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Mac Vs. Windows Vs. Linux (Vs. Solaris Vs. Chrome OS)


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Poll: OS's (17 member(s) have cast votes)

What OS do you prefer?

  1. Mac OS X. I like stability and usability. Hmm? What's a virus? (1 votes [5.88%])

    Percentage of vote: 5.88%

  2. I prefer Windows. It's the OS of choice, everyone uses it. They're cheap and efficient. (10 votes [58.82%])

    Percentage of vote: 58.82%

  3. I prefer Linux. It's mostly free, and open source! I like customization, and I run awesome! (6 votes [35.29%])

    Percentage of vote: 35.29%

  4. I like Solaris. It's different and just genuinely better. (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

  5. Chrome OS is the one of choice. The web-browser-integrated OS sets this one apart. (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

  6. Other (please specify below) (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

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#1 Coconut Man

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 06:51 PM

Yes, I dare do this.

Since seeing how politely other forums went that on other forums usually caused flame wars, I decided to try my luck.

What's your favorite OS? Kindly explain why.
For whatever OS you prefer, please list your version.
I.e. Mac OS X Mountain Lion/Lion/Snow Leopard, etc.
Windows users: Windows 8/Windows RT/Windows 7/Windows Vista (If you prefer Vista, I apologize if I flame you for it)/XP
Linux: Distro? Ubuntu 12.10/12.04 LTE, Lubuntu/Xubuntu, etc.
Solaris? I've never used it, so....
Chrome OS: Haven't used this either, although I've generally heard positive comments about it.
If you prefer another OS, please explain what it is and why it's better.

My preference? Mac OS X 10.6.8, Snow Leopard. I'll wait to express my reasons until I can be reasonably assured that nobody will turn into a pyromaniac and start yelling at others.

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#2 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 10 January 2013 - 07:12 PM

I really like playing around in various forms of Linux, but for the things i do its still a lot easier to run windows, and windows 7 is a great and stable platform.
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#3 Affray

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 09:47 AM

I have always used Windows, mostly because that is what was always there.
I am not opposed to anything Linux, the concept behind it intrigues me.
Mac anything bothers me.
They try to hard to be original to be anywhere near useful for me.
Also they make everything so idiot proof that it no longer makes sense.
Why did we spend the last fifty years learning how to use computers just for Mac to show up and remove the need to understand the machine you are operating.

It is perfectly acceptable to fear and admire a being you could not possibly understand.


#4 Guest_ElatedOwl_*

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 12:03 PM

I prefer windows, easier to develop and less of a hassle for software. I don't have any quarrels with linux, if you want to take the time to set up Wine and deal with a few issues here or there more power to you.

As far as apple goes... extremely over priced hardware, can build your own with higher performance for a cheaper cost. People seem to think the OS is virus free - on the contrary, their security model isn't good, its just rare for someone to take the time to write a virus for mac. The last time it happened it was estimated over half a million macs were part of the botnet and it took apple ages to patch it. The OS itself feels less intuitive and responsive, I feel like MS spends a little more time on usability testing for their OS.

Lastly, I can't stand apple's UI. That's purely personal preference, though.

#5 Dasherman

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 01:06 PM

I'm very glad that I have finally found a place on the internet where this will not unleash a flamewar :D

OT: I like Windows, because it's the main gaming platform.
As a second, I like Linux, because I like the idea of it.
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#6 LD50

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 01:42 PM

i like linux. love the customization you can do down to the kernal. i still use windows for gaming. most games just don't look the same in opengl as they do in directx.

i have windows 7 and am known to use mostly crunchbang linux. also play with gentoo from time to time. that's fun. i suck at it, but at least i can get it running and functional.

#7 Coconut Man

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 07:05 PM

...
Okay, I know this is an ABSURDLY long post, but I'm an avid Mac user, and I'd like to kindly counter your arguments ^_^

Mac anything bothers me.
They try to hard to be original to be anywhere near useful for me.
Also they make everything so idiot proof that it no longer makes sense.
Why did we spend the last fifty years learning how to use computers just for Mac to show up and remove the need to understand the machine you are operating.


