow, it lacked proper multi core implementation. I also could not find a proper MPEG4 part 10 encoder for mac. The graphic interface of the OS is idiotic as it is in the Win 7 that I'm using atm, thank god for Windows classic theme and I managed to find a prog for the classic Start menu too.
All video and photo editing progs run very well with Windows, I use them weekly. That's no reason to go Mac. Windows won't start to slow down if you take care of it, I mean you have to take care of youself so why not your PC. Remember to defrag and clean your registry as it tends to fill up with old markings. I have an old windows xp pc from 2002 and it still runs like a charm.

Ps. Even monkeys can use Windows and Mac, try using Linux without a gui or perhaps DOS like back in the day.

The entire population of the internet seem to be looking to find out which is the BEST out of Windows, Mac and Linux. The answer is that there is no answer, and it all depends on what you want from your operating system.

If you want to play the latest and greatest games, or if you've never used anything else in your entire life, Windows is probably for you. I have Windows 7 myself, as it came with my laptop. I find it to be much like every other Windows release: annoying and bloated when you first install it, but efficient and pleasant once you have spent a short while uninstalling things and tweaking all the settings to get it just how you want it.

If you have a Macintosh computer, Mac OS is probably for you. Simple as that. I've used earlier Mac OSs a lot, mostly as a child, but I haven't had so much hands-on experience with the newer releases. If you've not used them before, there will be things that confuse you (like "how do I maximise this window?" - the answer is you can't), but overall I think it's an attractive and sturdy operating system. People say that you don't need anti-virus software on a Mac, but as they get more and more popular, I would suggest that that won't hold true any more. The main reason they've been virus-free for so long is that they have had a tiny user base, therefore there has been little incentive to write for them. Their underlying structure may be more secure than Windows's anyway, but no operating system is bulletproof, so don't be fooled. There doesn't seem to be the same range of free software available for it though, so you may find yourself having to pay for more things than you would have done with Windows or Linux. But then again, if you can afford a Mac, you're not exactly poor anyway.

If you are on a budget, or if you have an old machine which won't handle the demands of one of the other two operating systems, or if you support open source software, Linux could be for you. I used OpenSUSE, and then Ubuntu for a long time when I had a desktop computer in England. I first started using them out of necessity: my computer had arrived with a copied version of Windows XP, but that stopped working and I didn't have a repair disc. However, I soon fell in love with them, particularly Ubuntu. The aim of Ubuntu is to "just work", and I found that it really did. It automatically detected all my hardware, and installed all of the necessary drivers with one click. It automatically looked for updates to ALL my software and installed the latest versions with one click. Neither Windows nor Mac OS can do any of that. I love the community side of it: there is always someone willing to help when you run into problems, and that inspired me to start helping others, and contributing suggestions and bug reports etc. Linux is also the most secure of the three OSs, and again, because hardly anyone uses it, there are very few viruses, although I would recommend a periodic scan anyway even if on-access protection is not required. Any vulnerabilities in the system are usually spotted and resolved very quickly because the code is all open source. The downside of Linux is that it does not support much commercial software, although WINE is a program that overcomes that in many cases.

So in conclusion, I'll just repeat what I said at the beginning. The best OS for you will depend on what you need it for. It's your choice. However, it is unfair to compare Linux and OS to Windows directly, seeing as most people have a lifetime of experience with Windows and none at all with the other two, so of course they are going to feel unfamiliar. You need to allow yourself a reasonable period of time to get used to them before you can make a proper judgement. Myself, I'm happy with Windows 7 but I would not hesitate to switch to Linux if I had to, and indeed I have had them both installed simultaneously in the past.