Apple computers were released before Windows computers were (Apple II, anyone?).
Also, Macs never have to worry about viruses, trojans, or anything like that. They're simply immune to them.
To be fair, there are some Mac viruses, but they are both; few and far inbetween, so uncommon that you have to literally TRY to find one; and nowhere nearly as damaging, whereas a proper trojan could completely fry your computer irreparably.
At this point, I believe that Macs and PCs are leaning towards different audiences.
Macs are for: Artists, musicians, people who create things, newcomers, hipsters (since Windows is too mainstream :D although if it were a matter of obscurity, there are plenty of tiny Linux distros that nearly nobody knows about), and, yes, people who just plain like Macs (like me! :D). Windows is for gamers, business users, skilled computer users (that's not to say skilled computer users don't use Macs, after all, I do!), and other people. Macs aren't as well known, in general, and if they were, they would most likely sell more.
Another thing. Macs tend to last longer, even though you're paying more, and you get more quality, anyway. Also, running Windows on Mac is supported, but running Mac on Windows is NOT. Essentially, Apple is saying, "You can use our competitor's OS because we want to give you the best experience possible, and we want you to be able to do what YOU want." Apple supports Bootcamp, whereas on Windows if you want to run a Mac, you have to get 3rd party software. You can do that on a Mac too, it's just that there's official software.
Linux is for the person who wants to play around. Macs are amazing, for education, as well.
By the way, I know price is a big factor in the difference between Macs and PC's. Well, put it this way. If you consistently pay for computer repairs on PC's, cleaning up occasional viruses, anti-virus software, etc., in the end, you most likely ended paying the same amount or MORE than you would have spent on a Mac. Macs are just higher quality...that's not to say Macs don't cost money to repair, but Macs, again, are just more stable than Windows. I only need to reference Vista to strengthen my point.

As far as apple goes... extremely over priced hardware, can build your own with higher performance for a cheaper cost. People seem to think the OS is virus free - on the contrary, their security model isn't good, its just rare for someone to take the time to write a virus for mac. The last time it happened it was estimated over half a million macs were part of the botnet and it took apple ages to patch it. The OS itself feels less intuitive and responsive, I feel like MS spends a little more time on usability testing for their OS.

Lastly, I can't stand apple's UI. That's purely personal preference, though.

I wouldn't say OVERPRICED...I mean, yes they are expensive, but as I said before, in most cases you can end up paying an equal amount overall for a PC and a Mac, sometimes even more.
Building computers IS an alternative, but some people are either too lazy or just don't have the knowhow.
The rest of your complaints, I feel, fall into the UI category, which IS personal preference. I always had a problem with the Windows UI, don't know why.
If there was ever a UI I hated, it would be Ubuntu's with those
BIG
F$@!ing
UNITY
ICONS!!!!!!!
*pants*
Sorry, I'm a little touchy about it. Hell, I'm touchy about Macs, too. That's why this post is so absurdly long.
Although I must admit I love everything else about Ubuntu.

I feel like MS spends a little more time on usability testing for their OS.

That is, on a technicality, true. There's typically a longer gap between Windows OS updates (i.e. XP to Vista, Vista to 7, 7 to 8) than between OS X updates (Snow Leopard to Lion, Lion to Mountain Lion).


OT: I like Windows, because it's the main gaming platform.
As a second, I like Linux, because I like the idea of it.


Ah, gaming. I thought we would come to this.
Yes, Windows has a lot more support for gaming than does Mac.
However, there's a little thing called CrossOver....and another called Wine...and countless other programs.
It would be preferable to just install without any other hassle, but if you put the time into it, you can get mostly any game to run on Mac as well.
And with regard to power...
Macs are powerful machines. They aren't BUILT for gaming, but they are powerful.
NSFW analogy here:
Spoiler

There's always lower graphics settings. I know some people don't like it, I'm just saying it's POSSIBLE.
Graphics don't always matter, and if you need proof of that look at Minecraft, or Terraria.

i like linux. love the customization you can do down to the kernal. i still use windows for gaming. most games just don't look the same in opengl as they do in directx.

I love Linux too. You can mold it in any way you like, which sets Linux apart. :D

Again, I apologize for the absurd length. If you must know why I dislike Windows, let me tell you a little story.
Vista was new, and I had downloaded a very well reviewed antivirus software for it. (No, it wasn't a virus itself). I got a virus anyway after about 10 minutes on the Internet (no I wasn't on any shady websites or anything. Not to mention the quadrillions of tiny viruses that build up and slow your computer down intensely). After spending a while trying to deal with it, I decided to give Microsoft support a try.
I clicked the link.
IT
WAS
A
DEAD
LINK
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Posted Image
No, not that kind.
And no, it's not that it happened once. I returned the computer and gave Vista another try. Same Anti-Virus, different virus, SAME RESULT.
ANOTHER
F@$!ING
DEAD
LINK!
AERSDGHATDUGDJFGDFGIJKFGDFGFF
You can imagine I was pretty pissed at this point.
I was done with Vista.
I liked 7, though. I genuinely did. At that point, I was too far into the Mac universe to look back.
To be fair, I have a Windows 7 VirtualBox on my iMac. It's pretty nice :D
And yes, I BOUGHT Windows 7. Just the software, not the computer. I don't really like to pirate stuff.
Anyways, that end this absurdly long post. I respect all of your opinions, and I look forward to seeing your replies.
Just a point of reference: I'm assuming all of you have actually tried Macs, and if you haven't, please don't trash Macs. You haven't tried it, so how can you dislike it reasonably? Same goes for any combination of OS's: If you haven't tried it, you don't really have any right trashing it. Well, you have freedom of speech, but you know what I mean ^_^
I apologize if any of this comes off as rude to you. I mean this all with the best intentions.
This is just my perspective, however.

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#8 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 07:25 PM

I'm not going to reply to your post because, well, I'm lazy. A few things though:

Macs don't last longer. They go out of date just as fast as any other computer, and in some cases faster because of the lower powered parts they put in most.
The reason you can't run OSX on windows is not because of microsoft, but because of how apple has it locked down.
You simply are not going to pay as much building a windows machine as you would for a mac. Looking at the apple site, for a Mac Pro, with an out of date quad core xeon, 6 gigs of memory, a TB hard drive, and a Radeon 5770 (we're about to have the 8 series out.) it's $2,500. Even if I go balls to the wall with high end Lian Li or Silverston cases, which are far better build quality than what apple offers, one of the things you comment on, I'm willing to bet it will come in at less than half of that. The new iMacs don't even have desktop parts in them.

Crossover and WINE are nice tools, but in many cases they simply don't work, or don't work stably.

Getting a virus is more often than not PEBKAC, and could have easily been avoided with a simple free antivirus, or more careful browsing.
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#9 Coconut Man

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 07:36 PM

I'm not going to reply to your post because, well, I'm lazy. A few things though:

Macs don't last longer. They go out of date just as fast as any other computer, and in some cases faster because of the lower powered parts they put in most.
The reason you can't run OSX on windows is not because of microsoft, but because of how apple has it locked down.
You simply are not going to pay as much building a windows machine as you would for a mac. Looking at the apple site, for a Mac Pro, with an out of date quad core xeon, 6 gigs of memory, a TB hard drive, and a Radeon 5770 (we're about to have the 8 series out.) it's $2,500. Even if I go balls to the wall with high end Lian Li or Silverston cases, which are far better build quality than what apple offers, one of the things you comment on, I'm willing to bet it will come in at less than half of that. The new iMacs don't even have desktop parts in them.

Crossover and WINE are nice tools, but in many cases they simply don't work, or don't work stably.

Getting a virus is more often than not PEBKAC, and could have easily been avoided with a simple free antivirus, or more careful browsing.


Actually, Macs don't go out of date as fast as any other computer...I have Apple computers made in 2001 and they're still plugging away. I mean, they're not updated to the latest version, but they run as fast as they did when they were bought. Support is almost never an issue for me.

Yes, Apple may have it locked down, but using VirtualBox you can still run a Mac, which, by the way, takes away the ENTIRE price issue.
Hackintoshes are not supported by Apple, but (I can't believe I never considered this before: I must've, but forgot it soon after) it is totally possible, making the price issue vanish instantly.

So, as another point (repeating what I just said): Macs don't have to be pricey, as you can use Virtualbox, which can be done for FREE. Not that I support that, because I don't, but it can be done.

As for being "outdated", I did a test one day. I had 2 computers of the same age, both laptops, both very high-end for the time. I used Boot camp on the Mac to emulate Windows, and I deleted the Mac side (R.I.P ;( )(Heh, not really, I have a lot of computers with Snow Leopard). I wiped both of everything, making it brand new. I ran all of them through basic tasks (with the same anti-virus), including games. Shockingly (even for me) the Mac one ran FASTER than the Windows one. I did this test multiple times with different computers of the same age and same Windows version, and 4/5 times I had the same result. Not kidding, if you want to see proof I can dig up the recordings I did.

And as for CrossOver and Wine, yes, you have a point. That's what VirtualBox is for, anyways. My only point in bringing that up was to say it's possible.

As for the virus issue, it happens. It always happens eventually, no matter how safe you are, no matter how good your antivirus is. If you use the Internet, you will invariably get at least 1 virus of some sort.

Thanks for the input though, it's really appreciated! :D

Again, though, I have Windows 7 VirtualBox and I like it and use it semi-frequently. I just still prefer Macs.

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#10 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 07:56 PM

Just because it still runs doesn't mean it's not out of date. I have a Commodore PET that still runs just as fast as the day it was made, doesn't mean I'm playing BF3 on it.

It's against the OSX ToS to use it in a VM or any other non apple hardware, that's why they're not supported. Though it is fun to play with, and I've done it before., you no longer have a mac, just a PC running a locked down Unix system.

As far as the speed test, there's so many variables there it's not even funny. What versions of windows and osx were you using? what sort of hardware is "high end"? Was both hardware identical, etc.

Running things in a VM is a pain in the ass sometimes. Plenty of things can be done, it's just whether or not it's worth doing. I'd rather go with windows and not have to worry about that. It's one of the reasons I still use windows over a *nix distro.

As far as viruses, no, it doesn't. In the last 3 years, I've gotten two viruses, both were from pirating things that I shouldn't have, and had scanned them with a virus scanner, or paid another $20 to get one that would have done it for me, I wouldn't have gotten them.
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#11 LD50

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 08:01 PM

i've used ME without blue screening and Vista without viruses. clearly, i am a god.

#12 Coconut Man

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 08:08 PM

Just because it still runs doesn't mean it's not out of date. I have a Commodore PET that still runs just as fast as the day it was made, doesn't mean I'm playing BF3 on it.

It's against the OSX ToS to use it in a VM or any other non apple hardware, that's why they're not supported. Though it is fun to play with, and I've done it before., you no longer have a mac, just a PC running a locked down Unix system.

As far as the speed test, there's so many variables there it's not even funny. What versions of windows and osx were you using? what sort of hardware is "high end"? Was both hardware identical, etc.

Running things in a VM is a pain in the ass sometimes. Plenty of things can be done, it's just whether or not it's worth doing. I'd rather go with windows and not have to worry about that. It's one of the reasons I still use windows over a *nix distro.

As far as viruses, no, it doesn't. In the last 3 years, I've gotten two viruses, both were from pirating things that I shouldn't have, and had scanned them with a virus scanner, or paid another $20 to get one that would have done it for me, I wouldn't have gotten them.


Yes, you're right about the outdate issue.

I'm going to jump back and forth here.

About the virus thing:
Mainly I was talking about those tiny viruses that slow down your computer by just a TINY bit, and add up over time. You probably got at least one over those 3 years, but never noticed it. I could be wrong, but it's logical that you would at one point.

I was using Windows XP on both the Mac and the PC.

I'll have to dig around to find the specs (they're not on this computer), but worry not, as I will deliver them to you before the weekend is out :D

From memory, this is how the experiment went.
I took 2 computers, a PC and a Mac, gave them both the same OS (Windows XP), and on the Mac I cleared off the Snow Leopard side, so it was just Windows. Both were in fine condition, both I still occasionally use, and both had been cleared software-wise. I had a hardware check on both computer beforehand. I repeated the same experiment with older PC models and Mac models, and even newer ones. Like I said before, I'll find the specs for you sometime this weekend. If I don't, please press me for them and I should find them by Monday, cuz I'll have forgotten, which would be why you hadn't gotten them.

I find no issues with VM. At all. I mean, occasionally the framerate drops from 30 to below 15, but it picks up real quick.


i've used ME without blue screening and Vista without viruses. clearly, i am a god.


WHAT!?
HOW!?
WHAT SORCERY IS THIS!? :D

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#13 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 08:22 PM

No, I haven't. I often scan my computer with well maintained antivirus software because of the things I do on it, and from bringing home files and such from work, because the people there are not the best at keeping computers clean, and I have gotten 3 viruses or any type, total on my home machine.

If you used XP on both the mac and pc, and one was faster, it was a hardware thing. Most likely a faster hard drive as that's often overlooked when comparing specs.
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#14 Coconut Man

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 08:47 PM

Like I said, I'll have the data to you by Monday.

It's amazing how none of us have taken out flamethrowers yet, isn't it? ^_^

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#15 ITblasters

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Posted 18 February 2013 - 04:02 AM

I chose windows...

#16 Champion of Cyrodiil

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Posted 28 February 2013 - 10:37 AM

Apple - Saved by the invention of Postscript in 1982. Interestingly enough, the guys at Xerox created it. (remember when Xerox created a device to move an arrow on the screen and drag around boxes....and Microsoft ripped that from them?) Without Postscript, Apple would have died off long ago. Now it just floats around like the arrogant jock in high school, boasting about how great they are at re-inventing wheels.

Microsoft - Middle men are the best in business. I wish I had thought of selling porn online in the mid 90s. Bill gates was the middle man between DOS & IBM. Once it shipped, the shittiest OS it the world couldn't stop the inertia. These guys only care about money, thus have become the mafia of IT.

Linux - FREE. Does not matter what you say, it's still free. Don't like the compatibility? Oh. well it's free. re-write it if you want. It's open source and free. Got a cluster of 1,000 computers to do embarrassingly parallel operations? You could purchase 1,000 licenses for 1,000 Operating systems. You could also go with FREE.

With Cloud computing coming into play, its obvious that linux will be dominating our future when it comes to web services. Windows and Apple will always be around. Everybody likes a democracy where you can pick the lesser of two evils.

#17 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 28 February 2013 - 11:09 AM

I believe that even before clouds, *nix was around 80% of the server OSes.
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#18 Champion of Cyrodiil

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Posted 28 February 2013 - 12:57 PM

I believe that even before clouds, *nix was around 80% of the server OSes.

I would have to agree to that. But I'm not sure how many were using 'free' *nix OSes. I know in both Healthcare and Government sectors in Virginia a lot of money was spent on Sun Microsystems and Solaris. To support Oracle AS/9i/10g/11g. In contrast to that, it feels like more and more companies are switching to entirely open source platforms. Then realizing the headache when they don't pay a 3rd party for support. Luckily the Apache Foundation is extremely mature at this point. Either that or paying Amazon per CPU to host.


after looking at the trends... im not so sure now:
http://trends.builtwith.com/Web-Server

IIS seems to have a large presence. But it is hard to tell, as a lot of sites use apache as a proxy for added security.

#19 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 28 February 2013 - 01:53 PM

Remember that most web servers are VM's shared on a larger machine. Generally the main server will run *nix and then any windows server environments get run under VM. RedHat I think is one of the more popular ones currently.
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#20 Fox The Cat

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Posted 01 March 2013 - 05:27 PM

@DifferentTurret I am not going to quote your post because that's crazy, but anyways, mac is bad for ALL cases. I would only get one for work, and if I got one for work I would hate myself.

you innocent... fucking... fox...